Tell me of the gnolls (and flinds) in your world
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Aaron2
Explorer
Farganger said:
Here's the complete description of gnolls from OD&D's Monsters & Treasure book:
"A cross between Gnomes and Trolls (... perhaps, Lord Sunsany did not really make it all that clear) with +2 morale. Otherwise they are similar to Hobgoblins, although the Gnoll king and his bodyguard from 1 - 4 will fight as Trolls but lack regenerative power."
The spelling of "Sunsany" is as it appears (at least in my copy).
Aaron
Psion
Adventurer
When I was desinging my Trinalia game world continent, I started with a very go-with-the flow attitude. Humans and elves were common PC types, so I decided to make those two of the dominant races on the continent.
For a third race I wanted to mix things up a bit and make some conflict. Orcs never did it for me, but I always liked gnolls. So gnolls became my third major race. There was once a major orc empire on the continent, but the gnolls were almost directly responsible for its demise.
The gnolls occupy the west IMC, and live in barbaric tribes. The are sometimes known for raiding and pillaging, and recent developments in the lands of elf and man have done nothing to discourace that. North of the world's spine mountains, the western flank of the Drakkarian empire was devastated by the destruction of a powerful artifact. This left the villages weak and defenseless, and the gnolls swept over the border and devastated most humans on that side of the mountain. Rumor has it that a band of mercenaries has established a holding in the badlands, and
South of the world spine, the sun elves were struggling against the gnolls, but by means of their magic and skill, kept the gnolls at bay. That was until a green dragonmage was awakened, and intervened on the gnolls behalf, and helped them devastate the wards that the elves laid. The eastern third or so of the elven nation of Deshelain was swallowed up by gnoll raiders; their advance was halted at a river bisecting the forest, and precariously too close for comfort to the elven capital. This situation persists today.
In the south is a subrace of smaller, more cultured gnolls called the hattakans, that have been known to engage in trade and commerce with other races in the region, but are still cool and suspicious of elves, humans, and their allies.
For a third race I wanted to mix things up a bit and make some conflict. Orcs never did it for me, but I always liked gnolls. So gnolls became my third major race. There was once a major orc empire on the continent, but the gnolls were almost directly responsible for its demise.
The gnolls occupy the west IMC, and live in barbaric tribes. The are sometimes known for raiding and pillaging, and recent developments in the lands of elf and man have done nothing to discourace that. North of the world's spine mountains, the western flank of the Drakkarian empire was devastated by the destruction of a powerful artifact. This left the villages weak and defenseless, and the gnolls swept over the border and devastated most humans on that side of the mountain. Rumor has it that a band of mercenaries has established a holding in the badlands, and
South of the world spine, the sun elves were struggling against the gnolls, but by means of their magic and skill, kept the gnolls at bay. That was until a green dragonmage was awakened, and intervened on the gnolls behalf, and helped them devastate the wards that the elves laid. The eastern third or so of the elven nation of Deshelain was swallowed up by gnoll raiders; their advance was halted at a river bisecting the forest, and precariously too close for comfort to the elven capital. This situation persists today.
In the south is a subrace of smaller, more cultured gnolls called the hattakans, that have been known to engage in trade and commerce with other races in the region, but are still cool and suspicious of elves, humans, and their allies.
diaglo said:
Poul got trolls from Scandinavian legend. According to some stories trolls could "count down" their wounds. Apparently the troll in THaTL could count silently.
Anyway...
In my case gnolls are descended from olive baboons, while flinds are descended from drills (a baboon relative). Both live in extended family groups with a strong leader or team of leaders. Lifestyle ranges from nomadic to settled, with most having a semi-nomadic one.
Relations with other races tend to be problematical thanks to their tendency to view everything as up for grabs. Settled gnolls and flinds are catching on to the idea of private property, but even they have a problem getting it right.
Hard fighters, lusty lovers, meticulously neat (lots of sand and dust baths), with a tendency to pushiness unless effectively countered.
In my case gnolls are descended from olive baboons, while flinds are descended from drills (a baboon relative). Both live in extended family groups with a strong leader or team of leaders. Lifestyle ranges from nomadic to settled, with most having a semi-nomadic one.
