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Warlock

2020-06-04T09:31:04Z

2605:E000:141B:DE0:14D7:3B2D:CC0F:FA43: /* 5e */

:''For Eldar Warlock, see [[Warlock (Eldar)|here]].''

'''Warlocks''' are a type of magic spellcaster in fantasy settings. Also, in settings where "witch" is a gendered term (such as Charmed or the average Halloween store), they are the male counterpart of witches (because imagining a dude in one of those Leg Avenue witch costumes would be too [[gay]]). In other settings, it simply denotes a different school of magic user. Compared to others, warlocks are usually dedicated completely to offensive magic and in a few cases, dabbling in the forbidden arts like black magic and daemonology to achieve more power, although this is not always the case.

==In Deadlands==
In [[Deadlands]], both the generic black-magic using badguy and the PC "huckster" class/archetype/thingy would technically fall under the warlock moniker, and black magicians are commonly called warlocks to boot. Hucksters are a special case in that they literally deal with the devil for their magic; whenever a huckster casts a spell, they astrally project into the Spirit World and offer a passing demon to play a game of skill & chance (poker being, of course, traditional); if the demon wins, it gets a chunk of the huckster's soul (which translates to a huge amount of physical pain and/or death for the huckster), and if the huckster wins, the demon has to surrender the mojo needed to make the huckster's spell a reality. Part of what makes spells differ in difficulty to cast is the some spells either need more juice to work than others or else are calling for stuff the demon wouldn't normally like to do - it's a lot easier to call them up to kill somebitch than to make them protect you, for example.

==In Dungeons & Dragons==
[[File:D%26D Warlock.jpg|400px|thumb|right|A Warlock class character.]]
Instead of gaining their power though meticulous training and study like the [[Wizard]], or natural-born talent like the [[Sorcerer]], they make contracts with very powerful entities and forces and channel that energy, like an arcane [[Cleric]].

Ironically, despite being defined by their pacts with powerful patrons, the root words of "warlock" actually translate as "oathbreaker". In the Christian tradition that the term originates from, this is because they have broken their "oath" to God by striking a deal with another entity (or, to be more old school about it, striking their name from God's Book of Life and signing it in Satan's black Book of Death). In D&D, it subtly telegraphs the inevitable plot hooks about conflict with the character's patron, and their sudden but inevitable betrayal.

===1e===
In 1st ed AD&D, characters had titles as they leveled up. An 8th level Magic-User gained the title "Warlock." Nobody cared about these titles, not even the people who used weapon speed or the AC to-hit modifiers for each weapon. There was a Dragon magazine article (issue 43) describing a 'witch' npc class, and male npcs that took this class were sometimes called "warlocks" instead.

===2e===
In 2nd ed AD&D, a character could take a class kit, which was essentially a set of alternate class features that you could take to add a different play style to a class. Such kits required you to meet certain requirements to take them though. In the [[Splatbook| The Complete Wizard's Handbook]], there was a Wizard kit called the Witch. In the description of the Witch kit, it is mentioned that most Witches are female, but male Witches are possible, being commonly referred to as Warlocks. The Witch kit states that the power the Witch gains, is taught to them by extraplanar entities, for a variety of reasons. In exchange for this magical knowledge though, Witches constantly had to struggle with the extraplanar entities to maintain their free will. Unlike traditional Wizards, a Witch needed to be more than just Intelligent, requiring decent Wisdom and Constitution scores as well. While this kit is not an official Warlock class, it was the first time the themes of the Warlock made it into a player class.

===3.5===
The 3.5 ed Warlock was introduced in ''[[Splatbook| Complete Arcane]]''. It looks like textbook [[munchkin]] bait, but is actually kinda ''meh''. Warlocks have at-will casting and no spells per day in 3.5, which made some people call hax but isn't so hot because very few DMs would ever run enough encounters in one in-game day for [[Vancian]] casters to completely run out of spells and most Warlock spells aren't that great anyways. Among the handful that do, some like to have [[Awesome|spells that are at-will and keep 3.5]]. One of the Warlock's most powerful abilities is to [[Dakka|DAKKADAKKADAKKA]] with Eldritch Blasts, without having an accuracy problem. This ability can win encounters, but the time necessary to do so balances it out, so this class is both for people who want fast combat going The Matrix on the ceiling, and for patient masterminds. Warlocks are [[Tier System|Tier 4]], able to do some things fairly well, but they simply don't get enough spells to remain versatile enough to participate in most encounters and have nothing game breaking enough to enter tier 2. Since their damage is static and they can't do much to improve it, they can have problems doling out enough damage to remain relevant, and a mere 2 skill points per level and no use for intelligence doesn't exactly help. Unlike most tier 4s, which would require major overhauls to bring to tier 3, Warlock just needs number tweaks to be brought to tier 3 with better skill points, spells known, and damage considered sufficient. Since Warlock invocations do not count as spells, Warlocks do not meet the "Able to cast Nth-level arcane spells" prerequisites for prestige classes like the [[Rainbow Servant]] and [[Mystic Theurge]]. Warlock levels do, however, count as arcane caster levels, so they meet the comparatively rare "Arcane caster level Nth" prerequisites of prestige classes like Acolyte of the Skin, Blood Magus, Enlightened Fist, Green Star Adept, and Wild Mage. Warlocks can also enter the few prestige classes explicitly intended for them (there are 3 such classes in ''Complete Arcane'' and 2 in other books).

Unusually for a non-core base class, Warlock got a decent amount of support in future splat where most non-core classes were forgotten by WotC beyond one or two future additions. [[Dragonfire Adept]] uses Warlock mechanics with a slightly different spin. Warlocks were even included in the base game of ''[[Neverwinter Nights]] 2'', though there's no reason to bother with one unless the module you're playing restricts resting (as both expansion packs do) since a wizard can regain his spells in (literally) 6 seconds in this game.

Warlock is an unusually potent [[Dip Class]] since many of the abilities they can get at level 1 are passives that last all day.

===Pathfinder===
[[Pathfinder]] didn't give the warlock a conversion due to the non OGL status of the 3rd edition version. ''Occult Adventures'', however, introduced the [[Kineticist]] class, which follows Warlock mechanically a bit more closely than [[Magus]] to [[Duskblade]], but thematically you are an element bender instead of having made vague deals with evil outsiders or fey. Unfortunately, the Kineticist is also considered one of the most difficult classes to build in Pathfinder, and the hardest to understand. The [[witch]] takes up the flavor portion of the warlock while having its own mechanics.

Then ''Ultimate Intrigue'' came along and made warlock an archetype of the Vigilante. In this context, they are more Vigilante Arcane spellcasters. While they have some Magus spellcasting, they also can sling magical bolts, and still use almost all the vigilante tricks of misdirection, masked combat, and walking straight past the guards after making a quick change of outfits. Sadly the mystic bolts thing is utterly non-supported and falls apart by mid-levels without third party materials, but you're still proficient in martial weapons and have pretty decent casting. You can change your bolts to bludgeoning, piercing or slashing with the Weapon Versatility feat, but this just means you're subject to damage reduction.

===4e===
When 4th edition rolled around, Warlocks made a surprising leap into the [[Player's Handbook]], supplanting the [[Sorcerer (Dungeons & Dragons)|Sorcerer]] as "the other PHB [[mage]] class". Classified as Arcane Strikers, Warlocks were flavored as eerie, sinister casters who could place victims under dread curses and gain magical benefits by reaping the souls of those they had cursed. They were also somewhat stealthy, thanks to their "Shadow Walk" feature, which granted them concealment until the end of their next turn on any turn in which they moved at least 3 squares. Like all classes in core 4e, the Warlock had subclasses, and a very obvious basis: their Pact, or what 5e would rename their Patron; the specific kind of unearthly entity that the warlock had received their power from, which even dictated one of their cantrips and also determined which kind of bonus they got from reaping the souls of those they had cursed. As a result, they started with three patron types in the PHB; the Fey, the Infernal, and the Star. In a step that 5e wouldn't replicate, a paragon level (11+) Warlock could take a feat called ''Twofold Pact'', which represented them swearing allegiance to a '''second''' patron and getting access to its associated cantrip and pact boon, allowing them to choose which boon to benefit from whenever they d dropped a cursed enemy.

The '''Fey Pact''' was made with an [[Archfey]] or, really, any particularly strong [[fey]]. Fey spells tend to have themes of either "glamour magic" (seductive, intoxicating enchantments") or savage nature-type magic (such as setting a pack of ravenous sprites on a foe that rend the flesh from their bones). Their mandatory cantrip is Eyebite, and their pact boon is Misty Step (teleport 3 squares when a cursed creature drops to 0 HP).

The '''Infernal Pact''' was, as you can probably guess, made with a scheming [[devil]], or maybe even one of the [[Archdevil]]s. The least subtle of the pacts, it's all about scouring foes with fire, sucking away their souls, or invoking other hostile elements from [[Baator]]. Is mandatory spell is Hellish Rebuke and its pact boon is Dark One's Blessing (gain temporary HP equal to your level when a cursed creature drops to 0 HP).

The '''Star Pact''' is an odd one, with elements of the [[Cthulhu Mythos]] - basically, in the [[World Axis]] cosmology, certain stars are sapient and they're basically giant [[aberration]]s, which can bestow powers on those willing to risk communion with them. These stars were so new that they actually got an article in [[Dragon Magazine]] ("Wish Upon A Star", #366) that went full Lovecraft, detailing some of the most common of these "dark stars" and a [[Paragon Path]], the Student of Caiphon, dedicated to one of these stars - something that would be followed up in Dragon #403's "Strange Constellations", which adapted Atropus, Father Llymic, Pandorym, Ragnorra and The Worm That Walks from 3e's [[Elder Evils]] into star-fiends that can empower warlocks. Arcane Power would present a far more benevolent motif for the Star-lock in the Master of Starry Skies PP, but overall they remain a creepy, creepy son of a bitch - and the only class in the PHB other than the [[Cleric]] that specializes in doing radiant damage! Their mandatory cantrip is Dire Radiance, and their pact boon is Fate of the Void (you gain a +1 bonus to one D20 roll of your choice made before the end of your next turn when a cursed creature drops to 0 HP - this bonus stacks, but it only remains usable for one turn).

For those curious, the "dark stars" named in that issue are Acamar, Caiphon, Delban, Gibbeth, Hadar, Ihbar, Khirad, Nihal, Ulban and Zhudun. These had actually first appeared as part of certain powers in the PHB1, alongside a never-detailed star called Thuban ("Tendrils of Thuban", a level 15 daily spell, which paralyzes and consumes a cluster of foes with tendrils of of liquid summoned from the frozen emerald seas that lie under the star Thuban). The [[Monster Manual]] 3 would create a sadly under-developed monster category called the [[Star Spawn]]; celestial aberrations representing the progeny of these terrible stars, and even statting one such star - Allabar, Opener of the Way, a living planet corrupted by the [[Far Realm]] - as the most powerful of them.

When the [[Forgotten Realms]] Player's Guide rolled around for 4e, it introduced the new '''Dark Pact''', an alliance made with horrible, malevolent spirits native to the [[Underdark]] and popular with [[drow]] warlocks, resulting in spells focused on darkness, poison, madness, and spite. Several of its iconic spells possess the ability to gain upgrades if you inflict damage on your allies, although even without this "augment" they're quite beefy. Its mandatory cantrip is Spiteful Glamor, and its surprisingly complex pact boon is Darkspiral Aura (when a cursed creature drops to 0 HP, your Darkspiral Aura value gains 1 point; you can use your Darkspiral Aura as an immediate interrupt when an enemy makes a melee or ranged attack against you, inflicting 1d6/1d8/1d10 Necrotic & Psychic Damage per point in your Darkspiral Aura; if this damage is less than 12, your Aura drops to 0 points; if more than 12 damage, you can halve the damage you take and your Aura drops to 1 point - you lose all Aura points when you take a short rest).

