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Message: <blockquote data-quote="howandwhy99" data-source="post: 5985506" data-attributes="member: 3192">Looking at the Gnolls over and over in the MM and in the article they simply are not interesting. The 1e MM is making them far too much like orcs. I wouldn't go with them as an underground race at all. Plus, Gnolls have long been unreliable  mercenaries selling out to the highest bidder. On the other hand they are more dangerous warriors than orcs or goblins individually and on the pack scale, being natural pack animals and scavengers (of everything they own). They don't coordinate larger than packs, so they aren't really any gnoll armies, but regiments hired by other armies are very common to say the least. Overall, I think the MM got it wrong on this one.Wizards was pretty insightful in some things like females as pack leaders (actually as shamans). Gnoll females are warriors too. I guess it comes down to the differences one wants in the humanoid races. They still feel far too behaviorally similar to orcs and the as yet detailed goblinkin. Gnolls are probably the closest to Neutral of the bunch may be 50/50 in their tribal makeup in terms of alignment. Fighting gnolls straight up is and should just be a major PITA. They are an entire culture that studies pack tactics and everyone of them is on average bigger than your biggest (PC race). If you have the money, pay them. If you can afford them for more, than hire them. But don't trust them at they will turncoat at the first hint of scent of more pay and take all of what you "gave them" and they learned about you to the new high bidder.EDIT: I just thought of something else.You want to describe all your monsters along the lines of what is interesting according to class, at least to start. What kind of warriors are they? What kind of magic do they use? What gods, rituals, and practices do they revere? Which ones even abide a first offense of thieving? Or is it they are a culture of thieves upon other races?Combat maneuvers are first and foremost about Group Tactics, not Bruce Lee individuals showing off. The gnolls are highly proficient in pack tactics in head on (and other) warfare, but they are poor at mass combat unlike orcs and goblins. However, they are highly skilled at the small team, skirmish-level combat most PCs & Players are learning through play, so they are very difficult foes to any and all hack & slashers. Anyways, when thinking of races and racial combat powers, please take into account (first if possible) that these came about as pack or army tactics and not individual maneuvers. It's about how they work together than defines them as a categorical, a race. Individually they get to be unique.</blockquote>

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