The Problem with Gnomes in D&D

Will you hang out at gencon with me 🥺👉👈? (also i cannot wait for y'all to see what is coming along with the merch thing) (they'll be available online of course) (but the panels won't be) (they are all in the description if yall wanna come)

A kobold wrote this video.

im gnot a gnelf, im gnot a gnoblin, im a gnome and youve been Gnomned

Basically halflings drink tea with there grandparents, but gnomes go on roller coasters and smoke alcohol from a glass slipper

Your idea for making the gnomes aesthetically distinct from halflings is probably my favorite aspect of this video. It's so simple, and easy, and also there was a missed opportunity to use the word "Gnose"

Before watching: their main problem is that aside from being tech-nerds there is nothing distinguishing them from halflings in aesthetic, and anybody can be a tech nerd regardless of race

you literally just saw the gnome vs. Knight wars on Instagram and thought: "yeah, now people remember gnomes exist" I honestly cant blame you

I love the gnome redesign, it makes them look not just whimsical, but a little malicious with a bit of ghibli granny

I know it took restraint to not put the “I’m a ggnome” clip in this video, proud of you.

as someone from New Zealand I can confirm that we pray to Bilbo Baggins because he is responsible for 73% of our countreys wealth.

Funny enough, Paizo (the Pathfinder folks) takes the immortal trait of Tolkien Elves and gives them to Gnomes, with the caveat that if Gnomes don't have enough novelty in their lives they fade away. I like this change since it helps Gnomes feel even more the short equivalent to Elves, and it gives them an in-born reason to be adventurers.

Gnose. My favourite part of gnome culture is their love of nicknames. I want to play a gnome solely so I have an in-game reason to call everyone in my party anything other than their actual names, or so my PC can be excited any time someone calls them something other than their own name, including insults from enemies (not realising that they're being insulted). To have have multiple names, depending on who they're speaking to. A formal name, a casual name, a name enemies know you by, and a name for those who are closest. To keep their real name secret the entire campaign. Man, I need to find a group.

The fact that the base height for Gnomes is 2'11" and Halflings is 2'7" shattered my world when I learned it.

I'm in love with the concept of using masks as a symbol of identity. I could see other races asking them why would they hide who they are, only for the Puck to argue that on the contrary, a face is hard to read, it hides secrets, it shows emotions that might not be the ones really felt, but their masks are a symbol of who they are, their passion, their interests. They are not hiding behind the mask, the mask draws who they are from inside. I could see other races thinking that the Pucks are kind of weird. That they are secretive, and sneaky because they keep their faces covered. But to the Pucks, the other races are the secretive ones, because they hide who they truly are, they put barriers to protect themselves and you have to pry them open to get to know them, but the Pucks are an open book. Unless their muse is to keep secrets, these guys are as open as you can get.

I had an Arcane Trickster Forest Gnome that rode a very large cat with a saddle on it. She'd walk into places, steal exclusively magical objects, try to figure out the object until she got bored of it. Then she'd throw the magic item in the bay of her home city. She'd also go on tangents that were typically lies, but that she told so enthusiastically it was hard to tell, and she believed every story she was telling was true. And this is how my husband decided that "The Woodpecker War" and that gnome knights ride badgers were canon in his world.

I FUCKING LOVE the Pathfinder Gnomes. They are still relatively forgotten, but got an entire book to themselves. They are still Fey-adjacent (by default) and require constant enjoyment from life to not die. If they get bored they slowly turn grey and die a slow, sad death, HOWEVER if they can stave off the Bleaching they could theoretically live forever. They often still fulfill the "tinkerer/wizard" role due to their literal biological requirement for staying interested, but can also fill more interesting mechanical/roleplay roles. They often are seen as eccentric, such as giggling while digging through entrails or spending weeks researching the history of ancient basket-weaving. The last main biological feature is how they latch onto a magic source. This is often Primal magic (being from the First World), but a gnome might draw Arcane, Divine, or Occult magic from "an occult plane or an ancient occult song; a deity, celestial, or fiend; magical effluent left behind by a mage war; or ancient rune magic." This often manifests through spellcasting, but can also lead to gnomes with insane smell, or the ability to change their skin to camouflage, and at higher levels phasing into different realities to dodge an attack or jumping through an allies life force.

The pointy ears and nose contrast to the halfling roundness is a really neat idea

I like the approach of Pathfinder, where gnomes were cast out of the fey world, but outside of it they all develope an illness making them turn grey and whither until they die when they aren't experiencing new things regularly.

I like to imagine Gnomes be the sort of the "solarpunk" tinkerers of the fantasy world as a counterpart to Goblins dirty industrial style. They should be the magical forest-engineers that craft spells and inventions to support and "repair" nature. Oh, and give them beards and pointy hats, you cowards, that's how a gnome looks.

I genuinely love this so much. Upon understanding the Muse feature, I immediately thought of a Puck that hasn't found their Muse yet but pretends to have done such, wearing the mask of an old friend or mentor.