Gnolls, gnolls, glorious gnolls

[jackston2]

I never was a fan of gnolls (just another group of tribal savages) until a very important 4th edition flavor change: Gnolls now have green eyes.

This is such a welcome change from all of that grey and brown (orcs, goblins, ogres, everyone else), and really highlights the supernatural quality of the Gnoll race as demonic naturalists.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

In AD&D, they were bigger and stronger, and treated with tremendous respect by "normal" gnolls (bonus Charisma, IIRC), and would often lead gnoll bands.

And because of that, they got all the hottest chicks funneled to them by the roadies.

Especially after singing "Gnolls, Gnolls, Gnolls"

Friday night and I need a fight
My spiked buckler and a two foot knife
Handful of grease in my hair feels right
But what I need to make me tight are

Gnolls, Gnolls, Gnolls
Long legs and blood-covered lips
Gnolls, Gnolls, Gnolls
Huntin' down near mining pits
Gnolls, Gnolls, Gnolls
Red lips, fingertips

The flindbar was some sort of 3-piece rod martial arts thingy

IOW, a Three-Sectional-Staff- the longer, deadlier cousin of the Nunchaku.

 

[Thanael]

Maybe this leads to a sort've "schism" between gnolls; do you follow demons, or undead? It might be the cause of a conflict between Orcus and the gnoll's patron. Or it could be a subspecies of gnolls, jackal-headed critters that are the undead-lovers.

Yeenoghu is the Demon of Gnolls, but he also subjugated the King of Ghouls and commands the obedience of ghouls and ghasts, thus infringing on Orcus' territory. Though now that Doresain the King of Ghouls is a demigod things might have turned a different way.

 

[Thanael]

double post

 

[Thanael]

A flindbar is a sort of flail or nunchaku having only 2 sections. You might be confusing it with Yeenoghu's three-headed flail.

3E Flind stats
2E Gnoll and Flind

Some Gnoll NPCs on ENWorld
Elite Opponent:Gnolls (on WotC)

 

[theskyfullofdust]

I'm getting ideas now. How about a Gnoll Paladin of Slaughter (if that's the right one) leading a warband of gnolls, hyenas and demonic bods, on a raid against a halfling village, for tasty snacks.

Definately will be using gnolls now in my new campaign. But not Flinds, they just don't seem as good as I remember them back in the AD&D days.

 

[NarlethDrider]

gnolls are in my top five fav races----my drow have bred a race of half-gnoll/half draegoloth warriors as they "stock up" their forces in preparation for their assault on the surface world

 

[Tonguez]

gnolls might have a habit of returning as ghouls (or being transformed) on a semi-regular basis. But I havn't decided how the Ghoul fits in with the gnoll society; they are constantly hungry, thus it might be a threat to other

Interestingly enough I've used a Gnoll Ghouls and a Gnoll Lich in games I've run. One was a mad gnoll warlock who had sequested himself in an ancient cavern and essentially carved an equivalent of the 'Necrominicom" into the caverns walls

The Gnoll ghoul lived on an island and was served by a murder of kenku (able to fly) who would fly out an attack passing ships.

Anyway I think Gnolls and Ghouls work well together. In my vision I build Gnoll Culture around the Hunt. For a Gnoll life is a hunt in which they are the predators and every other living thing is prey. Gnoll status is determined by the quantity and difficulty of the prey they bring back to feed the pack. Ghouls are also hungry predators and so gnoll-ghould are accepted by gnolls (even if normal gnolls consider them to be too destructive and unwise).

I also like the idea of Kenku following along behind Gnolls and snatching their leftovers, the gnolls tolerate them because they are good scouts and lookouts and perhaps because they give some other assistance.

Now in complete contrast
I once used a society which was a Druidic Theocracy who worshipped the Divine Wolf-Mother, because of this werewolfs and wolf-like Gnolls had leading role in society. The werewolves were Ranger-Scouts and the Gnolls formed an elite order of Paladins