Gnolls

Living in small families or larger packs, gnolls travel the wilderness hunting for prey and trading for the waste of villages they happen across. Gnolls have strong jaws and a strong gut, and will happily eat the parts of an animal those around them can't stomach.

In villages and cities, gnolls typically work the grimiest jobs available, as they can happily ignore the smells and fumes dealt with by tanners, butchers, and gong farmers.

However, those unfamiliar with gnolls are often horrified by their mangy appearance, poor smell, and bestial language. Many stereotypes exist of gnolls being disease ridden, cannibalistic, and practitioners of vile forms of magic. One particularly common myth is that gnolls were created from and are driven by demonic influence.and practicioners of vile forms of magic. One particuarly common myth is that gnolls were created from and are driven by demonic influence.

Ability Score Increase.

Your Constitution score increases by 2.

Age

Gnolls reach adulthood at age 10 and live up to 40 years.

Bite

Your fanged maw is a natural weapon, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with it, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Darkvision.

You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Easy Eater

Gnolls typically eat the scraps of other races, including things too old, tough, or putrid for others to consider edible. You have advantage on saving throws against disease.

Languages

You can read, speak, and write Common and Gnoll. Gnoll is a guttural language, filled with whoops, grunts, growls, whines, and laughing sounds. Gnoll uses the same script as common, and is mostly used for practical purposes like marking property and land.

Necrophage

As part of a short rest, you can harvest edible scraps from a slain beast, giant, humanoid, or monstrosity of size Small or larger to create one day's worth of food for yourself, without needing to touch any body parts other humanoids consider edible. To use this trait, you need a blade, such as a dagger, or appropriate artisan's tools, such as cook's utensils.

If a creature other than a gnoll or hyena attempts to eat such a meal, they must make a Constitution saving throw with a DC of 20 minus your proficiency bonus with cook's utensils. On a successful save the creature eats the meal with no ill effects. On a failed save, the creature becomes sick, gaining one level of exhaustion and vomits, losing the effects of any food eaten within the last hour.

Size.

Gnolls are between 5 and 6 feet tall and weigh between 150 and 200 pounds. Your size is Medium. Spotted gnolls tend on the larger size of this, while brown gnolls tend slightly smaller than striped gnolls.

Speed.

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Rampage.

When you reduce a creature to 0 hit points with a melee attack on your turn, you can take a bonus action to move up to half your speed and make a bite attack.

Spotted Gnoll

Spotted gnolls are the most active hunters among gnolls, and form massive clans that allow them to deal with threats other gnolls would be forced to flee from. Their pelts rnage from a golden color to a light brown, and most have black spots over their backs and shoulders.

Ability Score Increase.

Your Intelligence score increases by 1.

Strong Mockery

Spotted Gnolls tend to break out in laughter in serious negotiations, which make your allies look good in comparison. When a creature you can see within 30 feet makes a spoken Deception, Intimidation, or Persuasion (Charisma) roll directed at a second creature, you can choose to add 1d6 to the result. However, your interference causes you to have disadvantage on Charisma based rolls directed at the creature you did not benefit on the interaction for 1 minute after using this feature.

Active Hunter

Spotted Hunters supplement their scavenging with active hunting, and train for this purpose. You can cast the Hunter's Mark spell once with this trait, requiring no material components, and you regain the ability to cast it this way when you finish a long rest. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for this spell.

Brown Gnoll

Rarely chasing down live prey, brown gnolls are nonetheless skilled at close quarters fighting. They are known for their particularly long fur and dark brown pelts. Brown gnolls often live in deserts, allowing the harsh conditions to bring down large creatures they can feast on.

Ability Score Increase.

Your Strength score increases by 1.

Keen Smell.

You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.

Grasping Jaws

Whenever you attempt to grapple a creature or escape a grapple you are considered proficient in the Athletics skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus. You can also attempt grapple checks using your jaws.

Striped Gnoll

Striped gnolls typically live in smallish clans and supplement their generally weak hunting skills by working with a variety of other creatures. Keeping close track of their home territories they build deeps and elaborate dens to house themselves and their menagerie of hunting companions.

Ability Score Increase.

Your Charisma score increases by 1.

Speak with Predators.

Striped gnolls are used to working with non-gnolls to hunt, often teaming up with wolves and other local beasts to drive prey and share the spoils. Through sounds and gestures, you may communicate simple ideas with large or smaller beasts that prey or scavenge.

Lone Survivor

Striped Gnolls in particular live out in wild and unsettled terrain. You gain proficiency in the Survival skill.

Feign Death

When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can automatically became stable as you fall unconscious. While you remain prone in this manner, each creature that observes you must make an Insight (Wisdom) check contested by your Deception (Charisma) roll to determine that you are not dead. At the start of your next turn, and each turn thereafter, you can choose to end the ruse and regain one hit point, although you cannot take actions or bonus actions on the turn you do so.

Once you have used this feature you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.

Aardgnoll

Closely Related to gnolls, aardgnolls nonetheless have a fundamentally different form from what most think of as gnolls. Lacking the powerful jaws and strong stomach of gnolls, aardgnolls generally avoid settled areas entirely and do not eat the wide variety of foods gnolls will happily devour. Instead, aardgnolls feast almost entirely on insects, happily harvesting from hives and raising giant insects for food. Due to this pastoral lifestyle aardgnolls are raised with a strong sense of respect for the natural world, protecting natural areas and leaving enough insects from a nest that the nest can recover for another meal.

Aardgnolls are much smaller than gnolls and have a pelt with thick stripes of black and tan. They also have a large mane standing up over their heads, which makes them appear larger than most races of similar weight.

Ability Score Increase.

Your Wisdom score increases by 2, and your Dexterity score increases by 1.

Age

Aardgnolls reach adulthood at age 10 and live up to 40 years.

Darkvision.

You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Natural Forager

You learn one druid cantrip of your choice. Once you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Goodberry spell once with this trait, requiring no material components, although you produce grubs instead of berries. You regain the ability to cast this when you finish a long rest. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Insect Resistance.

Aardgnolls eat massive amounts of insects, many of which are moderately poisonous. You have advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance against poison damage.

Self Reliance

Living in the wilderness requires producing for yourself what most poeple simply purchase. You have proficiency with one set of artisan's tools of your choice.

Size

Aardgnolls average about 3 feet tall, but usually also have a mane around half a foot tall. Aardgnolls and weigh about 40 pounds. Your size is small.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet. ting spells while raging takes more effort from you than usual. You lose concentration on a spell if you cast another spell, even if the spell being cast does not require concentration.