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Gnoll Culture, Psychology, & Lore

by Jason Hine

“Hate you? We don’t hate you. We find you quite amusing. But my sisters and I get so hungry.”

– Yeenakha, Boneshirt of the Grinding Maw

Culture & Psychology

Gnoll society is widely misunderstood. Their lack of industry and willingness to uproot when threatened has earned them a reputation as lazy cowards. In reality, they deserve respect as effective, nomadic predators. Perhaps it is Gnolls’ willingness to eat their neighbors during lean times that has made outsiders reticent to understand them better.

Free Gnoll clans prefer to camp in warm, open spaces. They dig depressions in the earth and erect woven grass palapas to shelter from the sun. Fences of sharpened stakes encircle these recessed camps to guard against intruders. Gnoll encampments seldom tunnel completely underground, with the exception of a larder room, dug deep enough to keep stored meat cool. Because their encampments are temporary, Gnolls rarely take the time to dig aqueducts or sewers. This forces them to remain close to fresh water, and renders their former campsites inhospitable to most other species. “Ripe as a Gnoll camp,” is widely-heard expression among the Allied Races.

For food, Gnolls prefer to migrate with the herds, but during years of famine they raid lightly-defended farmsteads and may even attack small villages. Gnolls are completely carnivorous, and prefer their meat raw. They abhor spices and use salt only when necessary to preserve their stores. Likewise, Gnolls detest cooked and smoked food, eating it only as a last result.

Unknown to most, the largest and strongest Gnolls are female, and Gnoll society is matriarchal. Female Gnolls vie for standing in their clans and each female is aware of her rank with respect to the others. Clans are led by a Boneshirt and her sisters. The Boneshirt’s daughters receive a large share of the clan’s kill and are therefore likely to grow large and strong.

Gnolls have three or more young in each litter, but typically only the two strongest survive. All runtling Gnolls and undersized males are starved by their mothers, murdered by their siblings, or left to die of exposure. This ensures that only the fittest reach maturity. Until adolescence, male and female Gnolls remain similar in size and are virtually indistinguishable, even to other Gnolls. After reaching sexual maturity, a stark physical contrast develops, with females quickly outpacing males in muscularity, strength, and height.

Shortly after adolescence, male Gnolls are exiled from their birth clans and forced to earn membership in other sets. This is a hard road for young males who will likely be beaten and degraded by the Boneshirt in the new clan before they prove their worth. While seemingly cruel, the practice of male exile ensures the health of Gnoll clans for generations to come. Adventurers occasionally encounter small groups of rogue male Gnolls who have fallen into the servitude of other beings, such as Lizardfolk or Yuan-Ti. These rogues have usually been found unworthy by one or more clans, and are doing what they can to survive before traveling in search of a new clan.

Male Gnolls often devote themselves to the Demon Prince Yeenoghu, who embodies their suffering and endless hunger. The clan’s highest-ranking male may become a Diabolist. His responsibilities include mixing poisons, administering healing salves, and making flesh offerings to Yeenoghu. If these sacrifices please the Demon Prince, he may imbue the Diabolist and the clan with unholy blessings. Additionally, during times of uncertainty, a Diabolist may organize a hunting party to slay a great beast such as a Basilisk. The kill is used to perform the ritual of haruspex. During a haruspex, the Diabolist reads the beast’s entrails for a glimpse into the future. This is the only time Gnolls disdain the flesh of a fresh kill. After the ritual, the beast is considered unclean.

Gnoll clans rarely trade with the outside world. They have little need for the trinkets of other civilizations, and not much to offer in return. Metal arms and armor are the most prized items within a Gnoll clan. Individual Gnolls do not specialize in a trade or craft. Instead, all Gnolls learn how to carve a spear, dig a trench, track game, and fletch an arrow. Most Gnolls are jacks of all trades.

As for alliances, Gnolls may be persuaded to join in an attack against an opponent too powerful or fortified for them handle alone. When fighting alongside humanoid allies, Gnolls prefer to skulk around the edges, acting as spies, trackers, and scouts. They usually wear down their prey before committing to a frontal attack, and seek to minimize their own losses whenever possible.

Special Tactics

Gnolls love to hunt at night and can Move Silently in outdoor environments (85%). Once Gnolls have surrounded their prey, their baleful laughter rings out. The ululating symphony of a hundred Gnolls in the darkness is has caused many an experienced warrior to soil their britches.

If their prey flees, Gnolls take to the shadows and pursue using whatever cover is available. If their prey stands its ground, Gnolls seek to flank and fire arrows from cover. Only when the scent of enemy blood is in the air will Gnolls charge. They relish in slicing and bludgeoning their enemies with their barbed flails.

