New Race: Gnoll

[Tails7712]

What is a Gnoll?: A Gnoll is a hyena humanoid originating from Lord Dunsay's 1912 story in The Book of Wonder. (According to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnoll).  However, most of us will recognize it from Dungeons and Dragons. Gnolls are described to tower over humans, ranging from around six feet tall to an incredible eight feet. They follow their own insticts in the majority of situations and are incredibly mean, fearsome, primal creatures. Gnolls aren't smart at all, and usually think with their weapons rather then their wits.  A Gnoll is covered with a thick coat of fur, which generally ranges from light to dark brown; depending on the clan, this might be a uniform color, or broken up by stripes or spots. (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Gnoll_%284e_Race%29) Gnolls have large black crestlike manes and have very short lifespans. (Rarely living to thirty years.) Gnolls also value family greatly, and will set aside thoughts of personal glory to save allies. But don't be fooled, because they are greedy in pretty much every other situation.

Picture of a Gnoll: http://ximonr.deviantart.com/art/GNOLL-37131048


Implementing Gnolls in Rimworld: (Obviously, I want to leave things up to the developers but it doesn't hurt to put my own opinion on how I think Gnolls could be implemented. Check out TankaaKumawani's opinion below.)

   
• General info: Gnolls were genetic experiments gone horribly bad. Originally, scientists wanted to create a slave race to do their bidding. Unfortunately a mixture of genes created the creature mentioned above. The population of this humanoid was spread through the pillaging of settlements and eventually more genetic mistakes. (When the mistake isn't heard about, it is likely to happen again.) Most Gnolls are in a medieval era or in a modern era, very few have actually gotten to a complete futurstic era. This is usually because they stay with the scientist who made them for quite a bit of time. Gnolls have been around for quite a while, as they were experiments that were created as a more complete knowledge of genetic engineering was being acquired. Gnolls make clans based upon what lab they came from. Gnolls are extremely rare in glitterworlds because they usually are exiled upon sight or they lack the technology to reach one. Most Gnolls are found on rimworlds, and are part of tribes or pirate groups.

   
• As mentioned above, Gnolls are typically going to be pirates or tribesmen, they usually become enforcers of pirates, and leaders of tribes because of their behavior and brutality. Of course you can always make a Gnoll colony, as they usually are exiled from planets due to their ruthless mannerisms. (I won't talk about mixed colonies of Gnolls and Humans, I will leave it to Tynan to figure out what he needs to do. He probably has a huge plan on what path he wants to take with Rimworld.) Gnoll colonies are usually composed of one leading clan that rules with an iron fist. They scavenge from the remains of other colonies and are known to resort to cannibilism or the consumption of human flesh and bonemarrow. Gnolls are aggressive and will mostly attack on sight. They will not flee until most of them are dead or incapicitated. Gnolls are not on the intelligent side, so they do not have very many skilled workers. A lot of Gnolls also become drifters, usually because their clan was nearly destroyed or they are not satisfied with the amount of killing in a tribe or pirate group. If your fear level is high, then Gnolls will usually flock to your place in hopes that they can become a leader or harm more people.

   
• (Hats and clothes will probably look weird on Gnolls unless you create a new sprite specifically for the Gnolls, but I do have a potential fix to your problem.) Gnolls need to have unique clothes otherwise they will not fit the tall body of the Gnoll. You can add a specified amount of cloth to a clothing item and sew it into a new piece, but it cannot be put back to human clothing. You can do the same with hats. With armor you can use metal.

TankaaKumawani also had a take on how Gnolls could be implemented. I strongly agree with most of what he/she had to say.

I think the gnolls would be a good test concept for transcritters in general, although we should try to find a way to fit them into the setting in an organic manner.  While somewhat human, the transcritters still have differing mindsets than Baseline Bob.


"Gnolls" (trans-hyenas) are leftovers of vanity projects from glitterworld nerd "Mad Overlords" who wanted to fill their proving grounds with suitable monsters.  Unsatisfied by biomimic mechanoids, they turned to advanced genetic engineering methods to produce dungeon denizens.  The gnolls were a relative success, with the template seeing use beyond the glorified game board.  Crime syndicates used them as imposing enforcers.  Mercenary companies equipped them with machineguns.  They were even used for [CENSORED] and were apparently quite popular as such.

