Knolls

[Bindonblood]

First of all, I do like the look of Nick's Gnolls

But when did Gnolls become Hyena based?

I guess I remember the old Citadel Fantasy Tribe which kinda morphed into Goblins. I really wish I had kept hold of mine and bought more.....

[Ray Earle]

Isn't Nick Gnolls that bloke off DIY SOS?

I'm not sure, I think I remember them as dog like. I'm quite taken by the hyena look though. 

[Smith]

The best I can find is around 1977, with the release of the first D&D Monster Manual:

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=87083.msg1073498#msg1073498

[Elbows]

All of the Gnolls I've seen lately are dog or hyena or some kind of meld.  I'm waiting to see the sprues...I think it's a brilliant idea for a plastic kit since no one else makes them and I could use them as proxy-beastmen etc.  I hope the plastics are as good as their other two kits.

[throwsFireball]

3rd Edition D&D and Warcraft put gnolls as hyena based, essentially.

[Hobgoblin]

I think that the (un)natural history of the gnoll runs like this:

1912: Lord Dunsany - How Nuth Would Have Practised His Art Upon the Gnoles (a marvellous story, but one that gives no description of the titular gnoles whatsoever).
1951:Margaret St Clair publishes a sequel to Lord Dunsany's tale: The Man Who Sold Rope to the Gnoles. This is an evolutionary dead end, as the chief gnoll is described as "a little like a Jerusalem artichoke made of India rubber, and he has small red eyes which are faceted in the same way that gemstones are". He also has fangs, tentacles and a "narrow, ribbony tongue".
1973: Original D&D describes the "gnolls" as "A cross between gnomes and trolls (...perhaps, Lord Sunsany [sic] did not really make it all that clear) with +2 morale. Otherwise they are similar to hobgoblins...". That, I guess is where the Perry twins took their cue for the Citadel gnolls that were later reclassified as "great goblins". They look both trollish and gnomish, certainly.
1977: AD&D describes gnolls as hyena-men. The Citadel miniatures post-date this, but seem to follow the OD&D description.

All subsequent representations that I know of have followed the 1977 precedent

[Captain Blood]

Hmmm.

As mentioned in one of the other Gnoll threads, I had a whole load of these:

http://dndlead.com/Minifigs/Gnolls.htm

Minifigs gnolls, also circa 1977, allegedly the first official D&D miniatures, and definitely not hyenas - albeit slightly doglike faces if you squint.

The orcs from this range were very definitely pig-faced though - I had several regiments of those too. I remember fielding them at the school wargaming club 

8p each, as I recall. Happy days...

[Hobgoblin]

Minifigs gnolls, also circa 1977, allegedly the first official D&D miniatures, and definitely not hyenas - albeit slightly doglike faces if you squint.

I think they are meant to be hyena-like. They certainly follow the 1977 Monster Manual illustration:

[Bindonblood]

Cheers all. I guess 1977 it is then.

I never realised that they were Perry's sculpts. Lovely figures and the Fantasy Tribe Dwarves really defined how I thought of them. Wish you could still get both lines of figures.....

[Reed]

First time I saw Gnolls was when I was 10 years old, playing Warcraft III, where they were depicted as hyena-like.

[Gabbi]

I was 10 years old, playing Warcraft III

This makes me feel incredibly old...

[fitterpete]

Kinda OT but
Does anyone know how big the reaper gnolls are?
Are they human sized or slightly bigger ?
And will they fit on a 20mm or even  25mm base? I know you often have to shave off reapers bases to fit on a square but I can do that.
Thanks,Pete

[throwsFireball]

Kinda OT but
Does anyone know how big the reaper gnolls are?
Are they human sized or slightly bigger ?
And will they fit on a 20mm or even  25mm base? I know you often have to shave off reapers bases to fit on a square but I can do that.
Thanks,Pete

Just Google "reaper gnoll size comparison" and you get a few pics.

Seem to be slightly larger than human size in height but considerably bigger in other dimensions.

[fitterpete]

Thanks throwsfireball I was searching on bing and not coming up with anything.Got em on google.

[throwsFireball]

Thanks throwsfireball I was searching on bing and not coming up with anything.Got em on google.

There's only one thing to use Bing for and trust me when it's not miniature pics.