Help! Gnomes! (feedback wanted on my first race for DW)

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Help! Gnomes! (feedback wanted on my first race for DW)
« on: December 24, 2012, 08:37:06 PM »
Hi all. I'm new here and would like any feedback on my first attempt at a race for Dungeon World. I have included some flavour text first so you can get a clear picture of what I want. New racial starting moves follow after the fluff.

Gnomes
Gnomes are the people of knowledge. They are small and agile with quick wits, keen senses and nimble fingers. Gnomes are bright and cheerful. Gnome culture abhors conflict and war and seeks harmony. They prefer to outwit their enemies and generally get along with each other and other good kin. Gnomes are more amicable than dwarfs, and with their mathematical aptitude this combination can produce shrewd merchants.
Gnomes have an affinity for the nature both living things and the land itself. They delight both in wild forests and gardens where the earth produces life but abhor the dull monotony of fields of wheat and other crops. They appreciate natural sites above and below the earth and many a grove, cave or vein of metal is nurtured and protected by gnomes.
Gnomes have aptitudes for mechanisms, fine crafts like jewellery, and scholarly pursuits. While similar to dwarfs, gnome aptitudes tend to be on a smaller scale. Dwarves built huge stone halls and excavate cities within mountains, gnomes dig cosy warrens. Dwarves construct trebuchet and aqueducts, gnomes design intricate locks and telescopes. Dwarves forge steel into armour and axes, gnomes produce excellent jewellers.

Classes
Gnomes can be Bards Druids Wizard or Thieves

Gnome Starting Moves:

Gnome Bards

Your people are shrewd merchants able to drive a hard bargain and still leave those they deal with smiling. When you haggle for gear take +1 as well, i.e. for items where Cha is subtracted also subtract 1 more, for other items subtract one only. This will never drive the cost to below 1 coin. Alternatively, if a roll made to haggle or bargain using Cha you may take +1. 

Druids
You have a deep understanding of Nature including animals, plants, minerals and natural terrain. When you spout lore or discern realities about Nature take +1.

Thieves
Since a young age you have been fascinated with mechanisms. When a trap features and intricate mechanism such as clockwork, hydraulics or pressure plates, take +1 for disable traps or discern realities. You also receive take +1 to pick most locks, anything more complex than a simple bolt.

Wizards
Your people are adept at uncovering knowledge or obfusticating it. When you cast a spell with the Divination or Illusion tag take +1.

Re: Help! Gnomes! (feedback wanted on my first race for DW)
« Reply #1 on: December 26, 2012, 07:14:14 AM »
Hey Coronoides, great to see gnomes getting tackled! I think they're a race no one's tried converting before.

I'd try to avoid starting moves that just give a bonus to one action over another. I know there are quite a few like that in the book, but I don't find them particularly grabbing. For example, how about these?

Gnome Druid - Fellow Burrower
You may always take the shape of any burrowing animal, in addition to your normal options.

Gnome Thief - Mechanist
Since a young age you have been fascinated with mechanisms. When a trap features and intricate mechanism such as clockwork, hydraulics or pressure plates, and you use Trap Expert, increase your Hold by 1.

Gnome Wizard - Illuvination
Your people are adept at uncovering knowledge or obfusticating it. Every time you gain access to a new level of spells, you may choose one Divination or Illusion spell of that level and learn it automatically.
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vsh

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Re: Help! Gnomes! (feedback wanted on my first race for DW)
« Reply #2 on: December 26, 2012, 01:56:14 PM »
Gnome Druid - Fellow Burrower
You may always take the shape of any burrowing animal, in addition to your normal options.
Maybe, "many burrowing animals"? "Any" just does not seem right.

Re: Help! Gnomes! (feedback wanted on my first race for DW)
« Reply #3 on: December 26, 2012, 06:11:37 PM »
Thanks Sanglorian. The Druid move fits gnomes and is a good move but does not quite match what I have in mind. You’ll not all my moves are based on knowledge. Gnomes are ‘gnomic’ get it?  Also I’m not keen to go down the burrowing mammal speciality so much.
Other people would have different ideas about gnomes.
The wizard move seems to either do nothing (wizards already learn spells automatically) or doubles the number of spells the gnome wizard knows (if the spell from the move is a bonus. I’ve reworded a little but I’m not sure if doubling the spell list is going to be overpowered in play. Also there are not many spells in the book, will their be enough Divination and Illusion spells. Anyone have any thoughts?
 
Gnome Druid – Student of Nature
You have observed animals and their ways for many hours. This extensive study makes you better able to mimic our brothers and sisters. When you take the shape of an animal you gain +1 hold for Shapeshifter.

Gnome Thief - Horologist
Since a young age you have been fascinated with mechanisms. When a trap features and intricate mechanism such as clockwork, hydraulics, or pressure plates, and you use Trap Expert, increase your Hold by 1.

Gnome Wizard - Illumination
Your people are adept at uncovering knowledge or obfusticating it. Every time you gain access to a new level of spells, you may choose one extra spell from the Divination or Illusion spell of that level or lower and learn it automatically.

Re: Help! Gnomes! (feedback wanted on my first race for DW)
« Reply #4 on: December 26, 2012, 06:40:26 PM »
I missed the 'gnomic' take on the gnomes, but that's clever and I like it!

Regarding 'Illusination/Illumination' (the former name was just me being silly and squashing illusion and divination together), it increases the Wizard's spell list by 50% rather than doubling it (the Wizard gets a new spell every level; this move gives a new spell every time the Wizard accesses a new spell level, which he/she does every odd level). There's at least one illusion and one divination spell at each spell level, except 5th which only has a divination spell, so the Gnome Wizard shouldn't have any problems there.
All my posts (unless stated otherwise) are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/.

Re: Help! Gnomes! (feedback wanted on my first race for DW)
« Reply #5 on: December 26, 2012, 08:51:23 PM »
'Illusination/Illumination', yep I figured it was a mash up.
Illumination is the process that produces illuminated persons, the Illuminati. It also has a more common usage refering to light which kinda goes with illusions and the metaphoric casting of light by divination.

Re: Help! Gnomes! (feedback wanted on my first race for DW)
« Reply #6 on: December 27, 2012, 09:34:43 AM »
'Illusination/Illumination', yep I figured it was a mash up.
Illumination is the process that produces illuminated persons, the Illuminati. It also has a more common usage refering to light which kinda goes with illusions and the metaphoric casting of light by divination.

Illuminated also refers to the decoration of text with designs or images, which sort of relates to illusion (since illusion can mean the adding of visual effects / images that aren't there).

- Alex