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Post by The Archivist on Mar 18, 2015 11:42:37 GMT -5
Lord Dunsany wrote a short story titled How Nuth Would Have Practised His Art Upon the Gnoles and given the reference to "Lord Sunsany"(sp) in the OD&D vol II monster description many have assumed that is the inspiration for Gnolls. However, Dunsany's story does not give a physical description. There is another story THE MAN WHO SOLD ROPE TO THE GNOLES by Idris Seabright (pseudonym of Margaret St. Clair) which does contain a bit of a description - although not like an OD&D gnoll.
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Post by cadriel on Mar 18, 2015 13:02:27 GMT -5
I wrote about this in my blog: Gnoles and Gnolls. I've used gnoles a la Dunsany and St. Clair a couple of times in my games, to good effect. The younger ones look like the OD&D picture, while the one senior gnole actually had rubies for eyes. Made for quite a high XP encounter! They are properly creepy because they only make a sibilant hiss sound, but I would've accepted it if the PCs had used writing to communicate with them. I treat them as anthropophagic but quite civilized and not at all nasty about it. The senior gnole with its ruby eyes was a really nice freaky encounter. It's made them some of my favorite monsters.
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Post by Admin Pete on Mar 18, 2015 14:17:09 GMT -5
The Archivist I have read the first but not the second, thank you for the link! cadriel thank you for the info about how you used it, that is very cool!
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Post by Necromancer on Mar 19, 2015 4:31:54 GMT -5
Cool! Thanks for the links!
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Post by The Archivist on May 7, 2015 15:21:10 GMT -5
Gnolls are reputed to be a cross between Gnomes and Trolls, so they are human size but thin and wiry with hairless rubbery hides, a lot smarter than trolls and utterly vicious. Gnolls like goblins, kobolds hobgoblins and orcs will die in full sunlight or from a "Continual Light" spell in a intense fast burning fire. Gnolls in spite of their reputed origin are goblinkin.
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Post by Crimhthan The Great on May 8, 2015 14:32:45 GMT -5
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Post by Admin Pete on May 9, 2015 14:29:12 GMT -5
Gnolls – a sterile cross of gnomes and trolls that were initially created by an insane but powerful chaotic magic-user and since have begun to form by abiogenesis. They were created as body guards and when the wizard was destroyed by the demonic forces he was trying to control, this resulted in the few gnolls that existed being released into the wild. They combine the intelligence of gnomes and the brute strength and vitality of trolls. They do regenerate to the extent of healing even major wounds, but they will not regenerate missing limbs or from death. They do have the large gnome nose and the black glossy hide of the troll but without the rubbery qualities. The average gnoll is about 6 feet tall.
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Post by The Archivist on May 20, 2017 11:51:40 GMT -5
Yeenoghu of the Monster Manual is the king of both ghouls and gnolls. This is probably a reference to Lovecraft. Lovecraft's ghouls are dog-headed, and quite gnoll-like in general description.
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Post by The Archivist on May 20, 2017 11:53:46 GMT -5
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Gnolls
May 20, 2017 11:55:33 GMT -5
Post by The Archivist on May 20, 2017 11:55:33 GMT -5
Gygax, I read somewhere, considered hyenas frightening and so he used their head for his gnolls. I have no idea if that is true or not; however, in reference to the connection it is interesting that both hyenas and ghouls feed primarily on carrion...
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Post by Von on Jul 14, 2017 3:03:44 GMT -5
I bleddy love gnolls and have done since Baldur's Gate. They are frequent antagonists in my annual megadungeon crawl (run at ARMADACON, a small and insular convention in my home town where I can generally guarantee the same players will show up every year), partly because I like them, partly because the missus likes them, and partly because I own a party of 'gnoll adventurer' models from the Frostgrave range.
I have never considered them goblinoids (I know what it says in the book and I don't care) - to me they occupy the same niche as Warhammer's Beastmen. They are children of Chaos, red in tooth and claw, the Things In The Woods that'll gnaw your soft bits off if you stay out after dark.
I suspect they're fast becoming my equivalent of orcs - a go-to 'monster' that can be relied upon to ravage the lands with aplomb (at least when revenants, zombies, draugr and other walking undead are out of rotation; after all, you can have too much of a good thing).
