This is lore I created for my friend's DnD world. I wanted to make lore that would give gnolls nuance and a more distinct flavor from other conventionally "barbaric" races like orcs. I made this because I have two gnoll characters that I made for his 5E game. A monk named Kae'Arh Ess'Wun and her brother Em'Cee Ess'Wun, who is a rapper bard named Katt Dogg. The lore came out of wanting to make how they make sense and fit better than always hungry gnoll types. I used this homebrew to make my character. https://www.dndbeyond.com/races/3803-gnoll.
A big change to that homebrew is that these gnolls reach adulthood at ten years old. I don't have a problem with the homebrew's decision, it's just that for my characters from this culture going through life-changing events when they're four years old felt off.
A big change to that homebrew is that these gnolls reach adulthood at ten years old. I don't have a problem with the homebrew's decision, it's just that for my characters from this culture going through life-changing events when they're four years old felt off.
The Legacy of Be'ya'tu
Once, the badlands known as Kiwokunan were a savannah. This place was called Wanlamwa. Here there was a bounty of good land, strong predators, plentiful game, and endless water. The god of nature blessed the rains on this place and kept the balance of all beings there. It allowed the sapient kin of humanoids into the land if they were to treat the land with respect and take with moderation. Not all respected this balance. A large pack of hyenas, known as the Anyunwa, grew gluttonous and disrespected the balance of Wanlamwa. They took more than their share, claimed absolute dominion over other creatures, and, in a terrible slight to the god of nature, killed and tore apart the Royal Eland, a multi-color avatar of the god in the form of an antelope that represented the god's commitment to balance in that region. The eland would sacrifice itself for the nutrition of others during a set time. The Anyunwa fed upon it far before its time.
The Curse of Gluttony
That is when the god's anger rose. Rather than destroy the pack, it thought of a more cruel and appropriate punishment. It cursed them with constant hunger. It raised them upon two feet to shamble unnaturally off-balance from how they were made. It gave them the curse of sapient cognizance that could recognize its hunger pangs and the inherent sin of its form but with no guide to reconcile their existence. These were the first gnolls. The Ayunwa's gluttony had brought ruination upon Wanlamwa and the balance represented by the Royal Eland. Its bounty was drained. It became a series of scarce badlands named Kiwokunan. In time, nature would reclaim parts of it but not to the splendor it had before.
The Anyunwa's hunger drove them to be predator and scavenger. Naturally driven out of their homelands, they sought sustenance. They would eat the carcasses of sapient and beast. Often watches by humans were set up after a funeral, for like the animal they were, the Anyunwa would feast upon the bones of the dead. They were often too weak and uncoordinated to fight hand-to-hand with other sapient kin. The curse upon them grew them to large sizes and heights of over seven feet to eight feet tall on average. Rather than being a boon of constitution and strength, it made them hungrier to support the amount of mass they had. In that time, their civilization was barely functional. It was despotic and cruel. Their kind was sure to die out due to their hunger and inability to support themselves, living in uncertainty and damnation.
Be'ya'tu
Then came a savior born within the Ayunwa. Not a messenger of the gods, but a female that after seeing the hardships of her people decided to use their "curse" of cognizance to aid the disparate packs into self-sufficiency. She traveled into the badlands and sat beneath a bent tree, one of the few reclamations nature had made upon the land. There, she meditated for fourteen nights. She was no supernaturally willed and blessed monk unable to live without food or water. She hunted for streams in the badlands and took only what she needed. She looked for prey and took and used only what was necessary. Along with her meditation, she found that through her will she could permanently dispel the gnawing hunger and find peace. This gnoll was known as Be'ya'tu, whose name the tribes of Kiwokunan would take on. She returned to her people and spoke of what she had discovered. To destroy the hunger and bring peace to the packs of gnolls, they must do these things. Eat, drink, hunt, and create with moderation. Reflect on the effort and the sacrifice of your fellow kin along with the sacrifice of prey and food and do not take sustenance lightly. Make peace with your neighboring tribes for peace without garners peace within. Turn your laughter from cruelty to express joy and pain. Finally, return to the place of birth of the gnolls and wander that place and survive with these teachings. She helped a great many. In her honor gnoll society adopted a style of lineage similar to their previous forms and made matriarchal societies and passed down matrilineal lineages. Her disciples, who translated the dry truth of her words into relatable poetry, music, and histories became the first griots, spoken-word troubadour storytellers and historians. The Beyatuans, now named, returned to the badlands to live in harmony with what they created and what nature had reclaimed rather than rake the lands.
