Tiefling vs Gnome

[virgil]

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dn ... Apparently they've decided to be really harsh on people who like gnomes.

[Username17]

If tieflings and gnomes were actual people instead of poorly defined made up beings, I'd be pretty offended.

As is, it was just lame. Also, the Legend style horns on tieflings are hideous.

-Username17

[angelfromanotherpin]

Can't view the thread, so here's a different thread with a gnome and a tiefling in it. Some other things, too.

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showth ... p?t=114474

[Username17]

OK, here's what you are "missing":

It's an animated short done in the style of a late night talk show. They are discussing how the Tiefling is now in the PHB and the Gnome is now in the Monster Manual. The Tiefling is presented as being smarter, better, and um... more AWESOME! than the Gnome. The humor is rather poorly done, some of the things which could have been funny were not due to timing issues, writing, or style. Anyway, there's stuff to be "learned" about the New Edition, which nominally they are discussing.

• Most obvious, the Tiefling's new "look" is trotted out. She talks like someone with a Russian Accent so fake you'd swear it was from a Saturday morning cartoon or porn. She looks like a Cryxian Satyxis with red skin. Complete with the totally nmanageable horns.
  
  
• Many of the Tiefling's racial and class abilities are discussed. You will be unsurprised to learn that they sound extremely uninteresting. Or maybe that is surprising, they have a Russian chick with huge boobs talking about how she kills things with hellfire and it isn't interesting. Come to think of it, that's quite an achievment. Tiefling's for example, get an infernal vengeance thingy that is activated by people attacking them or something. It sounds complicated and dumb.
  
  
• The new monster stuff is discussed. The Gnome goes on for a while about how as a Monster he gets a lair and minions. His minion is a badger named Francis. This should have been good, but it wasn't because they basically had the Gnome do the whole diatribe as if he was Grrr from Invader Zim.
  
  
• Warlocks get to pick a set of powers which are either Demonic or Fey. They chose to make the Fey = Gay jokes here and it made us sad. I don't want to pick either path because they managed to make both sound lame.
  
  
• Being able to mechanically have an attack which hits two opponents is presented as something which should impress us. But honestly, I don't give a damn. This could have been where they sold the flavor text about how Warlocks call down black hellfire to roast their enemies and stuff, but mostly it was just "And if I go up a level, my bonuses will be bigger!" and I can't even pretend to care.

Basically it was an opportunity to present Gnomes as stupid, juvenile, annoying, and homosexual. Part of a concerted effort to get the fan base to accept taking Gnomes out of the PHB by turning public opinion against Gnomes. Honestly, I have no idea why they though they needed to do that.

-Username17

[Voss]

Ah. the bad video. The dialogue is just awful, and the animation is poor. But yay, stereotypes. Even new stereotypes. The bad russian accent and the new tiefling version didn't help the people trying to argue that didn't isn't being turned into WoW, either.

The best thing about the gnome bit is the official statements from the devs that the gnome isn't going to be in the PH because they couldn't find it a niche. But apparently they did find one... its just really, really stupid.

But hey, there is also a similar one with a beholder running around. Its... slightly less stupid.

[Talisman]

Ouch. That was painful.
And this is someone who likes tieflings and has no interest in gnomes.
Go, WotC! Way to alienate your fan base and introduce new stereotypes!

(BTW, in any game I've been in, a PC who looks like that tefling would have a mob of irate villagers chasing her with torches and pitchforks. Subtle fiendish features = cool. Hat-rack style horns and alligator tail = DEMON!).

[Captain_Bleach]

1199123044[/unixtime]]
*Everything you said*
-Username17

If what you're saying is true, as I don't feel like shelling out my hard-earned loot to buy some online magazine, then I am sad too.
Besides, when does Tiefling=Russian?

[Talisman]

1199130968[/unixtime]]Besides, when does Tiefling=Russian?

IIRC, the word "tiefling" is actually German.

[Leress]

I just watched the video. Pretty much everybody else has said what I thought was wrong with the video. The video played out like some bad cartoon, The Barroness...I meant Tiefling taking about hell this and my agent wanted me to be warlock ...way to stretch the imagination there. The gnome was just bad all he was missing was a rainbow shirt and either some disco or Cher for background music.

I should have just stayed away, I watch the last video and the jokes were lame in that one too.

Here is the thread at WOTC..
http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=968197

[Voss]

1199130968[/unixtime]]

1199123044[/unixtime]]
*Everything you said*
-Username17

If what you're saying is true, as I don't feel like shelling out my hard-earned loot to buy some online magazine, then I am sad too.
Besides, when does Tiefling=Russian?

The online rags (or rather, articles) are currently free. Just feed them an email address. As far as they're concerned, a fairly anonymous australian uses this computer.

[SunTzuWarmaster]

I acutally like gnomes... but I started likely them with the Shadowcraft Mage prestige class and Frank's writing on the ongoing Kobold-killing spree. Prior to my introduction to the two above they seemed like crappy underground-small people. Afterwards, they seemed to show the constant tinkering that is indicative of genius with an affinity towards being tricksy.

