Delvers and Denizens: Gnomes

Go to the Delvers and Denizens Index

I reskin halflings and dwarves as different varieties of gnomes for reasons discussed here. Halflings are garden gnomes, dwarves are mountain gnomes, and regular old dnd gnomes are forest(also sometimes called hill) gnomes. I really haven't altered any of these classes all that much. Lets go through the minor details in my version of these classes: 

I didn't mention it when going over the elves, but I gave each demihuman class the same weapon mastery as fighters, which for my version of weapon mastery gives one new mastery at every level; with their level caps I see nonreason to restrict their fighting ability, demihuman adventurers are basically all fighters anyway. 

I also gave all gnomes what I'm calling the "Burrower" ability, which is just the old dwarven ability to detect underground construction; all gnomes get this because every type of gnome makes their homes underground, though their typical profession and lifestyle may differ they all live in burrowers underground. 

All gnomes also receive the same hearing bonus as elves, as they have always been depicted with pointy ears. I just felt that was more in line with any fiction depicting halflings, gnomes, or dwarves, they always have more acute senses than humans.

Garden Gnomes:  other than what is outlined above, they are the same as in the original BX rules. One thing to note is their lack of night vision(which I use instead of infravision for humanoids). This means they are diurnal like humans and work during the day, all other gnomes have night vision and thus are nocturnal, and so less encountered by men. Of all the gnomes, garden gnomes are the ones most often seen by the day-dwelling men of the surface.

Mountain Gnomes: I gave them the same bonus to ac as garden gnomes, because they may not be quite as small, they are still short and most of this sub species wont measure up to even the shortest men. I also gave them the Cleave fighter ability because of all the demihumans dwarves were always portrayed as the most ferocious and fighting-focused.

Forest Gnomes: I use the version presented in the OSE Advanced Genre rules almost verbatim. As with elves, gnomes get an inborn magic called fae sorcery with a modified spell list 

Delvers and Denizens: Elves

Go to the Delvers and Denizens Index

I include 2 basic versions of the elf in my games, the Sylvan Elf and the Water Elf. The Sylvan Elf is the version introduced in the Basic rules and lives in the forest and is reclusive, while the Water Elf is from the gazetteer to Minrothad being seafarers and traders and much more common in human cities. The Sylvan Elf has several ethnicities; the wood, the grey, the high, the wild, the green. There are a few changes to the sylvan elf:

• I expanded the immunity to ghoul paralysis to any undead special effect such as the mesmerizing gaze of a vampire, and mummy rot. This gives elves and inherent advantage over undead
• I also expanded their secret door detection to the general ability to search for room traps, I see these as basically the same thing
• I codified the fact that elves are supposed to have good hearing, giving them a 2/6 to hear noise and a 1/6(as opposed to humans 2/6) chance to be surprised
• I switched out infravision for night vision, ala eyes like a cat. This also means elves are nocturnal. I've done this for most demi-humans, I do keep infravision for creatures that actually live completely underground.
• and I switched up how elves cast spells, I call it Fae Sorcery. This is a natural inborn ability that elves just learn to do like walking; they do not have study books and memorize spells like humans to cast them. In reality, much of human magic is an attempt to recreate the magic of the fae. Basically elves and other fae descended creatures can cast spells at will but gain fatigue in doing so and gain spells they know by meditating when they level up. I also require that when casting a spell each elf has a unique "twitch" that triggers the spell, such as wiggling the nose or the ears, snapping the fingers, clicking their tongue, blinking or winking, etc. Elves have access to a spell list first shown here

Water Elves, as sylvan elves with a the addition of:

•  Direction Sense which allows them to know the cardinal directions if outside, this ability is important to any seaman and serves to separate the cultures of the two types of elves
• and Navigation Sense allowing the elf to know the cardinal direction of a place they have been to before. This is paired with direction to give the Water Elves a reputation as skilled navigators.
• their spell list is also modified to reflect their watery environment based on the Minrothad gazetteer. 

The Little People

Go to the Delvers and Denizens Index

TLDR: In my campaigns from now on, Hobbits/Halflings and Dwarves will no longer be called as such anymore, and are simply varieties of Gnomes

The reasons for this change are really for semantical(is that a word?) purposes and out of respect of Tolkien and his imagined world and languages. Essentially Hobbits are an intrinsic part of Tolkien's world and legendarium, and as I feel they aren't represented very well in D&D and using a bastardized version of them as so called 'halflings' is kid of disrespectful to Tolkien and then not renaming the D&D version just shows the lack of effort; probably the only version that really stands on its own are the Kender from Dragonlance. Hobbits are specific to Middle-Earth and are present to portray specific thematic elements, so while I'm not changing the D&D rules or description I think it is a disservice to the actual Hobbits of Middle-Earth to continue calling them Halflings. Basically D&D Halflings are not Hobbits and deserve their own treatment divorced from the Halfling/Hobbit connotations.