Qualities

Marrowthirst. Some of the most violent Gnoll behavior derives from their insatiable hunger. If a clan has gone too long without food, their hunger grows all-consuming. Gnolls call this state the Marrowthirst. Clans in Marrowthirst will mercilessly attack caravans and villages, slip over city walls at night to carry off children, and generally murder any living creatures they can in order to eat. Individual Gnolls in Marrowthirst fight over felled opponents to gorge upon them immediately. Infighting over fresh kills is usually non-lethal and ends at first blood. These quarrels are common between Feral Gnolls (see below under Special Units). The presence of a Boneshirt prevents Marrowthirst infighting.

Waste Not. Gnolls leave nothing behind from those they kill. Flesh, bone, gut, and organ are all harvested. Gnolls make tools, weapons, and armor from of the least edible bits of their victims.

Gorge. Gnolls feast to bursting whenever they are able. Afterward, they stagger back to their trench encampments with bloated bellies. If a hunt was successful, Gnolls will be lethargic the next day. They shelter in their dugouts in the shade of grass palapas and stretched animal hides. Gorged Gnolls receive a -4 penalty to Spot and Listen checks. Their reactions are sluggish to any intrusions into their territory, and they can be more easily surprised. Gnolls rely on their hyenas to keep watch during gorged times.

Dark-Humored. Gnolls value humor more than many species, and their comedic taste leans to the dark and cruel. On rare occasions, Gnoll Boneshirts have spared captives who amuse them—so long as the Marrowthirst has been recently slaked.

Political Rivals. Female Gnolls compete to improve their standing in the clan. In larger clans, leading females build coalitions and sub-factions whose loyalty they command. Occasionally these sub-factions become large enough to challenge the ruling Boneshirt for dominance. Well-timed allegiances with passing adventurers can sometimes cause significant upheaval in Gnoll clans.

Weaponry

Melee 1. Barbed Flails. No weapon is more beloved by Gnolls than the barbed flail. Gnolls fashion their flails from desert ironwood, lengths of chain, and hooked blades. These weapons inflict gruesome, open wounds. After taking damage from a Gnoll barbed flail, PCs lose 1 additional HP per round until they spend a full round bandaging their wounds.

Melee 2. Bone Claws. Feral Gnolls build clawed gauntlets and crude katars from the teeth, talons, and broken weaponry of their victims.

Ranged 1. Javelins and Shields. Gnolls gleefully hurl their javelins while howling and charging into battle.

Ranged 2. Longbow. Gnolls’ length and immense strength makes them ideally suited to fire longbows. Fortunately for those they hunt, their increasing desire to kill up close sometimes overrides their patience after a few volleys.

Special Units

Boneshirt. Named for their bone-studded hide armor, Gnoll Boneshirts are proven female warriors of high status. In a society that prizes every scrap from a kill, only the toughest Gnolls are able to collect enough trophy bones to craft a full suit of armor (AC 16).

Boneshirts chalk their fur white before entering combat. When two or more Boneshirts are present on the battlefield, their ghastly appearance inspires fear in their less-experienced enemies. (PCs Level 3 or less must make a DC 13 WIS Save, or become Frightened for d4 rounds.)

Feral. Gnolls consumed by Marrowthirst enter a feral state. They think only of the hunt and of their own hunger. Ferals move on two legs or four interchangeably, and may run with the clan’s hyenas. Ferals abandon their flails and instead wield claws made of metal, stone, or bone. (Two claw attacks per round, 1d4+1/1d4+1 damage, plus an additional bite attack, 1d4+2 damage).

While a Gnoll is feral, they no longer occupy status within the clan. Boneshirts drive them to the outskirts to guard the encampment with the hyenas. Ferals howl and charge in response to all noises, so the life of a Feral tends to be brutal and brief. Ferals who feed well slowly exit the feral state and reenter the clan.

Corrupted Diabolist. Lesser males seeking to win approval from the clan’s Boneshirt may resort to forging pacts with demons. Gnoll Diabolists seal these pacts with their own blood and are physically corrupted by the experience. However, the bargain allows them to call upon d4 lesser demons to aid them during battle.

When creating a Corrupted Diabolist, roll 1d6 and apply the mutation from this table:

1 – Sinister Eye. One of the Diabolist’s eyes is replaced by a bulging orb belonging to a demon. This eye sees through Illusions level 3 and under, and grants +3 to Saves vs. Charm and Sleep.

2 – Calcareous Spikes. Sharp spikes sprout from the Diabolist’s shoulders and arms. These deal 2 reactive damage per attack, to anyone who strikes a Diabolist in melee combat.

3 – Scabrous Mange. An infestation of infernal mites causes large clumps of the Diabolist’s fur to fall out. The skin beneath scabs over. This new hide is tougher than the old one, providing +1 AC.

