Grippli
Encyclopedia
In the Dungeons & Dragons
fantasy
roleplaying game, the grippli is a humanoid
tree frog
. Grippli call themselves "the good folk" and call their enemies "the bad folk."
's Monster Cards
(1982), and was created by Brian Pitzer. The grippli then appeared in first edition in the original Monster Manual II (1983).
The grippli appeared in second edition in the Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Appendix (1990), and reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993).
The grippli appeared as a player character
race in Dragon
#324 (October 2004).
and kuo-toa
may also hunt grippli, though they have strict taboos against eating grippli flesh. Grippli are the enemies of bullywug
s. They are nervous around strangers, and often use wild elves
or fey
as intermediaries. Powerful predators such as green dragon
s sometimes enslave whole villages of grippli; at such times, they tend to accept their fate rather than waste lives in futile rebellion.
Grippli can live to be 700 years old, but have an extremely low birthrate, giving birth to only six or so young in all that time. They understandably defend their young ferociously. Dragon #324 gives them a much more modest 180 year lifespan, having females become fertile at 25-year intervals after maturity (which they reach around 30 years).
Grippli crafts are generally limited to simple objects made from vines, wood, and stone. They cherish metal heirlooms, which they must get from other races. They use snares, nets, poisoned darts, and the occasional sword or dagger. On rare occasions, they may use blowguns or spears. It is common for them to make poisons, potions, herbal tinctures, and alchemical goods. Most grippli homes are decorated with polished glass, quartz, and other brightly colored baubles they trade for with other races in exchange for rare jungle herbs and extracts.
Grippli love brightly colored clothing, but wear it only for decoration, or for the sake of having pockets. Most grippli only wear thin belts or loin cloths to hang weapons or other items from.
. "Spider and snake creatures round out the grippli religion as demons and evil spirits."
Those few grippli who know of the gods of other races consider Lolth
to be the chief enemy of their race, though the Spider Queen herself pays them little attention.
s. In each tribe, there is usually at least one (such as the tribe mother) who can speak Common, Elvish, or some other local language. Their croaking voices make them hard to comprehend in any language other than their own. Other races can learn Grippli, but cannot truly master it without magic. Writing is taboo to the grippli; only the tribe mother is permitted to make written records. Grippli has no written form, but the mother can read and write in Undercommon.
Grippli have no surnames, and place little importance on names in general, identifying each other as much by sight as by words. They often pick up nicknames when among other races. Common grippli names include Brillup, Bullgup, Chirk, Quartle, Bellum, Kaillum, and Quon.
by Frank Mentzer
claims that bullywug
s and grippli were once one people before they were torn asunder by civil war.
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
roleplaying game, the grippli is a humanoid
Humanoid (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, humanoid is a type of creature, or "creature type". Humanoids are any creature shaped generally like a human , of Small or Medium size, with few or no supernatural or extraordinary abilities...
tree frog
Tree frog
Hylidae is a wide-ranging family of frogs commonly referred to as "tree frogs and their allies". However, the hylids include a diversity of frog species, many of which do not live in trees, but are terrestrial or semi-aquatic.-Characteristics:...
. Grippli call themselves "the good folk" and call their enemies "the bad folk."
Publication history
The grippli first appeared in the first set of TSRTSR, Inc.
Blume and Gygax, the remaining owners, incorporated a new company called TSR Hobbies, Inc., with Blume and his father, Melvin Blume, owning the larger share. The former assets of the partnership were transferred to TSR Hobbies, Inc....
's Monster Cards
Monster Cards
Monster Cards is an accessory for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Contents:The Monster Cards were a DM's aid, with each set containing twenty 3" by 5" cards, each with a color monster illustration on one side and statistics on the other side...
(1982), and was created by Brian Pitzer. The grippli then appeared in first edition in the original Monster Manual II (1983).
The grippli appeared in second edition in the Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Appendix (1990), and reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993).
The grippli appeared as a player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
race in Dragon
Dragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#324 (October 2004).
Ecology
Grippli eat fruit and insects, trapping small insects in large quantities and hunting giant insects like humans hunt stags. Grippli are in turn hunted by many jungle predators, in particular giant snakes and spiders. LizardfolkLizardfolk
Lizardfolk are a fictional humanoid species in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Publication history:...
and kuo-toa
Kuo-toa
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, the kuo-toa are fish-like monstrous humanoids that dwell in the Underdark, and in the sea.-Publication history:...
may also hunt grippli, though they have strict taboos against eating grippli flesh. Grippli are the enemies of bullywug
Bullywug
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, the bullywug is a type of fictional monster for player characters to encounter. The bullywugs are portrayed as a violent race of marsh-dwelling frog-like humanoids. The bullywug was introduced in the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons...
s. They are nervous around strangers, and often use wild elves
Elf (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, elves are a fictional humanoid race that is one of the primary races available for play as player characters. Elves are renowned for their grace and mastery of magic and weapons such as the sword and bow...
or fey
Fey (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, Fey is a type of creature, or "creature type". Fey are usually humanoid in form, and are typified as having supernatural abilities and a connection to nature or to some other force or place....
as intermediaries. Powerful predators such as green dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
s sometimes enslave whole villages of grippli; at such times, they tend to accept their fate rather than waste lives in futile rebellion.