Dwarves are a whole other can of worms. Naming a species or race(in the sense of an actual subspecies) dwarves is extremely problematic. Dwarfism is a real world disease/disorder/syndrome(its status in the medical community has changed over the years and is in fact now a disused term) and implying that people with Dwarfism are not Human should be seen as the bigotry it really is. Then if you say, no they aren't a different species, just a race of humans, you run into the problems of comparison with the actual medical condition; if dwarves have separate communities, then what about the dwarves who are born to 'normal' human parents, and what about the different varieties of dwarfism, etc, etc. It's better to not relegate human beings with a medical condition as a separate species or race or people from the rest of humanity. So this people will simply be another variety of Gnome in my campaigns.

______________________________

On to how this works in game. Gnomes are a Species of the Homo Genus, and each variety described below is a Subspecies, or race, of that Species.

All Gnomes are short of stature, though their physical features may vary by type, some with long noses, long beards, large heads, etc. Gnomes typically live in a burrow of some sort made for that purpose. These burrows are generally clean and well-kept, and vary on location and specific adornments and disguises again based on the type of Gnome inhabiting the burrow. These burrows are generally well hidden and go unnoticed by most humans. The term Gnome is used by outsiders to describe the 'little people', each variety has their own term that they refer to themselves with.

Mountain Gnomes(Dwarves) refer to themselves as Denwarf's Folk and are native to the Altan Tepe Mountains and the Nation of Dengar or Rockhome. Mountain Gnomes live underground and they have a close connection with the Earth, minerals and metals. They are primarily miners, their focus is on extracting the metals and gems and other precious stone from the earth, and not necessarily the crafting or smithing of these items. They are enamored by the natural beauty and essence of the earth not the objects made from it. Mountain dwarves are barrel chested, with disproportionately short arms and legs, and both the males and females grow long and bushy beards, and generally are no more than four and a half feet tall.

Garden Gnomes(Halflings) refer to themselves as the Hin and call the Five Shires home. These people are much more numerous than appearances would lead an outsider to believe. The Five Shires may in fact appear uninhabited to an uninformed human. Their lands appear as one large garden, untouched by plow or traditional agriculture, yet every part of their lands is carefully maintained and produces bountiful harvests. These people live in shallow burrows in hillsides near the land they cultivate. Garden Gnomes have an affinity to living things and a natural talent in the cultivation of plants of all types. They have an average height of three feet, are beardless, have short legs and long torsos and arms, and large hairy feet. They dress in bright colorful clothes and are always wearing a brightly colored pointed cap and almost neve wear shoes.

Forest Gnomes(the traditional D&D gnomes) live in burrows in woodland areas, often entire clans occupying a single complex of burrows. These gnomes have a connection to the wild plants and animals and it is rumored can even speak with the animals of the wood. These gnomes also average about three feet in height, have large noses and ears and long beard often reaching past their knees.

Tinker Gnomes, commonly referred to as House Elves, are the only gnomes that are comfortable with living in houses of a fashion similar to humans. Some even live in Human houses or adjacent to human workshops and are considered good luck and will often discreetly mend broken objects or help the business of a human craftsman. These gnomes are smaller than most of their cousins, ranging between 2 and 3 feet in height usually. They tend to be thin and waiflike with long fingers, making them adept at manipulating objects, and bulging eyes and wrinkled skin, with sharp pointed facial features. Tinker Gnomes call the flying city of Serraine home. They have a fascination with mechanical things and are expert craftsmen of all sorts; they make great smith and jewelers, and tailors, and cobblers, and inventors, just to name a few of the crafts they are most known for. It is rumored they have unlocked a new sort of magical machine through the use of steam and have secret weapons that make use of a magical exploding powder.

Other types of gnomes, such as the deep gnomes or gray gnomes, are rumored to exist, but encounters with the world of man are sparse.

Demi-human Ability Score Rolls

Go to the Delvers and Denizens Index

By the book in Classis D&D a player rolls 3d6 in order for thei ability scores and then can buy points in their prime requisite if certain scores are high enough; and a demi-human can only be played if certain scores are greater than a 9. So I'm generally okay with this, yet I want an option for rolling stats after a player chooses to play a non-human. I'm going to be using a few different sources to determine the maximum and minimum and desired average of ability scores, and then come up with a die combination that hews closely to these numbers. If I don't mention an ability score for a race, then the player should roll 3d6 for that ability as normal.

