Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2021/11/review-chromatic-dungeons-part-3-gnoll.html

The Gnoll Sage

For this review, I am considering the PDFs from DriveThruRPG as well as the printed, digest-sized, soft-covers I received via Kickstarter.

Each book is 24 or so pages with Issue #5 coming in at 42 pages. Color covers and black and white interiors. Each one is released under the OGL so a couple of pages go to the license statement.

On the surface, there is a strong influence from Dragon magazine, but not in the way say Gygax magazine tried to do. The influence here is easily one of someone that had read and grown up on Dragon and wanted to recreate the feeling rather than the actual layout. It serves The Gnoll Sage (TGS) well.

The unifying thread through all these issues is the involvement of "Fleabag" the eponymous Gnoll Sage. Not Phoebe Waller-Bridge (but that would be hilarious) but an intelligent, erudite, be-spectacled, and maybe a bit of a pacifist, Gnoll who presents topics from the issue/zine from their point of view. I personally rather like it. It fits well into the idea that no humanoid race in Chromatic Dungeons has a default alignment. The funny part, for me at any rate, is I have often agreed with this idea on my blog EXCEPT for Gnolls. Maybe I'll give Fleabag a try anyway.

Each zine has a main feature, usually depicted on the cover, and other details like some magic items, equipment, spells, and so on. There is a comic section reminiscent of "Dragon Mirth" as well. There is an editorial in each issue talking about the issue and what might be coming next.

The material presented in each issue is overtly for the Chromatic Dungeons game, but it is all written in such a way, with extra notes when needed, that it can be used with just about any 80s or 90s versions of D&D or any clone that emulates them. In particular, I felt they would be very handy to use with B/X D&D or Old-School Essentials.

The Gnoll Sage #3 The third issue of The Gnoll Sage gives us the ecology of a monster introduced in the Chromatic Dungeons hardcover, the Mushropod. In the Ecology Of article, we get more details from our Gnoll on the Scene, Fleabag as they let us know what they have uncovered about the sentient mushrooms. Again the stat block reminds me of a 5e one, but everything here lends itself well to use of any 20th century D&D or clone.

There is a very brief adventure featuring these guys, some humor, three new magic items, some new NPCs, and a new spell. We end with the State of the Business note from Waibel where he mentions his Rise of Authur project. If you follow him at all online now (late Fall 2021) you have seen the characters he has been working on.

Each issue runs for $5.00 for the PDF and $6.00 for the print or print/PDF combination.

Their digest size makes me think they will fit in well with the newest versions of Old-School Essentials or Swords & Wizardry. So even if you don't play the Chromatic Dungeons game, these are still great resources.