In general, I think everyone can agree that Gnomes and Halflings are the least liked and most often under utilized of the six main humanoid races, the races being listed below.
Humans
Elves
Orcs
Dwarves
Gnomes
Halflings
I ignore all the other shitty D&D playable races for obvious reasons. So the question is, is there something wrong with how these races are implemented, and if there is, what should be done about it? While there have been a few interesting implementations of Gnomes, I honestly can't think of a single good implementation of Halflings. I never really cared for Tolkien's work too much, and even than, they filled a very niche part in the story.
My proposal? Get rid of both races, and replace them with a different small creature that's far less humanoid than either of the two. Halflings are often underutilized because they're basically small humans, and why would anyone want to voluntarily turn themselves into a manlet? I honestly can't think of any proper in setting situation where humans couldn't just be used instead of halflings?
As for Gnomes, while I do see some potential, I think they should just be merged in as a subrace of Dwarves. They can fit in real nicely with the existing stereotypes and niches that Dwarves occupy, and perhaps they could be the technological/statesman side of the greedy, more combative Dwarves.
As for this new race, some of y'all might be asking yourselves, "What's the point? Why would anyone want to play a new small person race, when no one wanted to play either of the two small person race?" Well I'd say that the reason is because Gnomes and Hafllings don't really have their own identity, due to how they look they've been pigeonholed into the tiny human category. There is a lot of interesting roleplay potential for a small race that's about three feet tall. I'd say they should make them a sort of swamp race with fae elements, living among the bog and in marshes, with homes made out of fungus and different things found in nature. This idea came to me when I saw an art design of a character from Hearthstone actually.
Something like this.
Other suggestions I'd have to fix the other races would be to make Orcs almost entirely brutes and savages, kind of like how they're implemented in Battle Brothers. Have a few Outcast Orcs and their Shamans/Chieftans be intelligent, but due away with them entirely as a playable race. Elves should also be changed to be nonplayable races. They should be incredibly rare, aloof creatures, with a view of the world that essentially borders on apathy. Make them very powerful but isolated, and they only interact with the Humans, Dwarves, and other creatures/races in the world when there is a grave threat or when they want to do some evil fuckery.
I also have some opinions on low fantasy versus high fantasy and how prevalent magic should be in a setting, but I'll go on that rant at a later time. What I will say is that having more than few playable races and magic being everywhere is extremely played out and often ruins things.
Humans
Elves
Orcs
Dwarves
Gnomes
Halflings
I ignore all the other shitty D&D playable races for obvious reasons. So the question is, is there something wrong with how these races are implemented, and if there is, what should be done about it? While there have been a few interesting implementations of Gnomes, I honestly can't think of a single good implementation of Halflings. I never really cared for Tolkien's work too much, and even than, they filled a very niche part in the story.
My proposal? Get rid of both races, and replace them with a different small creature that's far less humanoid than either of the two. Halflings are often underutilized because they're basically small humans, and why would anyone want to voluntarily turn themselves into a manlet? I honestly can't think of any proper in setting situation where humans couldn't just be used instead of halflings?
As for Gnomes, while I do see some potential, I think they should just be merged in as a subrace of Dwarves. They can fit in real nicely with the existing stereotypes and niches that Dwarves occupy, and perhaps they could be the technological/statesman side of the greedy, more combative Dwarves.
As for this new race, some of y'all might be asking yourselves, "What's the point? Why would anyone want to play a new small person race, when no one wanted to play either of the two small person race?" Well I'd say that the reason is because Gnomes and Hafllings don't really have their own identity, due to how they look they've been pigeonholed into the tiny human category. There is a lot of interesting roleplay potential for a small race that's about three feet tall. I'd say they should make them a sort of swamp race with fae elements, living among the bog and in marshes, with homes made out of fungus and different things found in nature. This idea came to me when I saw an art design of a character from Hearthstone actually.
Something like this.
Other suggestions I'd have to fix the other races would be to make Orcs almost entirely brutes and savages, kind of like how they're implemented in Battle Brothers. Have a few Outcast Orcs and their Shamans/Chieftans be intelligent, but due away with them entirely as a playable race. Elves should also be changed to be nonplayable races. They should be incredibly rare, aloof creatures, with a view of the world that essentially borders on apathy. Make them very powerful but isolated, and they only interact with the Humans, Dwarves, and other creatures/races in the world when there is a grave threat or when they want to do some evil fuckery.
I also have some opinions on low fantasy versus high fantasy and how prevalent magic should be in a setting, but I'll go on that rant at a later time. What I will say is that having more than few playable races and magic being everywhere is extremely played out and often ruins things.
