The changes to gnomes in 3.5e

[MerricB]

The changes to gnomes in 3.5e is a matter that I think worth discussing in its own thread... so, breaking off from "what shouldn't have been changed in 3.5e", I've taken this quote:

Yikes! Bards as the favoured class for gnomes?

This news knocked me off my seat, but I'm not suprised WotC did it.

In fact, this is what I call the Culture of Balance and it is prevalent in 3E (and off-the-scale in 3.5 by the sounds of it). In other words, WotC would rather serve the "balance of the game" rather than honour tradition.

Since time immemorial, gnomes have supposed to be quite handy at Illusion magic. Thus, it made perfect sense to make the Illusionist the gnome's favoured class. Sure, this is quiet a specific favoured class but so what? . . . think of the D&D flavour!

Now, out-of-the-blue, gnomes the Oerth over are talanted troubadours, bountiful bards, and trusty tenors!

Is there no respect for tradition anymore? Or is it just balance, balance, balance all the way and the *flavour* that D&D is built upon is warped and twisted on a whim?

I really like the changes to gnomes in 3.5e. I'd like to make a few points:

Compared to 3e, Gnomes are now far better illusionists. Why? They get a +1 DC to all their illusion spells. This makes them the most effective illusionists in the game.

What they lost was the ability to effectively multiclass as an illusionist.

However, it should be said that the old 1e illusionist was nothing like the illusionist of today. The old illusionist was a dedicated class with its own spell list. Something like today's... bard.

Yes, the 3.5e bard owes a lot to the 1e illusionist. Although it has a bunch of abilities that the old illusionist doesn't have, there's a lot in common as well. (And, after all, isn't an illusionist a performer of some sort?)

And let's not forget that in 3e, gnomes couldn't effectively multiclass in illusionist... because multiclassing a spellcaster was something that was a quick way to inconsequence.

Don't forget that "bard" doesn't imply a singer or minstrel - my PHB lists "Oratory", "Act", "Dance", and "Buffoonery" as disciplines of the Perform skill - that last fits the old Gnomish prankster very well!

So I think Wizards ended up strengthening the gnome's illusionist traits more than weakening them.

However, why was it necessary to change the gnome? I think, when you come down to it, you need to keep in mind one very salient point:

Gnomes were an unpopular race - I'd say the most unpopular core race.

They'd been that for a long time. Elves, Half-Elves, Dwarves, Halflings and Half-Orcs have all carved out their niches over time (although the Half-Elf took a huge hit in 3e), but the Gnome? An object of fun.

That object of fun business? Very true for the designers. Look at these excerpts from the Complete Book of Gnomes and Halflings. (Rock gnomes are your "standard" gnome, btw).

The most distinctive physical characteristic of the Rock Gnome is an enormous nose a proboscis that is larger than that of any dwarf or human, despite the gnome's diminutive size. Indeed, the size of one's nose is a matter of some status among Rock Gnomes, and more than one good-natured debate has resulted in actual comparisons being made. The true test of a mighty nose is the ability to poke it into your opponent's eye without having his nose do more than tickle the fringe of your beard (the use of the male pronoun is not generic here; females pride themselves on big noses too, but in addition to lacking beards they are less prone to such boisterous comparisons) .

The big schnozzola is an important status symbol among all of the gnome subraces. Parents proudly point out the size of their children's noses and make enthusiastic prognostications about future growth. While the practical applications of such a facial feature are admittedly limited, gnomes will frequently embark on size contests, with heavy wagers, between members of rival clans. Svirfneblin go so far as to make this a primary determinant in the selection of a new king or queen!

Respect for the gnome? Not there.

With Races of Stone, Wizards went and addressed the balance. The gnomish race and culture was changed to make it distinctive (not just an inferior type of dwarf) and no longer an object of fun.

I'd be more than happy to play a 3.5e gnome in a campaign: both mechanically and from a role-playing perspective, I think they are the most interesting and playable they have ever been.

Cheers!

 

[Tuzenbach]

Let me get this straight, Merric.......

You're saying that because 3.0/3.5 doesn't dwell upon the sizes of a gnome's nose that this is somehow equivalent to "respect"? I'll say this: I REFUSE to play a gnome that does not come equipt with a magnanimous set of nostrils! Really, what's wrong with gnomes having large noses? I like it. What I DON'T like are the pictures of gnomes in the 3.0 PHB, which would lead one to believe that their only distinguishing feature is to be the size "intermediary" between the dwarf and the halfling. Bring back the look of the 1E gnome!!!

 

[Tonguez]

Yes making Gnomes favour Bards is a change for the better imho and is a step towards moving gnomes back to their fey-is natures, by highlighting
1. their talent for illusion and ability to fascinate/beguile/confuse
2. their secret (bardic) knowledge

of course I still think Druid would be even better - but hey thats not the question is it....

As to noses - I like gnomes having big noses, of course I also let gnomes take the Scent feat because of it (IMC gnomes can't see in the dark but they can smell their way around)

oh and Gnomes are the greatest race there is - so all you nancyboy elf lovers: be warned!

 

[Turjan]

I'd be more than happy to play a 3.5e gnome in a campaign: both mechanically and from a role-playing perspective, I think they are the most interesting and playable they have ever been.

Cheers!

I agree wholeheartedly . The 3.5e gnome is one of the best choices for PC race you can get. They have an innate affinity for magic with their cantrips and their speaking with animals. The have a good AC because of their size. Their constitution bonus makes them succeed with their concentration checks. They are good at listening and with illusions. They are well educated. They are the best match for the wizard class. The affinity for the bard class underlines their love for dancing and caroling. In short:

They are the best elves that D&D ever saw !

 

[MerricB]

They are the best elves that D&D ever saw !

There's more than a little truth in that. Actually, they're the best "Hobbit" elves we have... "Lord of the Rings" elves are different.

Gnomes have always had a problem with not being sourced from LotR, and thus ill-defined in most people's eyes. (I've been told the source for D&D gnomes on several occasions, but I'm not familiar with the book and thus I keep forgetting it!)

Elves, Dwarves, Half-Orcs and Halflings - no problem in what any of those are. Tolkien told us (although D&D makes changes to Tolkien's vision, we can still make assumptions). Not so with gnomes - and without that shared experience, they're far harder to quantify.

They weren't help in 2e by the destruction of the illusionist class, either. The lure of the illusionist was basically removed by the 2e generic specialist design.

Where then did that leave the gnome?

Cheers!

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

I also heartily approve of the 3.5 changes to the gnome.

Illusionist was essentially a core class in 1e and almost a full core class in 2e; retaining that as the gnome's favored class when it was purely a specialist wizard made no sense.

Gnomes-as-bards actually makes the most sense, provided that you get past the stereotype of the bard as a minstrel. The 3.5 bard is as much loremaster as performer, and a decent enough fighter to allow those racial bonuses against giants to come into play. It doesn't help that the "iconic" gnomish bard packs a lute, though. :\

 

[Orius]

Hey, I miss the big nosed gnomes too. The gnomes in my campaign still have big noses.

 

[Tinker Gnome]

I admit, I use the Tinker Gnome archetype that was created by Dragonlance, with some changes. A lot of the things they make work, just not how they expected, and are prone to malfunctions at bad times.

 

[TroyXavier]

Gnomes rock and the changes in 3.5 definitely improved them. Too bad illusionist has been reduced to nothing (like the rest of specialists)

 

[Quasqueton]

Say you had a gnome illusionist in 3.0. How has that character changed in 3.5?

Quasqueton