Editing Gnolls (section)

== Behavior and Culture ==
=== Personality ===
Gnolls in general are wilder, more primal, more attuned to survival, less used to living in safe environments (like cities) than other races.<ref name=":3" /> This reflects in their habits and mannerisms, making them attentive, guarded, methodic, and distrustful of strangers.<ref name=":0" /> They are considered prideful,<ref name=":62">[[Chapter 1.12]]</ref> and as a result, can be touchy<ref name=":12" /> and stubborn<ref name=":53">[[Chapter 5.16 S]]</ref> when approached the wrong way. However, in contrast to Drakes, this pride is less about race-wide patriotism and more about the individual’s integrity and worth. Gnolls also lack the short fuse and inherent belligerence of the Drakes,<ref name=":50" /> and are often seen reacting to and addressing issues in a methodical and organized manner.<ref name=":33" /> Next to a Drake, they might be seen as a voice of reason - perhaps this is why [[Olesm Swifttail|Olesm]] once bemoaned the lack of Gnolls in Liscor’s ruling council.<ref name=":18" /> But once railed, their temperament is no less intense, and they keep grudges for their entire lives if they are not settled.<ref name=":22" />

Gnolls are pragmatic and grounded, and look at what is, not what could be.<ref name=":43" /> It’s deeply ingrained into their way of life, and is an anchor to cling to when facing despair.<ref name=":49" /> Their pragmatism trumps even things like prejudice; Gnolls do not see race as much as others might when it comes to making friends.<ref name=":1" /> After all, a single decent person should not be blamed for the past failings of their people as a whole.<ref name=":18" />

Gnolls are generally straightforward with their words and actions, and don’t beat around the bush<ref name=":0" />. Being blunt with them can be the right approach in many cases.<ref name=":33" /> When a Gnoll is not being direct, they may not be speaking freely, or may be trying to hide something.<ref name=":41" />

Towards strangers, a tribal Gnoll tends to be taciturn, curt, and closed off.<ref name=":51" /> This goes double when a higher-ranking member of the tribe is present; then most Gnolls will leave all talking to them and not say anything at all. In contrast to Dullahans,<ref name=":50" /> though, Gnolls have no inherent trouble addressing strangers when it suits them. For example, if a Gnoll hopes to sell you something, or if they think there is some other form of worth in knowing you (see Merit, Worth, Leadership, below), they can be quite welcoming all of a sudden.<ref name=":1" />

Among good friends or members of their tribe, a happy Gnoll is a gregarious, boisterous creature, who will express themselves loudly and physically,<ref name=":9" /> freely dispensing friendly pats, pokes, hugs, and slaps that make smaller races wince.<ref name=":1" /> When a Gnoll is sad, they’ll rarely cry; their grief is quiet, private, and turned inwards.<ref name=":17" /> An annoyed Gnoll has urges to smack the other party around a bit,<ref name=":3" /> kick some shins, pull some ears, or other such things - and frequently acts on them.<ref name=":6" /> A properly angry Gnoll, by contrast, keeps themselves tightly in check. At that point, the tension is too high for mere smacking,<ref name=":41" /> and any physical altercation is likely to get violent in a hurry. This trend continues to its logical extreme: a silently seething, perfectly still Gnoll is the worst news of all.<ref name=":17" />

Gnolls are pack creatures,<ref>[[Chapter 5.48 G]]</ref> and having a pecking order comes natural to them. As a result, they are very conscious about figures of authority,<ref name=":18" /> and offer adequate formal deference as a matter of course where appropriate. However, they are not hung up on specific ranks and titles like Drakes are. It’s all about the difference in personal influence between two people - and Gnolls quickly drop all semblance of formality around those they consider their equal, even in nominally formal settings.<ref name=":28" />

More than anything else, however, Gnolls are ''focused'' and ''serious''. When they’re doing something, they give it their full and undivided attention, sometimes to the point of severity. Their task is serious business. Their tribe is serious business. Their vocation is serious business. Their grudges are serious business. Their history is serious business.<ref name=":6" /> Ball games are serious business.<ref name=":31" /> Even their dating is serious business.<ref name=":54">[[Chapter 4.40 L]]</ref> That’s not to say they cannot enjoy themselves, or have a sense of humor; it just means that a Gnoll does not mess about. A Gnoll ''commits''. Their personal pride and sense of duty will not allow anything less. In the entire source text, there is not a single lazy or frivolous Gnoll to be found anywhere, unless you count the youngest children. Even the corrupt Gnoll senator in Pallas pursues his path with dedication, putting himself forward as the speaker for the assembly whenever he can.<ref name=":52" />

=== Social Identity ===
Tribal Gnolls are an extremely tightly knit people. For all their readiness to overlook race in making acquaintances,<ref name=":1" /> Gnolls ultimately like to be among, and work with, Gnolls. They don’t enjoy mixing and working with other races all that much.<ref name=":46" />

Tribes like the [[Silverfang Tribe|Silverfangs]], who came to Liscor by their own choice,<ref name=":39" /> can be seen as somewhat of an exception. Tribes in the wild are more reclusive, and some tribes deep in the Gnoll heartlands may be actively hostile towards foreigners.<ref name=":44" /> But even the Silverfang Gnolls stick to their own part of Liscor, settling in sort of a ‘Gnoll ghetto’ instead of integrating themselves into Drake society,<ref name=":24" /> and unofficially govern themselves despite living under Drake law.<ref name=":6" />

It’s a recurring undercurrent in their portrayal that non-Gnolls are rarely allowed to penetrate their society to any measurable depth. For example, the concept of sharing a secret with literally every Gnoll under the sun while at the same time telling literally no one else makes perfect sense to a Gnoll.<ref name=":14" /> There seems to be no active malice or racism in this, nor any unhealthy amount of patriotism, as might for example be in Drakes shunning foreigners. It’s just that Gnolls have very close ties to one another; particularly within a tribe, but to some extent even across tribes.<ref name=":25" /> And that means that there is a fundamental gap between a Gnoll and a non-Gnoll, one that goes well beyond merely “they look different from us”. An outsider cannot begin to understand the way Gnolls feel connected to one another - and even if they did, they still could not connect the same way.