Modern Kiwokunan
Struggle still exists in Kiwokunan. Those with certain lineages or claims to land or even upstart warlords attempt to take more than what is needed. Tribes ally and bicker and outright war at times for resources, politics, and over the true meaning of Be'ya'tu's words for the more zealous at times. Due to the remnants of their curse, gnoll druids are extremely rare among the Beyatuans. That is one of the reasons they have not been successful and trying agriculture in Kiwokunan. There have been attempts at hosting druids of other lands and races but without a consistent guide for the ground and with fears of being taken advantage of these attempts have not been successful.
Be'ya'tu's ascension and legacy
For her efforts, Be'ya'tu assumed a celestial form. She has an odd relationship with the gods of the realms being a representative of her race and a mediator between different gods rather than being tied to one. The Beyatuan gnolls revere her more than worship her, seeing their salvation as one needs to be gained by their living. Those that die in the cause of others or of old age are seen as those who have mastered themselves and will meet Beyatuan in her plentiful savannah. For now, gnolls struggle. Their long-dead cursed nature is still upon the lips of other sapients. They are distrusted. Compared to beasts. However, they fight on and live as much as any other sapient race.
Gnolls as a Species
Gnolls are hyena people. They descended from spotted hyenas of Kiwokunan, but other hyena species have been seen as gnolls. They have slightly arched backs, haunches for legs, clawed feet with paw pads, sharp but omnivorous teeth, and short to moderate length claws on their hands. Their heads resemble hyenas but have the expression and variety of styles of other humanoid races. Gnolls are born with open eyes and the ability to crawl by their first day, learning to walk in around a week. Gnolls reach maturity by ten years of age and they live lifespans that average around sixty years. Compared to humans, they have a development that is about 2/3rd's as long as humans and have accelerated physical and mental growth during childhood development in comparison. It plateaus around the same amount as humans when adjusted. They have average heights of 7.5 feet and are moderately broad-chested. Females are moderately larger than the males and taller by an average of a head's height.
The Modern Beyatuans
The Beyatuan gnolls are primarily nomadic people. They repeatedly build and takedown tent settlements as they wander in the same path as their prey. While not a rule, often the different packs of gnolls have a specific animal they prefer to hunt. The badlands are a rough place where survival often depends on the distance between watering hole to watering hole and herd to herd. Along with the natural dangers from the larger prey of the badlands, warring tribes, bandits, competing predators, and monsters walk similar paths to the Beyatuans. Gnolls value strength, not in-and-of-itself, but because it is required to survive the dangers of their home. That is not to say that wisdom, charisma, or intelligence is devalued; just that these are mainly the domain of the griots. The griot tribe is descended from the original disciples of Be'ya'tu. Not by lineage, but by a long and treasured oral and musical historical tradition. They keep the histories of not only Be'ya'tu and the origin of the Beyatuan gnolls but of all prominent gnolls and other beings that have been present in their history. The weak are often given to them to be healed or raised. The griot tribe and their settlements are also seen as neutral ground for the different tribes. They speak and negotiate upon the land of the griots. Bringing weapons are met with great punishment often enforced by the gnoll packs that use the land to commune. The value of the griots is treasured as part of Beyatuan religious, historical, and current traditions. A favored art of the griots is the call-and-response song. Mixed with dance, theatre, painted art, and a tradition of pottery, artistic tradition is kept well alive among the griots. The written word is often rare with the lack of a source of paper along with the use of clay and other tablets for other pursuits. A newer form of art was made that came from mixing Beyatuan traditions and newer foreign ones. This art is known as rhythmically applied poetry. This compromise between bardic singing of the lands outside of Kiwokunan and the spoken word of the griots was popularized by gnoll migrants in the larger cities of the world. In terms of dress and gear gnolls have a variety of different vestments. Often Gnolls will go barefoot but can wear boots, sandals, or functional leather padding. Unfortunately, human-style boots will have to accommodate their foot claws. They wear many different styles of dress from leathers, to bones, to cloth, to cotton clothing purchased from their neighbors, to robes, and many other different styles. They prefer any armor they can get, and some gnolls have paid handsome prices with gains from their pelts to obtain dwarven and human plate. Often in the badlands the common armour is hardened leather.
