Reader Lore Suto pointed out that I'd overlooked an important early illustration of the gnoll – by Erol Otus, no less! The image appears on the cover of the AD&D Dungeon Masters Adventure Log. Appearing in 1980, I have a great fondness for this particular product, which I used a lot in my youth. That's why I can't believe I'd forgotten that the cover featured a party of adventurers squaring off against a gnoll.
It's a terrific illustration that recalls Sutherland's original from the Monster Manual, right down to the gnoll's arms and armor. To my eyes, Otus's gnoll looks a bit more wolfish than does Sutherland's, but I like it nonetheless. I like it, too, because it's a good reminder that, despite his reputation for "trippy" visuals, Erol Otus was quite capable of something more akin to "traditional" D&D art, of which this piece is a solid example.
The gnoll illustration in L1 The Secret of Bone Hill was also wolf-ish or even husky-ish.
ReplyDeleteI forgot about that one! That unique belt and and cape in the DCS design seem to be present. The ears are positioned lower, closer to the MM picture. I think this is by Harry Quinn? I don't think Jeff Dee or Trampier ever did a gnoll illustration (Though Jeff Dee did a fake Yeenoghu for A3), but I'd like to be proven wrong.
DeleteI remember noticing a fair number of people reskinning gnolls to have lupine features in their campaigns back when the Palladium Fantasy RPG came out, which I credit to influence the game's Wolfen (or whatever they were actually called).
ReplyDeleteRan a homebrew of my own just before 2nd ed where the gnolls were all fox-headed. Partly due to having foxes in our back yard at the time, but mostly because hyenas really didn't fit the cold, mountainous evergreen forests the action was taking place in. Standard gnolls feel kind of out of place when they're not someplace with a more appropriate climate. Savannahs, for ex.
On your beat, I believe we evolved gnolls based on prevailing climate, though they were always somewhat taller than a standard fighting-class human. I suppose in that sense they were more like dogs than wolves or hyena. From Afghan to Husky in general aspect. Fondly I remember further that "Gnolls are always hungry" (probably our own fabrication) and might be navigated with foodstuffs rather than bloodletting. With new players and characters we were constantly trying to find a way to evade, parlay, pay-off or hurtenoughofemtorunawaytherest. Sort of like dealing with older brothers.
DeleteI love it.
ReplyDeleteGod, I LOVE the cover art! It really fueled my imagination. Still does, in fact.
ReplyDeleteI've always loved gnolls -- but from afar, since I spent the first three decades (at least) of my gaming life without actually playing D&D or any of its direct relatives. So it was maybe only the idea of gnolls that I found so appealing. I can't remember seeing any illustrations of them that made any impression on me for all that time. As you all have noted, they tend to go to hard for literal hyenas badly stitched onto Max Max beefcake figures. Or, especially for older pieces, are just not very well drawn.
ReplyDelete