Gnolls, gnolls, glorious gnolls

[Khairn]

Gnolls have always been my favorite of the "evil humanoid" races. And all this talk about them is giving me some truly nasty idea's for my next gaming session. I also went and picked up the pdf's mentioned above My players should be afraid ... very afraid.

 

[Set]

I have this image of a group of Gnolls growing up amidst the ruins of some Egyptian-style place, finding a mural in some deep tomb that depicts jackal-headed guards overseeing human slaves building the monuments, and coming to the conclusion that they must have ruled over a mighty empire and humanity are nothing more than the descendents of their escaped slaves.

Any murals that depicted 'heretical' stuff, like jackal-headed soldiers bowing before an eagle-headed king? Those got 'damaged.'

And if the 'jackal-headed warriors' were just humans wearing helmets, portrayed stylistically? Oopsy. Cultural misunderstanding.

 

[Voadam]

Dungeon #100 also has a gnoll adventure the big beast one IIRC.

 

[Graf]

Liked both of these ideas.
Looks like Gnolls are very popular.

When I used gnolls as the star antagonists in a former game of mine, I depicted them like Vietcong. They moved like ghosts in the woodlands and used extensive tunnels to aid their stealth and appear anywhere, anytime to spring an ambush and disappear after some initial damage was dealt. Basically the ideal guerrilla fighter. It really annoyed the players because they are used to being able to kick in the door, slaughter a half dozen orcs, get some gold and have it be over and done with.

On the one hand, they could be the degenerate 'dog-warriors' of a long-lost Egyptian-style kingdom, and have sleeker jackal-looking heads, more like depictions of Anubis. Over the hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of years since their empire fell, they have become savages who hunt in packs among the mummy-infested ruins of their once-great kingdom. They would still be adorned in Egyptian-style gold and lapis jewelry, pectorals, headresses, etc. and their shamen might retain some knowledge of their former glory, and occasionally have some ancient relic looted from their earlier days. They could also be dead wrong, and their species have been the slaves of the culture that built those ancient cities, but due to the destruction of any art depicting hawk-headed or bull-headed or cat-headed gods and goddesses, they are convinced that *they* built these ancient ruins and that they are the ones who will someday reclaim the glory that was 'stolen' from them!

 

[Dragonhelm]

I don't know if gnolls are in here, but it stands to reason that they would be:

http://paizo.com/store/games/rolepl...hfinderChronicles/v5748btpy82r5&source=search

Gnolls are definitely in Classic Monsters Revisited. Paizo did a bang-up job with them. Great flavor and background, and the art is simply the best gnoll art I've ever seen. I'm actually enthused about gnolls again.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

That is right up until I gave them Charriots. Gnolls with hyena-pulled war charriots rock.

I did that in 2Ed with Minotaurs- you're right- that kind of thing rocks!

 

[Silver Moon]

Dungeon #100 also has a gnoll adventure the big beast one IIRC.

"Beast of Burden" - an excellent module. When I wrote the "Story Hour" for this module I wrote a half-dozen chapters from the perspective of a gnoll (Chapters 10, 14, 21, 22, 28 Epilogue). This particular gnoll was just a regular guy but had above average intelligence and wisdom:

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=63210

The current module that I am running is set two-and-a-half years later character time, at which point the gnoll Rizah is now the King over an army of nearly 4,000 humanoids, with a major forging operation and air-force compirsed of over a dozen mounted wyverns. The playing characters have only now just discovered the forces they are up against.

 

[Andrew D. Gable]

In Original D&D (the 3 Brown Books), Gnolls are not hyena-based at all. They are a cross between a troll and a gnome.

There's where it was! I vaguely remembered hearing that origin for them somewhere, but could never remember where! Now I know!

But am left with the question of when I saw Brown Book DnD... how I remember something from books I have never seen. Eerie.

 

[Thanael]

Dragon #173 has the (2E) Sociology of the Flind which I believe also touches on normal Gnolls.

 

[Schmoe]

Gnolls played a large role in my last campaign. I portrayed them as utterly savage packs of roving killers and reavers who roamed the uncivilized wastes of the world. The females generally remained in fairly stable establishments which were, essentially, breeding camps. The males roamed about unleashing their violence on everything the came across, including other gnoll packs. They worshipped death and decay, and frequently had corrupt shamanistic leaders who incited them to further depravity. The ranger preference reflected their ability to ambush prey and their devotion to inflicting pain and punishment (favored enemy). Their worship of death was displayed in the many grisly totems and trophies that they carried with them and that they left behind where they had been. A traveler in the most remote wastes might come across a dead tree decorated with skulls and scraps of flesh, and he would know that gnolls had been there. The savagery of gnolls meant that they did not enter into diplomacy with other races, and would only serve others if subjugated under the most severe brutality.

The more "civilized" packs of gnolls established temples devoted to the worship of unholy powers, but these were rare.