First, I came across something interesting when reading through the Companion player rules. On page 6 under the knockout section, it tells us to estimate an opponents constitution score as twice their dice if their score isn't already known. My first instinct is to use this for an average of score based on each race's monster entry, but this won't work as all because demi-humans HD are usually 1 or 2. Maybe if I use the HD of the leaders in the description? Something I'll think about.

Starting with the Elf; in Classic an Elf needs requires a minimum of 9 Intelligence, and from the Master Set we know they also have an average of 13. Now in Classic, every mortal character is limited to a maximum of 18 in any ability, whether or not they have a higher minimum or average than a human. However, I'm going to be referencing AD&D to look at other differences between humans and demi-humans, and that includes changes to maximum ability scores. When AD&D gives a PC a +1 to an Ability during character creation, I'm going to interpret that as an increase in the average of that score, as opposed to a straight +1. AD&D presents seven different types of Elf: High Elf, Gray Elf, Wood Elf, Wild Elf, Dark Elf, Valley Elf, Aquatic Elf, and Valley Elf, with High Elf being the default in the PHB. Each of these has different Ability Score adjustments, except for the Aquatic and Valley Elves who have the same adjustments as the High Elves.  I'm just going to present what each race gets to roll, and maybe some notes behind my reasoning if necessary.

High, Valley, and Aquatic Elves get to roll: Intelligence 2d6+6 (8-18, 13 mean), Dexterity 3d5+4 (7-19, 13 mean), Constitution 3d5+3 (6-18, 12 mean), Charisma 2d6+6 (8-18, 13 mean)
Gray Elves: Intelligence 2d6+7 (9-19, 14 mean), Dexterity 3d5+4 (7-19, 13 mean), Constitution 3d5+3 (6-18, 12 mean), Charisma 2d6+6 (8-18, 13 mean); I'm interpreting these as the standard BECMI elves because in my Dad's games, he always told us our PCs were gray elves. Also all our Elven PCs were from Karameikos, so other places could have different types of Elves, Alfhiem would have Wood Elves, Wendar would have High Elves, etc.
Wood Elves: Strength 2d8+2 (4-18, 11 mean), Intelligence 2d6+5 (7-17, 12 mean), Dexterity 3d5+4 (7-19, 13 mean), Constitution 3d5+3 (6-18, 12 mean), Charisma 2d6+6 (8-18, 13 mean)
Wild Elves: Strength 2d4+1d8+2 (5-18,  11.5 mean), Intelligence 2d6+6 (8-18, 13 mean), Dexterity 3d5+4 (7-19, 13 mean), Constitution 3d5+3 (6-18, 12 mean), Charisma 2d6+6 (8-18, 13 mean)
Dark Elves: Strength 2d3+1d4+4 (7-14,  10.5 mean), Intelligence 2d3+1d4+8 (11-18, 14.5 mean), Wisdom 3d4+6 (9-18, 13.5 mean), Dexterity 2d4+12 (14-20, 17 mean), Constitution 4d4 (4-16, 10 mean), Charisma 3d4+6 (9-18, 13.5 mean)
Shadow Elves: Strength 2d4+1d6 (3-14,  8.5 mean), Intelligence 3d4+6 (9-18, 13.5 mean), Wisdom 2d8+2 (4-18, 11 mean), Dexterity 3d5+4 (7-19, 13 mean), Constitution 3d5+4 (6-18, 12 mean), Charisma 2d6+6 (8-18, 13 mean); I gave them the same maximum strength as the Drow because they are described as smaller and weaker than the surface elves, an intelligence with a minimum of 9 to match the gazetteer but without the extra boost gray elves get, instead shadow elves get a small boost to wisdom to reflect the presence of shamans in their culture.

Dwarves are described with three different types in AD&D: Hill Dwarves, Mountain Dwarves, and Gray Dwarves, but they aren't differentiated by their ability scores. So that just leaves one stat line for all Dwarves. In Classic Dwarves need a minimum of 9 Constitution while in AD&D the minimum is 12, so I think I will just go with the higher score. Also they are listed with an average Intelligence of 10 in the Master set, which is the same as humans with 3d6, so we'll leave that alone.

