Races of Wild

CHAPTER 4OTHERRACES100nomadic gnolls—those who leave to continue wanderingare balanced against new tribes arriving to trade or swearfealty to a powerful leader.As some gnolls turn away from the worship of the dreadprince Yeenoghu, however, gnolls grow more and morescattered rather than less so. Driven away from their kinby the wrath of Yeenoghu’s priests, yet still subject to thesuspicions of the civilized races, these gnolls wander far andwide in a near-permanent nomadic state.Settlements: Gnoll settlements are rough and crude,rarely anything more than temporary shelters. Gnolls preferunderground lairs for longer stays, especially when a travelinggroup of gnolls must await new births. Large groups ofgnolls often have several crude underground complexesbetween which they wander. While these caves might noteven be large enough to house the entire group of gnolls,they provide the group’s strongest warriors a place to sleepin relative safety. Weaker members of the tribe must makedo with the less trustworthy shelters they can set up outsideof the cave complex.Power Groups: Gnolls have little in the way of powergroups. Among tribes of evil gnolls, the strongest warriorsrule by brute force. Occasionally, exceptionally powerful orpersuasive priests of Yeenoghu will lead a tribe, usually byensuring that the strongest warriors are devoted to the darkworship of the demon prince. Even those rare gnoll tribesthat place a greater value on personal honor are led by themost physically powerful warrior. Because of this, whena gnoll adventures with members of other races, he willsometimes expect to lead if he is the strongest, regardless ofthe difficulties he faces when traveling within the membersof other races and regardless of other group members’ moredeveloped social skills.Beliefs: Most gnolls pay homage to Yeenoghu, demonprince of gnolls. Yeenoghu’s cruel and selfish beliefs inspiregnoll priests to keep their people firmly on the path of evil.Those few gnolls who have managed to pull away from thedark cult at the center of their people’s existence often revereObad-Hai or turn away from religion altogether.Relations: Few races regard gnolls as anything other thanferal creatures who pose a menace to peaceful life. Because ofthe prevalence of evil gnolls, this assumption isn’t far fromthe truth, and player character gnolls should find it difficultto move unescorted through a human city.GNOLL CHARACTERSGnoll characters balance the challenges of roleplaying contraryto a race’s normal image with the novelty of playinga monstrous race. The gnoll race provides an opportunityto play a strong and powerful warrior character strugglingnot only against physical foes but also against theopinions of other races. As a gnoll character grows to trusthis fellow adventurers, new roleplaying opportunitiesarise as bonds of friendship overcome suspicion, and theother characters grow to respect the gnoll’s values as wellas his physical abilities. The other PCs might even play arole in helping the gnoll character’s tribe of neutral orhonorable gnolls build the first few trusting relationshipswith other races.Adventuring Gnolls: Gnolls adventure to see the world,to rise above the savagery of their people, and to find whatcivilization has to offer. While some return to their tribesthinking less of the civilized races because of their experiencesas adventurers, others find wealth, power, or prestigefar beyond the normal images of gnoll warriors.Character Development: Gnolls are most effectivewhen they take levels in barbarian, ranger, or anothermartially focused class. Focusing on melee combat allowsgnoll characters to capitalize on their high Strength scoresand their natural armor. As your character gains levels,feats such as Power Attack and Cleave help accentuate hisphysical prowess.Character Names: Gnoll names often sound likegrowls to members of other races, featuring multiple “r”sounds. Gnoll tribal names, although not widely sharedwith other creatures, are usually compound words, as inthe following examples.Male Names: Derror, Grerr, Remmar, Thurrg.Female Names: Arrna, Mirrin, Ryssa, Thrrae.Tribal Names: Bloodfist, Greatfang, Speardeath,Thunderdance.ROLEPLAYING A GNOLLCruelty and viciousness remain the defining traits ofmost gnolls, but a few tribes have managed to pullaway from this bestial outlook and the worship of thedemon prince Yeenoghu that usually accompanies andengenders this behavior. Although far from altruistic,these gnolls temper the viciousness of their kind with arough sense of honor and an unwavering bond with theirchosen companions.Personality: Even those gnolls who have turned fromthe evil ways of their demon prince are less intelligentand less charismatic than the average human. Gnolls don’tsee this deficiency as a weakness, however, placing morevalue on physical abilities and natural cunning than onsubtle thought or persuasive abilities. Gnolls also remainvery suspicious of other races, especially humans and theirallies, with whom they have had generations of conflictand strife.Roleplaying Application: You should be suspicious of others’motives until they give you reason to trust them. If you can,devote a few skill points to Sense Motive, and emphasizeits use in roleplaying encounters. Your suspicions rest onthe firm foundation of your people’s long conflicts withthe civilized races, and such mistrust and conflict cannotbe erased easily or quickly. Humans, elves, dwarves, andmembers of their allied races are likely to use the pastbehavior of your people as a reason to betray you. Aftersomeone earns your trust completely, however, he or shebecomes like a brother or sister to you, and the few powerfulemotional bonds that you form with others shape your life