Hierax Posted January 11, 2004 Report Share Posted January 11, 2004 Gnoll (1st Draft):I'd like to improve my write-up for Gnolls (7.5' Tall Hyena Humanoids). Does anyone have any suggestions or would like to compare their own versions here?Gnoll (Standard 100 Point Warrior) Val Char Cost 20 STR 10 10 DEX 0 15 CON 10 13 BODY 6 8 INT -2 10 EGO 0 8/15 PRE -2 8 COM -1 6 PD 2 5 ED 2 2 SPD 0 8 REC 2 30 END 0 36 STUN 5 7" RUN22" SWIM04" LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 34Cost Power END 2 Thick Fur/Tough Skin: Damage Resistance (2 PD/2 ED) 15 Fangs: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1/2d6 (1d6+1 w/STR), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (15 Active Points) 2 +2 PER with Normal Smell 5 Discriminatory with Normal Smell 5 Tracking with Normal Smell 2 +2 PER with Normal Hearing 3 Ultrasonic Perception (Hearing Group) 5 Infrared Perception (Sight Group) 3 Scary: +7 PRE (7 Active Points); Limited Power (Only for PRE Attacks) (-1) 2 Large (7.5' Tall): Knockback Resistance -1" Powers Cost: 44Cost Skill 8 +1 with All Combat 4 WF: Common Melee Weapons, Common Missile Weapons 0 Language: Gnoll (idiomatic) (4 Active Points) 1 Language: Orc or Hobgoblin (basic conversation) 1 Language: Troll (basic conversation) 1 Mimicry 8- 2 PS: Warrior/Hunter/Predator/Scavenger 11- 2 Survival 11- 3 Tracking 11- Skills Cost: 22Val Disadvantages 5 Distinctive Features (and Social Limitation)- Gnoll: (Easily Concealed; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 20 Normal Gnoll Characteristic Maxima 5 Physical Limitation - Short-Lived (~35 Years): (Infrequently, Slightly Impairing) 5 Psychological Limitation - Hatred of Felines and Canines: (Uncommon, Moderate) 5 Psychological Limitation - Lazy (Dislike Physical Work): (Uncommon, Moderate) 5 Psychological Limitation: Dislike Bright Light (Uncommon, Moderate) 5 Reputation: coward, scavenger, lazy, bully, slaver, demon-worshipper, 8- Disadvantage Points: 50Base Points: 50Experience Required: 0Total Experience Available: 0Experience Unspent: 0Total Character Cost: 100 Height: 2.29 m Hair: Reddish-Yellow Weight: 160.00 kg Eyes: Green Appearance: A typical Gnoll is 7.5' tall weighing around 350 lbs. Gnoll fur is most often spotted Reddish-Yellow but may be striped or brown as well. Personality: Hunt and KillQuote:Background: Often mistaken for Dog-Humanoids, Gnolls are actually Hyena-Humanoids. Gnolls are ferocious humanoids of low intelligence. They resemble a cross between a human and a hyena. They live in rough, rugged wasteland and wilderness areas. Gnolls may use all weapons, but most do not work metal; they steal most of their metal weapons from humans. They are strong, but dislike work and prefer to bully and steal (D&D Rules Cyclopedia p.180). Gnolls are large, evil, hyena-like humanoids that roam about in loosely organized bands. While the body of a gnoll is shaped like that of a large human, the details are those of a hyena. They stand erect on two legs and have hands that can manipulate as well as those of any human. They have greenish gray skin, darker near the muzzle, with a short reddish gray to dull yellow mane. (2e-MM) - Can actually eat and digest bone Sources: - DD-RC.180; 1e-MM.46; 2e-MM.158; 3e-MM.105-106; HM-HoB.v?.??. - "Gnolls, those Dog-Faced Killers" ( http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=books/fr/gnolls ) - http://www.callofthenightwalker.com/gnoll.htm - http://www.korinth.com/3eKorinthContent/Rulebook/Chap01_Races/gnoll.shtml - Hero: Gnolls are Hyena-Humanoids and while Hyenas are neither dogs nor cats, the write-ups on "Erqigdlit" MMM.38 and "Pakasa" MMM.80 still are useful points of comparison for animal-based humanoids. - Buffy the Vampire Slayer: "The Pack" (Season 1, Episode 6) where Xander and some bullies get possessed by Hyenas. - Hyenas: - "The Hyena Pages" ( http://www.liberalmafia.org/hyenas/ ) - http://www.lioncrusher.com/family.asp?family=Hyaenidae - http://sailfish.exis.net/~spook/hyenatxt.html Powers/Tactics: Prey on the Weak, Taunt and Tease, Lure and AmbushCampaign Use: Standard NPC Monster humanoid: bigger than an Orc or even Hobgoblin, slightly smaller than a Bugbear or Ogre. When you want the characters hunted by an unruly Pack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hierax Posted January 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2004 Growth Equivalent Implicit I should make it more explicit that I gave Gnolls the equivalent of 1 level of "Growth" because they are on the border of that size (being 7.5' tall); so, if you think they don't deserve that or you just want to make a slightly smaller Gnoll (say 7' tall) then subtract the equivalents of 1 level of Growth (5 STR, 1 BODY, 1 STUN, -1" KB) that I built into the write-up. FWIW, I use "Growth" equivalents for converting at: ~7.5' (1.25x man-sized) = 1 Level of Growth. ~ 9' (1.5x man-sized) = 2 Levels of Growth ~12' (2x man-sized) = 3 Levels of Growth I'm used to seeing these write-ups in 4th ed. terms and am trying to put them into 5th ed. terms but this makes implicit what once was explicit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nHammer Posted January 11, 2004 Report Share Posted January 11, 2004 Over 7ft tall with fangs and he only has a 8 PRE? I would make it a 13 PRE and keep the +7 with PRE Attacks. Hyenas aren't the scavengers that people think they are. They get kills as much as (possibly more than) lions do.