Dwarves: Strength 2d6+6 (8-18, 13 mean), Constitution 2d3+1d4+9 (12-19, 15.5 mean), Dexterity 2d8+1 (3-17, 10 mean), Charisma 2d4+1d8 (3-16, 9.5 mean)

Halflings again are described with 3 types, the Hairfoot, the Tallfellow, the Stout, and there areno definitive differences between them, but there is mention of Tallfellow and Stout Halflings with an 18 instead 17 Strength. In Classic D&D Halflings need a minimum of 9 in both Dexterity and Constitution. I think I'll make the 9 Dexterity apply only to the Hairfoot, and leave the 8 minimum from AD&D to make up for the greater strength of the Tallfellow and Stout. In the Master set Halflings are also given an average of 11 Intelligence, which is covered by the 6-18 range given them in AD&D.
   
Hairfoot Halflings: Strength 2d4+1d6+3 (6-17,  11.5 mean), Intelligence 3d5+3 (6-18, 12 mean),  Wisdom 2d8+1 (3-17, 10 mean), Dexterity 3d4+6 (9-18, 13.5 mean), Constitution 3d4+7 (10-19, 14.5 mean)
Tallfellow, and Stout Halflings: Strength 3d5+3 (6-18, 12 mean), Intelligence 3d5+3 (6-18, 12 mean),  Wisdom 2d8+1 (3-17, 10 mean), Dexterity 2d6+6 (8-18, 13 mean), Constitution 3d4+7 (10-19, 14.5 mean)

In Classic D&D gnomes are mechanically identical to dwarves, except in the Master set their Intelligence is rated at 11 instead of 10, which fits the range given by the AD&D PHB. And the Deep gnome also doesn't seem to have any differences as far as Ability Scores go.

Gnome: Strength 3d5+3 (6-18, 12 mean), Intelligence 2d4+1d6+4 (7-18,  12.5 mean), Constitution 2d6+6 (8-18, 13 mean)

Orcs don't have any official stats in AD&D, but I'm of the opinion the Half-Orc is really a stand-in/excuse to allow those players who have the desire, to play an Orc without playing a 'monster'. So I think the Ability Scores for the Half-Orc work fine for Orcs. In Classic all we know is that they have a low Intelligence average of 7, which works is going to require some adjustment because the average in AD&D is 10. In the Master set we are told that monsters with 6-8 Intelligence can deviate +or- 3 point from their average Intelligence, so that sets the maximum at 10 instead of 17. Maybe if we switch the ranges for Intelligence and Wisdom from AD&D, so the Intelligence is low and the Wisdom is average; yeah I think that works. And that allows them to have Shamans, but not Magic-Users.

Orc: Strength 3d5+3 (6-18, 12 mean), Intelligence 2d4+1d6 (3-14,  8.5 mean), Wisdom 2d8+1 (3-17, 10 mean), Dexterity 2d4+1d6 (3-14,  8.5 mean), Constitution 2d4+11 (13-19, 16 mean), Charisma 3d4 (3-12, 7.5 mean)

Any Stats for Further monstrous humanoids aren't available in AD&D, but we do have their Intelligence scores from the Master Set. I also think the default HD of the monster gives us an idea of their relative Constitution scores, and we can infer the average Strength from any bonuses to damage they may receive.

Goblin: Intelligence 2d4+1d6 (3-14,  8.5 mean), Constitution 2d4+1d6 (3-14,  8.5 mean)

Hobgoblin: Constitution 3d4+6 (9-18, 13.5 mean)

Gnoll: Strength 2d3+1d4+8 (11-18, 14.5 mean), Intelligence 3d4 (3-12, 7.5 mean), Constitution 2d4+12 (14-20, 17 mean)

Lizardman: Strength 2d3+1d4+8 (11-18, 14.5 mean), Intelligence 2d4+1 (3-9, 6 mean), Constitution 2d4+12 (14-20, 17 mean)

Kobold: Strength 3d4 (3-12, 7.5 mean), Intelligence 2d4+1d8 (3-16, 9.5 mean), Constitution 2d3+1 (3-7, 5 mean)

Mostly satisfied with the results, but the minimums to Strength for Halflings and Gnomes doesn't really make sense to me. I know Dwarves are supposed to be sturdy and strong for their size, but Halflings? If I were to keep those minimums I would implement a rule I used for my own RPG system. Each Ability was composed of 3 components; Strength included mass, stamina, and size, where size was directly proportional to height in feet. So a human had a minimum of 7 Strength, 5 from size and 1 from each of the other components. It would probably be easier and more in the spirit of Classic D&D to just axe those minimums and let Halflings and Gnomes start at 3 Strength like everyone else.