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View Full Version : Gnolls of Droaam (Mostly Eberron, but really any)



Kol Korran
2013-01-29, 08:43 AM
Hello again. I'm slowly developing a setting (nto a world, but rather a smaller area, but much more detailed) for a campaign I plan to run in the future. The PCs are sort of spies for a religious organization (think spies of the Vatican sort of) seeking supernatural occurrences in the frontier of civilization.

The world? Eberron (You don't need to know the world much for this thread)
The Time? 831 YK, before the Last War, when Galifar was still united, just a bit before The Purge, led by the Silver Flame.
The area? Western Breland, the wild monstrous region that will later be called Droaam, 150+ years from now...

In the area there is one "major" city, and a few fledgling settlements, but most of the area is controlled by wild, savage species, and the most numerous and important group are the gnolls. Now, since they will obviously play a major role in the campaign, I'd like to put more flesh on them out as a culture, as a society, give them more depth, and a unique place in the campaign, and hopefully- in the players mind.

This thread is dedicate to develop this idea of gnoll society, as well as hearing your suggestions, ideas, or takes on gnoll society. hopefully we might all benefit from this. :smallsmile:

The thread takes some inspiration from posters on this previous thread (no need to read) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=267499), and I thank them al. Here are the core points of the gnoll society as I see it:
1) Savagery and civilized behavior: It should embody the conflict between savagery and striving for civilization. In one way it should be primal, wild, violent and unpredictable, but on the other hand it should have strict rules, strict hierarchical order, and ways to deal with the common races. As to the rules:
- They are strict, quite harsh, with severe punishments usually.
- They are not numerous such as those held by civilized society, but rather hold core rules, which the gnoll enforcers/ elders/ supervisors can interpret sufficiently well for most situations.
- The laws are influenced by 3 main considerations: the need to keep gnoll society from descending to chaos, to solve disputes between tribes, and the gnoll religion (see later)
- gnolls however also value cunning, quick talk and trickery quite a bit. (see religion) if the accused can find a loop hole, a contradicting interpretation, or a clever way to subvert/ avoid/ use a law, that is well accepted in gnoll society. (one of my players is a lawyer... he'll LOVE this)

Any ideas to what laws will the gnolls make and keep? How are the laws enforced really? The gnoll's laws should ideally be something that affect the play with the PCs, and force them to take them into considerations, as well as giving them opening to deal with gnoll society. Your thougts?

2) Tolerating the common races: The gnolls outnumber the civilized settlements by at least 5 to 1, and most of them have some fighting training, while the civilized races also have farmers and such. The gnolls tolerate the civilized encroachment for 3 main reasons:
- Some of their leaders wish to benefit from the higher grade of goods the civilized people bring to trade. What goods might gnolls especially desire? I assume weapons, armor, but surely more?
- the gnoll tribes themselves are not a coherent group, with tensions and arguments between them (but what if a new charismatic capable leader will rise?) I assume some wish to get read of "the taint", others wish to see what happens, use the "furless" a much as possible, some might see them as worthy opponents for the trickster games (later in religion), while others (few in number) might wish to perhaps increase the cooperation with the strangers.
- Some of the gnolls are curious about these "furless", seeing them either as amusement, as prey, or both.

3) Matriarchal society: the gnoll society, like hyena society, is matriarchal, with women leading by virtue of being smarter and more powerful. However here I am at a bit of a loss- How do you portray such a distinct division of roles? what roles would the males take? what roles the females? I wish to avoid the "all high positions are taken by women" approach and make it more interesting. Might females have greater stats? what about rearing children? the male role or perhaps the femals' role still? Answering and flshening out these details might give the gnoll society a major part of it's flavor.

4) The hunt: part of the savagery of gnolls I wish to impart on the players is their way of engaging a prey (which may be sentient or not):
- most likely the gnolls will harass and haunt the prey, using superior numbers to keep the prey in reach at most times (gnolls may go down on all 4 gaining some better speed). They will seek to inspire fear, helplessness, despair. At times attacking, but prolonging the final kill.
- When taking down an opponent, the gnolls make the prey unconcious, and then stabilize them, bringing them back to awareness, only to start feasting- gnolls are learned expert on humanoid and animals biology, and will slowly, methodically, remove organs and limbs of the prey, with crude surgical tools, making them scream and holler in pain (using some sort of herbal concoction to keep them awake through the process) the gnolls then often consume the organs, dividing the "loot" according to rank.
- at other times, when the prey had been worthy, the gnolls might take organs and conserve them, perhaps even keeping the prey alive (but with less organs, I studied surgery, we can find spares) but traumetized, for "another hunt" they might even give him some item, promise, or other trade for the worthy hunt.

