Yeenoghu Entry = AWESOME.

[Rechan]

My only disappointment is that Yeenoghu lost the King of Ghouls (this happened in 3.5 though, apparently).

But as someone who's never paid the Demon Princes and Arch Devils much attention, this article actually made me want to use him (also because he's a gnoll, natch).

Since he's the Demon Prince of savagery, the Inner Beast, and anti-civilization, I had a few adventure ideas:

A cult of much more organized worshipers intent on utterly bringing a city to its knees. Destroying its economy, waylaying food and supply caravans, and basically anything they can do to incite riots and anarchy. Oh, and spread Moon Fever (the "Crazy-go-nuts and attack people" disease).

The creation of a new magical disease or curse that causes the recipient to lose all inhibitions. When there is no fear of holding back, the Id, the inner beast runs rampant: the Greedy man will rob and steal for his money; the man that covets his neighbor's wife will ravish her or kill his neighbor and take her; the Hateful man will exact his prejudices on those he despises.

 

[Lurks-no-More]

Yeouch! "Beast of Butchery" looks like an appropriate title for Yeenoghu, I have to say. I've always been a fan of gnolls, and this was a very interesting article; I might not, personally, have emphasized the "demonic madness" angle so much if had been designing 4e, but it's a valid take, and apparently well done.

Good to see Yeenoghu getting some more screen time, so to say.

 

[TerraDave]

But can they maintain?

They will need to have another article up in just a few days (like tomorow) if they are going to.

I look forward to it. And I really hope it is there.

 

[Wormwood]

If these are indicative of the quality of eDragon/eDungeon articles, then my DDI money will be well spent.

 

[Spenser]

I like the 4e gnolls mechanically, as occasional adversaries. But the excerpt implies that Yeenoghu wants his gnolls to take over the entire world. Is anyone planning on building a campaign around this?

Gnolls are really savage and bestial and all that, but I think that they need more "oomph" to be a empire-shattering threat, and not just the flunkies of someone else. Hobgoblins are scary, mind flayers are scary, the necromancer zombie invasion is scary, but gnolls... eh. They feel kind of like amped up orcs. I feel like they need a little more.

Some random ideas for a gnoll-centric campaign, mix and match as necessary:

A) Gnolls are heavily related to were-hyenas, which serve as assassins and spies.

B) Yeenoghu worship in human lands is actually very widespread, disguised as a huge mainstream religious movement with major political capital. Turns out that the thought of "unleashing the beast within" is a very powerful, attractive idea to humans, dragonborn, tieflings, and *especially* those uptight eladrin.

C) Yeenoghu killed Bahamut (or insert good god here) and took his stuff. See B) above.

D) Gnoll bites and claws have an excellent chance of spreading gnoll fever, which can turn you into a gnoll/were-hyena/worshipper-of-Yeenoghu/ghoul.

E) Though they do flip out and kill people, gnolls are *not* mammals. They reproduce by budding (or possibly by laying large quantities of leathery eggs) and given enough food, a new gnoll grows to maturity in days. Letting just one gnoll escape can yield a new gnoll menace in a very short time.

F) When a gnoll kills you and eats your heart, it might gain some small fraction of your powers and knowledge. It also grows an inch or two.

G) Gnolls are infesting and overrunning the Feywild, poisoning and befouling everything. Streams of refugees are flooding out of the Feywild, and the damage to the Feywild is also having ecological effects on the "real" world.

H) Gnolls are infesting and overrunning the Shadowfell, poisoning and befouling everything. The damage to the Shadowfell is preventing new dead from finding rest, leading to zombies, ghouls, and worse. Also, gnoll champions are emerging from the shadowfell with kewl Shadowy type powers.

I) Gnolls are bio-mechanical masters. They are experts at performing limb grafts, creating war machines out of body parts, etc. Manticores and other "head of X, body of Y, tail of Z" type monsters were created long ago by powerful gnoll mystics.

 

[Scribble]

I really LOVED this article... Got my mind running with all kinds of fun stories. Also the imagery was very welll done.

That said I have a couple fo nitpicks:

1. He used the word "yellow" a LOT. It was kind of strange. There was an albino knight... he was yellow. Then another of his followers she wasn't an albino but she was yellow... and wore a robe with yellow trim... and the tree leaves were yellow. I think the author's favorite color must be yellow...

2. The followers of Yeenoghu mix the blood of their sacrifices with hallucinogenic herbs and consume them with relish. Come on. With Relish? I know what he meant, but seriously, he should have chosen another word. I just can't stop picturing the evil hot dog cart of the abyss... One Jumbo Sacrifice Dog with all the fixins!

 

[Agamon]

I liked it so much, I bought the avatar.

 

[Kesh]

I was overjoyed that they picked Yeenoghu for the first demon lord to get the 4e treatment. The article was a great take on the whole cult & the demon lord himself. Orcus may have stolen the King of Ghouls, but I'm keeping some undead tied to Yeenoghu (as slaves, naturally).

As for running a campaign around gnolls: I plan on having a half-demon (who claims to be the child of Yeenoghu himself) rallying gnolls to her banner and consolidating the various tribes under her heel. Humanoid cults of the demon lord will pop up in villages and cities, some cooperating with the gnolls directly while others are just cults of deluded individuals. Throw in some Lovecraftian nastiness in the form of demons, and I think I've got the skeleton of a campaign here.

 

[Lurks-no-More]

I like the 4e gnolls mechanically, as occasional adversaries. But the excerpt implies that Yeenoghu wants his gnolls to take over the entire world. Is anyone planning on building a campaign around this?

Remember Chainmail, with the expanding gnoll empire of Naresh, seeking to open the ancient Abyssal portals so that they can get back home... or bring home into the world?

I'd say that setting could be a good starting point for a 4e campaign.

B) Yeenoghu worship in human lands is actually very widespread, disguised as a huge mainstream religious movement with major political capital. Turns out that the thought of "unleashing the beast within" is a very powerful, attractive idea to humans, dragonborn, tieflings, and *especially* those uptight eladrin.

Depending on how you went about this, and assuming your players are comfortable with it, you could play with the whole cannibalism angle and certain real-world myths and claims for a whole lot of disturbing stuff...

F) When a gnoll kills you and eats your heart, it might gain some small fraction of your powers and knowledge. It also grows an inch or two.

Very good idea for a ritual, you know...

 

[I'm A Banana]

1. He used the word "yellow" a LOT. It was kind of strange. There was an albino knight... he was yellow. Then another of his followers she wasn't an albino but she was yellow... and wore a robe with yellow trim... and the tree leaves were yellow. I think the author's favorite color must be yellow...

I'm thinking more that "yellow" is something of a sacred color for Yeenoghu and his followers. I'm thinking in terms of an off-white, a decayed ivory, an infected pustule...as well as the autumn grasses of the gnolls' savannah homeland, turning vibrant summer into decaying fall and going to dead winter...

With Relish? I know what he meant, but seriously, he should have chosen another word.

Hehehe, true enough, but this is D&D writing...my standards aren't that high. If I know what you mean and its not "kills for the sake of killing" or some variation on "nounadjective" or "nounnoun" wording, I'll pretty much forgive you.

I'm planning on using a little expedition to the Realm as my first Planescape 4e Adventure...probably involving one of the last worshipers of Gorellik as a hold-out, and allowing the PC's to unlock their own inner beasts...