Time Keeping
Be'ya'tuans keep time by a lunar calendar, as the skies were always clear to check during the nights of the badlands. Each month is 28 days and each year is made of 15 months.
Child Rearing, Weddings, and Mating
Gnoll rearing habits are communal. Cubs are raised together without strong relationships to their father although the males and females of the pack do essentially raise the young together. It is not unheard of the biological father of a cub to take interest in their growth, just that with the way the society works his absence will not be felt. The mothers of cubs, due to matrilineal inheritance, are much more involved with their young on an individual basis. Gnoll females choose their mates for either love, political, or pragmatic reasons. Often the mother of the wed husband provides the dowry for her son. Gnolls give birth in litters of two or three. Those occasions are joyous, especially with births not being common as the Beyatuans follow the words of moderation given by their spiritual guide. The badlands do contain herbs that prevent pregnancies and it is not shameful to take them. The balance of Kiwokunan must be maintained. Monogamous, polygamous, and free coupling habits do exist upon the badlands and they are allowed as long as they do not hurt pack unity. Pacts between different tribes also exist and often the male promised must join the female's pack if they are wed. There are times where a wedding is not necessary for mating to occur. In those cases that the female chooses not to wed, if a child is to come from the instance, the male must pay a pseudodowry and the female's tribe raises the cubs. Matriarchs often hold a harem of three. These are her bodyguards along with being her spouses and advisors. Consistency in bloodlines, other than checking who the mother is, is not required. The harem is chosen based on political or emotional reasons to be permanent spouses. They also do not have to be gnolls.
Hybrids
Hybrid gnolls do exist. The curse brought upon the gnolls apparently made them more human in ways other than what was obvious. Humans and gnolls can produce half-gnolls, which can look like a mix between the two or are born resembling more of the mother or the father. The mother's form, due to genetics, is often more followed but there have been cases of the father's form being taken along with a down the middle form. Along with humans, those that can produce hybrids with humans can be assumed to produce hybrids with gnolls. Societally, these unions are seen as normal as anyone else's as long as the lineage of the mother is followed. There have been hybrids among the packs of the badlands. Often, if a hybrid takes after the gnoll and presents physically as a gnoll the most, the gnoll can be told as a hybrid through its fur color which will have the non-gnoll's hair color transferred on them while keeping the mane. There are stories of a pack with golden gnolls in it said to be the result of an elven bard and a matriarch whose icy cold heart was melted by the poet.
Crime and Punishment
Transgressions such as theft, murder, and rape are dealt with in swift measure. Thieves shall find themselves thralled under those they steal from and sent to do the most dangerous work for a set amount of time. Unlawful killing will have the offender tried by the elder gnolls and their matriarch. The perpetrator will either be executed or forced to perform dangerous acts under thralldom. Rapists are immediately gelded before decisions are made about them, similarly to dealing with murderers. One form of punishment draws upon the curse from gluttony the gnolls. Hot coals will be fed to the perpetrator in a horrid analog to the gnoll's original sin. Another punishment is to be buried in the driest parts of the badlands and left for dead. Trials are communal things that receive input from the whole of the packs. Justice is swift. Those that bring down the claw and tooth too often will have their credibility and legitimacy questioned.
