The Original GNOLLS

[Zulgyan]

This pic by Jim Halloway could be a nice portrayal of the original GNOLLS, whom, as you may know, come from the cross bewteen Gnomes and Trolls (as stated in Monsters & Treasure)



Are you convinced? ;D

[Rhuvein]

Heh, those are some ugly beasties for sure. From the fingernails to the teeth!

Great image.

[Finarvyn]

Y'know, Gnolls were always just some weak monster to stomp on and keep moving. This picture makes me stop and think about gnolls as something other than lousy AC and lousy HD.

Those are some nasty looking critters!

[Stonegiant]

Throw in some regeneration and they have some definite possibilities!

[coffee]

Regerating Gnolls would be vicious!

I never really thought of them as being stomp-able; I only ever ran into them at first or second level. Then, they were a threat. After that, the DM always had bigger and better monsters to hit us with.

[thorswulf]

Reread your Dunsany! Gnolls live in trees, if I remember correctly, and don't take kindly to being robbed! seriously though, I don't think an actual description of a Gnoll is ever given by Dunsany. But that is a cool picture!

[coffee]

thorswulf said:

Reread your Dunsany!

And for those of you who want to read some Dunsany, many of his works are available online! Follow these links:

onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/search?author=Dunsany

www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/d#a2685

(scroll down almost to the bottom of the page; he's there).

Remember, old school DMs were old school readers!

[jrients]

For a 3.5 campaign I once applied a Half-Troll template to the standard Gnome. The results were... odd. But I got regenerating Gnolls out of the deal, which is what I was looking for.

Also, if I remember my Dunsany correctly Gnolls are kidnappers and demand that their ransoms be paid in rubies.

[Deleted]

That is one heck of a nice pic. Consider it "appropriated ".

[tgamemaster1975]

I think I will do a new writeup for gnolls and post it here, anyone else that wants to do one should post it here also.

[foster1941]

FWIW (in case anyone here doesn't know) that pic is from Tower of Blood, one of Rob Kuntz's recent "generic" (AD&D-compatible) modules, and actually depicts undead gnome-ghouls.

Regarding Dunsany's gnoles, there was a recent thread on, I believe, one of Gene Weigel's now-defunct boards in which he posted a picture of the gnoles from an old illustrated edition of Dunsany that showed them as ape-like -- furry, stooped, long-armed but carrying swords (and possibly wearing belts/harness?). On that basis, and also the fact that they're depicted as being very stealthy in the story (How Nuth Would Have Practised His Art Upon the Gnoles) Gene suggested that D&D's bugbear (from Supplement I) might make a good substitution for Dunsanian Gnoles, and I've kept that in the back of my mind ever since.

[jdrakeh]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing that with us. That said, I think that these gnolls would be a bit more fear-inducing without the garden gnome garb

[Wm. Earle Wheeler]

coffee said:

And for those of you who want to read some Dunsany, many of his works are available online! Follow these links:

Great! I've been unable to find any Dunsany in the used bookstores!

[jdrakeh]

wearlewheeler said:

Great! I've been unable to find any Dunsany in the used bookstores!

You might want to try new bookstores, as most of it has been collected and reprinted in the last four years.

[grodog]

foster1941 said:

FWIW (in case anyone here doesn't know) that pic is from Tower of Blood, one of Rob Kuntz's recent "generic" (AD&D-compatible) modules, and actually depicts undead gnome-ghouls.

Thanks for the plug, Trent

[driver]

Some information from an interview with EGG by a fellow who is, um, very into gnolls:

community.livejournal.com/gnollish_clan/46335.html

In my upcoming campaign, based on 3LB only, Gnolls *are* cross-breeds between Trolls and Gnomes -- "gaunt, grey, potbellied wretches with long bulbous noses, tangled beards, and great wing-like ears" ... "stronger and hardier than Gnomes, but more manageable than Trolls."

[coffee]

I just spotted this at RPGNow.com as a free download:

www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=28942&it=1&filters=0_0_0&free=1

It does contain the story "HOW NUTH WOULD HAVE PRACTISED HIS ART UPON THE GNOLES".