[[Dark Sun]] did the same thing; the '''Sorcerer-King's Pact''' was its attempt to recreate the [[Templar]] of AD&D, that strange pseudo-priestly class that derived its powers from its oath of allegiance to the tyrannical mage-psions of Athas' last cities. Its mandatory cantrip is Hand of Blight, and its pact boon is Fell Scorn - this strange feature is borrowing some elements from the psionics rules system, and can trip up an unobservant reader; the Sorcerer-King pacted Warlock has a single point of "Fell Might", which can be spent when casting certain spells in order to trigger some upgraded effects, and is recharged whenever the warlock drops a cursed creature to 0 HP. This trait is controversial to say the least because, normally, pact-associated spells don't need to spend this sort of resource to get their bonus. Even though Fell Might will recharge like crazy because, hey, cursing people is what a warlock is supposed to ''do'', it still leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

Arcane Power would introduce what many wrongly believed to be the last of the Core pacts, in the form of the '''[[Vestige]] Pact'''; obviously themed after the [[Binder]] of last edition, the Vestige Pact calls upon the spirits of bizarre ghosts and ancient, forgotten entities, with a unique mechanic attached to it. Each Daily power associated with this pact, always named "Vestige of whoever", becomes a Vestige in the Warlock's arsenal. Whenever the warlock completes a rest, they can determine which Vestige is their "Active" Vestige - they can also choose to change their Active Vestige whenever they use one of those Vestige powers, causing the newly invoked Vestige to become Active. Your Active Vestige determines the effects of your pact boon and the secondary effects of your mandatory cantrip, "Eyes of the Vestige".

The reason that neither Vestige nor Sorcerer-King was the last of the Core 4e Warlock Pacts? Hidden in the Essentials era sourcebook "Heroes of the Elemental Chaos" is the '''Elemental Pact''' for core warlocks. Representing the obvious choice of a warlock drawing their power from a [[Archomental|Primordial]], this [[elementalist]] warlock has some slight overlap with the [[Wild Mage]], but not much. It gains the bonus feature "Elemental Affinity", where you have Affinity to either Acid, Cold, Fire, Fire, Lightning or Thunder - this is determined randomly each time you complete a rest, and you can change your Elemental Affinity when you invoke your second wind. When you cast an arcane attack power that deals Force, Necrotic, Poison or Psychic damage, you can make it inflict whichever damage type you have Elemental Affinity for instead. Its pact boon is Accursed Affinity; after you drop at least one cursed victim, everyone you place your Curse on for the rest of the encounter gains Vulnerability (5/tier) to whichever damage type you currently have Elemental Affinity with.

Essentials also introduced two Warlock [[Variant Class]]es (alternatively known as subclasses); "Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms" introduced the [[Hexblade]], an Arcane Striker-Defender that is basically a cross between a Warlock and a [[Swordmage]], whilst "Heroes of Shadow" introduced the [[Binder]], a restyling of the Warlock into a full-fledged Arcane Controller.

The Hexblade was initially introduced with only Fey and Infernal Pact options; it gained its own version of the Star Pact in Dragon #393, an Elemental Pact in "Heroes of the Elemental Chaos", and a Gloom Pact in "Heroes of Shadow".

The Binder, as the very last Warlock derivative to emerge prior to 4e's cancellation, only had the two Pacts; Gloom and Star, both in its native "Heroes of Shadow". It did manage to gain a Fey Pact for itself in Dragon #406.

It bears mentioning that, whilst original/"Core style" warlocks can take the spells from both the Binder and the Hexblade for themselves, the "Pacts" as used by these variant classes are not synonymous with the Core-lock's Pacts, so Gloom Pact spells have no special riders when used by non-Binders or Hexblades. This is one of the many reasons why most of 4e's fans didn't like the "simplified" versions of classes created for Essentials.

4e paired the Warlock class up with the [[Tiefling]] race, much like how Dwarves make iconic [[Fighter]]s or [[Clerics]], or Elves make good [[Wizard]]s, or [[Half-orc]]s make good [[Barbarian]]s. 5e continues this tradition.

====4e Sample Patrons====
Issue #381 of [[Dragon Magazine]] featured an article called "Performing the Pact", which provided some example Patrons for each of the five pacts available at the time.

The Dark Pact patron is ''Yorgrix, Weaver of the Poison Web'': once a demonweb spider kept as a [[familiar]] by an overconfident [[drow]] matron, Yorgrix patiently mastered the dark magic it watched its mistress perform and then, fueled by hunger and ambition, slew and devoured both her and the entire city in which she dwelled. Glutted on countless souls, Yorgrix was transformed into a dread spirit; now imprisoned in the city it massacred, it reaches out to the minds of mortals with a simple promise: power for food.

The Fey Pact patron is ''The Eochaid'', a strange [[fey]] spirit embodying the interplay between nature and arcane magic, and which manifests as a strange amalgamation of humanoid, animal and plant. Ancient as the [[Seldarine]] themselves, the Eochaid desires only to promote and strengthen magic, seeking its growth. Those willing to plant magic's seed - and to retrieve arcane artifacts for it to protect - are blessed with its wild hexes and unearthly glamors.

The Infernal Pact patron is ''The Prisoner in Iron'', an infernal warlock of such power that the [[Archdevil]]s feared him and have bound him in the deepest dungeons of Dis, hoping to hide him forever. But such is his power that he can still reach out to the mortal world, offering tutelage to the ambitious, seeking to empower a champion mighty enough to free him from his chains.

The Star Pact patron is ''Ulban, the Wanderer''; a sapient time-traveling comet from a far-flung apocalypse, the last survivor of its universe. Now it wanders space and time, empowering those who, in some inscrutable way, will play their part in prevent Ulban's future from coming to be - often battling against the other dark stars in the process.

The Vestige Pact patron is ''The Bleak Guide'', a reaper-like entity from the [[Shadowfell]] charged with maintaining the orderly transition of life to death, and more than willing to act as a go-between for [[vestige]]s and those mortals who will use their power to make is own existence easier. It can't act against the [[necromancer]]s and [[undead]] that vex it so - but its mortal agents, on the other hand...

===5e===
The 5e Warlock is a complicated marriage of 3e invocations, 4e pacts, and 5e spellcasting, with a few caveats. They gain a pitiful amount of spell slots, as well as only a handful of spells known. To the untrained player's eye, they're painfully limited compared to "real" casters, but in reality they're <strike>roid-pumping nightmares</strike> not bad. Their spell slots all automatically scale the slot level up so their spells are always guaranteed to be pumped up, and also refresh after every encounter or few (short rest). Invocations are back from 3.5, albeit scaled back a bit, providing various kinds of special abilities, from access to spells that aren't on their list as at-will, encounter or daily powers, to power-ups for the pact form, and of course power-ups for Eldritch Blast.

To complete the Warlock package, you get a pact with a supernatural being. The pact gives you a thematic extended spell list; for example, Great Old One Warlocks can cast (but not spam, sadly) Evard's Black Tentacles. Pacts provide a bevvy of unique class features like teleportation, damage resistance or telepathy. On top of magical powers, they also give you a consolation prize in the form of a pact boon, which can either be a souped-up familiar, a free enchanted weapon that you can shapeshift into whatever kind of weapon you need (and you always have proficiency with it, even if it's currently in a form you wouldn't otherwise have proficiency with), or a magical book that gives you an additional three cantrips that can each come from ''a separate class's list''. An alternative pact boon was the Star Chain, introduced in "Non Divine Faithful", which closely ties into the Seeker patron: this is a magical trinket that can be used to cast ''Augury'' and can be used to grant Advantage on an Int check once per short rest. A better alternate pact boon is the talisman, introduced in the class features UA, a magic necklace that allows whoever wears it (which can be you or anyone else, no attunement slot required) to add a d4 to an ability check roll if they aren't proficient in the pertinent skill.

The available pacts are:

''Archfey'' - Bound to a powerful faerie lord or sylvan pseudo-deity, a warlock with this pact gains the power of Fey Presence (Charm or Frighten all creatures in a 10ft cube around you once per short rest), Misty Escape (teleport 60 feet and turn invisible once per short rest), Beguiling Defenses (you are immune to Charming and can attempt to Charm anyone foolish enough to try a Charm effect on you) and Dark Delirium (can attempt to entrap a target in an illusion to Charm or Terrify it once per short rest). This one is in the Player's Handbook.

''Fiend'' - Bound to a [[Demon Prince]], [[Archdevil]], [[yugoloth|Ultraloth]], powerful [[demodand|ghereleth]], or other sufficiently-powerful entity native to the lower planes, a warlock with this pact gains Dark One's Blessing (gain temporary HP for dropping another creature to zero HP), Dark One's Luck (can add a d10 to an ability check or saving throw after you roll it once per short rest), Fiendish Resilience (gain Resistance to a single damage type of your choice after completing a short rest, though magic and silvered weapons can pierce it) and Hurl Through Hell (teleport a target into some hellish dimension for 1 turn, causing 10d10 Psychic damage to a non-fiendish target, once per long rest). This one is in the Player's Handbook.

''Great Old One'' - Warlocks with this pact are bound to terrible abominations from outside time and space, drawing on the power of aberrant gods like [[Cthulhu]]. They gain the boons of Awakened Mind (telepathy with a 30ft range), Entropic Ward (can make yourself harder to hit and get a bonus if the target missed once per short rest), Thought Shield (mind cannot be involuntarily read, Resistance to Psychic Damage, inflict equal Psychic damage on anyone who inflicts Psychic damage on you) and Create Thrall (permanently charm a single creature with a touch, gaining telepathic communication with them from anywhere on the same plane, so good luck justifying ''this'' ability with a good-aligned character). This one is in the Player's Handbook.

''Undying'' - A Warlock with this pact has offered their soul to something that has "cheated death"; most obviously a powerful [[lich]], [[ghost]] or [[vampire]], but mortals ascended to godhood and weirder things are also valid. [[Planescape: Torment|The Nameless One]] isn't mentioned, but would be a perfectly thematic (and awesome!) patron for this pact. The "necromantic" pact, these warlocks get features related to the ability to cheat death; Among the Dead (Spare the Dying as a bonus cantrip, Advantage on saving throws against disease, Undead must pass a Wisdom save to attack you), Defy Death (gain a significant healing 1/day by passing a death saving throw or using Spare the Dying), Undying Nature (can hold your breath indefinitely, don't need food, water or sleep, immunity to magical aging, age 1 year for every 10 you live) and Indestructible Life (can freely heal yourself 1/encounter, including reattaching limbs as part of it). Comes from the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide.

