[d20r, Race] Gnoll

[Fax Celestis]

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/dungeonscape_gallery/102800.jpg

Gnolls are hyena-headed humanoids that wander in loose tribes. Most gnolls have dirty yellow or reddish-brown fur. A gnoll is generally a nocturnal carnivore. They are among the more savage of races, only very recently joining what is widely considered to be 'civilized society.'

A gnoll is about 7½ feet tall and weighs 300 pounds. Gnolls speak Gnoll.

+2 Strength, +2 Constitution, -2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma
Medium size: Gnolls, being medium, receive no adjustments based on size.
Gnoll: Gnolls are humanoids with the (Gnoll) subtype.
Speed: A gnoll's base land speed is 40 feet.
Darkvision: out to 60'.
Natural Weapons: Gnolls possess a vicious bite attack which deals 1d6 damage. A gnoll's bite attack is its primary natural attack.
Terrifying: Gnolls receive a +4 racial bonus on Intimidate checks due to their savage demeanor. Gnolls may use their Strength modifier for Intimidate checks rather than their Charisma, if it is higher.
Natural Talent: A gnoll has a small pool of reserve energy from their savagery they may tap into daily. A gnoll has one charge per three class levels, minimum one. A charge may be spent to activate one of the following abilities as a standard action (unless otherwise noted) or to power a feat with the [Gnoll] descriptor:
Fearsome Slaughter: The gnoll can activate this ability as an immediate action after reducing a foe to 0 or fewer hit points. By sacrificing the rest of their attacks in that round (including Attacks of Opportunity), the gnoll can make a bite attack at their full base attack bonus against the foe that triggered this ability. If the bite attack hits, the gnoll treats this attack as a critical hit for rolling damage. If his foe is slain by this ability, all opponents within 15' must make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 the gnoll's HD + the gnoll's Cha mod) or suffer a -2 penalty on attacks and saving throws against the gnoll for the duration of the encounter.
Savage Howl: The gnoll can emit a fear-inducing howl. All living creatures within a 30-foot radius must succeed on a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 the gnoll's HD + the gnoll's Cha mod) or become shaken for 1d4 rounds. This is a sonic, mind-affecting, fear effect. A creature that successfully saves against the howl cannot be affected by the same gnoll's howl for 24 hours.
Vicious Fangs: The gnolls's natural attacks are treated as magical weapons and receive a +1 enhancement bonus. This enhancement bonus increases every five levels (to +2 at 5th level, +3 at 10th level, +4 at 15th level, and +5 at 20th level). This bonus lasts for a number of rounds equal to the gnoll's Constitution modifier.
Automatic Languages: Gnoll. Bonus Languages: Common, Giant, Goblin, Orc.
Favored Class: Barbarian.

[Morty]

Hm. Looks good. Just to clarify though: are the claws' bonus a supernatural ability? Also, if not for the wisdom modifier, I'd imagine a frenzied gnoll monk. I'm not so sure about the power creep of the races, but since I assume NPCs also get those abilities I guess there's no problem.

[Tempest Fennac]

Just out of curiosity, why did you give them a Wis penalty? I would have thought a Cha penalty would have fitted better due to how Gnolls don't strike me as being the sort of creatures which would lack instinct (admittedly, I don't get why they'd have a Dex bonus due to how awkward they look). That picture is really good, though.

[Neithan]

Also, these guys are huge. I think the usual strength bonus should be included.

[MammonAzrael]

The fluff is pretty standard Gnollishness.
The stats are unexpected. I take it you don't agree with the strength they had in 3.5? A +4 to STR reduced to +0 is pretty big (and I would think at least a +2 fits with the barbarian favored class). I agree that they always seemed tall, lanky and awkward, so the Dex is a surprise. And I agree with Tempest Fennac, why Wis instead of Cha?
Size, type, vision, natural weapons, and Terrifying all look good.
Gnolls might fit with a 40' movement speed, to help acentuate them as quick, feral predators. But 30' works just fine.
The natural armor feels a bit weird, since they only thing they really have is some rough fur. On the reptilian races it makes sense. Not so much here. Perhaps instead they have increased reach because they're so tall (it could even be just on their turn like in 4e, so they still only get AoO on adjacent enemies)?
The Natural Talents look good and fitting. What type of action is Savage Howl?