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Gnolls
Jul 14, 2017 10:23:35 GMT -5
Post by Admin Pete on Jul 14, 2017 10:23:35 GMT -5
I bleddy love gnolls and have done since Baldur's Gate. They are frequent antagonists in my annual megadungeon crawl (run at ARMADACON, a small and insular convention in my home town where I can generally guarantee the same players will show up every year), partly because I like them, partly because the missus likes them, and partly because I own a party of 'gnoll adventurer' models from the Frostgrave range. I have never considered them goblinoids (I know what it says in the book and I don't care) - to me they occupy the same niche as Warhammer's Beastmen. They are children of Chaos, red in tooth and claw, the Things In The Woods that'll gnaw your soft bits off if you stay out after dark. I suspect they're fast becoming my equivalent of orcs - a go-to 'monster' that can be relied upon to ravage the lands with aplomb (at least when revenants, zombies, draugr and other walking undead are out of rotation; after all, you can have too much of a good thing). Excellent!
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Post by Hexenritter Verlag on Feb 6, 2018 2:54:07 GMT -5
Gnolls are reputed to be a cross between Gnomes and Trolls, so they are human size but thin and wiry with hairless rubbery hides, a lot smarter than trolls and utterly vicious. Gnolls like goblins, kobolds hobgoblins and orcs will die in full sunlight or from a "Continual Light" spell in a intense fast burning fire. Gnolls in spite of their reputed origin are goblinkin. I'll take Hyena headed Gnolls over the old D&D versions. Was it in 1st edition that Goblins, Gnolls, Hobgoblins, Kolbolds & Orcs lost their dying from sunlight? I don't see it in my 2e AD&D Monsterous Manual.
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Post by The Old Ref Himself on Feb 12, 2018 18:33:15 GMT -5
The is fun stuff guys, keep it coming, can't get too much of this.
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Gnolls
Sept 8, 2018 9:50:02 GMT -5
Post by mao on Sept 8, 2018 9:50:02 GMT -5
Very nice thread, the way I use gnolls is that one is born with white paws, these get influenced by the dark god they worship and take 10-20-regular gnolls and start a new tribe. They also have a gift that they can pass on to their followers, which makes each gnoll tribe differant. One might use 2 handed swords, another might use a chain, yet another might hold potions instead of shields.
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Gnolls
Sept 8, 2018 22:06:19 GMT -5
mao likes this
Post by Crimhthan The Great on Sept 8, 2018 22:06:19 GMT -5
Very nice thread, the way I use gnolls is that one is born with white paws, these get influenced by the dark god they worship and take 10-20-regular gnolls and start a new tribe. They also have a gift that they can pass on to their followers, which makes each gnoll tribe differant. One might use 2 handed swords, another might use a chain, yet another might hold potions instead of shields. Quote it and preserve it.
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Gnolls
Feb 28, 2023 16:34:31 GMT -5
Post by Morose on Feb 28, 2023 16:34:31 GMT -5
I wrote about this in my blog: Gnoles and Gnolls. I've used gnoles a la Dunsany and St. Clair a couple of times in my games, to good effect. The younger ones look like the OD&D picture, while the one senior gnole actually had rubies for eyes. Made for quite a high XP encounter! They are properly creepy because they only make a sibilant hiss sound, but I would've accepted it if the PCs had used writing to communicate with them. I treat them as anthropophagic but quite civilized and not at all nasty about it. The senior gnole with its ruby eyes was a really nice freaky encounter. It's made them some of my favorite monsters. cadriel, I just found this post, I did not know that was your blog. It is flat out awesome. So you run them as a civilized race of cannibals. That is unique!
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Gnolls
Feb 28, 2023 16:37:46 GMT -5
Post by Morose on Feb 28, 2023 16:37:46 GMT -5
I bleddy love gnolls and have done since Baldur's Gate. They are frequent antagonists in my annual megadungeon crawl (run at ARMADACON, a small and insular convention in my home town where I can generally guarantee the same players will show up every year), partly because I like them, partly because the missus likes them, and partly because I own a party of 'gnoll adventurer' models from the Frostgrave range. I have never considered them goblinoids (I know what it says in the book and I don't care) - to me they occupy the same niche as Warhammer's Beastmen. They are children of Chaos, red in tooth and claw, the Things In The Woods that'll gnaw your soft bits off if you stay out after dark. I suspect they're fast becoming my equivalent of orcs - a go-to 'monster' that can be relied upon to ravage the lands with aplomb (at least when revenants, zombies, draugr and other walking undead are out of rotation; after all, you can have too much of a good thing). Von I like how you run them, a replacement for orcs is novel.
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Gnolls
Feb 28, 2023 16:38:16 GMT -5
Post by Morose on Feb 28, 2023 16:38:16 GMT -5
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