Funeral Rites
The Beyatuans teach moderation and consideration in all things. This includes the burying of their dead. Often wrapped in easily degradable materials, the dead of Beyatuans are laid into the ground of places with growing plants. In the badlands, the bodies are to become repayment for what the Ayunwa hyenas stole from Wanlamwa. To this point, they are laid in places where nature is slowly reclaiming the area to serve as fertilizer to help further its growth. Outside of the badlands, the bodies are preferred to be buried in places of greenery and growth to serve the same purpose to the burgeoning wild there. Some of those with families made of different species may prefer to use other funeral rites and while culturally and spiritually their ways are important to the Beyatuans they can seek compromise and still be considered devout.
The Spotted and the Striped
There exists a sort of ad-hoc grouping of gnolls based on region. Those that exist mainly in the badlands are known as spotted. Those that are migrants out of the badlands are known as striped. This is not a pejorative of any kind. Named after two species of the hyenas they are descended from, although many of the Beyatuan gnolls resemble the spotted and even those of the "striped" are spotted, this is used as a quick reference for the type of experience the different groups of the same kin have. Striped may take on the culture and norms of outside races as migrants. They may not value the badlands as much as the spotted. A few spotted could see the striped as disrespectful outsiders, but many spotted see the striped as living their own lives their own way and respecting that. Be'ya'tu may have said the gnolls should return to the badlands, but her spirit can be carried outside of the badlands as well. A sort of syncretism between Be'ya'tu's traditions and other religions can form. She serves a saint filling the slot for any religion that lacks something gnolls can grasp. The fathers of the striped also often take a larger place in their children's lives with seclusion from a communal setting not allowing the father figure to allow the tribe to raise his cub with intermittent interaction. This is especially true of those of hybrid couples such as those with humans who expect the father to be an active presence. The striped, often finding themselves in places with higher prosperity and quality of life, often have larger families than the spotted since they do not have to keep the balance of Kiwokunan. The striped made rhythmically applied poetry popular in the cities of the world outside of the badlands.
Be'ya'tu's ascension and legacy
For her efforts, Be'ya'tu assumed a celestial form. She has an odd relationship with the gods of the realms being a representative of her race and a mediator between different gods rather than being tied to one. The Beyatuan gnolls revere her more than worship her, seeing their salvation as one needs to be gained by their living. Those that die in the cause of others or of old age are seen as those who have mastered themselves and will meet Beyatuan in her plentiful savannah. For now, gnolls struggle. Their long-dead cursed nature is still upon the lips of other sapients. They are distrusted. Compared to beasts. However, they fight on and live as much as any other sapient race.
Gnolls as a Species
Gnolls are hyena people. They descended from spotted hyenas of Kiwokunan, but other hyena species have been seen as gnolls. They have slightly arched backs, haunches for legs, clawed feet with paw pads, sharp but omnivorous teeth, and short to moderate length claws on their hands. Their heads resemble hyenas but have the expression and variety of styles of other humanoid races. Gnolls are born with open eyes and the ability to crawl by their first day, learning to walk in around a week. Gnolls reach maturity by ten years of age and they live lifespans that average around sixty years. Compared to humans, they have a development that is about 2/3rd's as long as humans and have accelerated physical and mental growth during childhood development in comparison. It plateaus around the same amount as humans when adjusted. They have average heights of 7.5 feet and are moderately broad-chested. Females are moderately larger than the males and taller by an average of a head's height.