That being said, tieflings are much, much cooler than aasimar, just like drow are much cooler than sea elves and illumians are cooler than humans.

BTW, as long as we are talking 4th edition, that rubric that you sent is more hilarious the more that I think about it, Frank. I would like a first level spell please, it does the following.

All enemies within sight are turned into stone without a save. All of them die after 3-5 minutes depending on Con score unless a Dispel Magic, Limited Wish, or similiar spell is cast. After death, they revert to normal form so you can totally loot all their things.

Of course, on the rubric, the character simply fills out that he did nothing in his round, that no enemies dies, and that no enemies took damage during the 'combat' part of the encounter.

[Bigode]

What'd "tiefling = Russian" have to do with WoW?

[Voss]

Oh. The stupid expansion race... draenei. Apart from being red rather than blue and having feet instead of hooves (for the magical boots, of course) the new tiefling model and voice is very, very similar. Especially the female ones. Sultry, bad eastern european accents seem to be the in thing at the moment.

[Koumei]

That sounds terrible. I already hated gnomes, they couldn't really do anything to make me hate them more. I already thought Tieflings were cool (and as someone who doesn't yet play WoW, I can't see what all the "They're turning it into a WoW clone!" crying is about. By the same token, I always liked the Satyxis), so it sounds like that video is just going to ruin things.

Bah, humbug.

[Username17]

Sultry, bad eastern european accents seem to be the in thing at the moment.

As someone who just spent New Years at the Prague Square Astronomical Clock drinking champagne with Russian women, I do not understand why people can't get sultry, good eastern european accents. They totally exist.

-Username17

[Surgo]

Seeing as how they already have every non-humanoid race as a single distinct entity with pretty much one attitude and viewpoint, why can't they get with the picture and make gnomes ruthless capitalist inventors and businessmen who have come to take your money and your land, without you even realizing it? Why must gnomes continue to be stupid illusionist yard ornaments? Gag.

[Crissa]

I don't like how 4e sounds like they're taking the worst from MMOs and then forgetting that D&D started it all.

It is the source for all these games, dammit.

-Crissa

PS, Draenei have claws, not feet. So they really look like Disney's Gargoyles. Either way, I would've been annoyed with their accents except they did a neat job with the culture they chose for the dances. And Tauren have hooves, as well as Trolls not wearing 'shoes' in the graphical sense.

[Username17]

Here's something I don't get. So they are porting in all the WoW races.

Humans = Humans
Dwarves = Dwarves
Halflings = Gnomes
Elves = Night Elves
Eladrin = Blood Elves
Dragonborn = Naga
Tieflings = Draenei

Right? We are all clear on that. But why no fucking Orcs? It's the most popular option not on that list. Why bring in the frucking Draenei when you could have ORCS? Fuck!

-Username17

[RandomCasualty]

Wow... that made me cry.

I mean don't get me wrong, I hate gnomes. With a passion. They've been stupid PC creatures from day one. And I've liked tieflings...

But the whole red skin thing is stupid. I liked it back when tieflings looked reasonably human, instead of this obvious "Oh, look a tiefling" bullshit.

That is so fucking WoW style. Giving them a new skin color. What the hell man... are greenskinned orcs and blue skinned elves next?

[Cielingcat]

They have fucking gnomes and they don't have orcs. I mean fuck, I don't really like orcs because they're not Warhammer orcs, but I still fucking hate gnomes so fucking much.

Also, if draenei have claws instead of hooves, then this draenei I'm looking at in WoW right now is made of filthy lies.

[Crissa]

Depends on which Draenei it is. The males in the final version have hooves; the females when they had longer tails in the beta had claws - and the Lost Ones have paired claws and it's hard to describe (trotters?) what the Kurenai have. But they do wear boots and they don't have plantigrade feet.

I didn't make a draenei and haven't played in their lands for nearly a year, so what their feet look like is really low on my list of things to care about.

-Crissa

[Captain_Bleach]

1199151935[/unixtime]]Here's something I don't get. So they are porting in all the WoW races.

Humans = Humans
Dwarves = Dwarves
Halflings = Gnomes
Elves = Night Elves
Eladrin = Blood Elves
Dragonborn = Naga
Tieflings = Draenei

Right? We are all clear on that. But why no fucking Orcs? It's the most popular option not on that list. Why bring in the frucking Draenei when you could have ORCS? Fuck!

-Username17

Well, D&D is not a mainstream hobby, so in order to capitalize on MMORPGs, Wizards of the Coast is "Warcrafting" it up for money.

[Crissa]

More people have played D&D than any MMO than Warcraft. More people had played D&D than all MMOs combined in the US even after Warcraft.

They're losing all credibility.

-Crissa

[Voss]

Well, sorta warcrafting it up. Pretty much every element of warcraft is a direct rip of d&d or warhammer (or something else), which of course, both directly rip yet other things. So, yeah, whatever.

[Crissa]

There is little in Warcraft that is not an intentional rip from prior art.

-Crissa