(at least that's what I understand from the nature shows I've seen) Other than that, I like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hierax Posted January 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2004 PRE and Scavenging The PRE is so low because I didn't want Gnolls to be particularly persuasive beyond using force or threats (and I like to keep the two distinct to seperate the diplomats from the thugs, if you will); you see, I wanted them to be less persuasive than humans and certainly not more persuasive, I thought about lowering it to 6 or 7 to get the Characteristic Roll and Skill Rolls down by 1, but that seemed a bit too much so I though the 8 lowering the NCM to 18 would have to be close enough to get that effect. Now, don't get me wrong, I still want them to be pretty bloody Intimidating so I went with the "Only for PRE Attacks" thing -- originally I had this at +10 but lowered it to get the points to work out evenly. I'll see if I can find efficiencies elsewhere to get the effective PRE Attack up to 18 PRE/3.5d6 -- does this sound like a more reasonable level? Yeah, sorry I was trying to avoid giving that impression. Since Gnolls are more based on "Spotted Hyenas" the scavengers is more of "Reputation" thing (hence the Disadvantage) I just forgot to take it out of the PS (it was a placeholder there, should just be Warrior now); that said, they still have a wee bit of scavenger left in them, as they are also partially based on "Brown Hyenas" too, but more in the 'take what you can from others rather than building it yourself' way; i.e., they prefer to hunt the prey but in order to survive have the ability to scavenge effectively (sort of a 75% Spotted, 25% Brown kindof way if you see what I'm clumsily trying to get at) -- basically, I wanted the Reputation to have some basis but be largely overstated as they really are fearsome predators not just bottom feeders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hierax Posted January 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2004 PRE for PRE Attacks OK, I just fiddled with it and by reducing the Tracking Skill to Familiarity (which makes sense for a base template, since it can be bought up for the real tracking individuals of the race) it gives just enough points to increase the PRE to "PRE +10 Only for PRE Attacks or Intimitation" giving a total of 18 PRE or 3.5d6 for a PRE Attack, or 13- for an Intimidating use of persusion (1.5d6 or 11- for friendly persuasion). Hope that helps... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nHammer Posted January 11, 2004 Report Share Posted January 11, 2004 The PRE is so low because I didn't want Gnolls to be particularly persuasive beyond using force or threats (and I like to keep the two distinct to seperate the diplomats from the thugs, if you will); you see, I wanted them to be less persuasive than humans and certainly not more persuasive, I thought about lowering it to 6 or 7 to get the Characteristic Roll and Skill Rolls down by 1, but that seemed a bit too much so I though the 8 lowering the NCM to 18 would have to be close enough to get that effect. I see what you mean. It makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hierax Posted January 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2004 Gnoll (Hieraxian) 2nd DraftSorry, I forgot to post the update in my message yesterday.Gnoll (Standard 100 Point Warrior) Val Char Cost 20 STR 10 10 DEX 0 15 CON 10 13 BODY 6 8 INT -2 10 EGO 0 8/18 PRE -2 8 COM -1 6 PD 2 5 ED 2 2 SPD 0 8 REC 2 30 END 0 36 STUN 5 7" RUN22" SWIM04" LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 34Cost Power END 2 Thick Fur/Tough Skin: Damage Resistance (2 PD/2 ED) 15 Fangs: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1/2d6 (1d6+1 w/STR), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (15 Active Points) 2 +2 PER with Normal Smell 5 Discriminatory with Normal Smell 5 Tracking with Normal Smell 2 +2 PER with Normal Hearing 3 Ultrasonic Perception (Hearing Group) 5 Infrared Perception (Sight Group) 5 Intimidating: +10 PRE (10 Active Points); Limited Power (Only for PRE Attacks and Intimidation) (-1) 2 Large (7.5' Tall): Knockback Resistance -1" Powers Cost: 46Cost Skill 8 +1 with All Combat 4 WF: Common Melee Weapons, Common Missile Weapons 0 Language: Gnoll (idiomatic) (4 Active Points) 1 Language: Orc or Hobgoblin (basic conversation) 1 Language: Troll (basic conversation) 1 Mimicry 8- 2 PS: Warrior 11- 2 Survival 11- 1 Tracking 8- Skills Cost: 20Val Disadvantages 5 Distinctive Features (and Social Limitation)- Gnoll: (Easily Concealed; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 20 Normal Gnoll Characteristic Maxima 5 Physical Limitation - Short-Lived (~35 Years): (Infrequently, Slightly Impairing) 5 Psychological Limitation - Hatred of Felines and Canines: (Uncommon, Moderate) 5 Psychological Limitation - Lazy (Dislike Physical Work): (Uncommon, Moderate) 5 Psychological Limitation: Dislike Bright Light (Uncommon, Moderate) 5 Reputation: coward, scavenger, lazy, bully, slaver, demon-worshipper, 8- Disadvantage Points: 50Base Points: 50Experience Required: 0Total Experience Available: 0Experience Unspent: 0Total Character Cost: 100 Height: 2.29 m Hair: Reddish-Yellow Weight: 160.00 kg Eyes: Green Appearance: A typical Gnoll is 7.5' tall weighing around 350 lbs. Gnoll fur is most often spotted Reddish-Yellow but may be striped or brown as well. Personality: Hunt and KillQuote:Background: Often mistaken for Dog-Humanoids, Gnolls are actually Hyena-Humanoids. Gnolls are ferocious humanoids of low intelligence. They resemble a cross between a human and a hyena. They live in rough, rugged wasteland and wilderness areas. Gnolls may use all weapons, but most do not work metal; they steal most of their metal weapons from humans. They are strong, but dislike work and prefer to bully and steal (D&D Rules Cyclopedia p.180). Gnolls are large, evil, hyena-like humanoids that roam about in loosely organized bands. While the body of a gnoll is shaped like that of a large human, the details are those of a hyena. They stand erect on two legs and have hands that can manipulate as well as those of any human. They have greenish gray skin, darker near the muzzle, with a short reddish gray to dull yellow mane. (2e-MM) - Can actually eat and digest bone Sources: - DD-RC.180; 1e-MM.46; 2e-MM.158; 3e-MM.105-106; HM-HoB.v?.??. - "Gnolls, those Dog-Faced Killers" ( http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=books/fr/gnolls ) - http://www.callofthenightwalker.com/gnoll.htm - http://www.korinth.com/3eKorinthContent/Rulebook/Chap01_Races/gnoll.shtml - Hero: Gnolls are Hyena-Humanoids and while Hyenas are neither dogs nor cats, the write-ups on "Erqigdlit" MMM.38 and "Pakasa" MMM.80 still are useful points of comparison for animal-based humanoids. - Buffy the Vampire Slayer: "The Pack" (Season 1, Episode 6) where Xander and some bullies get possessed by Hyenas. - Hyenas: - "The Hyena Pages" ( http://www.liberalmafia.org/hyenas/ ) - http://www.lioncrusher.com/family.asp?family=Hyaenidae - http://sailfish.exis.net/~spook/hyenatxt.html Powers/Tactics: Prey on the Weak, Taunt and Tease, Lure and AmbushCampaign Use: Standard NPC Monster humanoid: bigger than an Orc or even Hobgoblin, slightly smaller than a Bugbear or Ogre. When you want the characters hunted by an unruly Pack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobGreenwade Posted January 11, 2004 Report Share Posted January 11, 2004 So if one of these guys smokes cannibis, would that make him a grassy Gnoll? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheQuestionMan Posted January 12, 2004 Report Share Posted January 12, 2004 BAD BAD BOB !!! Originally posted by BobGreenwade So if one of these guys smokes cannibis, would that make him a grassy Gnoll? BAD BAD BOB !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nHammer Posted January 12, 2004 Report Share Posted January 12, 2004 Originally posted by BobGreenwade So if one of these guys smokes cannibis, would that make him a grassy Gnoll? Grassy Gnoll is a monster in the card game Munshkin(sp?). :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TalonComics Posted January 12, 2004 Report Share Posted January 12, 2004 Originally posted by BobGreenwade So if one of these guys smokes cannibis, would that make him a grassy Gnoll? Oh yeah? If one of the gnolls ate a lot of beans he'd then become a "gassy gnoll!" ~D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamashii2000 Posted January 13, 2004 Report Share Posted January 13, 2004 Originally posted by BobGreenwade So if one of these guys smokes cannibis, would that make him a grassy Gnoll? Maybe, but you do know what the creator of all Gnoll music was called don't you? The First Gnoll..