Inevitably there were issues with the enslavement of sophonts in some polities, and in others, former overlords grew tired of their underground domains of mystery, syndicates split, and merc company soldiers mutinied.  It was often decided to dump these and other surplus genetically engineered creatures on other, less sophisticated planets where they would be someone else's problem.  Many a pest guard can spin the woeful tale of their first encounter with a gnoll warband.

Of note is their highly competitive matriarchal society, emphasis on dominance relationships, and relative lack of pair-bonding between adults.  These characteristics are toned-down somewhat compared to their their non-uplifted brethren.

In-Game:
Gnolls are often found as neolithic tribals or middle age pre-industrial societies, but turn up as a small minority among more modern outlander towns and pirate, terrorist, or mercenary bands.  A handful may even be colonists or space refugees, attempting to start new lives unburdened by their past--or were shoved into a drop pod by rivals and left to die.

On average, they aren't as smart as baseline or nearbaseline humans, but are noticeably tougher.  Their mental break thresholds are somewhat worse, as they may revert to their original imprinting.  An unarmed colonist is not going to do well in the ensuing fistfight...

So why do I think Gnolls fit in so well? What makes them special compared to all the other transcritters or "races"? Gnolls have the brutality that fits the game as a whole, they would almost instantly make the world feel a lot more dangerous and alien.

Keep in mind that this thread isn't finished yet, and there is still a ton to improve.

Backstories and more on the next post.

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[Tails7712]

Still reading? Thank you!

Backstories:

Children:
Gnoll Clansmember: (Name) was part of a Gnoll Clan. They had to fight for survival among all of the other children and ended up missing an education.
+2 Construction
+1 Cooking
Research disabled.
+4 Shooting
+4 Melee
Social disabled.
Art disabled.
+0 Growing.
(Feel free to come up with more, but I am leaving it at that for today.)

FAQ:
Q: Didn't Tynan say that there would be no true aliens in Rimworld?
A: Yes, he did, he also confirmed that there is genetic modification.

Q: Why do you think Gnolls would fit into Rimworld?
A: That is answered near the end of the first post, it is in limegreen.

Q: Are you going to expand upon this?
A: Of course, what I have now is just a starting point.

[litlbear]

no alien races lol

[Tails7712]

no alien races lol

No true alien races.

I interpreted what he said differently then you had. I thought he meant nothing that doesn't resemble something from Earth, but what he said was sort of vague, so I had some trouble deciphering exactly what he meant. There are also xenohumans, which can range from "giants; tiny, squat, dark, smooth, furry, etc.

My information came from Tynan's quick primer and the longsleep revival which I found here:

Quick primer: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pIZyKif0bFbBWten4drrm7kfSSfvBoJPgG9-ywfN8j8/pub

Longsleep revival: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fUO3KKbAbTxMP1lqphnnodY0NPoOVblCUkDw-54MDUc/pub

[Axel]

Litlbear what is an alien to you?

[Damien Hart]

no alien races lol

No true alien races.

I interpreted what he said differently then you had. I thought he meant nothing that doesn't resemble something from Earth

Not quite, it's nothing that doesn't directly descend from humans. The defining line was:

Ordo Historia records list thousands of reported contacts with alien life. However, in every case that has been thoroughly investigated, Ordo inquisitors have discovered that the ‘alien’ was, in fact, simply another branch of humanity

What you're talking about is more like a transanimal, ie. genetically engineered animals with intelligence in the human range.

[Tails7712]

no alien races lol

No true alien races.

I interpreted what he said differently then you had. I thought he meant nothing that doesn't resemble something from Earth

Not quite, it's nothing that doesn't directly descend from humans. The defining line was:

Ordo Historia records list thousands of reported contacts with alien life. However, in every case that has been thoroughly investigated, Ordo inquisitors have discovered that the ‘alien’ was, in fact, simply another branch of humanity

What you're talking about is more like a transanimal, ie. genetically engineered animals with intelligence in the human range.