4 – Chitinous Blade. Overlapping plates of jagged chiton emerge from one of the Diabolist’s wrists, fusing into a blade. Tarlike poison drips steadily from the blade. Successful attacks deal 1d6 damage + 1d6 poison for three rounds (DC 16 CON Save to avoid poison damage.) Diabolists with this mutation may not use shields or two-handed melee weapons.

5 – Whispering Mouth. A face opens in the Diabolist’s abdomen that spits demonic curses during battle. All opponents who hear them must make a DC 14 WIS Save or suffer a -1 penalty to their melee attacks for the next d4 rounds.

6 – Hooved Foot. One of the Diabolist’s feet is hooved, causing them to walk with a limp and reducing their Move to 10.

Kennelmaster/Huntmaster. The Kennelmaster (typically a high-ranking male) is responsible for the care of the clan’s hyenas. For every 20 Gnolls in the clan, roll 2d6 to determine the number of hyenas. These animals guard the encampment and track the clan’s prey, but rarely do more than sound the alarm and harry their victims. They wait for their Gnoll masters to do the actual killing.

Gnolls dote on their hyenas and treat them with a reverence they show no other beings. They believe Yeenoghu permits the most successful Gnoll warriors to return as hyenas, so they may once more feel bones crunch between their jaws and taste marrow on their tongues.

In addition to a Kennelmaster, larger Gnoll clans may also have a Huntmaster. Huntmasters communicate with hyenas and Feral Gnolls through yowls and barking laughter. They are superb trackers and receive +5 to all Survival checks in outdoor environments.

Special Abilities

Bonebreaker. When a Gnoll critically hits on its bite attack (natural 20) roll a second d20.

1-18: Critical hit as usual.

19-20: The Gnoll breaks a bone with its powerful jaws. Triple the initial bite damage, and roll an additional 1d4 to determine the results on the table below.

1-2: Breaks the victim’s dominant arm. The victim drops their weapon and attacks at a -5 to hit with that arm until the arm is healed.

3-4: Breaks the victim’s non-dominant arm. The victim may no longer use two-handed weapons and loses any shield bonus until the arm is healed.

Hysterical Cackling. The battle cries of Gnolls are disconcerting to the uninitiated. Inexperienced PCs (Level 2 or less), must make a DC 12 WIS Save when facing Gnoll hunting parties. Those who fail suffer a -1 to all attack rolls for the length of the combat. Anyone critically failing their roll takes a full move action away from the Gnolls toward perceived safety.

Coordinated Strike. Gnolls are pack fighters skilled at taking on Medium-sized foes. When two or more Gnolls fight Medium-sized opponents, they each gain a +2 to hit on their first attack of combat.

Blood Sacrifice. Once per day in the heat of combat, Gnoll Boneshirts may inspire their pack in one of two ways: First, they may score a critical hit on an opponent that draws blood. Second, they may draw a living prey animal, such as a jack rabbit from a belt pouch and slit the poor animal open from vent to throat, spraying its blood in a wide arc. All Gnolls adjacent to the Boneshirt receive +2 to hit on their next attack.

Movement

Run. Good. Gnolls’ rangy stature, light gear, and nomadic lifestyle make them quicker than most other humanoids.

Climb. Good. While Gnoll clans prefer to build their encampments in flat, open spaces, they are capable pursuers over rough terrain. They have been known to scale cliffs and other fortifications after nightfall.

Swim. Poor. Gnolls dislike water, and do not willingly cross rivers or streams.

Burrow. Poor. Gnolls are competent diggers, capable of excavating shallow tunnels or building earthworks in a few short days. They lack the organization or engineering to construct mines, though they may squat in one after slaughtering its original inhabitants.

Fly. n/a

Grudges

Gnoll clans are likely to have raided every civilized society that dwells nearby. This, coupled with their unpredictable marrowthirst, results in widespread distain for Gnolls by their neighbors. Gnolls tend not to hold grudges against their victims. Instead, they grin and say, “It is natural for the antelope to fear the hyena.”

Flinds are commonly mistaken for Gnolls due to their similar physical characteristics and occasional comingling. This has led to baseless rumors that a Gnoll may become a Flind by slaying one and devouring its heart. In truth, Flinds and Gnolls are separate species. The stockier, arrogant Flinds see themselves as superior to their distant Gnoll cousins. Flinds seek to devour a Gnoll clan’s Boneshirts, and enslave the rest. Gnolls chafe under this arrangement, and enslaved Gnolls ceaselessly watch their Flind overlords for signs of weakness. If the opportunity arises, Gnolls will gleefully massacre their Flind slavers.

Gnolls