The Modern Beyatuans
The Beyatuan gnolls are primarily nomadic people. They repeatedly build and takedown tent settlements as they wander in the same path as their prey. While not a rule, often the different packs of gnolls have a specific animal they prefer to hunt. The badlands are a rough place where survival often depends on the distance between watering hole to watering hole and herd to herd. Along with the natural dangers from the larger prey of the badlands, warring tribes, bandits, competing predators, and monsters walk similar paths to the Beyatuans. Gnolls value strength, not in-and-of-itself, but because it is required to survive the dangers of their home. That is not to say that wisdom, charisma, or intelligence is devalued; just that these are mainly the domain of the griots. The griot tribe is descended from the original disciples of Be'ya'tu. Not by lineage, but by a long and treasured oral and musical historical tradition. They keep the histories of not only Be'ya'tu and the origin of the Beyatuan gnolls but of all prominent gnolls and other beings that have been present in their history. The weak are often given to them to be healed or raised. The griot tribe and their settlements are also seen as neutral ground for the different tribes. They speak and negotiate upon the land of the griots. Bringing weapons are met with great punishment often enforced by the gnoll packs that use the land to commune. The value of the griots is treasured as part of Beyatuan religious, historical, and current traditions. A favored art of the griots is the call-and-response song. Mixed with dance, theatre, painted art, and a tradition of pottery, artistic tradition is kept well alive among the griots. The written word is often rare with the lack of a source of paper along with the use of clay and other tablets for other pursuits. A newer form of art was made that came from mixing Beyatuan traditions and newer foreign ones. This art is known as rhythmically applied poetry. This compromise between bardic singing of the lands outside of Kiwokunan and the spoken word of the griots was popularized by gnoll migrants in the larger cities of the world. In terms of dress and gear gnolls have a variety of different vestments. Often Gnolls will go barefoot but can wear boots, sandals, or functional leather padding. Unfortunately, human-style boots will have to accommodate their foot claws. They wear many different styles of dress from leathers, to bones, to cloth, to cotton clothing purchased from their neighbors, to robes, and many other different styles. They prefer any armor they can get, and some gnolls have paid handsome prices with gains from their pelts to obtain dwarven and human plate. Often in the badlands the common armour is hardened leather.
Time Keeping
Be'ya'tuans keep time by a lunar calendar, as the skies were always clear to check during the nights of the badlands. Each month is 28 days and each year is made of 15 months.
Child Rearing, Weddings, and Mating
Gnoll rearing habits are communal. Cubs are raised together without strong relationships to their father although the males and females of the pack do essentially raise the young together. It is not unheard of the biological father of a cub to take interest in their growth, just that with the way the society works his absence will not be felt. The mothers of cubs, due to matrilineal inheritance, are much more involved with their young on an individual basis. Gnoll females choose their mates for either love, political, or pragmatic reasons. Often the mother of the wed husband provides the dowry for her son. Gnolls give birth in litters of two or three. Those occasions are joyous, especially with births not being common as the Beyatuans follow the words of moderation given by their spiritual guide. The badlands do contain herbs that prevent pregnancies and it is not shameful to take them. The balance of Kiwokunan must be maintained. Monogamous, polygamous, and free coupling habits do exist upon the badlands and they are allowed as long as they do not hurt pack unity. Pacts between different tribes also exist and often the male promised must join the female's pack if they are wed. There are times where a wedding is not necessary for mating to occur. In those cases that the female chooses not to wed, if a child is to come from the instance, the male must pay a pseudodowry and the female's tribe raises the cubs. Matriarchs often hold a harem of three. These are her bodyguards along with being her spouses and advisors. Consistency in bloodlines, other than checking who the mother is, is not required. The harem is chosen based on political or emotional reasons to be permanent spouses. They also do not have to be gnolls.
