Gnoll Warrior

A gnoll warrior on the party's side reads as a heel-turn from canonical lore, which is why most tables ignore the canon and run it anyway. The grounded version: this gnoll was raised away from the pack, was rescued from a slaver's camp by the party, or is bound by a paladin's geas in exchange for keeping its head. It speaks only Gnoll. Whoever in the party speaks Gnoll is the translator and the conscience.

In combat, the gnoll fights the way it always fights. Open with Bone Bow at +3 if there's range, then close to Rend. Once an enemy is Bloodied, the player reminds the GM that Rampage is up, and the gnoll spends it without hesitation. Have the gnoll narrate in third-person growls so the translator player gets a bit at the table. The damage isn't the point; the gnoll is a warm body that takes some hits and contributes 5 average per Rend.

Outside combat, the gnoll is a wedge that the party has to negotiate around in every civilized space. Civilians scatter, innkeepers refuse rooms, and the captain of the guard puts a hand on a sword before the party finishes their introduction. Treat the prejudice as a recurring obstacle, not a one-off bit. A gnoll companion is not a clean ally, and that's the reason to run it.

If the party Bloodies the gnoll's loyalty (an order it won't follow, a slight it can't forgive), it leaves the same night. Don't punish them. Just have it gone in the morning, and have the bone bow gone with it.

Have the gnoll laugh when something violent goes well. Players will jump the first time. The third time, they'll grin.

A gnoll warrior is a CR 1/2 fiend with a hyena-laugh and a bone bow, and it is at its best in a pack of three to six. One on its own is a speed bump. Four on a hill with bows are a real fight for a level-2 party. The whole stat block is built around Rampage: hit a Bloodied creature with damage and you get a half-speed move plus a free Rend as a bonus action, once per day. That's the moment the encounter swings, and you should set up positioning so it actually triggers.

Open the encounter at distance. Bone Bow is +3 to hit, range 150/600, 1d10+1 piercing for an average of 6. Stack two or three gnolls on a ridge or rooftop and have them shoot anyone wearing cloth until the party closes. Once the party is within charge range, drop the bows and switch to Rend (+4 to hit, 1d6+2 piercing, average 5). Gnolls aren't smart (Int 6) but they understand pack behavior. They focus the same target until it's Bloodied, then someone in the pack triggers Rampage and the now-Bloodied PC eats two attacks in one turn from a single gnoll.

Track which gnoll still has Rampage available and which has spent it, because the threat isn't the static damage, it's the tipping point when the cleric drops to half. A pack of four gnolls with four pending Rampages is a different fight than the same pack after they've all popped. Don't waste Rampage on a single hit if the gnoll could move into reach of two Bloodied targets first.

Gnolls do not surrender. Demonic origin in the lore means once they smell blood they keep going until the prey is down or they are. A Bloodied gnoll takes its bonus action to charge rather than disengage. That makes the cleanup phase messy and memorable.

Cue the laugh before the bowshots, not after. The party should hear the pack before they see it.