Red Hand of Doom was one of Wizards of the Coast’s most highly praised modules during the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons. Matt Colville brought it back into the spotlight a few years ago by mentioning on his channel that it was one of his favorite modules. Running it had always been on my bucket list, and its military theme (stopping the advance of a hobgoblin horde through the fertile Elsir Vale) felt vastly different from what I had been running lately. So, I began working on how to adapt it to Ezora, my homebrew setting.
My first idea was to combine Red Hand of Doom with Rime of the Frostmaiden and The Legacy of the Crystal Shard, sprinkling in imagery from the Hakkonites in Jaws of Hakkon, a DLC for Dragon Age: Inquisition. However, I had already run several campaigns with a Nordic setting, so I decided to abandon that idea and shift to a different biome.
The ultimate inspiration came from a hauntingly evocative illustration by Felipe Cavalcati, which led me to design a version of Red Hand of Doom centered around a horde of starving gnolls marching through a blisteringly hot valley deep within the interior of Utuma. This continent in my world draws inspiration from North Africa, the Middle East, and Al-Andalus Spain. For the campaign’s narrative structure, I drew from Sly Flourish’s outline for a gnoll-themed campaign titled The Hunger, as well as the first two modules of the Legacy of Fire Adventure Path, particularly Howl of the Carrion King. Additionally, I wanted to find a way to incorporate Splintered Peace into Brindol, the central city in the campaign.
Diversifying the Horde: The Challenge of Homogeneity
One of my main concerns early in the design process was ensuring the horde didn’t feel too homogeneous. In Red Hand of Doom, the bulk of the invading forces consisted of hobgoblins, but there were also ogres, goblins mounted on wolves, dragons, Tiamat’s spawn, and the ghostly lions of the Spectral Lord.
My starting point for this adaptation was gnolls and flinds: creatures that, visually, are little more than gnolls wielding nunchaku. Of course, I could add hyenas, hyaenodons, and other scavengers like crows or giant vultures as companions and mounts, but I wanted something more distinctive and varied. So, I included:
- The unchosen from Howl of the Carrion King: massive, feral gnoll-ogres.
- Witherlings: undead gnolls that assist the horde’s advance without needing to consume flesh.
- A sect of jackalwere bedouins: cunning and stealthy infiltrators.
- Semi-fiendish gnolls I named thalgnoths.
- Shoosuvas, demonic hyena-like creatures, along with other lesser demons tied to the theme of insatiable hunger.
- Hive-minded insectoid creatures called abawta, drawn from John Stater’s hexcrawls, supported by a handful of orichalcum automatons, courtesy of my version of the “GhostLord.”
At the time, I was playing Shadows of War, and I found myself fascinated by the Nemesis system and how its concepts could be brought to the tabletop. The Nemesis system itself deserves a dedicated article, but I mention Shadows of War here because it addresses a similar challenge: in the game, you spend most of your time fighting the same kinds of enemies (orcs and uruks), yet the game makes a commendable effort to differentiate them. This isn’t just achieved through the Nemesis system, but also by dividing the orcs into distinct tribes, each with its own aesthetic and identity.
Red Hand of Doom has a similar tribal unification theme but opts for uniformity to emphasize the horde’s sense of order and common purpose. Hobgoblins in that era were portrayed as lawful creatures.
In my adaptation, however, the horde is composed of gnolls—chaotic creatures by nature. I decided to give each tribe its own flavor, drawing inspiration from some of the ideas presented in Howl of the Carrion King.
The Tribes of the Gnoll Horde
The tribes making up the Horde in my adaptation are as follows:
La Manada Salvaje
Inspired by the feral nature of magical creatures and animals from the continent of Utuma, this tribe is fierce, nomadic, and accustomed to traveling light. They prioritize functional weapons suited for both hunting and combat. Among the Horde, they rely the most on predators in their ranks, including hyenas and hyaenodons, and they are the only tribe that accepts Soul Eaters (unchosen). Their warriors, many of them berserkers, stand out for their animalistic ferocity and unpredictable fighting style. Visually, they are marked by leather harnesses spiked with barbs that cover their faces.The tribe is led by Kasha Lakkush, an elderly and cunning druid who walks hunched over a staff adorned with talismans and bones. She wears tattered robes and a ceremonial antelope skull as a headdress. Her animal companion is an alpha hyena, which also leads the pack of hyenas that follow the tribe into battle.
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| Kasha Lakkush, matriarch of the Savage Pack |
The Skulls of Darkness
This tribe of necromancers is led by Kasha Ahrikul, a flind necropolitan mounted on a massive, ghoul-like vulture swarming with carrion flies. The Skulls of Darkness are feared throughout the region for their curses and the systematic use of undead in their ranks, including witherlings, feral ghouls maddened by hunger, and skeletal hyenas.
Their banner, a pyramid of stacked skulls, is a chilling sight for any who behold it. Bones and skulls reinforce their armor and are crafted into fearsome helmets.
This tribe specializes in curses, fear-inducing spells, and undead forces to wear down enemy lines. Flind overseers armed with whips ensure order and discipline in the other tribes, acting as enforcers of their dreaded leader’s will.
The Trophy Hunters
Masters of stealth and cunning, the Trophy Hunters prefer to ambush their enemies using traps, poisons, and guerrilla tactics. They excel at setting up ambushes and operate alongside pugwampi slaves—mischievous gremlins that spread bad luck to all around them (except other gnolls), further demoralizing their opponents.
Their ranks include numerous giant scorpions, whose venom is used to coat their weapons, making every wound potentially lethal. A defining trait of this tribe is their obsession with collecting trophies from their fallen foes: fangs, claws, skulls, and other grisly relics adorn their armor and weapons.
Their leader, Kasha Klikkus, is a thalgnoth specialized in archery and tracking. Klikkus is an exceptional hunter, capable of following a trail through even the harshest terrain. He fights mounted on a wyvern, granting him unmatched mobility and a strategic advantage in ranged combat.
The Dragon’s Slaves
This smaller tribe consists of survivors from an attack by a young blue dragon. After the devastation, the dragon enslaved the gnolls, using them as pawns to gather more treasure. However, the gnolls have since convinced the dragon to join the Horde with promises of even greater riches. Their leader is the infamous Ozyrrandion, a foe that has slain countless adventuring parties in the original module.
The Infernal Butchers
The most warlike and brutal tribe in the Horde, the Infernal Butchers are fanatical devotees of war and unprovoked carnage. Their tactics are direct and devastating, making them the Horde’s shock troops and the driving force behind the final assault on Brindol.
Most members of this tribe are thalgnoths, descendants of semi-infernal lineages consecrated to Y’thal. They are recognizable by their fiery red eyes, black fur that seems to ignite when enraged, and massive, spiked weapons. Immune to fire and extreme heat, they thrive even under Utuma’s scorching sun.
The Butchers also include demons such as Vrocs and Glabrezus, further amplifying their destructive potential.
Their leader, Kasha Ugrusk, is an imposing gnoll who wields a massive greatsword and wears heavy armor. His physical strength and resilience make him a fearsome warrior, though he lacks cunning. Nonetheless, his unrelenting determination ensures he never backs down from a challenge.
A First Look at the Horde
These are the general concepts I had in mind during the first phase of campaign development. The idea of a gnoll horde composed of diverse, thematic tribes adds visual and narrative richness while allowing me to craft memorable encounters and unique challenges. In future posts, I’ll delve into more specific topics, such as the node-based structure I designed for the campaign, how I incorporate key events, and the process of creating the locations that define the Horde’s progression.Stay tuned, there’s much more to explore as this gnoll horde continues its rampage through central Utuma!
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