I'm starting an Evil campaign in a couple of weeks, and I want to have the party start as if they're all being sacrificed by Gnolls. Basically, in their backstories, they would have some reason to have traveled through the desert that a pack of raiding Gnolls control, and each of them have been captured at one point or another. Some PC's would be imprisoned for longer amounts in their backstories, but the game would start with the Gnolls tying them to large slabs of rock and let them die in the sun as a sort of heathen sacrifice.
I know this is kinda "Player Autonomy-invasive" as a GM, but my goal with this is to challenge the party to break free of the bonds, then use stealth tactics to get all their gear back and take over the Gnoll encampment.
This is a Gestalt Campaign that I plan to run all the way to lvl 20 or even higher, and I thought it would be fun to start the party with literally nothing so as to create a "remember back when we had nothing?" sort of an atmosphere.
So, my question: what are some fun things that the players would discover in the process of sneaking through this Gnoll Encampment? I figure they would have a Chief, several teepee-like yurts and huts, a marketplace, an agora or gathering place of some sort, an oubliette-style prison, stables with dire hyenas, dire jackals, ostriches, and raptors.
What else can I put in a Gnoll Encampment to make it feel a little more "alive"?
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Children - doing chores, running around, trying to gross each other out with invertebrates, whatever. A warlike tribe or settlement could well be over half children due to losses among the adults.
A sauna, bath house or swimming hole depending on how these gnolls clean themselves. Assuming that they do.
A place where the favourite local drug is consumed - whether that's drunk, smoked, chewed etc.
Some sort of place where the dead are remembered. Considering what a bad idea cemeteries can be in D&D/PF this might be more like a memorial hall.
Awesome, thanks avr :)
Any other thoughts? I'm thinking of a "Hookah" bar of some kind, some hot springs/bathhouse, and a Hall of the Dead would be pretty cool, but I'm still looking for some extra cultural "umph"
I ran a savage humanoid campaign recently that gnolls figured into prominently. They had a very harsh, brutal druidic/shamanic vibe. The tribal standard in the center of the camp was adorned with the skulls and scalps of fallen heroes of the tribe. Scarification and crude tatoos all around. Each tribe had a war chief and spirit talker who were each the supreme authority in their area. Lots of scuffles as individuals jockeyed for dominance. Trophies, from captured weapons to taxidermy, everywhere.
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You might want to look into hyenas first. One of the things that might surprise you is that they are matriarchial to the point where a male hyena will never outrank a female.
If you want the same thing to be true for your gnolls, male PCs should have a hard time proving their dominance.
Look up hyenas on youtube and see if you can mimick their "laugh". That should creep your players out. Hyenas also have their own "whoop" to communicate with other hyenas when hunting. Yes, hyenas aren't just scavengers. They hunt too.
It sounds like there's some ideas from the middle east you want for your gnolls. If you want to carry it further then you might use mosaics on buildings made of pieces of coloured glass. Not loot but they might tell stories, they're a natural place to conceal triggers for secret doors, at the very least they're a way to point out "this building is important".
With the mention of the PCs being intended to die in the sun it's worth remembering water storage. The caves so common in D&D/PF might be relevant here, and possibly also a means of escape.
Great ideas guys :D That's perfect :D