I hope this disturbing ritual (of which the party might take place) will disturb them, and show to a greater degree both gnoll savagery, but also their strange laws and customs. Needless to say most gnolls education includes a superior understanding on both physiology and anatomy. I assume part of the hunt has religious significance (devouring the parts of others make you stronger, increases your spirit/ binds them to you in the afterlife and so on), but are there any other reasons? Any ideas to make this even a more central part of gnoll culture?

5) The trickster games: named after the gnoll's version of The Traveler (see later in religion) the gnolls value wit, cunning and trickery quite a bit. At times a prey was allowed to go free provided he outwitted the gnoll's group main hunter or shaman. Gnolls often have a few simple games with them to pass the time, or riddles or such, and love to test new faces, especially ones who seem to show great minds. some hunt leaders are more prone to trickster games, some more to the hunt. it changes by personality. gnolls however, will cheat if they can get away with it.

trickster games are used right along martial training in the upbringing of children.

6) Religion: (you don't really need to know the pantheons for this, I'll explain) this being Eberron I like to make the Gnoll religion a combination of a few forces. most dominant are entities of the Dark Six- forces of savagery, uncompromising nature and instinctual desires. These are gods which are not worship for the good they bring, but because you wish to delay their wrath. but the gnoll's religion have taken to emulate these aspects. But I'd like to put in some influences from the Sovereign host- gods of civilization, cooperation and the like, only distorted to gnoll's standards. (These might come as a surprise, and also as a sort of a leverage to the PCs). the main influences are:
- The Devourer and mockery: one the god of storms, natural catastrophes and catastrophes, a devourer of victims making nature greater and stronger, and another a warrior who betrayed his siblings, but takes great interest in the making of the flesh, of pain, of strength of will. together these two deities' influence is translated to the part of devouring in the hunt- the gnoll delight in the pain of the prey, believing it makes the organs and life of the victims true, an offering to their lords, for which the dark 2 will make them stronger- to face an enemy in combat, or to face the coming storm.

- the mockery and the traveler: the one who betrays, mocks, fools and deceives, alongside the prankster, the one of many faces, the trickster and joker. together they bring the aspects of cunning, fooling, subverting and tricking the laws and customs of gnoll society. they also bring the long taunting, and harassing long hunt. last of all they have brought the trickster games to be a major part of gnoll society.

- Fury: the goddess of passion, rage, being true to your bestial self and glory in savagery. She holds a different role in the different gnoll tribes, depending on how savage or civilized they are. woman gnolls pay her big respects as well, looking at her as the patron of womanhood.

- what about the Keeper (lord of death and undeath) and the Shadow? (lord of profane magic, mostly illusion, charm and the like) I'd like to keep some of the dark six a bit out of the main worship, perhaps worshiped by some fringe groups (or maybe a good role for males?)

- Boldrei, possibly Aureon: actually heavily subverted versions of the sovereign host gods. these gods of hearth, family, tribe, society, law and justice fit well with the more civilized portion of gnoll society, but I have yet to figure out what form will this worship take, and what influence exactly. I want the gods to be recognizable enough for PCs, but not downright obvious.


7) Daily life: Trying to figure this out, no set picture in my head yet- how much young in a family? what do the gnolls usually subside on? just hunting or is any farming (livestock?) involved? what is the family make out? Do a female have but one male, or do they have numerous? do they share the workload?

8) Magic: I think have them as using mostly nature themed magic, (savage magic), making their casters mostly druids or spirit shaman I think. some casters may be clerics or favored souls though. I think Arcane magic users will be rare, and perhaps shun by most gnoll society, though I'm not sure.

I'd love to hear your ideas and thoughts, thanks in advance!
Kol. :smallwink: