BX Monsters A to Z: Gnoll
Some D&D monsters are adapted from myth, legend, and folklore, some are taken from literature and fiction, and some seem to be wholly original to the game. The gnoll belongs mostly to this last category, having no direct mythological analog that I'm aware, and seemingly bearing only a passing phonetic resemblance to Lord Dunsany's gnoles. Gnolls are rumored to be the hybrid creations of an evil wizard (a well-worn fantasy cliche, but also a timeless classic) combining gnomes and trolls. The truth of this is left to the DM and his or her particular campaign setting, but where it is true, the gnolls really got the shaft, having neither the gnome's industrious intelligence nor the troll's regenerative powers. They're basically big dumb brutes, higher up the humanoid food chain from orcs and goblins but beneath bugbears and ogres. Even so, it's a niche that needed filling, and the gnoll is a pretty good fit. With an AC equal to mail armor, a stout 2 Hit Dice,