''[[Hexblade]]'' - Basically, you want to play a character inspired by [[Stormbringer|Elric of Melnibone]]; your power is with a mysterious [[Shadowfell]] entity that makes its presence felt through powerful weapons bound with shadowy magic. [[derp|Despite this, you don't have to take the Pact of the Blade.]] Having first appeared in [[Unearthed Arcana]], the official version came out in "Xanathar's Guide", at which point it seems to have absorbed some of the fluff, if not the crunch, from the [[Raven Queen]] patron featured in that same UA. This pledge makes the warlock more of a melee combatant, in the vein of the class it takes its name from; their two level 1 features are ''Hexblade's Curse'' (1/short rest, place a curse on a foe within 30ft that makes your attacks more likely to hit and heals you if they die whilst cursed) and ''Hex Warrior'' (you can enchant one-handed weapons you are proficient with to use Charisma for their attack & damage rolls; if you've the Pact of the Blade, your Pact Weapon always has this trait no matter the form it takes, also you get free proficiency with medium armor, shields and martial weapons). At level 6, they gain ''Accursed Specter'' (raise a slain humanoid as a loyal specter 1/day). Their level 10 feature, ''Armor of Hexes'', buffs up their curse by letting the warlock negate a cursed opponent's attack against them on a 4+. Finally, at level 14, they get ''Master of Hexes'', which lets them forgo the healing effect for dropping a cursed opponent to instead immediately reapply that curse to a fresh opponent. Its bonus spells are close-ranged, a mixture of protective spells (shield, blur, blink) and temporary weapon enchantments - the only exceptions are Phantasmal Killer and Cone of Cold.

''Celestial'' - This is the "good guy warlock" patron option, where you make a pact with an [[angel]] of some description. In mechanics, it's a refluffed version of the Undying Light Patron presented in an earlier Unearthed Arcana - ironically, unlike the Hexblade, this version was so well-received that WoTC saw no need to change its subclass features when they reprinted it for the Xanathar's Guide to Everything. The difference between the two versions is that it adds some healing spells to its list of bonus spells, instead of just fire/radiant damage-dealers, and rearranges what levels you get which features at. At 1st level, you gain Healing Light - the "heal with a touch" feature from the UL Patron, which it didn't get until level 14 - and Light & Sacred Flame as bonus cantrips. At level 6 it gets Radiant Soul, which is Resistance (Radiance) and bonus to radiant & fire damage, a feature the UL got at 1st level. They both get the same "bonus temporary HP on completing a rest" feature at level 10, but the Celestial renames it the Celestial Resilience trait. Finally, it gets Searing Vengeance - 1/day, when reduced to death, spring up at half maximum hitpoints and inflict radiant damage & blindness on all enemies within 30 feet - as its 14th level trait, when for the UL Patron it was a 6th level feature.
*More on that last ability: specifically, you can use it once per day, and you can opt to activate it instead of rolling a death save. So here's one way for you to exploit it: ''Celestial Warlock Drop Pod Bombing Runs''. It's kinda liked the ODST drop pods form halo, except without the actual pods. You get a bunch of other celestial warlocks, recruit a bunch of griffins or dragons or whatever, ride them over pearl harbor, then deliberately drop off your rides. After you get all your bones broken by the crash, you activate your Searing Vengence, then start shooting eldritch blasts, while topping off your health with your Healing light ability for your bonus actions. (of course the key here is that this ability can only be triggered ''when you would be otherwise forced to roll a death save'', and in 5e, if an attack that downs you has enough remaining overkill damage to equal your maximum possible HP, it will just kill your character outright, no death saves allowed. So if your ride's altitude is high enough for the fall damage to be ridiculous, then instead of looking like clever badasses, [[Modron|monodrones]] will just teleport in to put Darwin awards on your <s>corpses</s> puddles.)

====Semi-Official Stuff====
The Warlock has been surprisingly well-off in terms of [[Unearthed Arcana]] content, with the Ghost in the Machine, Undying Light, Seeker, [[Hexblade]] and [[Raven Queen]] patrons in Unearthed Arcana, and the [[Kraken]] and [[Lolth]] patrons created by Mearls and released either on his Stream or in Twitter. As stated, the Undying Light was reworked into the Celestial Patron, and the Hexblade made it into the game in Xanathar's Guide, and you can read up on the UA articles on its page.

But what about Mearls' creations? Well...

'''Lolth''' as a Patron is a kind of dark mirror to the normal [[Archfey]] patron, combining some obvious Lolth references with bits of the [[Queen of Air and Darkness]]. Her bonus spells are Faerie Fire and Jump (1st level spells), Darkness and Web (2nd level spells), Fear and Vampiric Touch (3rd level spells), Dimension Door and Giant Insect (4th level spells), and Cloudkill & Hold Monster (5th level spells).
* Her level 1 class feature is ''Dark Queen's Servitor''; this is basically a modified version of [[Druid|Wild Shape]] that lets you turn into a giant spider, whose bite does bonus poison damage based on your level. The big draw is that you can still cast your Bonus Spells whilst in giant spider form.
* At level 6, she grants you the ''Poisoned Beauty'' feature, which lets you attempt to inflict the Charmed and Vulnerable (Poison) conditions on a visible creature for 1 minute (or until damaged) if it fails a Charisma save. You can use this ability once per Short Rest.
* At level 10, she grants you the ''Spider Queen's Chosen'' feature, which gives you Resistance (Non-Magical Bludgeoning/Piercing/Slashing) when you're in Spider Form.
* Finally, at 14th level, she gives you the ''Kiss of the Spider Queen'' feature, which lets you spend an action to touch a creature; the victim of your touch takes 12d10 damage (your choice of Poison or Psychic), or half that if it succeeds on a Constitution save. You can only use this ability once per Long Rest, and a creature Charmed by you has Disadvantage on its save.

The '''Kraken''' Patron is pretty unique, and it makes a nicely themed pairing with a [[Sorcerer (Dungeons & Dragons)|Storm Sorcerer]]. Its bonus spells are a mixture of "storm [[elementalism]]" (thunderwave, create/destroy water, gust of wind, call lightning, water breathing, control water, cone of cold), two divinatory spells (augury, commune with nature) and Evard's Black Tentacles, which is an obvious fit.
* At level 1, you gain the feature ''Grasp of the Kraken'', which lets you summon writhing spectral tentacles at a point you can see within 60 feet. Creatures you target within 10ft of that point must make a Strength save against your Warlock spell save DC, or be grappled for 1 minute or until you use this ability again. A spectral tentacle has a Str (Athletics) bonus of 2 + your Proficiency bonus, and a reach of 10 feet.
* At level 6, you can the feature ''Inky Escape'', which lets you drop a Darkness (5ft radius) on a point within 5ft of you as a Reaction to taking damage once per short rest. You can see through this darkness, obviously.
* At level 10, you gain the powerful ''Scion of the Depths'' feature, which grants you the ability to breathe water, a swim speed equal to your normal speed, and Immunity (Lightning). When your immunity reduces damage from an effect to 0, as a reaction you can cause creatures of your choice that you can see within 30 ft. of you to take lightning damage equal to your Charisma modifier + your proficiency bonus.
* Finally, at level 14, you gain the feature ''Unleash the Kraken'', which lets you open a portal at a point visible within 30 feet of you. When you open the portal, kraken tentacles pour through it, and you must choose which boon you gain from the list below. Once you use this ability, you must complete a long rest before you can use it again.
** ''Transport:'' You and up to 5 creatures of your choosing that you can see are grasped by tentacles that emerge from the portal. A second portal opens at a point of your choice within 100 miles that you have visited in the past 24 hours, depositing you and your chosen allies there.
** ''Fury:'' The tentacles slam into your foes. Pick up to 5 creatures that you can see within 30 ft. of the portal. Those creatures must make Dexterity saving throws against your Warlock spell save DC. Creatures that fail their saving throws take 10d6 bludgeoning damage and are restrained for 1 minute. Creatures that succeed take half the bludgeoning damage and are not restrained. On its turn, a restrained creature can use its action to attempt a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to end its restrained condition.

The Kraken Patron above eventually got bumped up to a slightly higher tier of Semi-official with the release of the September UA's '''Lurker in the Deep Patron''', which pays a lot of homage to the above. It can be seen as an upgrade to the Kraken Patron. The bonus spells are exactly the same.
* At level 1, you get the ''Grasp of the Deep'', which is basically the same thing as Grasp of the Kraken, but instead of grappling with the tentacles you get to smack someone repeatedly for 1d8 (upgrades to 2d8 at level 10) cold/lightning damage as a bonus action. It also reduces their speed by 10 feet temporarily. Also at level 1, you get ''Scion of the Deep'', which lets you telepathically communicate to anything with a swimming speed like Aquaman.
* At level 6, you get ''Fathomless Soul'', which gives you a bunch of sea-themed goodies: the ability to breathe air and water, resistance to cold damage, and a swimming speed equal to your walking speed. You also get ''Guardian Grasp'', which allows you to halve any incoming damage for you or your buddies by wrapping your tentacle around them. This will make the tentacle go away, but it's well worth it.
* At level 10, you get ''Devouring Maw'' which summons a giant gaping maw that restrains foes in an area on a failed save, deals them an automatic 3d6 cold/lightning damage, and nets you some sweet temp hp equal to your Warlock level as long as there is someone near the maw.
* As your capstone at level 14, you get ''Unleash the Depths'' which is more or less the same thing as Unleash the Kraken above. The only major difference is that the Fury half of unleash does 6d10 cold rather than 10d6 Bludgeoning, and knocks people prone.

===Class Feature Variants===
The November 2019 UA granted quite a few things to the Warlock aside from the ability to swap out a spell each long rest (A necessity with how cramped the Warlock's slots are) and some new spells.

Each of the existing pacts gain some new Invocations, with Tomelocks gaining more spell-like powers and Advantage on concentration saves, Bladelocks gaining automatic armor proficiency, and Chainlocks being able to make their pets attack as a bonus. However, the biggest update here is the new Pact - The Pact of the Talisman gives you a talisman that allows whoever wears it (which can be you or anyone else, no attunement slot required) to add a d4 to an ability check roll (and saving throw if you have the pertinent invocation) if they aren't proficient in the pertinent skill. The other eldritch invocations specific to this pact require someone other than you to be wearing the talisman, as the first one allows you and said person to teleport to each other as an action, and the other lets you counter-attack something who hurts the person wearing your talisman.

===A minor footnote on D&D 4e and 5e Warlocks===

One of the roleplaying possibilities for Warlocks that sometimes gets mentioned is that once empowered, the Warlock is under no obligation to keep obeying their Patron. The rules explicitly do not contain any references to any of the patrons being able to strip the powers from a Warlock, unlike, say, a Paladin--in other words, the implication is that once granted, a Warlock's powers are theirs to keep. (It's mildly worth mentioning that "Warlock" descends from the old English ''"wǣrloga"'', meaning "traitor or deceiver" ("wǣr", meaning "covenant, truce, or pact" and "loga", meaning "liar"), and that kind of name cuts both ways.)

This was intentional (as, among other things, it allowed for Lawful Good Infernal Warlocks without the need for some very creative roleplaying), and influenced the initial three 4e Patron choices (and a few later ones): Who would give away free power to mortals that you could not revoke? Somebody whose cause is advanced by the mere usage of that power; Devils, Archfey and The Great Old Ones all obviously qualify (as did [[Vestige]]s)--all were (in 4e's default cosmology, at least) restrained in some way from the mortal world, and higher level 4e Warlock powers, at least, frequently gave them some temporary purchase on said world when used. On top of that, from the immortal patron's point of view, letting the recalcitrant Warlock keep their power is a good PR stunt: sure, one mortal might balk, but others will start wondering where he got his powers from. Others that might be more amenable to the patron's goal...

([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiS5mkIff_8 Here's a Mike Mearls interview] that explicitly notes this possibility in 5e, as well. Then again, Mearls also implies in that interview that Clerics can turn against their Deity and still have their Divine Magic, so take that claim for what it's worth. Admittedly, Divine classes did lose their "powers are revoked if your deity is pissed" trait in 4e, so it's not unprecedented.)

