Canon:Thoul
| This article is based on material by: |
| This article is based on material by: |
Thouls are a bizarre humanoid species from the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. Thouls are a crossbreed of magical origins, a mixture of traits of hobgoblins, trolls and ghouls. Despite their partially ghoulish origins, they are alive, not undead, and are capable of normal reproduction.
The origins of the Thoul are a topic of much discussion [1]. One common theory chalks their creation up to a mistake. Their first appearance in print was in an introductory mini-module included with an early D&D boxed set. They were intended to be a pair of ghouls, but showed up as "Thouls" due to a typo. TSR received several inquires as to what exactly a 'Thoul' was, and made up the creature on the spot.
The Thoul was most recently showcased in Zeitgeist Games' d20 publication "Dave Arneson's Blackmoor," where it was updated to the d20 rules system and incorporated into the Blackmoor campaign setting.
Thouls are native to Mystara, one of the early settings for DnD.
References
- Dungeons & Dragons Basic Rules (Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, 1981)
- Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set (1983)
- Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (1991)
- Mystara Monstrous Compendium Appendix (1994)
- Dave Arneson's Blackmoor (2004)
"Origin of the Thoul?". Dragonsfoot Forums. http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4703&highlight=thoul. Retrieved 2004.