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eosin Posted January 13, 2004 Report Share Posted January 13, 2004 Hierax... Your write ups rock on toast! Thanks allot for doing some of these and saving me a ton of work. Any chance that you will put the hero file on your website...I would really like to drag and drop a few of these into my game. [Plus...any problem with me including some of the write ups on my site at some point in the future with proper credit to you] Thanks, Eosin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hierax Posted January 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2004 HDC/HDT Files Thanks, Eosin! Yeah, that's why I was looking for some feedback so I could get these guys into good enough shape to post on my website along with the printable .pdfs. In fact, I fully intend to have actual template and character files (.hdt, .hdc) that can be downloaded and serve as starting points for customization to create individuals of those races. I was also going to upload the Hero Designer files to the boards here once I'm happy I have a workable version 1.0. Hey, as long as credit is given where due, I have no problem with you having them on your site; actually, it is quite an honour to have you ask. I can send you the rough draft files pretty much whenever you want, but in a week or so (or two, depending on how things go with work and visiting relatives) I should have the basic humanoid races revised and have proper template files with full NCMs included. Feel free to e-mail me and I'll get you what I can whenever you need it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tech Posted January 13, 2004 Report Share Posted January 13, 2004 Nice structure of the stats. Overall, nicely revised. Of course, the stats would be way different if the Gnoll was in Star Hero... "To boldly go where Gnoll one has gone before" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eosin Posted January 14, 2004 Report Share Posted January 14, 2004 I was talking with one of the players in my group the other day about your write ups - we had both noticed baring a pip of speed that your write ups fit perfectly into our respective games. I had kinda menthioned in another thread that it seems more like we are a little on the High speed side in heroics and a little on the low side in supers. I am just finishing up stuff after a server move and reorganization but after that I plan to dig into Hero for my home world and get a nice page built for it. So far I just have the basic structure but that might change for the Hero page. Anyway thanks.....Your PDFs rock since they are all nice and laid out for printing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hierax Posted January 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2004 My Implicit Assumptions For SPD to Make Adapting Easier Thanks again, Eosin! I appreciate the kind words. Glad I could be of help to you and your players -- that's why we're on these boards to share with each other to improve our respective games. As for SPD, when I give a creature 2 SPD that means that I'm saying that they don't really get more attacks than a normal average run-of-the-mill human warrior who is a "Noteworthy Normal" who has a SPD of 2, but if you consider a normal Man-at-Arms to be more like a "Skilled" or "Competent" Normal who has 3 SPD, then you should most certainly add at least +1 SPD to any of my write-ups to have them scale up properly and proportionally -- e.g., if I say 4 SPD I mean twice as fast as the normal base-line human warrior, so if your baseline human warrior is 3 SPD, then you'd adapt my write-up as 6 SPD. That is the assumption underlying the write-ups -- and this assumption used for my Grey Hero conversion is based on the fact that an xD+D normal human (i.e., an AD+D 0-Level Fighter or 3E 1st Level Warrior) gets 1 attack per round and a normal human in the Hero System gets 2 attacks per Turn. These initial write-ups I'm posting assume the basic rank-and-file soldiers such as these, but more experienced ones would certainly be higher. Hope that helps explain the SPD difference you are experiencing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FenrisUlf Posted January 27, 2004 Report Share Posted January 27, 2004 I don't know if this matters in your campaign, but in reality, hyenas are matriarchal; the females are the biggest/meanest ones as well as clan leaders. So gnolls are the feminist humanoids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hierax Posted February 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2004 I'm getting ready to revise Gnolls for a 3rd Draft; so, is there anything else that anyone would like to see changed to improve the write-up? Let me know so I can try to incorporate your suggestions into the next version... Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eosin Posted February 20, 2004 Report Share Posted February 20, 2004 Nothing here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hierax Posted February 22, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2004 I didn't get the changes completely made but I'm too tired to continue tonight so I'm uploading where I'm at now. http://www.hierax.com/hero/fantasy/grey/monster/gnoll.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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