High OR/monster PCs?

[Hazgarn]

I've got a player wanting to play a gnoll. He's got an origin I'm willing to accept, where the character was raised in a traveling side-show, so I'm willing to go with it. I'm sure this has been talked about on here somewhere before, but tried searching for an existing thread on this and wasn't having much luck.

Any thoughts/tips on handling monstrous PCs? Specifically ones with a high OR? Because I'm guessing a gnoll's probably about 7 or 8.

[A G Thing]

I imagine at least a 6 at the absolute minimum though I would strongly consider up to a 7 with an 8 being about the highest I would go so agreed there. (I set it at an 8 for the Gnoll in one of my games) Gnoll's really do stand out especially in a world where lycanthropy is despised so much and folklore and superstitions rule! People are happy to see Calibans by comparison to a Gnoll I imagine just based on the traits that a Gnoll has and what it represents. Unless it is in a cage or bound severely and the other PC's seem able to contain and control the beast (Even then I would consider at least giving half to third of the Gnolls OR to the other players when the Gnoll is present even if bound fast or caged.) a gnoll needs a disguise I say. Out in the open it is just another monster and should suffer such disadvantages. The other PC's should suffer as well for associating with the Gnoll PC if they are revealed.

Important to note is what does the Gnoll know of its heritage? Being in a side show would most likely limit that and it may believe it's self some sort of cursed thing! I doubt many rumors of Gnoll's are to be found and those that are may be no more than tales spun or adapted from other creatures.

I have had a Gnoll in a ravenloft game and using armor and hides it hid its self well to avoid lynching. The character did not have a tribe adoptive or true nor any others to bond with since he was an outlander and was proud of its warrior heritage. So out of fear and survival as well as loneliness it disguised its self to act as a mercenary fighter of some honor, but had claws and scent which it used when not observed by outsiders to help the party often. Loyal and civil enough to allies and savage but cunning against enemies the was a good fit for the mostly human party. Only upon death was his identity revealed to the town he died protecting and even then the prejudice of the town almost cost the party dearly again.

Since it is a medium size creature it should not be too hard to disguise itself when it needs to... Then again the character may not wish to hide its self or wants to exploit its natural appearance in situations thus the character may even wear some of the chains it wore in the act just to calm those around it into thinking it was controlled by the other PC's if it does not mind such. Being mocked or feared by the masses may have left it numb to the opinions of others or more sensitive to them so that is important to consider.

The slight instinctive reactions and perhaps more feral responses in its nature are something that the character may struggle with. Of course the Gnoll could be more civil than many humans but after playing such a savage role for so long now only uses that tool only when it has to and craves to interact more intelligently.

Just how I have dealt with it in the past! Hope it helps a bit!

[starfalconkd]

I understand not wanting to torment a player too much but playing such a monstrous looking creature would produce mostly negative reactions. In more "civilized" domains I'd have people be nervous and whisper a lot, children would follow the character and stare, and shopkeepers may even refuse service to the character. Don't forget the opposite extreme either, have some people be overly compassionate and "understanding" of the characters plight because he is different. Don't be afraid to be condescending. In less "civilized" domains (I'm looking at you Tepest) people will most likely react with fear and hostility. Again, don't be afraid to play it up (the mob with torches should show up). The character will learn (quickly) to keep a low profile in either case.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Chances are good that a gnoll would be mistaken for some kind of Broken One in Ravenloft. That's (marginally) better than being deemed a lycanthrope -- Broken Ones are more likely to be objects of pity than werebeasts in their hybrid forms, and aren't necessarily man-eaters -- but it would probably only mean that the gnoll, if exposed, would be driven off in disgust rather than hunted down as an active threat.

As most Ravenloft natives have never even heard of gnolls as a race, such humanoids' bad reputation won't be counted against this character. Hyenas' popular (and undeserved) reputation as cowardly scavengers might actually help in some cases, as most domains' inhabitants might therefore be less frightened (albeit more disgusted) by a hyena-man than a wolfman. Natives of the Amber Wastes would be an exception, as hyenas are found in those domains and their inhabitants would be well aware that such animals can and do attack humans.

[Trike]

You should highlight the outcast nature of the beast character from time to time. But unless your story is about the prejudice in Ravenloft's domains, you could be forgiven for not making it the centerpiece of every game. Sure, as written, the people in most domains would lynch this character. But is that what you want your game to be about? You may not want to be roleplaying species hatred throughout the whole campaign. You might think about using prejudice as a spice in your game and not a main ingredient. It seems less frustrating that way.

Or, if you feel like it is simply unbelievable to have the character without the prejudice, you should decide whether you want that character in this story. Would the character fit better in another story? Maybe you can simply have more parts of the game take place at night or outside of heavily populated areas. Then, you don't have to deal with the issue as much. And it's believable that the character would have learned to avoid people anyway.

This character could lead to some great scenes. AG mentioned a scene where her Gnoll character was revealed after dying to save a village and the people still couldn't accept him. That's a great scene! If you do it right, this unusual character could lead to some fantastic situations. Think about the character interactions between a Gnoll and the Broken Ones. Or the Gnoll with Markov's Beastmen. There could be creatures that will only talk to the Gnoll because of his beastly nature.

[The Giamarga]

Is he an outlander? Are there even any native gnolls in Ravenloft? What culture do gnolls have in general? Or was he adopted by the sideshow while still young?

Some sources for gnolls:

Pathfinder's Classical Monsters Revisited gives nice flavour/ecology to gnolls some of which is available in the gnoll entry on d20pfsrd here

Dragon #173 has the (2E) Sociology of the Flind which I believe also touches on normal Gnolls.

Here's a nice thread on ENWorld about Gnolls, gnolls, glorious gnolls

Here's ripvanwormer's take on gnolls with lots of info on religion and demon worship.

And here's Blackdyrge's vile Myrgle, Adept of Yeenoghu (Gnoll NPC adept throughout his life and beyond) painting a very dark picture of gnoll culture.

Green Ronin's Hamunaptra is also mentioned in the thread above, which makes them much less vile "degenerate 'dog-warriors' of a long-lost Egyptian-style kingdom,[that] have sleeker jackal-looking heads, more like depictions of Anubis."

[The Giamarga]

On Outcast Rating (see Ravenloft Dungeon Master's Guide p. 103 for further details):

Medium-Size = OR +1
Distinctly Inhuman = OR +2 ...or Monstrous = OR +3
Evil Reputation = OR +1 ...or Predatory Reputation OR = +2

So depending on the reputation/society of gnolls I'd make that a total OR between 4 ( Anubis like degenerates from Har Akir) to 6 (if culturally associated with Yeenoghu worship) with OR 5 being the median for the generic shaggy gnoll.