Grippli can live to be 700 years old, but have an extremely low birthrate, giving birth to only six or so young in all that time. They understandably defend their young ferociously. Dragon #324 gives them a much more modest 180 year lifespan, having females become fertile at 25-year intervals after maturity (which they reach around 30 years).
Grippli crafts are generally limited to simple objects made from vines, wood, and stone. They cherish metal heirlooms, which they must get from other races. They use snares, nets, poisoned darts, and the occasional sword or dagger. On rare occasions, they may use blowguns or spears. It is common for them to make poisons, potions, herbal tinctures, and alchemical goods. Most grippli homes are decorated with polished glass, quartz, and other brightly colored baubles they trade for with other races in exchange for rare jungle herbs and extracts.
Environment
Grippli are found in tropical swamps and jungles. Typical grippli villages are made of small wood or mud huts built on the ground, hidden in the deep shaded areas beneath heavy jungle foliage, or in the boughs of large trees. A ceremonial area on the ground may contain remnants of bonfires.Typical physical characteristics
The average grippli stands two and a half feet high and weighs 25-30 pounds, although particularly ancient warriors may have twice that height, with an equivalent increase in mass. Their bodies are essentially identical to frogs, but they have humanoid hands and prehensile feet.Grippli love brightly colored clothing, but wear it only for decoration, or for the sake of having pockets. Most grippli only wear thin belts or loin cloths to hang weapons or other items from.
Alignment
A grippli is usually neutral in alignment. Those that deviate from this are usually good; an evil grippli is rare indeed.Society
Each grippli village is led by a tribe mother, a female of unusual height (almost four feet tall) with the ability to emit a defensive musk cloud. She is accompanied by one to three mates, each three to three-and-a-half feet in height. The tribe mother is said to have a touch of the blood of their goddess within her. The one in Needle is also psionic. In theory, the tribe mother is divinely ordained with absolute power, but in practice she leaves most day-to-day decisions to experienced hunters. Still, only the mother can speak for the tribe when negotiating with outsiders.Religion
According to Dragon #324, grippli have a "simple faith in a nameless froglike goddess... depicted in sculptures of wood or stone as a bulbous frog with vibrant rainbow skin." Most other races believe she may technically be a forest spirit rather than a true deity, but she's a goddess as far as the grippli are concerned. Others suggest she might be a relatively benign aspect of BlibdoolpoolpBlibdoolpoolp
In the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Blibdoolpoolp is the deity worshipped by the kuo-toa race. She is also known as the "Sea Mother."-Publication history:...
. "Spider and snake creatures round out the grippli religion as demons and evil spirits."
Those few grippli who know of the gods of other races consider Lolth
Lolth
Lolth is a fictional goddess in the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Lolth , the Demon Queen of Spiders, is the chief goddess of drow elves...
to be the chief enemy of their race, though the Spider Queen herself pays them little attention.
Language
The grippli language is composed of croaks, groans, clicks, and squeaks. There is also a Batrachian Common tongue they can use to speak (rarely) with other froglike humanoids such as bullywugBullywug
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, the bullywug is a type of fictional monster for player characters to encounter. The bullywugs are portrayed as a violent race of marsh-dwelling frog-like humanoids. The bullywug was introduced in the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons...
s. In each tribe, there is usually at least one (such as the tribe mother) who can speak Common, Elvish, or some other local language. Their croaking voices make them hard to comprehend in any language other than their own. Other races can learn Grippli, but cannot truly master it without magic. Writing is taboo to the grippli; only the tribe mother is permitted to make written records. Grippli has no written form, but the mother can read and write in Undercommon.
Grippli have no surnames, and place little importance on names in general, identifying each other as much by sight as by words. They often pick up nicknames when among other races. Common grippli names include Brillup, Bullgup, Chirk, Quartle, Bellum, Kaillum, and Quon.
History
The adventure module NeedleNeedle (module)
Needle is a Dungeons & Dragons module.Author: Frank Mentzer -Plot summary:In Needle, the player characters are dispatched to a far jungle to retrieve a magical obelisk...
by Frank Mentzer
Frank Mentzer
Jacob Franklin "Frank" Mentzer III , is an American fantasy author and game designer best known for his work on early materials for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. He was a performing folk musician from 1968 to 1975, and played one concert at the White House during the...
claims that bullywug
Bullywug
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, the bullywug is a type of fictional monster for player characters to encounter. The bullywugs are portrayed as a violent race of marsh-dwelling frog-like humanoids. The bullywug was introduced in the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons...
s and grippli were once one people before they were torn asunder by civil war.
Additional reading
- Wyatt, JamesJames Wyatt (game designer)James Wyatt is a game designer and a former United Methodist minister. He works for Wizards of the Coast, where he has designed several award-winning supplements and adventures for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game...
. "Half-Pint Heroes." Dragon #262 (TSR, 1999).