DMs should also note that while the Patron cannot directly withdraw the Warlock's new powers, they are also not restricted from sending repo men to get the recalcitrant Warlock back in line if the Warlock still has debt outstanding.

===How to build a warlock that the [[Paladin]] won't try to kill===

At first glance the warlock would look like a class that would be difficult to justify having a Good alignment. This is not true; all it takes is some roleplaying creativity and lore familiarity. Here are some ideas sorted by pact:

''Archfey''
*There are just as many Good or Neutral Fey as there are Evil ones. Just take your pick.
*You actually work for a full Faerie Court. The Evil jerk you take orders from is just your immediate supervisor and/or teacher, and you sometimes report to somebody non-Evil further up the chain of command on what he has you doing, just to make sure he's not using you for his personal benefit.

''Fiend''
*You offered someone on one side of the [[Blood War]] your services against the other, on the condition that you *only* be sent to kill people connected to the enemy (This is easiest with whoever's currently [[Archdevil|Archduke]] of the first layer of [[Baator]], since they have to fumigate their lawn of demons every freaking morning and are always looking for help).
*You made the old classic "Sell the soul of my future firstborn child to the devil in exchange for power" bargain... but conveniently failed to mention that you're gay (this also works with the archfey pact if none of the good or neutral options appeal to you, since fairy tale creatures sometimes have a habit of abducting children).
*You straight-up bought the powers from Mammon, Archduke of greed, with ordinary freaking money. Because Mammon is a fiend who actually does that.
*Like the Hellknights of [[Pathfinder]], you are more concerned with order and empire-building than being evil. Stability is your primary concern. (Be warned, some Paladins will probably still kill you for this)

''Great Old One''
*This one is actually a lot easier than you might think. Firstly, it's important to remember that Far Realm entities aren't evil-aligned, they're [incomprehensible symbol] or [different incomprehensible symbol]-aligned. Secondly, most GOO's are by-nature nearly-if-not-completely impossible for beings native to the [[Great Wheel]] to cognitively process, so if you're lazy you could just say that your patron, Covfefe the unknowable, never explained their motives to you and thrust these powers upon you without you ever having asked for them in the first place.
*Heck, the PHB itself outright says that a GOO patron doesn't even need to be '''aware''' of you, and that your powers might've just come from reading a copy of the Necronomicon!
*If you insist on having a backstory more fleshed-out than that however, then you could say that your patron finds the Great Wheel reality and it's denizens just as alien and incomprehensible as we would the GOO's, and is using you to try to make sense of it as best they can; they might for example periodically take over your body and crudely try to mimic common human activities (the way an ape or toddler would) in an attempt to discern the meaning behind them.
**Or your Patron sees through your eyes, and asks you strange questions; but as long as you survive, and seek out "interesting" things, it's happy just to observe the mortal world through you. (Think "Very strange overly-inquisitive six-year old".)
*You developed a beef with devils for some reason, and were offered warlock powers by [[Zargon]], the leader of the Baatorans and the guy who ruled [[Baator]] before Asmodeus kicked him out. Also works as a fiendish patron.
*Your patron is Caiphon, a [[Awesome|giant, sapient, purple star that wanders around the night sky]], said to have an important role to play in the future of the world. (This being is listed among the "Elder Evils," [[What|but those beings, despite the name, are noted to only ''generally'' be evil]]).
**Or your patron is Ulban; a sapient comet made from the last surviving souls after a future apocalypse which has traveled back in time to recruit agents to prevent that apocalypse from coming to pass.

''Undying''
*Remember, the description for this patron is that they have "Cheated death" somehow, so they don't have to be undead; As mentioned above, entities like originally-mortal gods or The Nameless One (the PC from the videogame [[Planescape: Torment]]) would work just fine here.
*Your patron is an ''Arch''lich, which is a type of lich who isn't evil (they've been in D&D lore for longer than the "must periodically feed mortal souls to phylactery to stay around" aspect of lichdom has, so they probably sustain themselves on bandits and murderhobos or maybe just sheer force of willpower and magical might).
*Most of the Fiendish ideas can also work here if your Patron is [[Orcus]], the Demon Prince of the Undead (doubly so since he was originally a mortal). Loopholes, ho!

''Hexblade''
*The [[Shadowfell]] is no more an inherently Evil plane any more than [[Feywild]] is an inherently Good one. Maybe your Patron weapon really hates Fey creatures or some such.
*There is no reason you could not refluff the hexblade to be any kind of high powered magical sentient sword and the archetype could also work if you, say, had Excalibur as your patron. or maybe it's just an axe that's always eager for you to hit stuff with it.
*Since the Shadowfell is (among other things) the "waiting room" where the recently deceased get sorted into the proper [[Outer Planes|Outer Plane]], your Patron could be something that seeks to destroy undead and send them where, in it's eyes, they should've arrived long ago.

''Celestial''
*Normally this pact should present even less of a problem than the Archfey one, but it can be just as problematic as any of the others if, say, the DM is running an Explicitly Evil Campaign set in [[Ravenloft]]. So in a situation like that, you could for example say that your Patron gifted you your powers as an act of goodwill in the hopes that it might change your outlook on life.
*Or more believably, your patron could be an evil Empyrean.

''Any''
*Your powers come from your (likely Aberrant) [[Dragonmark]]. This one is an officially suggested option, albeit [[Eberron]] specific.
*You won your powers in a game of chance, The-Devil-Went-Down-To-Georgia style.
*Your pact is tied to your bloodline like a sorcerer, not anything ''you'' in particular did; maybe some distant ancestor of yours helped one of the archdevils get into their current position for example, so they guaranteed that all that person's firstborn descendants would be warlocks. (Surprisingly common with Fiends. In the [[Nentir_Vale]] setting, this is implied to be the case with many [[Tiefling]] Infernal Warlocks.)
*Your patron isn't asking you to do anything particularly evil; for example, the Lawful Evil Fiend wants you to fight off the Orcish Horde which is endangering his long term plans (and killed your family), or the entity is more interested in having a reliable diplomatic courier.
*You're somehow important to your patron's long-running scheme, whether as a chosen one or in a simple "for want of a nail" kind of way. What matters is that your patron needs you to survive long enough to serve your purpose, which the warlock powers are useful for.
*You and your patron share a common enemy; particularly reasonable if the enemy wants you dead to the point that they will throw serious resources at you.
*You sold not your soul to your patron, but your memories, and as such don't have a clue who you are or why you wanted the power in the first place (works great for when you need to write up a warlock in a hurry and only have time for the crunch).
*You genuinely did not know that the entity you bargained with was evil, as it was masquerading as a more benevolent entity.
*You were tricked or coerced into becoming a servant of your patron and they gave you warlock powers so you could be a more versatile pawn, not because you actually wanted them.
*You got your powers by theft or trickery, not because your patron actually wanted to give them to you.
*You killed the previous person your patron empowered, justified or by accident, and the patron has decided '''you''' are going to replace them, like it or not.

*You went stag on your boss, as mentioned above.
*You keep the paladin constantly charmed.

===Custom Warlock pacts and Patrons===

A lot of fans like to design their own custom warlock patrons, which doesn't necessitate homebrewing a new pact. After all, there are a lot of powerful entities in the [[Great Wheel]] that would theoretically be fully capable of granting such a pact: [[Archomental|Archomentals]], [[Modron]] hierarchs, [[Slaad]] lords, and [[Rilmani]] Arurumachs, just to name a few. A good rule of thumb to keep in mind is that any potential patron should logically be at least more powerful than an [[Illithid]] Elder Brain (which, for reference, has a Challenge Rating of 14), otherwise [[Anal circumference|every mind flayer would have warlock levels]].

If however you ''do'' want to homebrew a new warlock subclass, then there's a free PDF on the DM's guild that's a handy guide for doing so: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/259521/CreateAPatron-A-Warlock-Patron-Creation-Guide

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Gnoll

2020-06-02T01:44:35Z

2605:E000:141B:DE0:14D7:3B2D:CC0F:FA43: /* Culture */

[[File:4e Gnoll Warriors.jpg|400px|thumb|right|Something you really don't want to see when adventuring.]]
In order to sate the eternal hunger of [[Adventurer|murderhobos]] for fresh faces to kill and loot from, [[Dungeons & Dragons]] has created many, many different races. The humble Monstrous Humanoids have long made up the bulk of these doomed souls; sapient enough to have plans beyond simply skulking in a hole in the ground and waiting to pounce, yet inhuman enough to be butchered without guilt, they are truly the backbone of the classic hack-and-slash game. Some of these have even surpassed their humble origins, achieving a level of player interest that has sown demands for portrayals beyond sword-fodder roles. [[Kobolds]], [[Goblins]], [[Orcs]], even [[Ogre]]s have all managed to attain a notoriety and a connection with D&Ders that has seen attempts to raise them up from the mud.

And then there are races who haven't been so fortunate. The gnoll is one of them.

Born way back in [[Dungeons_%26_Dragons#Basic_Dungeons_.26_Dragons|Basic Dungeons & Dragons]] - they were actually in the White Box, released back in 1974, gnolls were originally a jokey monster, said to be the result of crossbreeding a [[gnome]] with a [[troll]]. But, come [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]], people realized that this was really too stupid for words, so they were instead changed into a hyena-based beast-man race. They were given a rather slap-dash generic evil humanoid lore, with about the most notably things being a profound laziness that leads to a reliance on slavery, and a particular fondness for cannibalism. Because nothing makes your adventurers feel more heroic than kicking the shit out of people who brutally force others to work for them until they drop and then eat them alive.

And we're not joking about the slap-dash efforts. Seriously, look at the difference in the AD&D MM manuals for the [http://www.lomion.de/cmm/gnoll.php Gnoll], [http://www.lomion.de/cmm/orc.php Orc] and [http://www.lomion.de/cmm/sahuagin.php Sahuagin]; the [[Orc]] and [[Sahuagin]] entries are at least twice as long.

Despite all this, gnolls have managed to claw out a niche for themselves in D&D; having been there in every edition, and even in its [[Pathfinder]] spin-off, gnolls don't look to be going anywhere anytime soon. And a few settings, most-notably [[Eberron]] and [[Wicked Fantasy]], have at least ''attempted'' to round them off a little.

Unfortunately, they don't look to getting more mainstream any time soon. The 5e Monster Manual outright says gnolls, unlike other monster races, ''are'' just born bad, due to the demonic influence of their creator Yeenoghu. And authors for 5th edition's "Volo's Guide to Monsters", the 5e analogue to a Monster Manual 2/Complete Book of Humanoids hybrid, felt it necessary to explicitly call out that gnolls will not be a PC race option, due to being "too demonic"... despite the fact that they had a PC writeup in the previous edition, which is where they stole the "Gnolls are direct creations of Yeenoghu" lore from.

==Physiology==
As mentioned above, gnolls, pronounced 'Noll' as the G is silent, are hyena-based beast-men, so they resemble humanoid creatures with clawed fingers and the tails, pelts and heads of hyenas. Exactly which aspect of their physiology dominates, the man or the beast, depends on edition and to an extent on setting; their original AD&D art makes them very humanoid, but later editions have made them more feral, with typically hunched back, longer arms, and shorter legs, leading to a more primal, ape-like body-stance. They also have gone from human-like legs to more digitigrade legs, complete with paws in lieu of feet.

In some settings, such as the [[Wicked Fantasy]] setting, it's stated that gnolls can actually move around more quickly and easily on all fours, furthering their "primalness".

Gnolls typically are portrayed with features akin to the spotted hyena, the largest, most aggressive and sociable of hyena species, most notably the pelt coloration. In 3.5's Monster Manual IV, 4e's Playing Gnolls, and Pathfinder's Monster Codex, it's stated that female gnolls are actually larger and more aggressive than males, which is another trait iconic of the spotted hyena.

