Gnoll (dNetHack)

h gnoll
Difficulty	16
Attacks	Weapon 1d8 physical, Offhand Weapon 1d8 physical, Bite 2d2 physical

h gnoll
Difficulty	16
Attacks	Weapon 1d8 physical, Offhand Weapon 1d8 physical, Bite 2d2 physical
Base level	14
Base experience	395
Speed	12
Base AC	5
Base MR	10
Alignment	-5 (chaotic)
Frequency (by normal means)	1 (Very rare)
Genocidable	Yes
Weight	1500
Nutritional value	400
Size	medium
Resistances	none
Resistances conveyed	none
A gnoll: has a head, a couple of arms, and a torso. is poisonous to eat. is carnivorous. is normally generated hostile. likes gold. likes gems. can pick up weapons and food. can pick up magical items. has infravision. can be seen through infravision. appears only in Gehennom. normally appears in small groups. may turn against you when tame.

A gnoll, h, is a type of monster that appears in dNetHack and notdNetHack. The gnoll is a type of carnivorous humanoid being that has infravision, can be seen via infravision, and will seek out gold, gems and various other items to pick up.

A gnoll has a weapon attack, an offhand weapon attack and a bite attack.

Generation

Gnolls are only randomly generated in Gehennom, and may appear in small groups. They are always created hostile, and are not a valid form for normal polymorph.

Thirteen gnolls are randomly placed around the lair of Yeenoghu at level creation, and they also make up ¹⁄₈ of the monsters randomly generated there. Gnoll matriarchs can also summon gnolls: there is a ¹⁄₂₀ chance of a gnoll matriarch generating a gnoll during each of her turns if you are nearby and in line of sight, which also respects extinction.

Strategy

While fairly strong, gnolls are probably not a huge threat to a character capable of reaching and surviving the depths of Gehennom.

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 ]