Do You Like Gnolls?

[SHARK]

Greetings!

I actually like Gnolls! I mean, you have a muscular, furry humanoid 6-71/2 feet tall, a hyena head, a mouth full of teeth, and a hungry, aggressive, belligerent attitude. What's not to like?

How do you organize Gnolls in your campaign? Do you help them out any with their efforts to survive in a world filled with superior races of creatures like the elves and dwarves? Have you developed them in ways different from the orcs for example?

Do you think some of these numerous humanoid races begin to overlap and dilute the impact of other races through the campaign environment?

What do you think?

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

 

[hammymchamham]

I like the Gnoll Pimp in d20 modern (pg 238).

Oh yeah, I lost a druid 2 weeks ago to a group of Gnolls and wolves.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Mmmm. Gnoll rangers with mighty composite longbows striking from ambush ...

 

[Corwyn]

I do think that too many different humanoids tend to get the boundaries of reality somewhat strained. And that even in a fictional world.

I like it when the pc's have a race or three to pick a bone with but if there is a different race every encounter how are they going to hate them?

Don't mind using gnolls but if I do some of the others will have to disappear

 

[WayneLigon]

I love Gnolls! My favorite campaign world is a desert one, so they figure very prominately in it.

 

[Wormwood]

In my old campaign world, Gnolls were a major race. I modelled them after Plains Indians, except instead of living off of herds of Buffalo, the Gnolls would live off the Humans who, lived off the buffalo.

Gnoll society was pack-based, with packs usually numbering a dozen or so adults and twice that many children, led by a coterie of the highest-ranking females. Vicious mating contests, dominance fights, infanticide and cannibalism keeps the pack from breeding out of control---an important consideration since Gnolls birth litters of up to eight, the gnoll pups reach adulthood within 3 years.

Gnolls were Hunters of Men, stalking the nomadic Human tribes of the plains. Every new moon, Gnoll raiding parties would boil out of the night and descend upon one of the many scattered human settlements. Striking quickly with savage cunning, they would avoid the warriors and target those who could least defend themselves: the weak, the sick, the very old and the very young. Victorious, the Gnolls would lope howling back into the darkness, bearing their screaming bounty with them.

Some Human tribes went so far as to drive their criminals and infirm into the wilderness, hoping to satiate the bloodthirsty gnolls for another month.

They were remarkably economical, using 'every part' of their Human prey. Human sinews stretched into bowstrings, flesh cured and worn as supple armor, teeth used to make rattles for the amusement of gnoll cubs.


Unfortunately, the campaign moved in a different direction and the players never got a chance to meet them.

 

[Olive]

like em, but dont see them fitting where my campaign is now. orcs live on and under mountains in the north. gnolls live on the southern plains, goblins are everywhere. hobgoblins to the east, and bugbears to the forests in the north. roughly. my pcs have left orc land, and are moving towards hobgoblin land.

 

[Dr. Strangemonkey]

I loves Gnolls. In my more 'mainstream' campaigns gnolls are actually pretty hyena like. They'll tend to have few bits of landscapes that are their's in the same manner in which there will be an elf wood out there, but they also tend to be very wide ranging.

Columns and outposts of gnolls can be found anywhere, sometimes simply pursuing evil druidic agendas but mostly pursuing small schemes of guerrilla warfare/motivated brigandry. They do tend to prey on parties weak from having killed off a major foe, pursue ransom schemes, and generally go after easy profitable targets.

They also freely give aid to other groups of humanoids who want to engage in revolt our conquest. They expect a share of the loot, but primarily do it to make it easier for such activities to take place and thus keep the demihumans too busy with other humanoids to take them out.

Not too mention that the constant warfare and strife they promote tends to keep civilization from expanding and preserve the wicked wicked wilderness.

In more 'homebrewed' worlds, however, gnolls are much stronger as I think that the humanoids: orcs, gnolls, and goblinoids actually possess a tremendous comparative advantage compared to the demihuman races.

 

[grodog]

I liked gnolls a lot more after reading Roger E. Moore's article on them way back in Dragon #63 called "The Humanoids." I particularly liked the undead Shoosuva monster

 

[Ace]

I have seen much Gnoll Abuse in my gaming. One group I was in, a mutated sort of second edition D&D had Gnolls aplenty -- as henchman.

That session put me off Gnolls for a while although I did see some interesting ones in the Riddle of Steel RPG

As far as my campaign goes, my Gnolls are among the created races, basically Magic Gengeneered Heyena/Man crossbreeds.

They tend to be a bit on the short side and so have a slightly higher dex (13 avg) and Int (10 avge) than the MM versions

Many have the scent feat and aleartness as well! That makes them a little different I guess, less Brute and more Scavenger

Rather than scale armor and raw force mine tend to go for hit and run tactics. They are usually equped with bows and lighter armor like studded leather (and of course a morning star)

Imagine a feral predator with the worst psycological traits of a man and a hyena.

Flinds OTOH tend to be big, in the 7 foot range and smarter too....

Most "packs" of Gnolls will be led by a 'troop" of Flinds

Magic wise Gnolls do Shamanic Magic and Wizard Stuff. There may be a few Clerics (well Evil Clerics are called Warlocks IMC) but any religion they have is either Demonaltry or Ancestor Worship, most likely the latter

I do use the defualt Gnoll gods as ancestor spirits.

Game prevalence?

They exist in small numbers in far off places, the players haven't run into any of them yet