Hybrids
Hybrid gnolls do exist. The curse brought upon the gnolls apparently made them more human in ways other than what was obvious. Humans and gnolls can produce half-gnolls, which can look like a mix between the two or are born resembling more of the mother or the father. The mother's form, due to genetics, is often more followed but there have been cases of the father's form being taken along with a down the middle form. Along with humans, those that can produce hybrids with humans can be assumed to produce hybrids with gnolls. Societally, these unions are seen as normal as anyone else's as long as the lineage of the mother is followed. There have been hybrids among the packs of the badlands. Often, if a hybrid takes after the gnoll and presents physically as a gnoll the most, the gnoll can be told as a hybrid through its fur color which will have the non-gnoll's hair color transferred on them while keeping the mane. There are stories of a pack with golden gnolls in it said to be the result of an elven bard and a matriarch whose icy cold heart was melted by the poet.
Crime and Punishment
Transgressions such as theft, murder, and rape are dealt with in swift measure. Thieves shall find themselves thralled under those they steal from and sent to do the most dangerous work for a set amount of time. Unlawful killing will have the offender tried by the elder gnolls and their matriarch. The perpetrator will either be executed or forced to perform dangerous acts under thralldom. Rapists are immediately gelded before decisions are made about them, similarly to dealing with murderers. One form of punishment draws upon the curse from gluttony the gnolls. Hot coals will be fed to the perpetrator in a horrid analog to the gnoll's original sin. Another punishment is to be buried in the driest parts of the badlands and left for dead. Trials are communal things that receive input from the whole of the packs. Justice is swift. Those that bring down the claw and tooth too often will have their credibility and legitimacy questioned.
Funeral Rites
The Beyatuans teach moderation and consideration in all things. This includes the burying of their dead. Often wrapped in easily degradable materials, the dead of Beyatuans are laid into the ground of places with growing plants. In the badlands, the bodies are to become repayment for what the Ayunwa hyenas stole from Wanlamwa. To this point, they are laid in places where nature is slowly reclaiming the area to serve as fertilizer to help further its growth. Outside of the badlands, the bodies are preferred to be buried in places of greenery and growth to serve the same purpose to the burgeoning wild there. Some of those with families made of different species may prefer to use other funeral rites and while culturally and spiritually their ways are important to the Beyatuans they can seek compromise and still be considered devout.
The Spotted and the Striped
There exists a sort of ad-hoc grouping of gnolls based on region. Those that exist mainly in the badlands are known as spotted. Those that are migrants out of the badlands are known as striped. This is not a pejorative of any kind. Named after two species of the hyenas they are descended from, although many of the Beyatuan gnolls resemble the spotted and even those of the "striped" are spotted, this is used as a quick reference for the type of experience the different groups of the same kin have. Striped may take on the culture and norms of outside races as migrants. They may not value the badlands as much as the spotted. A few spotted could see the striped as disrespectful outsiders, but many spotted see the striped as living their own lives their own way and respecting that. Be'ya'tu may have said the gnolls should return to the badlands, but her spirit can be carried outside of the badlands as well. A sort of syncretism between Be'ya'tu's traditions and other religions can form. She serves a saint filling the slot for any religion that lacks something gnolls can grasp. The fathers of the striped also often take a larger place in their children's lives with seclusion from a communal setting not allowing the father figure to allow the tribe to raise his cub with intermittent interaction. This is especially true of those of hybrid couples such as those with humans who expect the father to be an active presence. The striped, often finding themselves in places with higher prosperity and quality of life, often have larger families than the spotted since they do not have to keep the balance of Kiwokunan. The striped made rhythmically applied poetry popular in the cities of the world outside of the badlands.
Notes
The words of places you see here are made from mix and matchings of Hausa language. I have used influences from West African culture, African American culture, and other mythologies in bits and pieces from elsewhere along with playing with the hungry gnoll thing from 5E. However, I need the reader to know that these gnolls are not supposed to be the people of color of this world. They are not transplanted to be a complete analog. There are facets of different cultures from that group but it's not a Warhammer Fantasy situation where the Mayans are all now lizard people. These are hyenas raised to be sapient. To deny any influence from those cultures is wrong, but take them as a creation with those parts of influence on them and not the cultures transplanted themselves as much as Rohan is not just literally Saxons-on-horses even if that is their aesthetic in Lord of the Rings.
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