The Gnomish Race

[fustiar]

Is it just me, or does there seem to be a prejudice against gnomes?

Or is it that people think gnomes are wimpy, since they're small, and well... small.

I just today beat ID for the first time [i just started HoW] and my Gnome Brigade (while not completely made up of gnomes, is still represented in the majority by gnomes) looks like this:

11 Gnome Fighter (5 prof large swords)
11 Gnome Fighter (5 prof giant swords)
11 Gnome Fighter (5 prof large swords)
11 Gnome Fighter (5 prof giant swords)
14 Halfling Thief
10/11 Half-Elf Cleric/Mage

My primary gnome, Wonks, (i'm used to Baldurs Gate where i have a main character) has -10ac and is a killing machine. Without any buffs at all [except the ones provided by his equipment] he took out 9 umber hulks solo and at the same time. I sent him on ahead in the crystal mines [lower dorn's deep] just to test his skill. He came out with about 47 hp left [of 123].

My four gnome fighters can take down any boss in a matter of seconds, with the right buffs. Usually I cast bless, haste, prayer, recitation, defensive harmony, and righteous wrath then send them into battle to chop things up.

I did play through on normal settings, so perhaps i should play through again on heart of fury mode. I took down the two iron golems in about all of 5 seconds then Belhifet 10 seconds later. I didn't have to heal as my characters sustained about 40-50 damage between them. It was like EQ Plane Raid and Dragon slaying spam all over again.

What is the point of my boasting?

Just some Gnomish Propaganda. You know you wanna go Gnome.

PS. Hello

[Yorick]

Good for you! Sounds like fun. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Jim]

Welcome fustiar,

Yeah I think gnomes are cool too. They suffer no penalties to warrior stats such as STR DEX and CON and have a +5 bonus to both saves vs spells and saves vs wands. Not to mention they can use the helm of the trusted defender and get massive AC bonuses and the ability to not be fatigued after being hasted is excellent [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Azred]

I am not prejudiced against gnomes. They may stand around in my garden whenever they feel like it. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Anyway...good show with the gnome brigade. Yes, gnomes do seem to be overlooked most of the time.

P.S. Welcome to the IronWorks Forum. [img]graemlins/petard.gif[/img]

[Midget Gems]

Hey Fustiar, as we've said before, the guys here at team Midget Gems love to go adventuring with small people, so Gnomes are one of our favourite Races. That looks like a realy nice party BUT what is that TALL wimpy Elf dude doing in it - you should use a GNome Illusionist, like wot we do. And another thing - have you got something against axes? There are zillions of cool axes in the game (our Dwarf Fighters wouldn't be seen with anything else), how come one of your Gnome friends hasn't learned to use them?

[ 04-25-2002, 01:55 PM: Message edited by: Midget Gems ]

[fustiar]

Thanks for the replies!

Well, the wimpy elf (half elf actually) was required as I needed a cleric/mage! I *NEVER* multiclass my tanks because I know from experience that straight out fighters are the BEST fighters. "Hybrids", as I like to call them, may start out weak and grow stronger than a standard fighter, but the straight fighter is the immovable constant who you only have to worry about keeping alive, and he'll play his hand efficiently.

About the axe thing. I faulted in my starting proficiencies. For most of my fighters I did a split, two proficiency slots in large/giant with the exception of one, which i put large/bows.

I should have done large/axe or giant/axe instead. My logic behind the sword fetish is that a sword is usually the most common weapon in fantasy, so there wouldn't be any shortage of kick-ass swords to use. I did not foresee using an axe, and as I don't have any dwarfs in my party, I really wasnt compelled to use them.

HOWEVER, there came a time in the game when I had a limited amount of +2 swords available and at that time I broke out the axes, which I had been carrying around on my fighter/mule. So I did use them, if just briefly!

[SecretMaster]

Well, I don't discriminate gnomes, I like them, but when i see your party walking up to my house, I'll be sure to run. Just kiddin, gnomes rock.

[Leafy]

Gnomes just have a bad name because in paper and pencil RPGs, gnomes are like a foot tall or smaller. They tend to get stepped on or eaten pretty quickly if they aren't under the DM's direct control or given some cheesy magic abilities. That and their squeeky little gnome voices are annoying. (except for David, he had the voice of the Dad from Happy Days, and that was ok) Oh, and people are always trying to catching them and demanding pots of gold or magical charms. Now THAT'S annoying to the Gnomes!