Type: Gnoll tribe / war-legend
Known for: Stealth, espionage, and assassination
Shadowmaster: Rynak, a legendary assassin and tactician
Their mark: Dark fur, light armor, poisoned blades
In the war: Spies and saboteurs who struck from the shadows
The curse: Bound to the shadows, they suffer in sunlight and are betrayed by their own

The Blackclaws are a secretive tribe renowned as the finest assassins among the gnolls. They have perfected silent killing and espionage, thriving in the dark to gather intelligence, strike with precision, and sow chaos behind enemy lines.

In the Gnoll Wars

The Blackclaws were Angash's eyes and knives. They infiltrated enemy camps, sabotaged supplies, and cut down key leaders, spreading confusion where his armies could not reach. Their ability to move unseen made them vital to both his attacks and his defenses.

Notable Figures

• Shadowmaster Rynak: The elusive leader of the tribe, whose stealth and strategy made him one of Angash's key advisors.

• Sable Whisper: A gifted scout and spy, expert at infiltration and intelligence.

• Vesper Nightshade: A master of poison and alchemy who brews the toxins the tribe's assassins carry.

Blackclaws wear dark fur, black or deep grey, and light, silent armor, with sharp, alert eyes that hold a predator's gleam.

Combat Style

They excel at ambush and assassination, striking from the shadows with poisoned blades, garrotes, and crossbows, favoring quick, lethal blows that end a target before it can react.

Culture

The tribe is organized into tight clans, each led by a master assassin who trains the young in stealth and subterfuge. They keep a strict code that prizes loyalty, secrecy, and efficiency.

The Blackclaws rose from dense, dark forests and shadowed caves where they honed their craft, and say they were born from the shadows themselves.

Traditions

• Shadow Trials: A series of tests of stealth, agility, and cunning that a young gnoll must pass to be counted a full member.

• Night Hunts: Ceremonial hunts that sharpen their skills and keep their bond to the shadows, often used to gather intelligence.

• Poison Crafting: A prized art; each Blackclaw learns to make and use a range of toxins.

Beliefs

They hold the darkness their ally and protector, understand the balance of light and shadow while living chiefly in the dark, and keep a silent code of honor that values precision over needless cruelty.

At the war's end the Blackclaws were bound to the shadows that had always served them. Now sunlight pains and weakens them, and their own shadows are said to turn traitor, betraying their position or moving against their will. The tribe that once owned the dark is now owned by it.

• A Blackclaw will not step on their own shadow, and covers mirrors when they sleep, lest the shadow slip free.

• Those who fear the tribe scatter salt-white ash across a threshold at noon, when a Blackclaw's shadow is weakest and least able to cross.