This gap is seldomly bridged even when it comes to close friends and allies of other races. For example, Ryoka Griffin received warm (if initially wary) hospitality from the Stone Spears tribe,<ref name=":9" /> and amazed them with her stories; and she was declared a “friend to all Gnolls” by the Silverfang tribe of Liscor.<ref name=":56">[[Chapter 4.09]]</ref> Yet, when Ryoka returned from her errand, the Stone Spears tribe would have been perfectly happy to let her walk past without meeting again. It took Ryoka’s active calling out for a hiding Gnoll to reveal herself.<ref name=":51" /> And while Krshia will honor her word and make all sorts of preferential treatment available to Ryoka and her close associates,<ref name=":5" /> and even speak of her in front of the gathering of tribes, the Gnoll did not extend an invitation to Ryoka to join the gathering and meet other tribes. If the author’s intent was to not have Ryoka there, it would have been easy to have her simply refuse to attend, based on her antisocial personality. But it never came to that. Even when Ryoka outright asked for friendship as the only payment to even the score between them, Krshia never considered the possibility of inviting her.<ref name=":56" />

Krshia later did invite Erin to visit the Gnoll lands.<ref name=":59">[[Chapter 6.03]]</ref> Not to participate in the gathering, though - she would have to remain on the outside of that.<ref name=":59" /> It is the first instance in the source text of a Gnoll showing this level of openness to an outsider, even if Humans aren't banned from visiting per se.<ref name=":59" /> However, in light of [[Hawk|Hawk's]] experiences,<ref name=":44" /> it was perhaps wise of Krshia to offer to be Erin's guide.

Love is perhaps the only force in the universe capable of letting a Gnoll grow truly close to a member of another species, as there are canon examples of Gnolls with intact tribal affiliations marrying Drakes.<ref name=":6" /> However, as these examples are only mentioned in passing, it is unclear what degree of acceptance the non-Gnoll receives from their spouse’s peers. And as [[Drassi]] tells it, such pairings often come with significant expectations of conformity to Gnoll social norms. Whenever she dated a Gnoll, he would invariably start talking about the importance of his tribe, and the commitments expected of her.<ref name=":54" />

There is an opposite face on the coin of this social inward focus, however. As much as it stunts their ties to other races, it strengthens the ties among Gnolls themselves. Apart from the Antinium, there is perhaps no other species in Innworld that coordinates and operates together as naturally, effectively, and at the same massive scale as the Gnolls do.

The kinship that tribal Gnolls feel towards each other is incredibly strong, to the point where murder is a foreign concept to them.<ref name=":25" /> Gnolls will disagree with each other, perhaps get in a fight, perhaps even kill each other if they meet on the field of battle on opposing sides. But they would never secretly plot another Gnoll’s death through underhanded means. That would be a direct violation of everything it means to be a Gnoll. The only counterexample seen so far is [[Bearclaw|a wanted criminal of the worst sort]], and not affiliated with any tribe.

Gnolls also tend heavily towards nepotism in their social networking.<ref name=":4" /> When Krshia sources goods for Erin and friends, or refers them to other traders, she involves exclusively Silverfang tribe Gnolls.<ref name=":5" /> Only if none are on hand that fit the bill, the selection expands to Gnolls from other tribes, or tribe-less City Gnolls. And only if there are none among those who can do the job or provide the goods, only ''then'' are other sources even considered.

Core values among Gnolls are adaptation and personal growth,<ref name=":55" /> as well as self-sufficiency.<ref name=":57">[https://wanderinginn.com/2018/10/19/glossary/ Glossary]</ref> Another core value is teamwork.<ref name=":57" /> This looks like a contradiction at first, but makes perfect sense to a Gnoll. The self-sufficiency and personal growth comes in at the individual level; the teamwork is for the tribe, and the species. A Gnoll strives to be the best they can be at their chosen path of life, both in order to gain standing (see Merit, Worth, Leadership further below), and in order to be strong for each other, and for all of Gnollkind.

During the first Antinium War, the Gnolls reacted faster to the new threat than anyone else,<ref name=":47" /> despite being ostensibly splintered into countless individual tribes with no central government. They assembled twenty thousand elites from across many hundreds of tribes before the invaders even set foot in their territory, promptly wiped out an Antinium force four times their number in a single day, and finished raising a regular army six figures strong a mere week later.<ref name=":47" /> And where the Drakes failed to mount an effective defense of their lands, the Gnolls succeeded.<ref name=":47" /> This illustrates how each individual Gnoll, and each individual tribe, will set aside their personal business and grievances at the drop of a hat to honor the bonds of kinship to their species as a whole - and with what surprising speed and efficiency the Gnolls can organize themselves at any scale.

Gnolls can also make declarations of intent ''as a species''. An individual tribe may go to war or make peace as they wish; but when Gnolls as a whole declare war, then literally every tribe will be acting in unison.<ref name=":18" /> No matter where they live, no matter their individual relationship with the offending party, no matter their own agenda or standing among the tribes. And such a war does not end until every tribe agrees that it should end.<ref name=":18" /> The Raskghar are currently the target of such a war,<ref name=":18" /> and the Selphids<ref name=":6" /> and Drakes<ref name=":18" /> have been one at some point in the past. Wistram is currently the target of a species-wide boycott.<ref name=":22" /> And every Gnoll abides by it - even those who might privately disagree, if there are any. A species-wide declaration is the highest, most serious response the Gnolls have, and the duty to uphold it supersedes personal interest.

