Gnoll matriarch

H gnoll matriarch
Difficulty	12
Attacks	Cast 0d0 clerical spell, Bite 3d2 physical

H gnoll matriarch
Difficulty	12
Attacks	Cast 0d0 clerical spell, Bite 3d2 physical
Base level	10
Base experience	261
Speed	3
Base AC	5
Base MR	10
Alignment	-5 (chaotic)
Frequency (by normal means)	0 (Not randomly generated)
Genocidable	Yes
Weight	3000
Nutritional value	1000
Size	large
Resistances	none
Resistances conveyed	none
A gnoll matriarch: has a head, a couple of arms, and a torso. can see invisible creatures. is poisonous to eat. is carnivorous. is not a valid polymorphable form. is a giant. is normally generated hostile. likes gold. likes gems. can pick up weapons and food. can pick up magical items. has infravision. appears only in Gehennom.

A gnoll matriarch, H, is a type of monster that appears in dNetHack and notdNetHack. The gnoll matriarch is a carnivorous giant demihuman gnoll that has infravision, can see invisible, and will seek out gold, gems and various other items to pick up. Though gnoll matriarchs are considered giants, they lack the boulder-throwing strength of other giants.

A gnoll matriarch has the ability to cast monster spells clerically, followed by a bite attack - her clerical spells include blind, paralyze, confusion, open wounds, and the ability to cast mass cure allies at range. She can also summon gnolls intermittently: there is a ¹⁄₂₀ chance of a gnoll matriarch generating one during each of her turns if you are nearby and in line of sight, which also respects extinction.

A gnoll matriarch corpse is poisonous to eat.

Generation

Gnoll matriarchs are always created hostile, and are only randomly generated in Gehennom. They are not a valid form for normal polymorph.

Ten gnoll matriarchs are randomly placed around the lair of Yeenoghu at level creation, and they also make up ¹⁄₂₀ of the monsters randomly generated there.

Origin

The gnoll is a creature that appears in various types of fantasy media, and is generally portrayed as a human-hyena hybrid or a form of humanoid hyena. The term originates from 1912 short story collection The Book of Wonder by Lord Dunsany, with one short story titled "How Nuth Would Have Practised His Art upon the Gnoles".

The gnoll of Dungeons & Dragons is introduced in the first boxed set of the game, and gnolls are described in Book 2: Monsters and Treasure as a "cross between Gnomes and Trolls (...perhaps, Lord Sunsany did not really make it all that clear)". These early gnolls were stated to be similar to hobgoblins with +2 morale, while a gnoll king and his bodyguard fought similar to trolls without regenerative power. The 1st Monster Manual for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons and all subsequent material describe gnolls as aggressive desert-dwelling nomads that resemble humanoid hyenas, and actively raid and plunder other settlements; it also introduces Yeenoghu, the demon god of gnolls who many of them serve and worship.

Encyclopedia entry

We are born and we die.
No one cares, no one remembers,
and it doesn't matter.
This is why we laugh.
[ The Gnoll Credo, by J. Stanton ]

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