Thanks, I will have to scan the documents again to make sure I don't miss anything again. I really wish I saw this originally. I'll adjust the suggestion tomorrow to make the suggestion more lore friendly. Thanks again.

[Damien Hart]

No worries. On the subject of a trans animal race like gnolls, considering they are stupid, their backstories should generally be particularly simple, for example:

Gnoll Hunter: NAME hunted animals to feed the tribe.
+ 4 shooting and melee skill
All other jobs excluding cleaning, hauling and fire fighting disabled.

Gnoll Shaman: NAME provided spiritual guidance and healing to other tribe members.
+5 social skill
+2 medicine skill
All other jobs excluding fire fighting disabled.

And the idea that they'd be elevated to positions of leadership when interacting with pirates for example is a bit of a stretch; more likely they're the leader's giant enforcer types, because they are big and dangerous, but too stupid to actually take the lead themselves.

[RawCode]

what about pony race?

they will fit game just like gnolls of elves...

[Damien Hart]

what about pony race?

they will fit game just like gnolls of elves...

Please don't encourage the bronies, there are too many of them as it is.

Elves are easily explainable: a genetic engineering trend several centuries ago that causes the modern day (modern at the time of RimWorld, anyway) descendants to have the pointed ears, good looks etc. synonymus with Tolkien-esque elves. Combine that with a culture that venerates nature to a ridiculous degree and you have your typical DF style elf.

[Tails7712]

No worries. On the subject of a trans animal race like gnolls, considering they are stupid, their backstories should generally be particularly simple, for example:

Gnoll Hunter: NAME hunted animals to feed the tribe.
+ 4 shooting and melee skill
All other jobs excluding cleaning, hauling and fire fighting disabled.

Gnoll Shaman: NAME provided spiritual guidance and healing to other tribe members.
+5 social skill
+2 medicine skill
All other jobs excluding fire fighting disabled.

And the idea that they'd be elevated to positions of leadership when interacting with pirates for example is a bit of a stretch; more likely they're the leader's giant enforcer types, because they are big and dangerous, but too stupid to actually take the lead themselves.

Great ideas, I will probably have the clansmember be somewhat of a general worker, but I am still deciding what skills I should take out. But I think I have a good idea now.

what about pony race?

they will fit game just like gnolls of elves...

what about pony race?

they will fit game just like gnolls of elves...

Please don't encourage the bronies, there are too many of them as it is.

Elves are easily explainable: a genetic engineering trend several centuries ago that causes the modern day (modern at the time of RimWorld, anyway) descendants to have the pointed ears, good looks etc. synonymus with Tolkien-esque elves. Combine that with a culture that venerates nature to a ridiculous degree and you have your typical DF style elf.

I think Gnolls would fit the game pretty well, they could be a genetically engineered disaster that ended up escaping and pillaging nearby villages/cities and creating a race that looks similar to the Gnoll that we all know. They could also be an experiment that ended up going bad. There is a lot of possibilities. Plus, when I think of Gnolls in Rimworld, I think of brutal tribesmen or pirates that are barely intelligent enough to create their own colony. Anyways, expect to see the thread updated soon.

[keylocke]

it may look like an alien, act like an alien, taste like an alien.. etc..
but it's actually just a human in disguise. heck! even that squirrel is a human.

food for thought..

[Mystic]

My only comment: I enjoy Dungeons and Dragons-related fare at times, but would prefer to not see any of it creeping into RimWorld.

[Tails7712]

it may look like an alien, act like an alien, taste like an alien.. etc..
but it's actually just a human in disguise. heck! even that squirrel is a human.

food for thought..

My only comment: I enjoy Dungeons and Dragons-related fare at times, but would prefer to not see any of it creeping into RimWorld.

Quote 1: AUGH! WE ARE ALL CANNIBALS!

Quote 2: Understandable, infact when I am writing on this thread, it is hard for me not to think of fantasy-like Gnolls. Later on, there will be a lot more to read which may diversify the race enough to make it not seem like a Gnoll.

[RawCode]

I think Pony would fit the game pretty well, they could be a genetically engineered disaster that ended up escaping and pillaging nearby villages/cities and creating a race that looks similar to the Pony that we all know....

And they escaped from Umbrestria and can turn anyone into pony on single bite!