Do We Need Gnomes, Halflings AND Dwarves?

[ptolemy18]

Hello everybody,

I assume that most people's D&D campaign worlds use all the core player races (gnomes, elves, half-orcs, halflings, dwarves, etc.). And frankly, it's such a D&D tradition that I wouldn't expect otherwise.

But... just in your personal homebrews... does anyone else think that's gnomes, halflings and dwarves are an awful lot of races of what are all basically "little people"? I guess it goes back to Tolkein, who created hobbits as his own distinctly British-middle-class race distinct from dwarves, which seem mostly influenced by the Norse idea of burrowing, metalworking dwarves. D&D took these two races pretty much unchanged, then added gnomes, which have a little bit more "feyness" about them. (In the "magical faerie creatures of the woods" sense, that is. )

Obviously dwarves, halflings and gnomes all have their own distinct traits in D&D. However, in my own campaign, I've radically scaled back the wee folk and reduced them to ONE little-people player-character race: just gnomes.

However, this doesn't mean that all gnomes are alike. Basically, I've smooshed halflings, dwarves and gnomes together. I'm acting on the assumption that, just like people in different cultures, there are tons and tons of different varieties of gnomes, and these gnomes range across most of the different "cultural traits" of halflings and dwarves in D&D. Therefore, in some parts of the world, gnomes are mysterious little people who live in the woods and talk to animals. In another part of the world, they are bearded little people who make weapons and armor and build mines. In yet another part of the world, they are easy-going little people who farm and raise cattle and build little houses. And these different types of gnomes consider eachother as different as, say, an uneducated Medieval Euopean would consider himself different from a Medieval East Asian.

Why did I do this? Well, I was trying to make a more "realistic" campaign setting, and I decided that by cutting down on the number of races, it'd help answer the question "Wouldn't all the stronger and more numerous races have killed the wimpier ones off in the dawn of prehistory?" (Yes, I am a cynical person. :/ Actually, in D&D terms I'm assuming the answer is "Because they had their own gods helping them out.")

Of course, it's more fun if there's lots of races... but strangely enough, none of the players have complained about the lack of halflings and dwarves. (I'm actually sorta surprised myself...) Anyway, I'm keeping all the EVIL humanoid races, all the lizard men, goblins, orcs, gnolls, hobgoblins, troglodytes, yuan-ti, other freaks, etc... it's fun to have them around roaming outside the borders of human civilization... but I thought that it would be more realistic if humans didn't share their world peaceably with QUITE so many different races.

Jason

 

[arscott]

I don't at all mind three varieties of little people. Each one fills a seperate fantasy archetype, and they're different enough mechanically that I can appreciate all three. It's when there's six different races of elf that I start to have trouble.

 

[Keeper of Secrets]

For me gnomes would be the first on the chopping block as I don't have a lot of use for them. Especially after seeing Travelocity's 'Roaming Gnome' ads. Though, I always encourage players to try a new race and since gnomes get the least amount of attention in games I run, I would not discourage anyone from playing them.

 

[orchid blossom]

First, it sounds like what you did with the gnomes is really cool. I like the idea of them being a race that lives across the world with thier own separate cultures, just like what happens in the real world with human beings.

I do have to say though, I'm always mystified when people wonder "why so many short people?" I could as easily say the converse and ask "why so many tall people?" I think the difference really is that the smaller races seem to have been more developed culture wise (at least in the PHB), so they are set off from the big folk.

Anyway, to answer your question, no, we don't need Gnomes, Halfling, or Dwarves if you don't want them, any more than you need Half-Orcs, Humans, or Elves if you wanted to toss them out.

 

[fusangite]

I never have more than one kind of little people in my worlds. And I don't think I've used gnomes since sometime in the 1980s.

 

[cmanos]

I think my first race to cut would be elves. Gnomes are underplayed, but I know a lot of that stems from, at least in my circle of friends, the hatred of Krynn gnomes. I have a feeling once my players realize just what the Zil Gnomes in Eberron are all about, they may just play an entire party of them, every single one with their own agenda, every single one ready to backstab the others....it could turn into a Paranoia game!

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

You don't need more than one sapient race in a game world. However, each of the three can have its own "ecological niche" in a setting without being redundant.

With Urbis, I went back to the basics:

- Dwarves are the master craftsmen for whom Tradition has become so important that it has almost become a physical force. They do things a certain way because they Always Have Done Things This Way. They never complain about hardships and show their feelings only to their closest friends and their family. Even in humans, they often wall themselves off into their own ghettos - usually by choice.

- Gnomes are the innovators - they usually pick a "field of expertise" early on, and then set out to learn everything about it and related fields. They like to try out and learn new things, but often get bored with repetetive work.

- Halflings, are the simple (but not stupid!), down-to-earth people who tend to fade into the background. They prefer the simple pleasures in life as opposed to luxury, and would mostly just rather be left alone. In human cities, they work in all sorts of services - such as washing, brewing, baking - that are rarely considered noteworthy, but nonetheless important for the running of a community. However, I also based them somewhat on the Swiss, and while their home country seems harmless enough at the surface, the halflings and their allies are better prepared for enemies than most people realize...


In other words, all three of them have their place in the setting, and there is little overlap.

 

[Gez]

Do we need humans, half-elves, AND elves?

In my homebrew, I definitely need dwarves and gnomes. Halflings a bit less, in fact, they could as well not exist at all, I don't think it would have changed anything in the campaign... Hmm, I'll have to make a few halfling NPCs for the heroes to meet.

 

[Thanee]

Do we need anything but humans, anyways?

Do we even need humans?

Bye
Thanee

 

[Turanil]

<...> does anyone else think that's gnomes, halflings and dwarves are an awful lot of races of what are all basically "little people"? <...> I've radically scaled back the wee folk and reduced them to ONE little-people player-character race: just gnomes. <...> Therefore, in some parts of the world, gnomes are mysterious little people who live in the woods and talk to animals. In another part of the world, they are bearded little people who make weapons and armor and build mines. In yet another part of the world, they are easy-going little people who farm and raise cattle and build little houses.

I like your idea.

Especially since now it leaves place to add a bunch of other PC races such as Half-giants, Faen, and what not.