Cooperation among Gnolls is not the same as cooperation among [[Drakes]], who steer their society through bureaucracy<ref name=":53" /> and military protocol.<ref name=":52" /> It is not the same as cooperation among [[Antinium]] workers, who lack the concept of individuality and are mere extensions of their Queen’s hive mind.<ref>[[Chapter 5.39]]</ref> It is not the same as cooperation among [[Goblins]], who have learned to copy each other on instinct to produce spontaneous, dynamically emerging feats of coordination.<ref>[[Chapter 5.53]]</ref> Cooperation among Gnolls is the result of every single, individual, self-sufficient Gnoll wordlessly and voluntarily dedicating themselves to their people, through their personal senses of duty and pride, and through their unspoken bonds of kinship. They certainly don’t always agree with each other about which is the best path forwards...<ref name=":6" /> but you can be sure that every Gnoll contributes in their own way, even if (to an outside observer) they seemingly only go about their daily lives. The only reason that the [[Silverfang Tribe|Silverfang tribe]] is even in Liscor in the first place, for example, is because they hope to address one of the major problems currently holding Gnolls back as a species.<ref name=":6" />

Only few Gnolls fall out of this pattern of loyal commitment to their tribes and their species, and don’t conform to the typical inward focused social behavior. Those who do generally leave their tribes and become City Gnolls (see below), forever regarded as outsiders by those they leave behind.<ref name=":9" /> Some even strike out on their own and travel the world, picking whatever occupation suits their fancy - perhaps even that of a pirate captain.<ref>[[Chapter 6.23 D]]</ref> But these cases are even less common than City Gnolls, making them a rare sight abroad.

=== Tribal Life ===
The vast majority of Gnolls lives in scattered tribes in the southern half of Izril.<ref name=":46" /> They make up a third of the population down there.<ref name=":46" /> Small tribes may count their members in the hundreds or thousands, while large tribes have tens of thousands, or even more.<ref name=":7.10 K" /> Many hundreds of different tribes currently exist,<ref name=":47" /> each self-sufficient in their own territory. Some tribes are friendly towards non-Gnoll outsiders, some are hostile.<ref name=":44" />

Gnolls do not build cities like other species;<ref name=":47" /> in fact, they rarely ever build any permanent structures at all.<ref name=":43" /> They are outdoor creatures, and don’t like solid buildings and enclosed rooms very much.<ref name=":26" /> Instead, they erect encampments of sturdy hide tents and huts reminiscent of Mongolian yurts, arranged to provide protection from the weather.<ref name=":9" /> The size of these huts can vary greatly, from small personal homes to large communal areas for the whole tribe to share.<ref name=":9" />

Gnolls are at least partially nomadic.<ref name=":39" /> Many tribes move at least once per year, employing carts, sleds, and sleighs to transport their entire encampment.<ref name=":66">[[Chapter 2.42]]</ref> Where the Gnolls erect their camp next is governed by their current needs and focus; each tribe has something they specialize in.<ref name=":7.10 K" /> These specializations are often centered on natural resources - the kind that can be hunted, cut, or mined.<ref name=":9" /> Gnolls don’t waste anything they harvest or hunt.<ref name=":9" /> Tribal Gnolls also raise livestock, but generally do not farm crops.<ref>[[Chapter 4.33]]</ref> Livestock can be moved with the camp, while planted fields cannot. Horses, for example, although Gnolls are good at running and often prefer it.<ref name=":7.10 K" /> They also have to be pretty large to comfortably carry most Gnolls.<ref name=":28" />

Gnoll tribes make and keep a reserve of pemmican in case their other food runs out and they're unable to find enough to eat hunting or gathering. A tribe in difficulty will go to another tribe and ask to see their pemmican stores. Tribal Gnolls have come to dislike it due to associating the taste with desperation, especially if they had to eat it often.<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2023/10/28/9-64-bh/ Chapter 9.64 BH]</ref>

In a tribal camp, Gnolls share responsibilities; everyone does everything, to some extent.<ref name=":34" /> As a result, Gnolls pick up a few levels in a wide variety of classes early on in life. While this makes them adaptable and self-sufficient, it may also mean that they later level their chosen ‘main’ class more slowly.<ref name=":34" /> All ages contribute: children help out with tasks around the camp,<ref name=":9" /> and elders stay active in the affairs of their tribe until they die.<ref name=":48" />

Traditional tribal remedies include ointments that work a little bit like weak healing potions.<ref name=":9" /> However, the tribes are no limited to just that, and in fact have have made some unique advancements in medicine and healing. For example, the rare [Bone Surgeon] class is said to be only found among tribal Gnolls.<ref>[[Chapter 3.10]]</ref>

One of the most common mourning customs of tribal Gnolls is feeding the animals, which means that the Gnolls would take care of their flocks of animals, feeding them as much as they could, giving them a rare treat, and pampering them as a community. Then they would tell stories about the deceased. The first day, they told a silly story about the person, the next a story of failure that they may never have shared, and on the third day they told a story of triumph and how they died.<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2022/06/07/9-01/ Chapter 9.01]</ref>

==== City Gnolls ====
Sometimes, though rarely, a Gnoll might leave their tribe and live in cities of other species.<ref name=":9" /> In doing so, they cut their ties to Gnoll society, and are considered outsiders among tribal Gnolls,<ref name=":9" /> who are referred to as Plains Gnolls by comparison.<ref name=":60">[[Chapter 6.09]]</ref> There is no active shunning involved; Plains Gnolls and City Gnolls will still talk to each other.<ref name=":9" /> Nevertheless, the term “City Gnoll” is sometimes used with pity, disdain, or confusion.<ref name=":6" /> Why would anyone forsake the bonds between Gnolls for ''that''? They just don’t understand.

The City Gnolls themselves, meanwhile, have a different perspective. They cherish their personal freedom, not being required to submit themselves to their tribe’s needs, and not having so many... connections, to potentially thousands of family members.<ref name=":60" /> And perhaps they disagree with the traditions of Gnollkind, as well. Perhaps they feel that an established city is a more comfortable place to live than a temporary camp. Perhaps they feel that their tribe would not provide them with the means and the approval to follow unusual dreams - like those of the Gnoll who lives in Pallass, the ‘City of Inventions’, and tries to develop a means to fly without magic.<ref>[[Chapter 5.01]]</ref> Or perhaps they harbor unusually well developed xenophile tendencies. City Gnolls are certainly much more at ease talking to strangers and integrating with - or even marrying<ref name=":60" /> - other species than their tribal cousins. And naturally, any Gnoll children born to City Gnolls are never exposed to the traditional way of tribal life, and thus they automatically are also City Gnolls.

There is a curious incongruency, though, in regards to achieving significant rank or status in a Gnoll's chosen city of residence. Because that status, no matter how important it might seem to city's dominant culture, does not translate into Gnoll hierarchy at all - not unless it also grants the Gnoll worth in the eyes of other Gnolls. And this even extends to Plains Gnolls. Even a well-known City Gnoll senator might instinctively know themselves way down the social ladder when meeting a Plains Gnoll with actual pull in the Gnoll hierarchy.<ref>[[Interlude – Numbtongue (Pt.1)]]</ref> Perhaps the ties that bind Gnolls together are not so easily severed even for those who willingly and vocally choose to do so...

Among the [[Walled Cities]], Oteslia is the one with the highest relative percentage of Gnoll citizens.<ref name=":71" /> However, [[Liscor]] likely has even more. A decade ago, the [[Silverfang Tribe|Silverfang tribe]] sent a large number of crafters and traders to live and work in Liscor.<ref name=":39" /> Although that ostensibly makes them City Gnolls too, they have not forgone their affiliation with Plains Gnoll society - they just happen to live there temporarily, because their mission requires it.<ref name=":6" /> Still, they admit that they have come to cherish the bonds they have built there,<ref name=":6" /> and have developed many qualities of City Gnolls, such as being generally more open-minded towards other races.

=== Tribal Politics and Organization ===
There is no indication in the source text about a centralized Gnoll government. They do not have written law,<ref name=":36" /> and each tribe is self-sufficient, self-governing, and autonomous within its territory. That the Gnolls are still able to organize to the impressive degree shown in the source is a testament to the strong bonds of kinship between them, and the ability of magical communication between [Shamans].<ref name=":6" />

When two tribes do meet, there are a number of traditions and formal ceremonies to observe, which differ depending on the purpose of the meeting.<ref name=":36" /> When disagreements between two tribes cannot be resolved, the chieftains will formally declare war to each other in a face-to-face meeting, after which the tribes part for one full day before hostilities begin.<ref name=":36" /> Peace is equally negotiated in a face-to-face meeting of the chieftains.<ref name=":36" /> One of the main customs of peaceful meetings between Gnoll tribes is a mutual exchange of gifts.<ref name=":36" />

There is one institution, though, which does come close to being a centralized organ of coordination: the gathering of tribes,<ref name=":3" /> or as [[Erin Solstice|Erin]] calls it, "the Gnollmoot".<ref name=":67">[[Chapter 6.49]]</ref>

The gathering currently meets every ten years.<ref name=":3" /> In the past, the intervals used to be longer. [[Teriarch]] remembers how the Gnolls used to meet only every one hundred years, then every fifty years, then every twenty.<ref name=":45" /> The progressive shortening of the interval over the centuries has not been explained outright in the source text, but it can be theorized to be linked to the rebuilding efforts after the near-extinction of the Gnolls during the Human invasion of Izril.<ref name=":18" /> Krshia has stated that the tribes are still not back up to their historic strength,<ref name=":18" /> but also implied rather heavily that they have been growing rapidly, and that they have ambitious plans for the coming decades.<ref name=":18" /> Whatever the reason may be, the Gnolls certainly see a far greater need to coordinate at a large scale today than they used to in centuries past.

During the gathering, the Gnoll tribes exchange information, forge alliances, and coordinate the efforts of their species as a whole.<ref name=":3" /> As mentioned before, custom dictates that Gnoll tribes exchange gifts upon meeting peacefully,<ref name=":36" /> and the gathering is no different. Only here, since literally all tribes are meeting all others, each tribe attending is expected to bring a gift to be given to all Gnolls - to the entirety of their species.<ref name=":39" /> The quality and worth of that gift is subject to every other tribe’s scrutiny, and if it is a good one, the tribe offering it will rise in standing and gain influence in the gathering.<ref name=":39" /> Similarly, a poor gift reflects poorly onto the tribe. Evaluation of the gift is not simply based on quality or usefulness, but also how difficult it was to obtain.<ref name=":34" />

With the current rapid pace of the gatherings, tribes tend to invest the majority of the intervening decades towards procuring a worthy gift. For example, the Silverfang tribe decided right after the previous gathering to send a sizeable portion of its traders and crafters to Liscor, in order to amass the monetary resources required to purchase a suitable gift.<ref name=":39" />

=== Merit, Worth, Leadership ===
Gnoll society is, at its core, a meritocracy. The custom of exchanging gifts, the concept of putting aside both personal gain and inter-tribal strife at the drop of a hat in favor of aiding the species as a whole, the strong focus on honesty, integrity, and paying one’s debts - it’s all an expression of one specific core concept: ''Worth''. Individuals gain influence by having worth in the eyes of their peers. Those with the highest worth generally become leaders among Gnolls.<ref name=":17" /> And just like how an individual Gnoll has worth to their tribe, each tribe has worth to the species as a whole.<ref name=":39" /> The tribes with the highest worth, again, become leaders - they are the ones that everyone listens to at the gathering of tribes, letting them steer the future of all Gnolls into the direction they consider best.<ref name=":39" />

Generally, Gnolls are matriarchal, and most leaders and figures of influence are female.<ref name=":35" /> But merit and worth are regarded higher still than this tradition, and as such, males can also become leaders.<ref name=":35" /> If a male is clearly a better leader, and has brought much fortune to the tribe, then even the nominally more dominant females will defer to his worth. [[Urksh]] of the Stone Spears tribe was a male Gnoll chieftain,<ref name=":9" /> as was [[Kerash]], the legendary warrior-chieftain who some outsiders had called the first ‘King of the Gnolls’.<ref name=":27" /> [[Bekia]], a female Gnoll in [[Magnolia Reinhart|Magnolia's]] employ, used to be a chieftain but screwed up in some way and got ousted from her tribe.<ref name=":72">[[Chapter 6.68]]</ref>

There are few, if any, structures beside worth that determine social rank and leadership. A majority vote is not recognized as a valid decision-making method, as it would sidestep the concept of individual worth.<ref name=":67" /> Similarly, there is no such thing as a Gnoll nobility.<ref name=":55">[[Chapter 4.43]]</ref>If a tribe has lost their Chieftain and has no candidates to assume leadership, older tribes will safeguard them until one emerges. They will not appoint a Chieftain to avoid risking a poor candidate.<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2022/10/12/9-20/ Chapter 9.20]</ref> No Gnoll is regarded as better than others merely by virtue of their birth. Gnolls are also firmly opposed to the idea of slavery<ref>[[Chapter 4.06 KM]]</ref> - the concept of putting another person to work for your own gain and not giving them recognition for their efforts runs counter to the concept of worth.

City Gnolls have trouble achieving leadership roles in Drake society, as they usually are a tiny minority, and Drakes tend to be possessive and racist. In the Drake military, Gnolls are rarely ever promoted.<ref name=":28" /> And in civil administration, Gnolls do not get any official representation. This even includes cases like Liscor, where the merchant guild’s interests are represented by a Drake who has less mercantile prowess than some of the (here quite significant) Gnoll population.<ref name=":40" /> However, in democratic systems, City Gnolls tend to do better. In Pallass, one has managed to get elected as senator.<ref name=":52">[[Chapter 5.54 (Rewrite)|Chapter 5.54]]</ref> And when Liscor held a surprise election for its ruling council, Gnoll candidates won the popular vote in four out of eight districts.<ref name=":67" /> Even there, though, the incumbent Drakes managed to trick them out of one of those seats.<ref name=":67" />

This lack of official representation, combined with their social inward focus, has led City Gnolls to form unofficial “shadow councils”, which administrate Gnoll affairs in secret.<ref name=":6" /> These councils consist, again, of those Gnolls who are considered to have the most worth. Officially, City Gnolls defer to Drake laws,<ref>[[Chapter 2.26]]</ref> but effectively, they govern themselves. It is not the most well-guarded of secrets, as some Drakes in high-ranking positions are well aware of these structures.<ref name=":18" /> But then again, those [[Olesm Swifttail|Drakes smart enough to pick up on it]] are usually also smart enough to see the value in their existence.

=== Trade, Debt, Guilt ===
Fair exchanges are a cornerstone of Gnoll culture. “Everything is give and take”, in Krshia’s words.<ref name=":3" /> A favor rendered should be repaid in kind. A request should be made in tandem with an offer of recompense. Intentionally cheating another party in barter for goods, services or favors is frowned upon - it is a violation of the bonds of kinship. Polite little untruths, too, are considered a Human oddity, and not something a Gnoll would speak.<ref name=":14" /> Not that Gnolls are not capable of straight-faced lying when it suits their goals, of course,<ref name=":3" /> but those are carefully considered.

Because of this cultural honesty, Gnoll crafters and traders have a reputation of being straightforward and trustworthy.<ref name=":38" /> And indeed, there are many famous Gnoll merchants and traders<ref name=":22" /> - it’s one of the few ways in which the more reclusive tribes openly interact with the rest of the world. Tribes often settle near natural resources to exploit them; for example, the [[Stone Spears Tribe|Stone Spears tribe]] was engaged in gemstone mining.<ref name=":9" /> It can be speculated that the Gnolls produce, move, and trade a lot of the raw materials that come out of southern Izril.

Mercantile habits and terminology appear in Gnollish day-to-day life. They teach math via coin changing,<ref name=":20" /> and use expressions like “counting your coins” instead of “counting your chickens”.<ref name=":6" />

When an exchange cannot be immediately made fair - for instance because one party cannot repay a favor rendered at that moment - then debt is accrued. Gnolls take debts ''very'' seriously, and will constantly look for ways to get even.<ref name=":39" /> If a Gnoll owes you a debt, you can be certain that they will be a loyal ally, even if you are an outsider.<ref name=":39" /> On the flipside, if you owe a debt to a Gnoll, then the same expectation is placed upon you.<ref name=":41" /> Debts must be honored. And a debt can be a great many things.

In their exchange-oriented cultural thinking, the concepts of ‘debt’ and ‘guilt’ are at least very closely related -  or might in fact be considered the same thing.<ref name=":41" /> Gnolls are normally very systematic and rational in how they judge guilt and responsibility.<ref name=":37" /> However, if debt and guilt are roughly the same thing, and debt is transferable, then so is guilt.<ref name=":41" /> Preventing what a Gnoll considers justice not only annoys said Gnoll - it will literally mean that the unpaid debt is now on your shoulders, and yours to pay off.<ref name=":41" /> Gnolls take debts very seriously, and will constantly look for ways to get even. This can extend all the way to “blood for blood” revenge.<ref name=":42" /> Don’t think about waiting it out, either, because Gnolls can keep grudges for as long as they live.<ref name=":22" />

Payment for a debt doesn’t necessarily have to be money, nor does it have to be the same thing that caused the debt - although a life for a life, and other such things, is definitely an acceptable option.<ref name=":17" /> But while fair, it is not the optimal outcome, since it doesn’t restore what was lost. It just causes equal loss to the other party. Whenever possible, what the Gnolls are really looking for is, again, worth.<ref name=":41" /> A debt can be paid with anything of sufficient worth, even the kinds of debt that are actually serious guilt. All it takes is enough worth to weigh up against the guilt. The Gnolls do not shy away from comparing the value of people’s lives to the value of secrets and material wealth.<ref name=":25" />

=== Prejudices and Superstitions ===
Gnolls are a surprisingly laid-back and fair people when it comes to prejudices. They do not blame individuals for the transgressions of their race,<ref name=":18" /> they have no problems with homosexuality or interspecies couples,<ref name=":30" /> and gender segregation is a foreign concept to them.<ref name=":27" /> In their meritocratic society, an individual’s actions and worth speak louder than their race, gender, origins, beliefs, or anything else. And when a Gnoll does take issue with something they see, they generally don’t heckle, or make a scene about it.<ref>[[Chapter 5.34]]</ref> They just walk off. ...Well, most of the time, anyway.<ref name=":0" />

There is occasional name-calling between City Gnolls and Plains Gnolls over their lifestyle choices,<ref name=":60" /> but not to the point of open hostility.<ref name=":9" />

There are, however, certain superstitions. And at least in these, Gnolls are just as susceptible as Humans to discriminating against those they believe to be responsible, even without direct proof. Younger Gnolls are more likely to blindly believe in such tales, while the elders tend to be more measured.<ref name=":41">[[Chapter 2.40]]</ref><ref name=":35" />

The prime example of this in the source text is white fur. It is said that no Gnoll has white fur, except those touched by disaster,<ref name=":41" /> those who have lost their tribe, those who have survived calamity, and those who are said to bring it, earning white furs the epithet of "Doombringer".<ref name=":41" /> This superstition is not wholly unfounded: Mrsha, who used to be brown, actually turned white when she became the [Lone Survivor]<ref name=":21" /> of the Stone Spears tribe, which was ambushed and slaughtered by a Goblin army.<ref>[[Chapter 2.35]]</ref> Another, very similar case occurred during the eradication of the Saltstone tribe, where more than a dozen surviving children spontaneously turned white.<ref name=":7.10 K" /> There is clearly a real, supernatural effect involved in the appearance of a white Gnoll, likely involving traumatic stress and/or the severing of their tribal bonds.

However, Gnolls in the source text rarely question the exact circumstances of how Mrsha gained her fur color. Instead, they repeatedly make her coloration the scapegoat for just about anything and everything at their convenience,<ref name=":41" /><ref name=":21" /><ref name=":35" /> regardless of whether she was even present when it happened. After Mrsha actively saved the lives of a number of Gnolls, the worth she gained through that act seems to have superseded most of the animosity towards her - but, of course, now the Gnolls simply attribute the doom of their enemies to her fur color instead.<ref name=":31" />

=== Language ===
Gnolls are one of the minority of races in Innworld that are confirmed to have their own, unique language.<ref name=":9" /> It involves a lot of growls, howls and other such noises. It is unlikely that other races can learn to properly speak Gnoll, or at least, not without an extremely strong accent. Only a few transliterations of Gnoll words into English letters exist in the source text, and most of them are names.

It is, however, not a fully-featured native language. It is described as more of a secret tongue, used by Gnolls when they don't want outsiders to overhear something.<ref name=":69">[[Chapter 6.63 P]]</ref> Gnolls can also use howling as a means of quick and efficient communication across a large area.<ref name=":33" />

All Gnolls encountered in the source text so far have been able to at least passably speak Common, with the exception of Mrsha, who is mute. This suggests that Gnolls grow up bilingual, learning Common and their own tongue at the same time.

However, when tribal Gnolls do speak Common, they generally do so heavily accented, with a distinctly 'growly' pronunciation, rolling r's, and a halting cadence.<ref name=":32" /><ref name=":69" /> They struggle with vocabulary and tenses on occasion, even after living among other races for some time.<ref name=":34" /> They frequently use awkward grammatical patterns, forgo contractions, employ oddly specific qualifiers, or frame statements as rhetoric questions. Usually they end in an affirmative, to underline the amiable intent, but when the Gnoll is upset or angry, this often changes to a negative.<ref name=":51">[[Chapter 2.34]]</ref> It is quite likely that these structures come from the Gnoll language, and that tribal Gnolls living isolated from other species tend to meld the two languages together somewhat - both in grammar and in sound. This frequently happens in the real world, too.

A typical example of tribal Gnoll speech, as provided by Krshia: “I will be there. But I go to The Wandering Inn now. To hear what may be heard. And to pick up the Mrsha child, yes?”<ref name=":6" />

Among those who have spent most, if not all of their lives among other native Common speakers, you will find Gnolls with a better grasp of the language. The City Gnolls of Pallass are noticably more eloquent than any of the tribal Gnolls in the source. A Drowned Gnoll on board a deep-sea freebooter has seamlessly adopted her fellow sailors' way of speaking,<ref name=":58" /> and a Gnoll [Actor] gained perfect mastery of speaking Common via his class.<ref name=":69" />

Gnolls have their own writing system, too. Interestingly, it is fairly similar to Human and Drake scripts, and easy to learn for those races.<ref name=":48">[[Chapter 3.23 L]]</ref> Since Gnolls have traditionally had a habit of not writing down stuff,<ref name=":18" /><ref name=":36" /> perhaps this script is a relatively recent (in historical terms) development, and borrows from other cultures that the Gnolls have met.

=== Humor ===
Gnolls tend to be intensely committed to whatever they are doing, but that does not mean that they have no sense of humor. [[Rufelt]] can barely contain his mirth at the best of times, for example. It’s just that their sense of humor is... a little odd in the eyes of other species.<ref name=":28" /> Gnoll jokes often are as pragmatic as they are, and generally delivered deadpan - a sly ambushing of their conversation partners, who might need a heartbeat or two to catch up to what was said.<ref name=":61">[[Chapter 6.08]]</ref> They enjoy wordplay a lot, drawing statements into the absurd by making unexpected juxtapositions or exploiting the language barrier.<ref name=":61" /><ref name=":28" /> When amused, they laugh loudly and heartily, showing lots of teeth.

=== Hospitality ===
As might be inferred from their formal traditions for tribal meetings,<ref name=":36">[[Chapter 5.50 G]]</ref> Gnolls are big on hospitality. Each and every guest will be offered food and drink, no matter the time, place, or occasion. And “offered” means they’ll ''insist'', and can get quite pushy about it.<ref>[[Chapter 4.27 H]]</ref> Don’t even think about getting away without partaking. The host will feel disappointed at minimum, and potentially even insulted, when their offerings are left untouched.<ref name=":18" />

Between Gnolls, it is perfectly normal to lick your plate clean when eating something that another Gnoll made.<ref>[[Chapter 5.24 L]]</ref> Showing your host that you liked their food this much is sure to please them greatly.

=== Clothing Habits ===
Gnoll fur insulates quite well, and they change coats twice a year to be better adapted to the weather.<ref name=":4" /> Often, Gnolls can be seen wearing only what’s absolutely necessary to be modest in public - meaning a loincloth, and on females, additionally a breast band.<ref name=":4" /> Some continue to do this even in deep winter.<ref name=":24" /> However, Gnolls can and do wear clothing,<ref name=":6" /> and manufacture all sorts of articles, even boots.<ref>[[Chapter 2.07]]</ref> If not for warmth, then perhaps Gnolls wear clothing for utility purposes, or to signal their craft or their social status, or perhaps even out of vanity.

Interestingly enough, Gnoll clothing is said to be far more similar to Human clothing in style and form than it is to the designs of their Drake neighbors.<ref>[[Chapter 1.14 (Archived)]]</ref>

=== Sexuality ===
Gnolls are casual, open, and unbiased about sexuality, even involving same-sex or interspecies pairings.<ref name=":30" /> When a Gnoll gets laid, the whole tribe can smell it on them the day after.<ref name=":13" /> Their noses are too good to try and hide it, so they simply don’t consider it a private matter. They don’t even mind loudly talking about it in public.<ref name=":13" /> Voluntary abstinence is an odd concept to them; sex is fun, after all, so why would someone not be interested? That’s just unnatural and unhealthy!<ref name=":13" /> Gnolls do pair off for marriage and raising a family,<ref name=":31" /> but among singles, promiscuity is the rule, rather than the exception.<ref name=":13" /> Since their period of heat only affects them about twice a year, this would mean that most sexual encounters are of a purely recreational nature. Unwanted offspring is controlled by means of contraceptive teas.<ref name=":13" />

While most Gnoll tribes do not discourage same-sex relationships, there is still an expectation for members to contribute to the tribe by producing children. This can prompt homosexual Gnolls to leave for the cities, in spite of the risk of severe persecution by intolerant Drakes there.<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2020/10/11/7-51/ Chapter 7.51]</ref> Conversely, the cities' sexual minorities would leave to join the tribes during periods when persecution was especially bad.<ref>{{VERef|Saliss the Architect}}</ref>

Gnolls appear more adventurous in bed than other species<ref name=":13" /> - or at least, they’ll admit to it more readily than others.

=== Upbringing ===
Gnoll upbringing is very hands-off. Youths are given extreme freedom to choose how they want to grow up, and their parents will refuse to make life-changing decisions for them.<ref name=":34">[[Chapter 2.43]]</ref> Even the youngest can do practically whatever they want... until they annoy an adult.<ref name=":9" /> Then Gnoll upbringing suddenly gets very “hands-on”, in the sense that the child gets smacked. That’s how they learn boundaries.<ref name=":9" /> More serious offenses may earn the child a spanking - and Gnolls have strong arms and don’t believe in light punishments.<ref name=":21" /> It is said that Gnoll children quickly learn not to cry over little things.<ref name=":21" />

The great freedom children enjoy comes earmarked with an asterisk or two: in the tribes, they have to help the adults out with simple tasks when called upon.<ref name=":9" /> They learn a wide variety of basic crafts and survival techniques that way. And all children must attend their lessons on maths, language, and other such things. Yes, even you, Mrsha.<ref name=":20" /> They learn to swim as well<ref>[[Chapter 7.07]]</ref> - though that's probably a lot more fun than grammar lessons!

