Topic: Gnome typo?

[masque1223]

I don't know if this is better here in the HARP forum, or in the Cyradon forum, but I'll post it here and let the moderators move it if necessary.

I'm starting up a HARP campaign soon, probably in Cyradon, and I have a player creating a gnome thaumaturge.  When looking at the core HARP book, I noticed that it says gnomes get a +3 to Presence, which seemed decidedly odd, since, y'know, it's a GNOME.  When I looked in the Cyradon book at the Rhona, it more sensibly gave the +3 to Insight.  Just to confirm, is the entry in the core book a typo, or are thebonuses different on purpose?

[Rasyr-Mjolnir]

First off, don't confuse Presense with stature or size - there is absolutely no connection between the two. Presence is a character's force of personality, as it were, and you can very small characters with a very strong personality overall.

The Rhona are a variant of Gnome, just as the Mablung are a Dwarf variant. The intention was to allow both the variant and the core version of a race to be used side-by-side to provide for a bit more variation in the types of characters available.

[masque1223]

Oh, I know it doesn't have to do with size, I just figured that since spellcasters were a common profession among gnomes and that the Cyradon stats were different, it may have been a typo.  Presence to me screams elves and harpers, and gnomes usually doesn't strike me as a Presence-heavy species, particularly since no other species BUT the elves gets any bonus to it. 

[ReaperWolf]

Presence to me screams elves and harpers, and gnomes usually doesn't strike me as a Presence-heavy species, particularly since no other species BUT the elves gets any bonus to it. 

In the context of modern fantasy rpgs gnomes, tend to be friendly, outgoing, and generous. They are said to be quick witted and charming even when playing pranks or engaging in rakish behavior. That to me indicates they should have a PRE bonus.

>>ReaperWolf

[Rasyr-Mjolnir]

Presence is more "mentalism" based, and there is one or two professions that lean that direction even without that sort of distinction in HARP.