Gnoll

The gnolls are a group of monsters that appear in many variants of NetHack, with their implementation varying widely depending on the variant in question. In almost all instances, they are related in some significant manner to Yeenoghu, who is considered the demon lord of gnolls: in vanilla NetHack, his encyclopedia entry state that he still exists despite his followers being "wiped off the face of the earth".

Gnolls first appear in the Lethe patch designed for NetHack 3.3.1.

List of gnolls by variant

Below is a list of each implementation of the gnolls as a distinct group of monsters, the variants they appear in, and the common characteristics that they share amongst each other.

• The first implementation of gnolls as monsters occurs in SLASH'EM, and these gnolls also appear in SlashTHEM. All gnolls in SLASH'EM are a part of the gnome monster class, as in the Lethe patch: they do not use their own monster flags or any similar flags to distinguish them from gnomes, instead simply lacking the gnome monster attribute. A comment in monst.c indicates that SLASH'EM gnolls were part of the humanoid monster class in SLASH and other versions prior to incorporating the Lethe patch. The gnoll monsters of SLASH'EM are:
  • G gnoll
  • G gnoll warrior
  • G gnoll chieftain
  • G gnoll shaman
• The implementation of gnolls in dNetHack is also used in notdNetHack. These gnolls are entirely different from the ones used in SLASH'EM and other variants - they are scattered across a few monster classes, and are defined by is_gnoll in mondata.h. The gnoll monsters of dNetHack are:
  • h gnoll
  • Z gnoll ghoul
  • H gnoll matriarch
  • h anubite
  • & Yeenoghu
• Unlike most other variants, the implementation of gnolls in SpliceHack provides the monsters with their own monster class and an accompanying glyph, 9. The monsters themselves are otherwise identical to those in SLASH'EM, with the exception of the newly-added marrashi. The gnoll monsters of SpliceHack are:
  • 9 gnoll
  • 9 gnoll warrior
  • 9 gnoll chieftain
  • 9 gnoll shaman
  • 9 marrashi
• The implementation of gnolls in EvilHack is also distinct from other variants, and defines them by a shared attribute flag. All of the live gnolls are part of the humanoid monster class, incidentally the same as older versions of SLASH'EM, and EvilHack gnolls have a zombie form that is unique among their monster type for the ability to induce withering. The gnoll monsters of EvilHack are:
  • h gnoll
  • h gnoll hunter
  • h gnoll cleric
  • h flind
  • Z gnoll witherling
• The implementation of gnolls in GnollHack naturally gives them more of a focus than other variants - in addition to an attribute flag different from the type used in EvilHack, the gnoll monster class replaces the gnome class, which is bundled into the gremlin monster class, and the gnome starting race is also removed in favor of a playable gnoll race. The gnoll monsters of GnollHack are:
  • d shoosuva
  • G gnoll
  • G gnoll warden
  • G gnoll noble
  • G gnoll royal
  • G gnoll supreme warden
  • G flind
  • G flind lord
  • z gnoll zombie
  • Z gnoll mummy
  • & Yeenaghu
• The implementation of gnolls in Hack'EM combines the versions of the monsters from SLASH'EM with the ones introduced in SpliceHack and EvilHack, while also using EvilHack's attribute flag for gnolls and giving them poison resistance as that variant does. The gnoll monsters of Hack'EM are:
  • G gnoll
  • G gnoll warrior
  • G gnoll chieftain
  • G gnoll shaman
  • G flind
  • G marrashi
  • Z gnoll witherling

Origin

The gnoll is a creature that appears in various types of fantasy media, and is generally portrayed as a human-hyena hybrid of 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 short story (and 11 others in the collection) is based on an illustration by wikipedia:Sidney Sime, which he normally created to accompany Dunsany's collections - in the case of The Book of Wonder, the illustrations were done first, and Dusanay wrote short stories to accompany them.

In this short story, the titular burglar relays a tale of him and an apprentice traveling to an ancient house of gnoles isolated within an unwelcoming and faraway forest, plotting to steal a couple of gems from the hoard of emeralds that lay within, but upon reaching the ladder that leads into the house, Tonker gets cold feet and tries to escape - unfortunately, the gnoles were surveying the pair the whole time from within hollowed tree trunks: they snatch up Tonker before he can get away, and carry him off to an unspeakable fate. The gnoles are portrayed as seclusive and dangerous creatures, with a physical description now that themselves are not directly described in the story, Sime's illustration depicts vaguely humanoid beings that are pitch-dark in color, with one carrying a sword in hand.

The gnoll of Dungeons & Dragons is introduced in the first boxed set of the game, and is 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. This may serve as the basis for gnolls being part of the gnome monster class in SLASH'EM and other derived variants.

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; this also introduces the demon god Yeenoghu, who many gnolls serve and worship. Some gnoll societies are patriarchal and led by a chieftain, the biggest and strongest of the tribe, while many others were matrilineal; some chieftains keep harems, with these harem-wives being the strongest fighters among the group after the chieftain themselves.

Gnolls have a well-established reputation for brutality and bloodlust, as well as a strong emphasis on blood ties and family: a gnoll separated from their clan and family is driven by instinct to form a surrogate "pack" from those whom they choose to befriend, and is as loyal and faithful to these unlikely allies as they would be to their own siblings. Not all gnolls have a disposition towards slaughter and slaving: most are still quick to anger and prefer the company of their own, though they will also peacefully interact with and may rarely befriend other chaotic beings, such as bugbears, hobgoblins, ogres, orcs, and even trolls.