Homebrew Blood Sports Gnoll Gladiator Species Details

Pah!  Slavery laws?  Look, just get creative; get yourself some Gnoll pups.  No, I'm serious!  You have any idea how fast they grow?  Just 4 years, they'll easily look adult enough for the arena.  No-one is bothered if they're willing; everyone cheers to see Gnolls die.  Born vicious, too - they make a great show.  Perfectly expendable, and you can breed them easy, if you keep 'em separated out.  Hell, you can even feed them nothing but rotting offal; vile beasts do just fine on it.  With a bit of patience, the profits are huge!  What more d'you want?

- Arena Owner Marcus the Golden, holding court with some of his fellows.

 

The Gnoll Gladiator

Gnolls are powerful warriors.  Though a hated race, their pups can still fetch a healthy price - they make perfect cannon fodder for any gladiatorial arena.  A brutal life - but as most other Gnolls worship the insanity of Yeenoghu, the world has scant pity. 

A gladiatorial Gnoll is raised to fight and die for the entertainment of others, and may not even know the language of his people, so narrow is the world of the arena.  Many of the more normal traits of the Gnoll will have been wiped out by this lifestyle - for example, in a world where every gladiator stands alone, a Gnoll gladiator has far less of a pack mentality than a normal Gnoll.

Despite this crippling lifestyle, some Gnoll gladiators can also achieve stardom.  An effete population can fetishize the savagery of the Gnolls - a fast-learning Gnoll with a streak of the survivor can start to turn the boos of the crowd into cheers on every victory...

Physical Qualities

Gnolls tower over humans, with the average gnoll standing over 7 feet tall.  Even then, wild Gnolls tend to hunch over - it allows their packs to bring extra body weight to their fearsome bites.  A Gnoll that has survived the arena has learnt that such tactics ill-suit battle in an arena - they have to fight unaided by a pack, and standing straighter gives them a formidable height and reach, adding another 5ft to any reach weapon.  A taller profile is also necessary if they want the recognition of the crowd, too...

Despite their physical strength, Gnolls are lean; gnolls are rarely musclebound, and they move with remarkable speed. Their eyes are bright green or yellow and gleam whenever they catch the light. Gnolls are covered with a thick coat of fur, which generally ranges from light to dark brown; depending on the clan, this might be a uniform colour or broken up by stripes or spots. Many Gnoll bloodlines have members (both male and female) who possess crest-like manes of hair that run from the head and down the spine; this rise when Gnolls are frightened or angry.

Although these are general traits, the traces of demonic blood in Gnolls can produce unusual features.  A Gnoll might have gleaming red eyes or black fur with fiery orange spots; a wide range of variation is possible.

Gnolls mature with remarkable speed for intelligent humanoids; some cite this as proof of their demonic heritage and suggest that it is unnatural for a creature to be ready for battle so soon after birth. They have short life spans—in fact, they rarely live longer than fifty years, but they typically remain remarkably strong and vigorous right up to the end of their days. When their strength leaves them, it is a sudden and catastrophic decline.

Clawless

A Gnoll makes for a perfect arena pawn - if it can be controlled.  Gnoll pups do not play fight - as soon as they can move, their childish games turn into a deadly sport.  To control them, arena masters usually keep them muzzled and remove their claws; a proof that no matter the barbarity of the Gnoll's reputation, it is easily and thoughtlessly emulated by those who claim to be 'civilised'. 

Brutal Savages

All Gnolls are shaped by two forces: the primal nature of the hyena, and the pure malevolence of the demon.  The Gnoll has had to learn to harness both in service of the arena, in order to survive.  A Gnoll gladiator adds +1 to their constitution and +2 to their dexterity - a symptom of a ferocious life of endless battle. 

The Language of Demons

Gnolls have an innate knack for the Abyssal language; even if a pup is raised outside gnoll society, the words come to the gnoll from dreams and vague memories. Another excuse, if any were needed, for the widespread hatred of Gnolls.

Bone Eaters

Like the hyenas they resemble, gnolls possess strong jaws and powerful digestive juices, which allows them to consume and digest almost every part of their prey, including teeth and bones.  Many a crowd has been pleasurably scandalised by the sight of a Gnoll gladiator feasting on the corpse of a conquered foe.

Gnolls have no aversion to feasting upon carrion - this leaves them resistant to poisons, but only adds to their gory reputations.

Gender Issues

The physical build of a female gnoll is almost identical to that of its male counterpart, and in many clans, the females are actually larger than the males. As a rule, it is difficult for a member of another race to tell the gender of a clothed Gnoll unless it’s pregnant or actively nursing.  Further, females and males are equally aggressive and do not sound that dissimilar to unfamiliar ears.

 

This Gnoll gladiator is usually hostile, grim and stoic—but perhaps its PC companions can help the gladiator find hope beyond slaughter, and a reason to live...

 

Blood Sports Gnoll Gladiator Traits

Your Gnoll gladiator has certain traits deriving from your ancestry.

Reaching Out

A Gnoll gladiator has learnt that to stand upright is to win.  You can add 5ft additional reach to any reach weapon.

Arena Training

Your scarred hands are adept with the weaponry of the arena. You are proficient with two martial weapons of your choice.

Ability Score Increase

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

Age

Gnolls mature with remarkable speed for intelligent humanoid.  A 5-year-old Gnoll has reached adulthood.  Gnolls also have short life spans—in fact, they rarely live longer than fifty years.

Alignment

Gladiator Gnolls have had much of their pack feeling beaten out of them.  They tend to favor a neutral, selfish need for survival - for obvious reasons.  However, that does not stop a Gnoll from forming incredibly powerful bonds to anyone who treats them with kindness...

Carrion Eater

Due to your heritage as a Carrion feeder, you receive resistance to the Poisoned condition.

Darkvision

Due to your Fiendish lineage, 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 colour in darkness, only shades of gray.

Languages

Gnolls have an innate knack for the Abyssal language.

Crowd Baiter

You gain proficiency in the Intimidation skill.

Size

Gnolls tower over humans, with the average gnoll standing over 7 feet tall.  Your size is Medium but you count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.