==Gallery==
<center>
<gallery>
File:Gnoll ODnD.png|The very first depiction of the gnoll, as a rather [[hobgoblin]]-like creature.
File:Gnoll ADnD.png|The first depiction of gnolls as the now-iconic hyena [[beastfolk]].
File:Gnoll 2nd ADnD.png
File:1993 gnoll.jpg|The first ever color picture of a gnoll, done by [[Tony DiTerlizzi]].
File:Gnoll 3rd.png
File:PF Gnoll Pack.jpg
File:Gnoll Family Photo.jpg
File:4e Gnoll Raid.png
File:4e Gnoll Savages.jpg
File:4e Gnoll Warriors.jpg
File:Gnoll 5e.png
</gallery>
</center>

==Culture==
[[File:4e Gnoll Raid.png|400px|thumb|right|Gnolls doing what gnolls do best.]]
In a word, savage. Gnolls tend to be described as lazy and feral creatures, relying mostly on slavery, banditry and bloody raids to fashion themselves with labor, food and weapons. They're more likely to be described as nocturnal, in recent days, and often their barbarity is tied into their worship of malevolent deities - see Religion below. Cannibalism and scavenging are also huge in their culture, if only because they're both obligate carnivores and shamelessly lazy.

In general, though, they're fairly one-dimensional bad guys, with little characterization beyond basically being bigger, tougher, fuzzier humanoids. About the only exception to their general cookie-cutter evil humanoid fluff is this: despite their propensity towards evil, gnolls are strongly pack-oriented. Whilst they may struggle for position in the pack, to an extent depending on the sourcebook, they always unite together to defend themselves against anyone not in the pack. This doesn't mean all other gnolls are treated as allies however; if you're not directly part of the pack, you're meat, and race has nothing to do with it. Packs sometimes unite to form larger tribes, or rampaging hordes.

So, yeah, not exactly brimming with fluff. In general, character development has tended to pass gnolls by...But not always. Gnolls have actually been playable for a long time, and eventually somebody was bright enough to realize that if this is the case, then a more nuanced depiction is probably in order. Perhaps the first real example of this was in the generic 3.5 sourcebook "Races of the Wild", which explains that some of the nomadic tribes have turned their backs on their evil nature; these gnolls are described as being akin to the barbaric human tribes of the same regions, with "harsh but fair" moral codes, an extremely strong sense of loyalty ("to name someone your pack-brother is to give them your trust for life"), a love of hunting, a strong sense of curiosity, and a powerful driving wanderlust.

Not a lot of fluff, true, but leaps and bounds better than what they had before. Of course, even before this, the [[Forgotten Realms]] had semi-civilized gnolls who had been integrated into the lands of [[Thay]], where they were basically ''the'' go-to race for personal guards and even the city watch! And this was all the way back in the [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] 1st edition splatbook "Dreams of the Red Wizards".

[[Eberron]], of course, shook things up a lot further. Eberronian gnolls proliferate in the monster kingdom of [[Droaam]], which is dedicated to giving "standard monsters" their own civilization. These gnolls follow the Pact of Znir; a young code of civilization that they collectively agreed to. Casting off their former worship of the [[Lords of Dust]], and cementing their dedication to change by shattering their former clan-totems in a holy gathering spot, the Znir Pact Gnolls make a living for themselves as a culture dedicated to mercenary work; staunchly neutral to the political machinations plaguing the fledgeling nation, and strictly refusing to ever fight each other, the Gnoll Brotherhood essentially forms the primary stabilizing influence of Droaam. In many ways, they're the closest thing that the warlords, clans and tribes of this anarchic domain have to a peacekeeping force, making the gnoll tribes roughly analogous to the Sentinel Marshals maintained by House Deneith. Thanks to their alliances with House Tharashk, Znir gnolls have become increasingly common outside of Droaam as mercenaries, rangers, bounty hunters, wilderness guides and even manual laborers, all of which means that whilst they still make most "humanoids" uneasy, they are accepted in "polite" civilization and becoming increasingly welcome.

But the king of transformations was found, ironically, in 4th edition. Issue #367 of [[Dragon Magazine]] featured the article "Playing Gnolls", which gave them the most nuanced depiction they've ever had. This article is based in [[Nentir Vale]] lore, but the article's author Keith Baker has confirmed it's valid for [[Eberron]] as well outside of the religion section. Describing them as descended from hyenas who had been force-fed fiends by [[Yeenoghu]] to create his own race of worshippers, this article portrays gnolls as a race torn between their demonic and their primal aspects; inclined towards savagery, but capable of choosing good. These non-evil gnolls are still inclined towards a tribalistic and often nomadic existence; their strong hyena instincts give them both powerful pack mentality and a natural love of hunting, and as such they're not exactly drawn to the agrarian lifestyle. These strong bestial aspects heavily color most aspects of gnoll society.

For example, whilst intensely loyal to their kith and kin, and hating to be alone, gnolls are also a hierarchy-driven race who feel driven to assert themselves in order to establish just where they fit into the pecking order. This makes gnolls seems rather aggressive to more "civilized" races, as they consider intimidation to be less an inherently hostile act and more part of the natural flow of social interaction. For example, a gnoll would never make a request when instead a demand or a firm statement is reasonable - "What do you want?" instead of "Can I help you?" This doesn't make them any less strong team players, and they will always set aside thoughts of personal glory in favor of helping their comrades, it just means that they also find it important to establish a clear line of dominance.

Another example of their bestial impulses is that their scavenger's instincts manifest particularly as a love of taking trophies to remember great achievements or worthy foes by. This can be everything from taking direct pieces of a fallen foe (horns, teeth, claws, weapons) to more abstract; a gnoll may carry small strips of cloth used to dab up the blood of worthy kills, so she can sniff the blood and let it remind her of how she won them, or she may take pieces of their armor and attach it to her own.

In the [[Nentir Vale]], gnolls who choose not to run with "the Butcher's Brood" (Yeenoghu's loyalists) usually turn to worshipping the [[Primal Spirits]], but may also chose deities that they find particularly appropriate, such as [[Melora]], [[Kord]], and the [[Raven Queen]]. They're also matrilinear and egalitarian, following the leadership of the strongest gnoll in the clan regardless of their sex - and in many clans, it's the women who grow bigger and stronger than the men. It's implied these aspects even hold true for the demon-worshipping gnolls.

All in all, this 4e article really provided a deep and invested look at gnollish culture, really making them stand out as a race that can be used for PCs, allies and enemies alike.

5e, in contrast, returned the Gnolls to their AD&D roots as a "monster race", trying to make them stand out from the other evil humanoids by focusing intensely on their demonic taint. Gnolls are freakish abominations in 5e, originally born from hyenas that mutated by scavenging from the kills of Yeenoghu, they don't even breed on their own in this edition, instead spawning from within flesh-gorged hyenas that accompany their packs. They're so tainted by their demonic lineage that not only are they prone to grotesque mutations, such as sprouting vestigial twins or mushrooms or maggots from their flesh, drooling caustic slime, or possessing black fangs or glowing eyes, but their fiendish presence actually causes supernatural evils to manifest in communities ahead of them. In fact, according to ''Volo's Guide to Monsters'', each and every gnoll has a direct mental link to Yeenoghu's endless hunger, and what little sapience it has revolves entirely around the desperate mad need to feed its progenitor through carnage and consumption. However, in the ''Out of the Abyss'' adventure, there are a few helpful gnoll characters that the player can run into, though for one of them the explanation for why he isn't evil is because he is has a form of madness and will immediately turn evil again if the players cure him.

One of the oddest interpretations of gnoll culture can probably be found in the Dach'youn of [[Wicked Fantasy]], which runs off of Pathfinder rules. These gnolls are a relatively peaceful Stone Age tribal culture with a heavy focus on the collective good. Rarely gathering in groups bigger than a dozen, the dach'youn are led by a pack alpha and beta (usually male and female, respectively, although skill matters more to them than gender). That said, they are matrilinear, tracing descent through the mother - this is because they don't practice monogamy, so a new mother has no way of knowing which of the many males she banged at the last ou'chala (a celebration-based meeting of packs that occurs every 90 days, which is when dach'youn seek sexual partners) actually knocked her up. They are nocturnal, shunning the sun as a cruel and evil god who wants to wipe out all life, and worshipping the six moons of their world as benevolent and caring protective goddesses. Also, they really, really love mud baths, as much for the sheer fun of slopping around in the mud as for the practicality that it keeps them cool and kills parasites that might be infesting their fur.

===Gender Roles===
Gnolls have had an erratic, shifting field of lore when it comes to gender roles.

To begin with, in AD&D, they were given the same "abusively patriarchal" fluff as just about every other evil tribal humanoid race ([[orc]]s, [[goblin]]s, etc) - which, as anyone who's read up on hyenas knows, is a case of badly screwing up your research; spotted hyenas are abusively ''matriarchal'', the other species are more egalitarian.

In 3rd edition, the topic wasn't really mentioned, until the Monster Manual IV presented a far more in-depth approach to gnollish ecology and society. This source stated that gnolls are actually matriarchal, and that the pack is always ruled by an alpha female. Rank is still based on the principle of "might makes right", and males can hold any high rank that isn't absolute ruler, but males will usually face more frequent challenges, and females are physically superior - averaging about half a foot in height and fifty pounds in weight on their menfolk.

4th edition states that gnolls are matrilinear (descent is traced through the mother), but egalitarian; males and females do just about everything the same, and leadership depends on strength rather than what's between their legs. That said, it also notes that in many clans, female gnolls are the larger gender, which gives an inferral that many clans function in an incidental matriarchal fashion by simple "rule of might". In fact, the entry, given its distinctive title of "Gender Issues", reads as follows:
::''The physical build of a female gnoll is almost identical to that of its male counterpart, and in many clans the females are larger than the males. As a rule, it is difficult for a member of another race to tell the gender of a gnoll unless it’s pregnant or actively nursing. Females and males are equally aggressive, and both males and females actively take part in hunting. Although the leader of the clan is typically the strongest gnoll (male or female), lineage is usually traced through the mother. Because of the difficulty involved in identifying the gender of a gnoll, there are folktales based around the idea that gnolls are hermaphrodites or can change their gender; however, neither of these things are true.''

Weirdly, Pathfinder has flip-flopped on the issue, despite changing the gnoll's primary religion from [[Yeenoghu]] to [[Lamashtu]] (largely due to the fact that the former is exclusive intellectual property of WoTC.) In the early sourcebook "Classic Monsters Revisited", gnolls are very much patriarchal; a female gnoll who fails to become either a mother or a cleric of Lamashtu by age 15 is eaten, whilst all a male gnoll has to do to prove worthy of life is to have brought back at least 20 pounds of meat by the age of 12. Whilst sexually desirable (to other gnolls), Lamashtu clerics are also politically inferior to the (male-exclusive) shamans. Then, in the later "Monster Codex", we're told that gnolls are matriarchal, in no small part because their larger stature and greater aggression & cunning gives them an edge in their cutthroat might-makes-right culture; this is see as proof of Lamashtu's blessing of the gnoll race.