Relations with other races tend to be problematical thanks to their tendency to view everything as up for grabs. Settled gnolls and flinds are catching on to the idea of private property, but even they have a problem getting it right.
Hard fighters, lusty lovers, meticulously neat (lots of sand and dust baths), with a tendency to pushiness unless effectively countered.
demiurge1138
Inventor of Super-Toast
In my last world (I'm currently running Eberron and haven't given them much thought), the gnolls were savage, but somewhat noble hunter-scavengers. They are a very political species, with various gnoll matriarchs competing with each other for prime hunting land and interesting treasures. The gnolls view non-gnolls with contempt, although they respect, to a certain degree, master hunters from other races. At least on the Western Continent, they consider flinds to be a legendary race of "super-gnolls", told in tales as their ancestors.
Oh, and they are superstitious, using a variety of fetishes and non-magical items for various ritual purposes. for this reason, those that can use visible magic, usually druids, are greatly respected and feared, and often are made matriarch (if female) or the matriarch's consort (if male).
The largest gnoll population was in the Sea of Graves, a vast undead-haunted plain scattered with tombstones, mausoleums and forgotten temples to dead gods. The gnolls ate mostly goats, birds, and carrion (some ancient graves yield disturbingly fresh bodies). They considered the ghouls, which were also common, to be rivals and occasional prey, although ghoul flesh is considered bitter and unpalatable.
Demiurge out.
Oh, and they are superstitious, using a variety of fetishes and non-magical items for various ritual purposes. for this reason, those that can use visible magic, usually druids, are greatly respected and feared, and often are made matriarch (if female) or the matriarch's consort (if male).
The largest gnoll population was in the Sea of Graves, a vast undead-haunted plain scattered with tombstones, mausoleums and forgotten temples to dead gods. The gnolls ate mostly goats, birds, and carrion (some ancient graves yield disturbingly fresh bodies). They considered the ghouls, which were also common, to be rivals and occasional prey, although ghoul flesh is considered bitter and unpalatable.
Demiurge out.
Andrew D. Gable
First Post
This is interesting. From a listing for a horror short story book on a Spanish site.
Here's a picture from the original printing of the Dunsany story. Look at the gnoles!
In reference to the Margaret St. Clair (Idris Seabright) short story. Interesting that the word 'gnome' is used in place of 'gnole', yes?
Here's a picture from the original printing of the Dunsany story. Look at the gnoles!
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BSF
Explorer
Gnolls, hmmmm
<Macbeth and my other players, please skip this post. It has what might be considered spoilers for the game.>
I recently kicked off some Gnoll adventures. I have the "standard gnolls" that are little better than bipedal scavengers. They are like hyenas and they run around in packs. Occasionally, some tough SOB of a Gnoll will band a bunch of packs into a band or even a bonified tribe for a while.
Then there are the other Gnolls. I have the Nyambe sourcebook and I don't have an easy way to drop it into the campaign. Then I decided that there would be a different group of Gnolls that would use all that source material. They came through a portal into the active area of the campaign world. These guys are much more organized, powerful and ambitious. They have brought together many, many packs of Gnolls to create an army bent on carving out an empire. I am building the leaders off material in the Nyambe sourcebook. It's fun.
Especially since none of the players has Nyambe.
<Macbeth and my other players, please skip this post. It has what might be considered spoilers for the game.>
I recently kicked off some Gnoll adventures. I have the "standard gnolls" that are little better than bipedal scavengers. They are like hyenas and they run around in packs. Occasionally, some tough SOB of a Gnoll will band a bunch of packs into a band or even a bonified tribe for a while.
Then there are the other Gnolls. I have the Nyambe sourcebook and I don't have an easy way to drop it into the campaign. Then I decided that there would be a different group of Gnolls that would use all that source material. They came through a portal into the active area of the campaign world. These guys are much more organized, powerful and ambitious. They have brought together many, many packs of Gnolls to create an army bent on carving out an empire. I am building the leaders off material in the Nyambe sourcebook. It's fun.
Especially since none of the players has Nyambe.Gnolls are the most predominant of the humanoid species in my world (a crossbreed of Fane of the Witch King & homebrew). The are mercenary in nature, but respond to only the strongest amongst themselves. They also have a penchant for using arbalests (much to the chagrin of my players)...
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