I personally welcome our new jackal-like overlords.
I love the look of the hyena gnolls, they are very vicious appearing, but a change up is fun. Am I to assume these gnolls roll with jackals rather than hyena's in their pack, as well? will be nifty to see them in a module.
Just looked at the Blog entry showing the Golarion gnoll and have to register my disappointment. Too dog-like. Gnolls should be hyena-like.
That's it, not buying any more Paizo products! ;)
But aren't Hyena's dogs? Therefore by being dog-like, they are like hyenas.
Hyenas aren't canids, though there's a strong resemblence.
To my mind, that guy looks more like a Hutaakan than a gnoll, but hey, we'll see what they do with 'em.
And as for the critter he's holding, to quote Westley, "Dear God, what is that thing?!" :)
Well, Gnolls do have a historical background from fusing humanoids with hyenas, but my understanding was that the origins for them for D&D intended from the fusion between gnomes and trolls:
Gnolls are the literary descendants of Lord Dunsany's "gnoles", who were clever, evil and nonhuman. This connection is evidenced by Gary Gygax's description in the first edition of "Dungeons & Dragons" (1974): "A cross between gnomes and trolls (...perhaps, Lord Sunsany [sic] did not really make it all that clear) with +2 morale. Otherwise they are similar to hobgoblins..." With the 1977 publication of Gygax's Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual gnolls were described in greater detail as hyena-men, a characterization that continues to the present.
With that said, I held no presumption of Paizo's direction for gnolls, and with their incentive to have a unique stamp of creatures shared by WotC, I thoroughly accept, welcome, and enjoy the new look.
It makes sense to me anyway if they're associated with Lamashtu.
Creative Director
|
I may have spoken a bit hastily on that blog post... that MIGHT not be a gnoll after all, but a gnoll variant mentioned in the Lamashtu article. It certainly IS a jackal-gnoll. And hyena-gnolls are too entrenched in the game to abandon. So we might go with that too.
In any event, the real word on gnolls in Golarion will be appearing soon in the Classic Monsters Revisited book we'll be releasing in a few months.
|
I may have spoken a bit hastily on that blog post... that MIGHT not be a gnoll after all, but a gnoll variant mentioned in the Lamashtu article. It certainly IS a jackal-gnoll. And hyena-gnolls are too entrenched in the game to abandon. So we might go with that too.
In any event, the real word on gnolls in Golarion will be appearing soon in the Classic Monsters Revisited book we'll be releasing in a few months.
Oh, OK then I relent, I'll buy everything Pathfinder like I was going to originally! ;)
Personaly I love the hyena gnolls. That jackal/dog headed creature is neat looking and all, but it's just not a gnoll to me. I'll be interested to see what exactly comes of it in the article, but for me and my campaign gnolls will always have hyena heads. Either way, can't wate for the book to come out, as I'm dying to see what has been done with the gnoll ecology wise.
I second the gnoll subraces idea.
Hyena-Gnolls, Jackal-Gnolls, Poodle-Gnolls, Shizu-Gnolls, Rottweiler-Gnolls...
As much as I like me my Gnolls, I need only the Hyena variety. I'm not terribly fond of the giggly scavengers, but there's something special about Gnolls.
|
I second the gnoll subraces idea.
Hyena-Gnolls, Jackal-Gnolls, Poodle-Gnolls, Shizu-Gnolls, Rottweiler-Gnolls...
Wasn't that already done in the Mystra campaign with the ... what was that dog race with a variety for each dog breed ... the canine equivolent of the Rakasta? I think a Dragon magazine article, 2nd edition, actually grouped gnolls in as a similar breed or suggest a possible common origin.
Anywho ... a jackal humanoid race sounds cool, maybe even with a common origin attributed to Lamashtu. I just think they deserve another name. Not just differentiate them via Hyena-gnoll, jackal-gnoll, etc.
Also, such a jackal humanoid race, could develop their own seperate niche in the egyptian like area of Golorian. Though I guess gnolls would't necessarily be misplaced in such an area.
|
Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
|
Wasn't that already done in the Mystra campaign with the ... what was that dog race with a variety for each dog breed ... the canine equivolent of the Rakasta?
Those were the lupins, which always made me think of the old Dennis Moore Monty Python sketch.
"Look, I happen to know that this is the Lupin Express."
STAND AND DELIVER!
Wasn't that already done in the Mystra campaign with the ... what was that dog race with a variety for each dog breed ... the canine equivolent of the Rakasta?Those were the lupins, which always made me think of the old Dennis Moore Monty Python sketch.
"Look, I happen to know that this is the Lupin Express."
STAND AND DELIVER!
Don't forget Lupin the 3rd. That's what I think when I hear Lupins.
worship demon-lords instead of gods.
With Lamashtu, you can have both! Vote the Mother of Monsters as your patron deity today and receive a limited edition wall painting of unspeakable (but not unpaintable, oh not, not for our mad artists!) monstrousities clawing their way out of your favourite female celebrities' wombs today!
(Yes, it's true: Lamashtu's *really* bad, but her PR department is *really* good!)
Oooh Sign me up! I want my wall decoration depicting burning zealot monstrosities leaping out of Janet Reno's womb! I'd sooo sell my soul to Lamashtu for that...
Real quick, didn't tourtles get updated by Paizo in a Dragon issue a while back?
|
|
worship demon-lords instead of gods.With Lamashtu, you can have both! Vote the Mother of Monsters as your patron deity today and receive a limited edition wall painting of unspeakable (but not unpaintable, oh not, not for our mad artists!) monstrousities clawing their way out of your favourite female celebrities' wombs today!
(Yes, it's true: Lamashtu's *really* bad, but her PR department is *really* good!)
That explains Britney Spears' sister
|
|
Wasn't that already done in the Mystra campaign with the ... what was that dog race with a variety for each dog breed ... the canine equivolent of the Rakasta?
Those were the lupins, which always made me think of the old Dennis Moore Monty Python sketch.
"Look, I happen to know that this is the Lupin Express."
STAND AND DELIVER!
I wanted to say lupin, but then that lupin race updated for 3rd edition in the Dragon Compendium threw me. I could find my Rakasta issue, but I could find the Lupin one. I know I got it around here somewhere. Anyway, thanks for the help!