==Religion==
In [[Dungeons & Dragons]], gnolls traditionally worship a [[Demon Prince]] named [[Yeenoghu]], the Beast of Butchery. In the earliest editions, they originally worshiped the god [[Gorellik]], a giant hyena-like lesser member of the [[Giant]]'s pantheon, but not only could he not claim to be their creator,(who is, is never explained) he was such a lazy, disinterested, stupid god that Yeenoghu was able to steal the gnolls away from him and he never even noticed. In 4th and 5th edition, gnolls were directly tied to Yeenoghu and given status as his creations; a fusion of demon and hyena that he engineered in 4e, and hyenas that spontaneously transformed after scavenging from his kills in 5e. This, incidentally, also gives them a religiously motivated hatred for [[minotaur]]s, as ''their'' patron [[Demon Prince]], [[Baphomet]], is a bitter rival of Yeenoghu's.

Some obscure fluff in [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] says that the gnolls once had their own pantheon, but their gods have perished. The only other gnollish deity ever named in D&D history was [[Refnara]] the Moon-Biter, a gnollish lunar goddess with provenance over fear who only made a single appearance; in the adventure “To Bite the Moon” in [[Dungeon Magazine]] #48.

In 3.5's MMIV, it's stated that the gnolls reconcile worshipping a male Demon Prince with their own principles of matriarchal leadership in that the female pack-leaders view Yeenoghu as the ultimate male, the perfect mate for a female gnoll to acquire - IF she can prove herself worthy.

In [[Pathfinder]], gnolls worship [[Lamashtu]], a [[Demon Prince]] turned full-fledged evil goddess of monsters, mutations and misbirths, who they claim literally gave birth to them. Ironically, this leads to them having better relationships with [[minotaur]]s, who also claim to be children of Lamashtu.

In [[Wicked Fantasy]], dach'youn fear the sun as a creator god who, alongside his nameless wife, created the world and all life, but then grew angry with them and now wants to destroy the world, having murdered his wife when she tried to stop him. Consequently, they refuse to honor him, instead regarding him as a cruel and merciless monster to be feared. Instead, they worship the moons as a set of six or seven (there's actually only six moons, but many gnolls believe that the "moonless nights" that occur every 85 days are actually guarded by a black moon) goddesses; these Kachta, the sun's daughters, angrily chase him away every night, forestalling his plans to destroy the world each day. The Sister Moons are Cha'ppa (The Swift Red Moon), Hav'ha (The Deadly Silver Moon), Gu'sha (The Wise Blue Moon), Gur'gha (The Enduring Green Moon), Or'gha (The Cunning Yellow Moon), Sh'va (The Lovely Violet Moon) and Vax (The Black Moon).

==Family Tree==
Though usually ignored, there are a few different branches of the family tree.

'''Flinds''' are the most well-known branch, having appeared in the editions on and off throughout the years. Originally introduced for AD&D 1e as part of the Fiend Folio, Flinds were conceived of as smaller and less imposing, but smarter, gnoll-kin. They were the more rational and reasonable gnoll-kin, and had a dedicated [[Dragon Magazine]] article, "The Sociology of the Flind", in issue #173. They're mostly remembered for being cannibalistic ("flind" apparently means "eater of gnolls" in the gnoll tongue) and for wielding ''solid-iron nunchuks'' called "flindbars", which gave them the aggravatingly cheap ability to force your PCs to save vs. wands in AD&D to avoid having their weapons yanked out of their hands. When 3rd edition rolled around, flinds didn't reappear until the Monster Manual 3, where their character was reversed - they became bigger, stronger, tougher and even ''nastier'' versions of the common gnoll, although they were still smarter. 4th edition preserved this, although it obscured their return in Dragon #369 as the "Havoc Gnolls". In 5th edition, flinds didn't appear until Volo's Guide to Monsters, where they essentialy became the gnollish equivalent of [[Blackguard]]s; demon-blessed champions of [[Yeenoghu]] specially selected to lead gnollish warbands.

'''Ghuuna''' are a gnollish [[therianthrope]] subspecies introduced in Dragon #89, gifted with the power to turn into hyenadons (or dire hyenas, in more modern interpretations); they could spread this amongst their own race like lycanthropy, but rarely did so, as they revelled in being special. Ghuunas never really caught on.

'''Shoosuva''' are undead demons born from gnollish souls, who first appeared in Dragon #63 - as part of the very first elaboration on gnollish culture and mentality. They are described as resembling huge, emaciated hyenadons glowing with eerie yellow light, and possess [[ghoul]]-like abilities, such as paralytic attacks. They mostly went ignored afterwards; a 3e translation finally arrived in [[Dungeon Magazine]] #112. Volo's Guide to Monsters saw them promoted to their first ever official splatbook appearance, although with a few tweaks - like the loss of their paralytic attacks in favor of a toxic tail stinger.

==Reproduction==
Given the dearth of details on gnollish culture, and the rather limited focus of what we're told, it should be of no surprise that we don't know much of how gnolls produce the next generation.

In AD&D's Monstrous Manual, we are informed that in a gnoll pack there will be "half as many females as males" and "twice as many gnoll pups as there are adults".

In 3.5's Monster Manual IV, we get some fuller details; female gnolls mate with any male that catches their attention as a worthy specimen (whether the male's thoughts on the matter are taken into account are not stated), but form no lasting bonds. They give birth to litters of 2-4 pups after a 6 month pregnancy, and usually these are then abandoned to the care of wetnurses and slaves in the pack's current creche. Infant gnolls are utterly helpless for the first 8 weeks of their life, doing little but suckle and sleep, but after that two month infancy, begin to drastically grow, putting on muscle and weaning to feed on meat. Still, whilst kept separate from the suckling pups, these youngsters are kept segregated for the first two years of their life; until they hit adolescence at that age, they risk being cannibalized by the adult gnolls.

Pathfinder's "Classic Monsters Revisited" states that gnolls give birth to litters of 3-5 pups, who become "dangerous" by 3 years old and fully grown adults by the age of 8; female gnolls become reproductively mature at any point between the ages of 10 and 18 years.

4e's "Playing Gnolls" mentions only that gnoll pups become aggressive at a very young age - as in, as soon as they can walk, they tend to find tight places where they can viciously fight each other, and that the high infant mortality rate these battles (which are often fought to the death, or just inflict such severe wounds that one or more participants die) inflict is partly why gnolls aren't as common as, say, [[orc]]s.

In 5e, gnolls don't reproduce at all. Their shamans, the Fangs of Yeenoghu, can inflict a demonic taint upon the corpses of sapient beings; hyenas that devour such corpses are transformed into new gnolls. Thus, they are constantly seeking battle in order to replace their own casualties.

==Dungeons & Dragons Racial Stats==
[[File:Gnoll Archer.jpg|400px|thumb|right|This girl is not feeling like putting up with your shit today.]]
Gnolls have had playable stats in 1e (via The Orcs of Thar, though that may have been during their "gnome-troll" days), AD&D (via the Complete Book of Humanoids), D&D 3e (via the Monster Manual, Races of the Wild, Unapproachable East and Savage Species) and 4e (via [[Dragon Magazine]] #367). Flinds had playable stats in only AD&D (CBoH) and D&D3.5 (MM3).

===Basic Dungeons & Dragons===
::Gnoll Ability Modifiers: +1 Strength, +1 Dexterity, -2 Wisdom
::Gnoll Minimum Strength: 13
::Note: Like all Humanoids from "The Orcs of Thar", a Gnoll has racial ability score caps of 18 in all scores bar [[Intelligence]] and [[Wisdom]], which are capped at 16.
::Note: Like all Humanoids from "The Orcs of Thar", a Gnoll determines its [[Charisma]] score for interacting with [[human]]s and [[demihuman]]s by dividing its Charisma score by 3 (rounding down) and subtacting the result from 9.
::Gnoll Natural Armor Class: 8
::Can become [[Shaman]]s (6th level) and [[Wokani]] (4th level).

{| class=wikitable
!Gnoll's's level || XP Required || Gnoll's hit dice
|-
|Teenager (-1)||-1,000||d8
|-
|0||0||2d8
|-
|1||1,000||3d8
|-
|2||3,000||4d8
|-
|3||7,000||-
|-
|4||15,000||5d8
|-
|5||31,000||6d8
|-
|6||63,000||7d8
|-
|7||129,000||-
|-
|8||259,000||8d8
|-
|9||519,000||+2 Hit Points
|-
|Subsequent||300,000||+2 Hit Points
|}

If the above doesn't tickle your fancy, you can try playing a Gruugrakh Gnoll, a gnoll originating from the land of Graakhalia, a kingdom in the caverns beneath the Plain of Fire. In this land of dangerous creatures, harsh landscapes and deadly plants, which may have its origins with the ancient efforts of the ancestral [[Shadow Elf|Shadow Elves]] to survive the Great Rain of Fire, gnolls have formed a long-term alliance with [[elves]] of the Sheyallia tribe, rising to a strict, honorable level of civilization. In fact, they have advanced so far that they even have developed an innate affinity for magic!

Thus, to play a Gruugrakh Gnoll, use the [[Elf]] class, save for the following changes:
* At character creation, gain +1 [[Strength]] and [[Dexterity]], but suffer -2 [[Wisdom]].
* [[Intelligence]] maxes out at 16.
* Requires a minimum [[Strength]] of 13.
* Rolls a 1d8 for hit points instead of the normal elven 1d6.
* Cannot advance past 9th level.
* Natural AC is 8.

Alternatively, you can just use the gnoll stats above, but Gruugrakh gnolls are twice as likely to become spellcasters compared to standard gnolls (1 in 10 vs 1 in 20), so becoming a Shaman, a Wokani, or a dual-classed Shaman-Wokani, is perfectly justified for a PC.

Gruugrakh Gnolls appeared in the box set "Champions of Mystara" for BECMI. Specifically, they're covered in the Explorer's Manual [[splatbook]] that comes with that boxed set.

===Advanced Dungeons & Dragons===
====Gnoll====
::Ability Score Modifiers: +1 Strength, -1 Dexterity
::Ability Score Minimums and Maximums: Minimum Strength of 6, Minimum Dexterity of 5, Minimum Constitution of 5, Maximum Intelligence of 14, Maximum Wisdom of 16, Maximum Charisma of 14
::Hit Point Modifier: +2 HP at first level
::Natural Armor Class: 10
::Special Disadvantage: Gnolls take damage as Large creatures
::Monstrous Traits: Appearance, Bestial Habits
::Weapon Proficiencies: Battle-Axe, Long Composite Bow, Morningstar, Two-handed Sword, Any Polearm
::Non Weapon Proficiencies: Animal Training (Hyenodon), Close-Quarter Fighting, Hiding, Hunting, Observation, Tracking, Wild Fighting

====Flind====
::Ability Score Modifiers: +1 Strength, -1 Charisma
::Ability Score Minimums and Maximums: Minimum Strength of 8, Minimum Dexterity of 6, Minimum Constitution of 6, Maximum Intelligence/Wisdom/Charisma of 16.
::Natural Armor Class: 10
::Special Advantage: When wielding a Flindbar, enemies hit must make a Save vs. Wands; failure means their weapon is entangled and yanked out of their grip.
::Monstrous Traits: Appearance, Bestial Habits
::Weapon Proficiencies: Club, Flindbar, Glaive, Long Bow, Long Sword
::Non Weapon Proficiencies: Animal Lore, Close-Quarter Fighting, Danger Sense, Direction Sense, Endurance, Fortune Telling, Local History, Looting, Hunting, Intimidation, Reading/Writing, Religion, Spellcraft, Weaponsmithing

===Dungeons & Dragons 3.x===
====Gnoll====
::Ability Score Modifiers: Strength +4, Constitution +2, Intelligence -2, Charisma -2
::Size: Medium
::Base Land Speed: 30 feet
::Racial Hit Dice: two levels of humanoid, which gives 2D8 HD, BAB +1, Fort +3, Ref +0 and Will +0.
::Racial Skills: 5*(2+Int modifier), class skills are Listen and Spot.
::Racial Feats: 1 feat of choice.
::+1 Natural Armor Bonus
::Darkvision 60 feet
::Favored Class: Ranger
::Level Adjustment: +1 level.