[Fax Celestis]

The stats are unexpected. I take it you don't agree with the strength they had in 3.5? A +4 to STR reduced to +0 is pretty big (and I would think at least a +2 fits with the barbarian favored class). I agree that they always seemed tall, lanky and awkward, so the Dex is a surprise. And I agree with Tempest Fennac, why Wis instead of Cha?I didn't want to give a Cha penalty since they're supposed to be intimidating. I went with Wis instead. As for Str, I think I'll swap Dex to Str.

Gnolls might fit with a 40' movement speed, to help acentuate them as quick, feral predators. But 30' works just fine.
The natural armor feels a bit weird, since they only thing they really have is some rough fur. On the reptilian races it makes sense. Not so much here. Perhaps instead they have increased reach because they're so tall (it could even be just on their turn like in 4e, so they still only get AoO on adjacent enemies)?That's an idea. I'll drop the NA for a speed increase.

The Natural Talents look good and fitting. What type of action is Savage Howl?

Since it's not listed:


Natural Talent: A gnoll has a small pool of reserve energy from their savagery they may tap into daily. A gnoll has one charge per three class levels, minimum one. A charge may be spent to activate one of the following abilities as a standard action (unless otherwise noted) or to power a feat with the [Gnoll] descriptor:

[Tempest Fennac]

About Intimidate; do you think giving people to use either Str or Cha for that skill would work better? I tend to think Cha penalties fit for races which lack social skills, which fits steriotypical Gnolls.

[Fax Celestis]

Nah. Intimidate is a social skill, and should then be ruled by the social stat. Besides, you don't have to be well-versed to be scary: all it takes is force of personality.

[MammonAzrael]

I didn't want to give a Cha penalty since they're supposed to be intimidating. I went with Wis instead. As for Str, I think I'll swap Dex to Str.
*nod* That works. I do like Tempest's idea of letting them use their Strength modifier for intimidate checks. could be added either to terrifying or to Intimidate in general.


That's an idea. I'll drop the NA for a speed increase.
I like that so much better. Looks good.


Since it's not listed:
:smallsigh: That'll teach me not to read things more closely.

It looks like another great race. I look forward to the racial feats for these guys. :smallsmile:

[Tempest Fennac]

Maybe. I just tend to think that being highly muscular is at least as intimidating (and I never really considered Intimidate to be a social skill. I'm guessing thinking of more "anti social" skills would be awkward, though :smalltongue:*).


*Actually, I'll see if I can think of more anti-social skills solely because I think it would be amusing.

[Fax Celestis]

I think I have a solution. Hold on. *edits*

[MammonAzrael]

And i think we have a winner!

I swear, I can't help but want to make characters of all these races you are putting out! Something in each one just makes me want to make one. Great job!

[Tempest Fennac]

I agree that that solution makes sense. :smallsmile: These races look quite interresting so far (I'll be keeping an eye on the other developments as well).

[Morty]

I think Gnolls deserve a Dex bonus though. They have always appeared to me as fast, strong hunters, not necessarily durable ones.

[Lappy9000]

Ah, Natural Armor and attacks stay true to the traditional gnoll, and the fast speed makes so much more sense. The Natural Talents really exemplify these guy's ferocity in battle. The only problem that I can see is that they may be bumping too far into Orc and Half-Orc territory, what with the Strength and Constitution bonuses, and the Barbarian favored class. I suppose I'll need to see it first, but I always liked these guys as Rangers.

Seeing as Shifters are already Barbarians, you don't have any races that have Ranger or Hunter as a favored class. I think one of those would work fine here, unless you want to go a completely different direction for Orcs (which may be refreshing, actually).

[Tingel]

I think Gnolls deserve a Dex bonus though. They have always appeared to me as fast, strong hunters, not necessarily durable ones.
Dexterity is more about reflexes, grace and hand-eye-coordination than speed. Considering this as well as the fact that hyenas (who have an undeniable relation to gnolls) are extremely tough animals that can run for hours even when heavily wounded I find a Con bonus far more fitting than a Dex bonus.

[Fax Celestis]

Seeing as Shifters are already Barbarians, you don't have any races that have Ranger or Hunter as a favored class. I think one of those would work fine here, unless you want to go a completely different direction for Orcs (which may be refreshing, actually).

Lies! Goblins are Favored Class: Ranger.

[Lappy9000]

Lies! Goblins are Favored Class: Ranger.Egads! I have been discovered! ***Smoke Bomb***

[Belobog]

Gnoll has always been my favorite race, so I might be a little biased about this interpretation.

