Ah, gnolls. I love these hyena-faced beastmenfolk (folk just sounds too cozy here for some creatures that are going to eat your face). They seem to be underutilized in 5e despite the expansion bestiaries including loads of variants. There’s even an undead one! The poor gnoll withering is the weakest of the bunch, coming in at CR 1/4. Your standard gnoll is CD 1/2, and this is where I have a gripe about 5e monster design, which I’ll return to in a moment. A gnoll flesh gnawer jumps up to three attacks and CR 1, and a gnoll pack lord is CR 2 thanks to its higher HP, stat bumps, two attacks, and Incite Rampage ability. Last but not least, we have the gnoll fang of Yeenoghu weighing in at CR 4. It’s a fiend with lower AC, higher HP, and two attacks, with a higher to-hit bonus and some poison damage. So, lots of gnolls!

So why make more? Because that CR 1/2 gnoll bothers me with its 22 HP. Level one PCs are notoriously soft in 5e, so there should be potential opponents that match their limited abilities and resilience. But if we look back at the standard CR 1/4 goblin with its 7 HP, the CR 1/2 gnoll has a massive increase in staying power with 22 hit points. That means that gnoll (or gnolls, because they should be encountered in packs), is going to be sticking around for multiple rounds, downing PCs and going on bonus action Rampages to make more attacks. Speaking of, I’ve run gnolls, and I’ve never gotten to use the Rampage ability, which reads, “When the gnoll reduces a creature to 0 hit points with a melee attack on its turn, the gnoll can take a bonus action to move up to half its speed and make a bite attack.” But if I did, I would use it to bite the downed character and give them two failed death saves, because that’s what a gnoll would do.

Back to the matter at hand, I think there’s a clear need for a lesser gnoll. Technically, the lesser gnoll averages out to the same CR as the standard gnoll, and that’s because the DMG chart has a bizarre wide HP range for CR 1/8, 7-35 HP, while CR 1-20 all have nice, neat bands of 14 HP. That’s really weird! Especially when we consider the knife’s edge that level 1 and 2 PCs live on. There’s a massive difference between 7 and 35 HP in game play, far more than 107 and 135, for example. But 107 and 135 would be CR 3 and 5, respectively. I’m trying to figure it out, and it come down to the infamous, “go with what feels right” maxim. I don’t want to go with what feels right. I want gnolls that I can use with a first level party!

The greater gnoll doesn’t justify its existence, but I’m including it for the sake of completeness. Enjoy, and bite those downed characters! Oh, and check out these delightful AD&D gnoll minis made by Citadel in the ’80s.

Lesser Gnoll

Medium humanoid (gnoll), chaotic evil

Armor Class 15 (hide armor, shield)

Hit Points 13 (3d8)

Speed 30 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA

12 (+1) 12 (+1) 11 (+0) 6 (-2) 10 (+0) 7 (-2)

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10

Languages Gnoll

Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)

Rampage. When the gnoll reduces a creature to 0 hit points with a melee attack on its turn, the gnoll can take a bonus action to move up to half its speed and make a bite attack.

Actions

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 1) piercing damage. 

Spear. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 1) piercing damage, or 6 (1d8 + 1) piercing damage if used with two hands to make a melee attack.

Longbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, range 150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d8 + 1) piercing damage.

Greater Gnoll

Medium humanoid (gnoll), chaotic evil

Armor Class 16 (hide armor, shield)

Hit Points 27 (5d8 + 5)

Speed 30 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA

16 (+3) 14 (+2) 12 (+1) 6 (-2) 10 (+0) 7 (-2)

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10

Languages Gnoll

Challenge 1 (200 XP)

Rampage. When the gnoll reduces a creature to 0 hit points with a melee attack on its turn, the gnoll can take a bonus action to move up to half its speed and make a bite attack.

Actions

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4 + 3) piercing damage. 

Spear. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage, or 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage if used with two hands to make a melee attack.

Longbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8 + 2) piercing damage.