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, and a +1 bonus to weapon damage, gnolls are a tough encounter for most Basic-level parties, and a larger group of them could make for a worthy challenge to low-Expert level ones. They move at 90' (30') suggesting a lumbering gait, either naturally or as a result of whatever bulky armor and gear they carry, but that's about on par with most adventuring parties. Morale of 8 is steady but not overly brave. With a hoard of Type D treasure, raiding a lair of gnolls can be a fairly lucrative foray if you can pull it off.

One item of interest is that for every 20 gnolls encountered one will be a leader with 3 Hit Dice and 16 hit points. I had to go back and look at the explanation of Number Appearing at the beginning of the monsters chapter, because the listing for gnolls is 1-6 (3-18); which obviously doesn't produce encounters of 20 or more. Turns out, the first number is for dungeon encounters on a level equal to the monster's HD. The second is for wilderness encounters OR dungeon lairs, and then there's a note that wilderness lairs (as opposed to random encounters with scouts, raiders, hunting parties, and the like, I suppose) will contain five times the numbers found in dungeons. So, a gnoll "lair" in the wilderness would harbor 3d6 x 5, or 15-90 gnolls, which ought to be pretty daunting to most parties. 

Gnolls are said to look like humanoid hyenas, a description for which I've never cared. I imagine them instead as that gnome/troll combo, with thick, lumpy builds, long noses and snaggled-toothed mouths, and a great ruff of wiry hair around their chins and necks, like a gnomish beard gone feral. They're also described as strong but disliking work, preferring to bully and steal. In other words, they're lazy, which is a wonderful detail to work into encounters with gnolls. It's a detail that makes them more than just another pile of hit points slightly more than some and less than others, a guide and an invitation to actually role-play them. Where orcs are savage and sadistic, gnolls just can't be arsed. They're not above hurting people to get what they want, but they're not going to put any more effort into it than absolutely cannot be avoided. They'll probably pick most on those who clearly have no hope of resisting them, and would rather bluster and intimidate than actually fight. Stand up to them, put the idea in their heads that whatever they want from you might be more trouble than it's worth to take it, and they're very likely to shrug and lumber off in search of easier pickings. That same inclination, to get the most for the bare minimum effort, means that they're probably fairly easy and not terribly expensive to bribe, too. 

They'd certainly be interesting in a mixed group of humanoids, with the gnolls serving as muscle for smaller, but possibly more enterprising or bloodthirsty goblins or orcs. How might a clever party exploit the differences between the weaker but more demanding goblins and their apathetic gnoll henchmen? 

In a game with a strong factional element, a clan of gnolls could be a very frustrating faction to deal with. They're easily bought off, but don't expect them to follow through on their end of the bargain if it turns out to be a little tougher than expected. They're probably equally frustrating for other humanoids to deal with, so there's some potential for PCs to sow discord and stir up trouble. 

Despite my dislike of the hyena-man portrayal, the gnoll is a rock-solid monster and a great example of how much possibility exists in a sentence or two of minimalist descriptive text.