====Flind====
::Ability Score Modifiers: +6 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +4 Constitution
::Size: Medium
::Base Land Speed: 30 feet
::Racial Hit Dice: two levels of humanoid, which gives 2D8 HD, BAB +1, Fort +3, Ref +0 and Will +0.
::Racial Skills: 5*(2+Int modifier), class skills are Listen and Spot.
::Racial Feats: 1 feat of choice.
::+2 Natural Armor Bonus
::Darkvision 60 feet
::Weapon Familiarity (Flindbar) - Flindbars are Martial weapons for Flinds, rather than Exotic.
::Flinds receive a +2 racial bonus to Charisma checks made to influence Gnolls.
::Favored Class: Ranger
::Level Adjustment: +2 levels.

===Dungeons & Dragons 4e===
::Ability Scores: +2 Constitution, +2 Dexterity
::Size: Medium
::Speed: 7 squares
::Vision: Low-light
::Languages: Abyssal, Common
::Skill Bonuses: +2 Intimidate, +2 Perception
::Blood Fury: While you’re bloodied, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls. This increases to a +4 bonus at 21st level.
::Pack Attack: You deal an extra 2 damage on melee attacks against an enemy that has two or more of your allies adjacent to it.
::Ferocious Charge: You can use ferocious charge as an encounter power.

Ferocious Charge Gnoll Racial Power
::''You lunge toward the enemy and, with a tirade of curses, unleash the wrath of Yeenoghu upon your hapless foe.''
::Encounter
::Standard Action Personal
::Effect: You charge, and deal an extra 2 damage on a successful attack. Increase the extra damage to 4 at 11th level and 6 at 21st level. If you are bloodied, double the extra damage and gain an equal number of temporary hitpoints.

Heroic Tier Feats
Any feat in the following section is available to a character of any level who meets the prerequisites.

''Butcher’s Lure''
::Prerequisite: Gnoll
::Benefit: You can use ghost sound as an at-will ability and gain a +2 feat bonus to Bluff checks when using ghost sound to mimic specific people or sounds.

''Carrion Eater''
::Prerequisite: Gnoll
::Benefit: You receive a +4 feat bonus to saving throws against poison and Endurance checks made to resist disease.

''Claw Fighter''
::Prerequisite: Gnoll
::Benefit: You possess vicious claws, which you can use as weapons with a +3 proficiency bonus and 1d6 damage. For purpose of powers and feats, you can treat your claws as light blades, and you are considered to have a weapon in each hand. You cannot enchant your claws.

''Gnoll Tracker''
::Prerequisite: Gnoll
::Benefit: You gain a +5 feat bonus to Perception checks made to track and to Insight checks made to penetrate an illusion or disguise. You can use this bonus during a skill challenge if you can convince the DM that scent is relevant to the check.

Paragon Feats
Any feat in the following section is available to a character of 11th level or higher who meets the prerequisites.

''Fierce Charge''
::Prerequisites: 11th level, gnoll, ferocious charge racial power
::Benefit: When you use your ferocious charge power, you can choose to make an at-will melee attack instead of a melee basic attack.

''Swift Bite''
::Prerequisite: 11th level, gnoll
::Benefit: When you bloody a foe, you can choose to deal an extra 1d6 + Strength modifier damage with a bite against the target.

Epic Feats
The feat in the following section is available to a character of 21st level or higher who meets the prerequisites.

''Brutal Charge''
::Prerequisites: 21st level, gnoll, ferocious charge racial power, Fierce Charge
::Benefit: When you use your ferocious charge power, you can choose to make an encounter melee attack power instead of a melee basic attack.

===Dach'youn===
The neutral-aligned, moon-worshipping gnolls of the [[Wicked Fantasy]] setting use the [[Pathfinder]] rules, and are very, very different beasts to their traditional kin.
::+2 Constitution, +2 Charisma
::Medium
::Movement: Dach'youn can either walk on their hindlegs for a base movement speed of 30 feet, or run on all fours for a base movement sped of 40 feet. Four-legged speed can't be used unless the dach'youn has her hands empty.
::Scent (Extraordinary Ability)
::Pack Feats: A dach'youn starts with three Pack category feats, and gains one new Pack feat at 2nd level and every two levels afterwards (4th, 6th, 8th, etc).
::Pack Tactics: When a dach'youn uses a teamwork feat, every member of her pack gains the benefits of it.
::Ways of the Wild: Survival is always a class skill for dach'youn, and they receive a +1 bonus to Survival, Knowledge (Nature) and Wild Empathy checks. This bonus increases by a further +1 at every 5th level (so levels 5, 10, 15, 20).
::Moon Sign: All dach'youn are born under the gaze of one of the Kachta, and this influences them. Pick a specific Moon Sign from the list below; this increases or alters your ability score bonus as indicated and gives you both a Moon Blessing (a special bonus you gain when your moon is full) and a Moon Curse (a special penalty you suffer when your moon is new).
::Scavenger's Meal: Dach'youn gain a +4 racial bonus to Profession (Cooking) checks and can choose to make a Profession (Cooking) check in lieu of a Survival or Knowledge check relating to food.

Cha'ppa
::+2 Dexterity instead of Constitution
::'''Moon Blessing:''' Your bonus to Sense Motive and Perception checks doubles.
::'''Moon Curse:''' You gain no benefits from Morale or Rally bonuses, but penalties still apply.

Gur'gha
::+3 Constitution instead of +2
::'''Moon Blessing:''' You can reroll a failed Fortitude save; the result of this reroll stands, you can't reroll it again.
::'''Moon Curse:''' You cannot make any kind of Knowledge check.

Gu'sha
::+2 Wisdom instead of Charisma
::'''Moon Blessing:''' Once per ally per full moon, you can reroll an ally's failed saving throw using your own bonus; the result of this reroll stands, you can't reroll it again.
::'''Moon Curse:''' Roll a d6 to determine which curse affects you for the duration of Gu'sha's new moon phase; on a 1 you cannot benefit from magical healing, on a 2 you are deaf, on a 3 you cannot use four-legged speed, on a 4 you are mute, on a 5 you lose the benefits of your Scent ability, and on a 6 you are blind.

Hav'ha
::+2 Strength instead of Constitution
::'''Moon Blessing:''' +5 to CMB
::'''Moon Curse:''' You do not gain your Wisdom modifier to any rolls.

Or'gha
::+2 Intelligence instead of Charisma
::'''Moon Blessing:''' In a non-combat situation, your Intelligence modifier is doubled.
::'''Moon Curse:''' Your CMD is 10 and it cannot gain any bonuses.

Sh'va
::+3 Charisma instead of +2
::'''Moon Blessing:''' All creatures with Intelligence 8+ have their default starting attitude towards you increased by two levels.
::'''Moon Curse:''' You gain a 10ft Aura of Untrust; all creatures in this aura automatically notice you and gain +5 to any contested Charisma check against you.

Vax
::+1 to any ability score
::'''Moon Blessing:''' When a hostile creature first makes eye contact with you, it must pass a Will save (DC 10 + your Charisma modifier + 1/2 your level) or flee in terror. This is a fear effect.
::'''Moon Curse:''' All creatures with Intelligence 8+ have their default starting attitude towards you decreased by two levels.

===Midgard Gnolls===
The [[Midgard]] setting featrues playable gnolls in both its [[Pathfinder Roleplaying System]] iteration and its [[Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition]] system.

'''5e Midgard Gnoll:'''
::Ability Score Increase: +2 Strength
::Size: Medium
::Speed: 30 feet
::Darkvision: 60 feet
::Scent: You have Advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks based on smell.
::Bully: You have Disadvantage on saves against being Frightened, but can apply double your Proficiency bonus to Charisma (Intimidation) checks made against creatures obviously smaller and/or weaker than you.
::Live to Fight Another Day: When you take the Disengage action, your base walking speed is increased by +10 feet.
::Gnoll Weapon Training: You have Proficiency with the Spear, Shortbow, Longbow, Light Crossbow and Heavy Crossbow.
::Subrace: Choose the Civilized Gnoll or Savage Gnoll subrace.

''Civilized Gnoll:''
::Ability Score Increase: +1 Constitution
::Obsequious: When interacting with creatures obviously bigger and/or more powerful than you, you may apply double your Proficiency bonus to Charisma (Persuasion) checks.

''Savage Gnoll:''
::Ability Score Increase: +1 Wisdom
::Scavenge: You can apply double your Proficiency bonus when making Wisdom (Survival) checks for the purpose of gathering good and locating water.

==Unified Setting Description==
[[Unified Setting/Gnolls]]

==/d/eviance==
{{Monstergirls}}
[[Image:Gnoll pimp.jpg|200px|thumb|left|It's hard out there for a pimp.]]
[[Image:Gnoll pirate.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Yet it's easier for a pirate.]]
Despite everything, gnolls are a little... embarrassing for /tg/. This, as much as the generally lackluster fluff, is more than likely why the race is rarely focused on, in comparison to, say, [[goblin]]s, [[orc]]s or even [[ogre]]s.

Let's start with the obvious elephant in the room; as a beast-man race, gnolls are like [[furry]] magnets. And unlike [[minotaur]]s or [[sphinx]]es (who have a mythological origin that can be pointed to), or [[kobold]]s (who don't really resemble any real-world animal), the only real difference between gnolls and [[Ironclaw|fantasy-dwelling hyena furries]] is... well, pretty much the whole "demon-worshiping cannibalistic murderous tribal monsters culture" thing. Whenever there's a gnoll thread on /tg/, you can be sure there will be an argument about whether or not they count as furries that eventually gets it locked. Needless to say, confronted with the problem of being unable to flesh out the gnolls without being accused of being furries, most DMs say "fuck it" and try to do something interesting with [[orcs]] instead.

Another major problem is that, as mentioned above, gnolls most visually resemble the spotted hyena. The spotted hyena's brutally matriarchal social structure and female favoring sexual dimorphism (that is, girls are bigger and stronger than guys) easily translates into [[/d/]]-related content, since /d/ is all over Amazon-built [[musclegirl]]s as well as femdom. To say nothing of how the gnollish slavery-focused society easily translated into sex-slavery in the eyes of [[/d/M]]s - but then, they've been doing that shit with orcs and other such races for ages. But there was more to it than that...

See, spotted hyenas are infamous for one particular thing: the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudo-penis pseudo-penis]. Biologists still have no idea what function it serves (seeing as how it doesn't seem to do anything but needlessly complicate reproduction), but the end result is that female spotted hyenas are essentially real life [[dickgirl]]s. With the popularity of dickgirls on both /d/ and amongst furries, this led to a ''huge'' outburst of gnollish perversity that /tg/ fought hard to stamp out, but which still threatens to, ahem, "rear its ugly head" today.

Add in the fact that hyenas in real life do have a lot of mythological/traditional association with perversity - Pliny the Elder reported hyenas were hermaphrodites who changed sexes whenever they wished (which considering the above is actually one of the ''more'' accurate inaccuracies in his writings), striped hyena anuses and vaginas are used for love & lust charms to the extent that "he has the anus of a hyena" is a real-world African saying today to refer to someone who's really good at scoring sex - and... well, let's just say that gnolls can very easily take a starring role in somebody's [[magical realm]] and leave it at that, okay?

