SociopathFriend
2019-05-13, 06:04 PM
Disclaimer-
I don't do much homebrew mainly because I'm a rules guy- I try to always play by them and enforce them even if not the DM. So my attempts at working outside the rules are scant at best.
That said, ever since a brief stint in Pathfinder when I was reincarnated as one I have enjoyed the Gnoll as a race and in 5e it's not a thing. Volo's was quite clear- you won't play a Gnoll. They're just too darn monstrous and channeling an evil hunger. I understand that angle, I even like it to a degree that the Gnoll isn't just a normal creature running around but are basically personified demon hunger influence from their Demon Lord and God. It sets the Gnoll apart from all the other races that are mean and nasty- Gnolls aren't even traditionally born they sort of just spawn. All good stuff- er evil stuff- but it prevents them from being PCs.
I can't have that. So with that in mind I'm going to attempt my first Race homebrew.
So what should a Gnoll have?
Stats-
They're only concerned with hunger remember- even if you break free enough with whatever backstory element to act on your own this dominating NEED would be a defining part of your character and so you won't be adding racial points to Wisdom, Intelligence, or Charisma. That leaves Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution. A Gnoll shouldn't overly care about preserving itself in my opinion so much as getting to its prey/enemy and beating on it and devouring it almost like a berserk Kirby. So Strength and Dexterity- leaning towards Strength.
So +2 Strength, +1 Dexterity
Starting Proficiency-
Gnolls won't inherently have proficiency with any weapon or armor save its Bite- which deals 1d6 + Strength as bludgeoning damage.
They should however have something for tracking down enemies. A Gnoll doesn't want to talk or investigate but hunt its target down and consume it. In this regard I would say it should be proficient in Athletics and Survival.
Traits-
Here's where things get tricky as I utterly do not fully understand how to balance this sort of thing and I will admit that. However we're already given two traits from the Gnoll as an enemy- Rampage and Darkvision.
Rampage: When a Gnoll reduces an enemy to 0 hitpoints it can use it's Bonus Action to move up to half its movement speed and make a single Attack with its Bite.
Darkvision: 60 feet worth of dim = light and dark = dim.
Now while both of those are good- I feel like we can push just a little farther because our Gnoll isn't packing that much when you look at it. So one more Trait then- something to help flesh out the flesh-eating monster mentality they're channeling.
I have a few ideas but am unsure which works best- perhaps a Gnoll PC can choose one of them? Feedback on these would be appreciated as they're the most complex part of the idea.
1) Flesh Feast
Once per short rest a Gnoll can use an Action to tear at and consume parts of an unconscious, incapacitated, or dead enemy, restoring their Constitution modifier + half their total level in hit points. Does not work on Constructs, Plants, Undead, or anything else that isn't going to really be considered food to them.
2) Living Hunger
When the Gnoll is incapacitated and an enemy reaches 0 hit points within 15 feet of a Gnoll, it automatically stabilizes and regains 1 hit point at the start of its turn but must take its full movement and Action to attempt to reach the enemy and attack them. This trait cannot be used again until the Gnoll completes a short rest.
3) Pack Allegiance
A Gnoll is a part of the pack and the pack is part of the Gnoll. This pack mentality manifests as Advantage on saving throws against spell that force Gnolls to attack allies.
^Admittedly this was tacked on later and I don't entirely think it fits but it was suggested.
The basic idea is to play up the idea of a Gnoll being hunger incarnate- its entire racial kit is based around getting to something and destroying it and feasting upon it. On the specific scenario where you can chain something like Flesh Feast/Living Hunger with Rampage you're a wrecking crew running around eager to slaughter but your endless need for devouring others limits you to certain targets to get the most out of this.
I don't do much homebrew mainly because I'm a rules guy- I try to always play by them and enforce them even if not the DM. So my attempts at working outside the rules are scant at best.
That said, ever since a brief stint in Pathfinder when I was reincarnated as one I have enjoyed the Gnoll as a race and in 5e it's not a thing. Volo's was quite clear- you won't play a Gnoll. They're just too darn monstrous and channeling an evil hunger. I understand that angle, I even like it to a degree that the Gnoll isn't just a normal creature running around but are basically personified demon hunger influence from their Demon Lord and God. It sets the Gnoll apart from all the other races that are mean and nasty- Gnolls aren't even traditionally born they sort of just spawn. All good stuff- er evil stuff- but it prevents them from being PCs.
I can't have that. So with that in mind I'm going to attempt my first Race homebrew.
So what should a Gnoll have?
Stats-
They're only concerned with hunger remember- even if you break free enough with whatever backstory element to act on your own this dominating NEED would be a defining part of your character and so you won't be adding racial points to Wisdom, Intelligence, or Charisma. That leaves Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution. A Gnoll shouldn't overly care about preserving itself in my opinion so much as getting to its prey/enemy and beating on it and devouring it almost like a berserk Kirby. So Strength and Dexterity- leaning towards Strength.
So +2 Strength, +1 Dexterity
Starting Proficiency-
Gnolls won't inherently have proficiency with any weapon or armor save its Bite- which deals 1d6 + Strength as bludgeoning damage.
They should however have something for tracking down enemies. A Gnoll doesn't want to talk or investigate but hunt its target down and consume it. In this regard I would say it should be proficient in Athletics and Survival.
Traits-
Here's where things get tricky as I utterly do not fully understand how to balance this sort of thing and I will admit that. However we're already given two traits from the Gnoll as an enemy- Rampage and Darkvision.
Rampage: When a Gnoll reduces an enemy to 0 hitpoints it can use it's Bonus Action to move up to half its movement speed and make a single Attack with its Bite.
Darkvision: 60 feet worth of dim = light and dark = dim.
Now while both of those are good- I feel like we can push just a little farther because our Gnoll isn't packing that much when you look at it. So one more Trait then- something to help flesh out the flesh-eating monster mentality they're channeling.
I have a few ideas but am unsure which works best- perhaps a Gnoll PC can choose one of them? Feedback on these would be appreciated as they're the most complex part of the idea.
1) Flesh Feast
Once per short rest a Gnoll can use an Action to tear at and consume parts of an unconscious, incapacitated, or dead enemy, restoring their Constitution modifier + half their total level in hit points. Does not work on Constructs, Plants, Undead, or anything else that isn't going to really be considered food to them.
2) Living Hunger
When the Gnoll is incapacitated and an enemy reaches 0 hit points within 15 feet of a Gnoll, it automatically stabilizes and regains 1 hit point at the start of its turn but must take its full movement and Action to attempt to reach the enemy and attack them. This trait cannot be used again until the Gnoll completes a short rest.
3) Pack Allegiance
A Gnoll is a part of the pack and the pack is part of the Gnoll. This pack mentality manifests as Advantage on saving throws against spell that force Gnolls to attack allies.
^Admittedly this was tacked on later and I don't entirely think it fits but it was suggested.
The basic idea is to play up the idea of a Gnoll being hunger incarnate- its entire racial kit is based around getting to something and destroying it and feasting upon it. On the specific scenario where you can chain something like Flesh Feast/Living Hunger with Rampage you're a wrecking crew running around eager to slaughter but your endless need for devouring others limits you to certain targets to get the most out of this.