That said, I love the look of the redesign these guys got. The original Gnoll was essentially an Orc with LA; the flavor was there, but it felt mechanically generic. This makes them feel distinct. I like most all of the modifications, as they go to making it more unique then they used to be. Their Natural Talent powers makes me wonder what their racial feats will look like.

If you're looking penalize something other than Wis/Cha, why not a Dex penalty. Several people have already stated that they see them as "awkward and lanky", it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to represent that. I have no qualms with the stat penalties as they are, but it might be something to think about, especially if you plan on adding more CHA based abilities through racial feats.

[Limos]

Yay Gnolls! They are fuzzy and deserve huggles.

[zeruslord]

Intimidate is really more of a social deal. It's Han saying "Droids don't tear your arms out of sockets. Wookiees have been known to do that," not Chewbacca growling and moaning. Being dangerous gives you a bonus if the other person is aware of it, but it's based more on your ability to use that to get your way.

[Lappy9000]

Intimidate is really more of a social deal. It's Han saying "Droids don't tear your arms out of sockets. Wookiees have been known to do that," not Chewbacca growling and moaning. Being dangerous gives you a bonus if the other person is aware of it, but it's based more on your ability to use that to get your way.Wouldn't that +4 bonus on Intimidate work fine, then? It still gives the race an effective +2 on Intimidate, taking their lowered Charisma into account.

[Belobog]

Wouldn't that +4 bonus on Intimidate work fine, then? It still gives the race an effective +2 on Intimidate, taking their lowered Charisma into account.

+3, since that -2 is to the score, not the modifier.

I'd be more concerned about abilities like Savage Howl, since it relies on a stat that is naturally lower than in other races, and yet it's a racial feature, something they should at least be decent at.

[Zovc]

Right now, Savage Howl keeps track of itsself individually for each Gnoll. This is a lot to keep up with.

Instead, why not make it to where if you resist a high level gnoll's howl, you're immune to all howls from level four gnolls and below? That way, when you get to the big boss, he's still scary, but you're callous to lesser gnolls.

Also, is this a LA +0/0HD race? It seems very powerful for that. (+2 Str, +2 Con... and 40 speed?) I like them, but they're very powerful.

[Fax Celestis]

Right now, Savage Howl keeps track of itsself individually for each Gnoll. This is a lot to keep up with.

Instead, why not make it to where if you resist a high level gnoll's howl, you're immune to all howls from level four gnolls and below? That way, when you get to the big boss, he's still scary, but you're callous to lesser gnolls.I'll consider it.


Also, is this a LA +0/0HD race? It seems very powerful for that. (+2 Str, +2 Con... and 40 speed?) I like them, but they're very powerful.
d20r races are, as a whole, generally more powerful than the races you're used to--however, they are approximately balanced with each other, though they are each suited for various different tasks. If you were to use a d20r race in a low-level 3.5 game, you might consider giving it +1 LA--beyond about level 6, though, the difference would be negligible.

[Scow2]

While this may be considered thread necromancy... I'm about to playtest this race over on the PbP boards and would like to offer my suggestions:

Do not allow gnolls to use STR as an Intimidate modifier instead of CHA. The Terrifying quality already more than makes up for the stat adjustment. The fact that it's a large Hyena-Furry would be enough to scare the crap out of people. They probably wouldn't notice or appreciate the variation of musculature between gnolls. On the other hand, a gnoll with a high Charisma, like everyone else, has a stronger, almost intangible Force of Personality, which gets people to take notice of what they say. A gnoll with a low charisma has a harder time presenting itself, inspiring those it attempts to bully to try to dance linguistic circles around it, sort of like the Cobbler to the Roman Soldiers in the begining of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Also, for balance purposes, a Gnoll PC with a 16 STR (which is extremely common) starts with a +7 to Intimidate at level 1 without any skill points invested in it.

As for Savage Howl... Since it's only "Shaken" not "stirred", the least form of Fear, not Frightened or Panicked, I think it could be reworked as an augmentation to an Intimidate check. Spending the point allows the gnoll to attempt to make a Demoralize check against every creature within a 30-foot radius, instead of just a single target within melee range. Those that fail the modified level check are shaken for 1d4 rounds instead of just 1 round. It is still a supernatural, mind-affecting Fear effect.

A penalty to WIS makes absolutely no sense for a savage creature... Hyenas and every single animal in the Monster Manual has a bonus to WIS because they have keener senses, instincts, and awareness. Why would a Gnoll be denied access to natural instincts?

Also... I liked the gnoll's natural armor. The fur and tough hide are enough to justify it... But we don't want to make the furry too OP...