Gnoll children don’t usually have many toys due to the nomadic tribes’ need to keep their baggage light for moving about.<ref name=":31">[[Chapter 5.45]]</ref> So they play with whatever they find in the wilderness, or simply with each other. But there are always balls, and games of catch.<ref name=":31" /> Gnolls like balls. Gnoll children ''really'' like balls. They love to run and chase and catch.<ref name=":31" /> As a result, Gnolls manufacture a huge variety of balls with different traits, serving many different purposes.<ref name=":31" />

=== Signature Weapon ===
Throughout the source text, Gnolls are seen swinging around just about every kind of weapon in existence, often based on what’s most practical for the current job at hand. But there is one weapon that Gnolls will favor regardless of practicality. One weapon that is so ubiquitous among them that it gives the species as a whole a reputation.

Gnolls get ''weird'' about bows.<ref name=":5" /> The entire race is crazy about them.<ref>[[Chapter 5.07]]</ref> Carrying a well-made bow past a group of Gnolls will turn heads, and may even be a conversation starter between complete strangers.<ref name=":5" /> And not just among the tribes, either - even a city-dweller can shoot with high precision,<ref name=":20" /> frequently engaging in sport shooting for practice.<ref name=":5" /> Gnolls so elderly that they can no longer pull back a normal bow will try to obtain a crossbow instead, if they can afford the rarity.<ref name=":6" /> But given the choice, a real, proper bow is what any Gnoll desires.

It’s a good match, too. The large size and great strength of a Gnoll allows them to use bows that are larger and sturdier than what most other races could wield,<ref name=":42">[[Chapter 2.05]]</ref> with a much higher draw weight behind the string. This should allow them to achieve a higher maximum range than smaller species, and penetration comparable - or even superior - to crossbows. It also allows for larger, heavier arrows,<ref name=":33">[[Chapter 2.02]]</ref> which are more precise at range and only amplify the other advantages even more. Add the ability to out-sprint other species on all fours<ref name=":10" /> to dictate range at their leisure, and a unit of Gnoll [Archers] becomes a terrifying force on any battlefield.

Such is the reputation of Gnolls and their [Bowmakers] that everyone else defers to their expertise in questions of analysing feats of archery, such as the controversy surrounding the famous yet unlikely shot with which [[Elia Arcsinger]] slew [[Velan|Velan the Kind]].<ref>[[S02 – The Antinium Wars (Pt.5)]]</ref>

=== Known Gnoll Tribes ===
*[[Az’muzarre Tribe]]
*Blackpaw Tribe<ref>[[Chapter 4.38 B]]</ref>
*Decles Tribe<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2020/07/19/7-36-c/ Chapter 7.35 C]</ref>
*[[Demas Metal Tribe]]
*[[Daemonbane Tribe]]
*Deskoit Travellers Tribe<ref name=":75" />
*Dustfur Tribe<ref name=":7.10 K" />
*[[Ekhtouch Tribe]]
*Fatepaws Tribe (''Extinct'')<ref name=":73">[[Chapter 8.79]]</ref>
*Fletchsing Tribe<ref name=":16" />
*[[Gaarh Marsh Tribe]]
*Gembows Tribe<ref name=":7.10 K">[https://wanderinginn.com/2020/02/26/7-10-k/ Chapter 7.10 K]</ref>
*[[Greenpaw Tribe]]
*Grovelind Tribe<ref name=":8.30">[https://wanderinginn.com/2021/07/13/8-30/ Chapter 8.30]</ref> 
*Hawkarrow Tribe<ref name=":7" />
*Hekitr Tribe<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2021/11/17/8-52-mn/ Chapter 8.52 MN]</ref>
*Hendall Fur<ref name=":75" />
*Heshfur’s Tribe<ref name=":75" />
*Inknight Tribe
*Ironscent Tribe<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2020/04/19/interlude-strategists-at-sea-pt-1/ Interlude – Strategists at Sea (Pt. 1)]</ref>
*Jadehammers Tribe<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2020/07/15/7-35-c/ Chapter 7.35 C]</ref>
*Kedarune Tribe<ref name=":8.30" />
*Kelmsand Tribe (''Extinct'')<ref name=":74">[https://wanderinginn.com/interlude-satar-revised/ Interlude - Satar (Revised)]</ref>
*[[Knocte Tribe]] (''Extinct'')
*Lairef Fur Tribe (''Extinct'')<ref name=":74" />
*Lomost Tribe<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2021/09/15/interlude-songs-and-stories/ Interlude – Songs and Stories]</ref>
*Longclaw Tribe<ref name=":73" />
*[[Longstalker’s Fang Tribe]]
*Longstride Clan<ref name=":28" />
*Loofrel Tribe<ref name=":8.16">[https://wanderinginn.com/2021/04/10/8-16/ Chapter 8.16]</ref>
*[[Plain’s Eyes Tribe]]
*Ruinstrider Tribe
*Saltfur Tribe
*Saltstone Tribe<ref name=":7.10 K" />
*[[Satest Fletching Tribe]]
*[[Silverfang Tribe]]
*Skyfur Tribe (''Extinct'')<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2023/10/17/9-61-g/ Chapter 9.61 G]</ref>
*[[Sofang Tribe]]
*[[Soliest Yerr tribe|Soliest Yerr Tribe]]
*Sootfur Tribe<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2022/02/23/8-66/ Chapter 8.66]</ref>
*[[Steelfur Tribe]]
*[[Stone Spears Tribe]] (''Extinct'')
*Tribe of Thunder's Voice (''Extinct'')<ref name=":76">{{VERef|10.17}}</ref>
*Vaskia Skyhunter Tribe<ref name=":29" />
*Wallbreaker Tribe<ref name=":8.30" />
*[[Weatherfur Tribe]]
*[[Wild Wastes Tribe]]
*[[Woven Bladegrass Tribe]]
*Yth Rethang Tribe<ref name=":75" />