Then again, if [[orc]]s, [[goblin]]s and [[kobold]]s can be rescued from the [[Always Chaotic Evil]] niche, why not gnolls? Gnolls are practically tailor-made for an unholy blend of [[furry]], [[amazon]] and/or [[musclegirl]], and "sexy evil girl" fetishism, after all...

==World of Warcraft==

Like pretty much everything else that was part of DnD back in 2003, gnolls are commonly found in Wow. They typically inhabit low-level areas, where players are given quests to slaughter them in large numbers. One of WoW's most famous low-level bosses, Hogger, is a gnoll.

==See Also==
*[[Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition races]]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=324ViOz4Z2E Gnoll up!]
*[[FAPP]]: A tabletop game made by a gnoll.
<center>
<gallery>
File:Female Gnoll Slaver.jpg
File:Gnoll Profile (Hyena Princess Njano).jpg
Gnoll Barmaid.jpg
Gnoll Gladiatrix.png
Gnoll Priestess.jpg
Gnoll Watchwoman.jpg
File:Gnoll-TaintedElf.png|Some find a way to include more "conventional" gnoll MGs in their games.
</gallery>
</center>

{{D&D1e-Races}}
{{D&D2e-Races}}
{{D&D4e-Races}}
{{Pathfinder-Races}}
[[Category: Monsters]]

Cannibalism

2020-06-02T00:58:20Z

2605:E000:141B:DE0:14D7:3B2D:CC0F:FA43: /* /tg/ Applicability */

Usually defined as "eating your own species" or "eating a creature who, when alive, could carry on a conversation", '''cannibalism''' is an occasional feature of /tg/-related media.

==/tg/ Applicability==
Given how disgusting this topic is, and a [[/pol/|history of racism]] associated with talking about cannibalism, you'd expect tabletop games writers (and writers in general) to avoid focusing on cannibalism in their works, even in very grim settings. And they generally do.

But some don't! Exceptions include:
* [[Always Chaotic Evil]] races or monsters practicing cannibalism on the species, cultural, or tribal scale.
* Alternately, a well-trodden cannibalism plot point is human (or demihuman) flesh being passed off as some other meat, perpetrated by some malevolent industry insiders or especially callous authorities.
* The other main group of exceptions are "horrific magic" situations, where the myth of "gaining the power of what you eat" is played upon, near-universally with the caveat that doing so is a ''very'' evil act.
* The smallest class of exceptions just involves cannibalism as part of a horrific murder. Basically, there's nothing cultural or mystical about cannibalism here. The person in question is just a sick fuck.

===Specific /tg/ examples===
As a Tribal/Cultural/Species practice:

*In mythology (and thus freely used by tabletop games):
** [[Ogre]]s are categorically man-eaters (with a preference for eating babies), as well as [[giant]]s on many occasions.
** [[Vampires]] (both classical blood-drinkers and proto-zombie flesh-eaters) might also be classed as cannibals, though since they are undead, we tend to think of them as no longer being human to begin with.
** [[Ghoul]]s are fairly straightforward examples originally taken from Arabic mythology; their main identity is "graveyard dwelling man-eaters".
* In keeping with it's edgelord sensibilities, [[Warhammer 40k]] has a lot of examples. Here's just a few:
** The [[Dark Eldar]] feed their slaves with processed corpses of dead slaves, among other things. The Dark Eldar themselves may also indulge in the cannibalism of other species if they feel like it, [[grimdark|sometimes with their meal still alive and conscious so that they can additionally savor their agony]].
** The [[Kroot]] need to eat sentient beings in order to remain intelligent and regularly eats certain individuals to evolve specific traits.
** The entire [[ork|orkoid race]] is one big food chain in itself, and bigger/complex life forms will eat the smaller/less-abled ones below them if needed/they feel like it. A special mention however, goes to the eating [[squig]], an simple orkoid life form that is solely made for the orks to cultivate, harvest, and eat.
** Most orkoid species will also eat other beings if it fancies them, especially the orks themselves and larger combat squig species.
** The Imperium feed people Corpse starch (made from processed human bodies). While it could be an extreme example of waste not want not (as this typically happens in Hive Worlds, where resources are stretched thin as it is), it is a bit [[grimderp]] too. The rejuvenate drug that was used by high imperial nobility and officers are made out of human fetus, guess that's unavoidable if one wishes to live longer.
** Uncivilized Feral Worlds may have cannibalistic rituals within the tribes, especially if they're tainted by Chaos. Even if they're brought under the heel of the Imperium and the [[Imperial Creed]] is spread, this does not 100% guarantee that feral worlders will shrug off cannibalism completely.
** Due to their [[Gene Seed|Omophagea]], Space Marines can consume the the brains of fallen enemies to take in their knowledge. Some astartes chapters also incorporate cannibalism into their chapter rituals in some way (such as the [[Blood Angels]]' blood drinking rituals). The [[Sons of Malice]] chapter is one notable example, except they were declared a heretic as a result (reasonable since they having been consume a lot of chaos worshipers corpses during their services around the [[Eye of Terror|pinky hole of all obvious evil]]). This makes one wonder the point of giving Spess Muhreens such an ability, given most of their enemies would be likely to corrupt via eating them. On the other hand, having the ability to sustain on any being's flesh while fighting far away without supply for a long time is a convenient but situational ability for survival, truly just how the Emperor intended.
** The forces of [[Chaos]] regularly indulges in various forms of cannibalism (Nurgle followers for example, brew the corpses of defeated enemies into a variety of concoctions for consumption, and Khorne regularly involves the consumption of blood and other bloody gibs to worship him). Fluff however, tends not to not mention them too often, or in too much in detail when they occur.
** The [[Tyranids]] are a race of blind, ravenous consumption and will eat anything and everything, including themselves if needed. Hell, some of their [[Tyranid_Bio-Weapons#Fleshborer|weapons]] fire living projectiles that attempts to devour their target within their short lifespan. Although since they are not sentient creatures, hell, they are not even individuals, it is hardly cannibalism. More like predatory behavior. In DOW: retribution, there's a scene where the hive tyrant let it self consumed by the digestion pool in order for its mind to reappear somewhere else in the sector.
* Similar to 40k, [[Warhammer Fantasy]] (and by extension [[Age of Sigmar]]) uses the concept of cannibalism to add extra grimdark.
** [[Orcs & Goblins]] are as cannibalistic as their 40k counterparts.
** Ghouls are former humans who have been deformed into monsters by the act of cannibalism. In AoS they're part the [[Flesh-Eater Courts]], who have the added distinction of being deluded into believing they're being gallant knights when they devour people.
**The Mourngul is another monster created from men driven to cannibalism, because for some reason the setting really needed two monsters with the same gimmick.
**The [[Ogre Kingdoms|Ogres]] are a race whose most distinctive feature is their constant hunger. Given that Ogres generally don't have a concept of morals, cannibalism is common amongst them.
** The human worshipers of [[Khorne]] in Age of Sigmar are often shown as being cannibals.
** Cannibalism is a big part of the Skaven. To them life is cheap, food is expensive and often someone can serve you better as lunch than as a wounded slave or as a backstabber.
* [[Dungeons and Dragons]] have many "true omnivores"; we won't count them unless they are intelligent.
** Xanxost the Slaad, a frequent narrator in various [[Planescape]] books, would usually discuss the taste of some of the (sentient) species he was discussing. Usually as a punchline.
** The "Flinds", a tribe or subspecies of [[Gnoll]] that eats other Gnolls, along with just about all the other races.
** The halflings of [[Dark Sun]] eat only other races; but they're called "cannibals" anyway.

* [[Paranoia]] has a few scenarios centering either around it, or the implication that Friend Computer's Food Processors use deceased Citizens of Alpha Complex as an input.

As a "Horrific Magic":

* Diablerie, from [[Vampire: The Masquerade]] and [[Vampire: The Requiem]], which involves eating another vampire's ''soul'' through their blood.
* The Devourers of the Flesh, from [[Mage: The Awakening]], a Left-Handed Path that are more or less exactly what their name claims.

==Standard Cannibalism Jokes==
There are a few standard jokes or items referred to in word-play associated with cannibalism:

* The name "Long Pig" or "Long pork", from the semi-euphemistic description of the dish by certain Polynesian tribes.
* The actual taste of human meat has been compared to either pork or veal, depending on who you ask, and how it's prepared. Human musculature more resembles that of young cows, but our diet more closely resembles that of pigs (cows being obligate herbivores, pigs being omnivores).
* "Soylent Green" is the other favorite name for processed human flesh, after the movie of the same name and the book it was based on, "Make Room! Make Room!"
* [[The Lord of the Rings|LOOKS LIKE MEAT'S BACK ON THE MENU BOYS!]]

==The Reasons It's A Touchy Subject==
There are five main reasons why most modern media either avoids cannibalism, or downplays it:

#Most mammals (that includes you!) are instinctively predisposed to avoid cannibalism (barring ''severe'' stress such as starvation), since, as mentioned above, cannibalism is a '''really''' great way to spread disease.
#Eating people generally involves human corpses, which begs the question of where the corpses came from. Most people find the idea of someone being murdered to be eaten highly disturbing.
#Native tribes were frequently accused of being cannibals or portrayed as being cannibals when they weren't. Many tribes who did practice cannibalism were mis-attributed as to when they practiced it. Given the subsequent abuse of the accusation by [[/pol/|blatant racists]] to dehumanize natives, most modern works try to avoid the subject entirely to not be accused (even by double proxy) of propagating racist stereotypes.
#There are some already [[/d/|rather disturbing people]] who find cannibalism a quite arousing subject. Any sane author who knows about this wants to keep a great deal of distance between their works and [[Furry|said]] [[/d/|people]].
#That shit's disgusting, yo.

==History & Biology==
Multiple cultures throughout history have practiced cannibalism, more for mystic/cultural reasons than out of necessity. The most common notion behind ritual cannibalism is that by consuming an enemy's flesh, a person would gain their strength. That being said, the practice was near-universally banned by nearly every group that had enough food (read: protein) to go around, for fairly obvious ethical, moral and hygienic reasons. Eating your own species is a '''really''' great way to spread disease, and not a very polite thing to do to a stranger.

A prominent example of a disease spread by cannibalism: A particularly nasty consequence of cannibalism is Kuru, a prion-based neurodegenerative disease which affected the Fore people of Papua New Guinea through their tradition of consuming their dead as part of the funeral rite (it was thought to free the spirit of the deceased). Symptoms include muscle tremors, loss of coordination leading to the inability to walk or even sit without support, emotional instability, and certain death. Things like this probably helped lead to the idea of ghouls and other such degraded man eaters.

More common is cannibalism by desperation. If fields burned before harvest lie under snow, storehouses plundered by passing armies, what little escaped pillage is either locked away in hordes or rationed out in sub-subsistence portions, game (including sparrows and rats) is running thin and people will kill each other for a sack of turnips, turning the remains of a dead enemy patrol into warrior-burgers and knight-steaks so you might make it to till the land again beats an otherwise assured miserable death. This sort of thing, while still unpleasant, is not so much evil as tragic.

Further, cannibalism was enough of an occasional feature of nautical life (almost always in fairly extreme circumstances involving a lack of food) to be somewhat regularly discussed when the subject came up. This side of the subject is probably beyond the nature of this article, save to note that it kept "civilized" people from being ''too'' high-and-mighty about the practice.

Also of particular interest, as it gets cited in /tg/ related discussions of the subject: the mating habits of certain insects, the females of which may eat the males after mating--although, by most biologists' accounts, many such species do so only when in captivity.

[[Category:History]]