Gargoyles were vicious predators imbued with magic.[4][3]
Description[]
Gargoyles appeared to be winged statues of demon-like humanoids. These creatures could stand motionless for long periods of time, which added to the façade of their statue-like appearance.[4][3]
Personality[]
Their original nature as statues aided them in that they are adept at appearing perfectly still, as if they are still made of stone, and their hides were rough and thick, similar to stone as well. They favored surprising their opponents, either by moving suddenly from their motionless state or by suddenly swooping down on their prey from a height.[4]
Gargoyles were ferocious creatures, often attacking any creature they detected, and loved to inflict pain. They would torture any victims they could hold helpless,[5][4] going so far as eating them just to hear their screams even though they required no food to survive, and so they much preferred intelligent races over anything else.[4][3]
Variants[]
- Barovian gargoyle, a variant of gargoyles that were endemic to the land of Barovia.[8]
- Fire gargoyle, an artificially-created variant, made by the villainous magic-user group Circle of Four through means of infusing gargoyles with the elemental fire of fire elementals.[9]
- Four-armed gargoyle, a variant of gargoyles that were create by the Red Wizards of Thay within the Doomvault.[10]
- Giant four-armed gargoyle, a similar, though distinctly larger variant of gargoyles that were created by the lich Acererak to guard his tombs.[11]
- Guardian gargoyle, an umbrella term for variant gargoyles that were created by priests or wizards to act as guardians over a particular spot. This included such things as grandfather plaques and stone lions.[12]
- Kapoacinth, gargoyles that lived underwater; their wings were used to aid in their swimming. Other than their habitat, they were the same as their land-dwelling kin, preferring shallow waters and undersea caves.[4] Kapoacinths were known for loving torture, and a number of them lived in lairs beneath the city of Ascarle near the Purple Rocks.[13]
- Margoyle, even more vicious than normal gargoyles, margoyles preferred living underground and were sometimes found leading a group of normal gargoyles. Their skin was much harder and they were more difficult to spot against stone.[14][4]
- Obsidian gargoyle, a variant of gargoyles originating from the Elemental Chaos, with jagged bodies of obsidian and selectively bred by cultists of the Elder Elemental Eye.[15][16]
History[]
Originally, gargoyles were simply decorative stone statues and water spouts placed on buildings to help prevent the erosion and staining of the walls by deflecting rainwater. At some point, however, an unknown mage gave life to these statues, creating the monsters that went on to stalk the worlds.[4]
Four gargoyles served Imgig Zu, defending his tower north of Waterdeep in the Year of the Prince, 1357 DR. They attacked a City Guard patrol that investigated the tower.[17] Later, they snatched up Cybriana, Priam Agrivar, Vajra Valmeyjar, Timoth Eyesbright, and Onyx the Invincible, carrying them into the tower, but were slain.[18]
A number of gargoyles, alongside flying kenkus, were attendants to the one who waits in the Nine Hells. Later in 1357 DR, when the Great Door appeared in the Hells, the gargoyles and kenkus flew through and emerged first in the skies over Waterdeep. They were met in battle by Vajra Valmeyjar and Timoth Eyesbright, before the City Guard and Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun arrived to defend the city. Later, when the exit of the gate was restored to its location in a pit outside the city, the same flying creatures assaulted Parwyyd Hanifar, Dunstanny, Onyx the Invincible, and Cybriana, before they ended the threat of the Great Door and the one who waits.[19]
Society[]
A tribe of gargoyles was known as a "nastiness", the plural of which was "nastinesses".[20]
Homelands[]
Gargoyles could often be found lairing underground or in ruins with small groups of their kind.[5]
In the Abyss, gargoyles guarded the gates of Ungorth Reddik, Demogorgon's fortress that rose from the fetid bogs of the Gaping Maw.[21]
Languages[]
In addition to having their own racial language,[4][7] that was shared with kapoacinths and margoyles,[4] gargoyles commonly spoke the Common tongue and Terran.[1][3]
Relationships[]
Sometimes gargoyles worked for evil masters[5] in exchange for some small amount of treasure, though their primary payment was the opportunity to attack intruders.[4]
Usage[]
Gargoyle horns were often used as an ingredient in the brewing of potions of invulnerability and potions of flying.[4]
Appendix[]
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
Adventures
Novels & Short Stories
Comics
Gamebooks
Video Games
Card Games
Miniatures
Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
Further Reading[]
- Jeff LaSala (May 2013). “The Ecology of the Gargoyle”. In Steve Winter ed. Dragon #423 (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 8–12.
External Links[]
Gargoyle article at the Eberron Wiki, a wiki for the Eberron campaign setting.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins (2014-09-30). Monster Manual 5th edition. Edited by Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 140. ISBN 978-0786965614.
- ↑ Mike Mearls, Stephen Schubert, James Wyatt (June 2008). Monster Manual 4th edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 115. ISBN 978-0-7869-4852-9.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 Skip Williams, Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook (July 2003). Monster Manual v.3.5. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 113–114. ISBN 0-7869-2893-X.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 Doug Stewart (June 1993). Monstrous Manual. (TSR, Inc), p. 125. ISBN 1-5607-6619-0.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Gary Gygax (December 1977). Monster Manual, 1st edition. (TSR, Inc), p. 42. ISBN 0-935696-00-8.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Jeff LaSala (May 2013). “The Ecology of the Gargoyle”. In Steve Winter ed. Dragon #423 (Wizards of the Coast), p. 9.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Ed Greenwood, Julia Martin, Jeff Grubb (1993). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 2nd edition (revised), A Grand Tour of the Realms. (TSR, Inc), p. 25. ISBN 1-5607-6617-4.
- ↑ Standing Stone Games (December 2017). Dungeons & Dragons Online: Mists of Ravenloft. Daybreak Game Company.
- ↑ David Samuels (July 1997). Fire's Eye. Living City (RPGA), p. 8.
- ↑ Kim Mohan, Mike Mearls (April 2017). Tales from the Yawning Portal. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 129–130. ISBN 978-0786966097.
- ↑ Christopher Perkins, Will Doyle, Steve Winter (September 19, 2017). Tomb of Annihilation. Edited by Michele Carter, Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 221. ISBN 978-0-7869-6610-3.
- ↑ John Baichtal (November 1995). “The Dragon's Bestiary: Four guardian gargoyles”. In Pierce Watters ed. Dragon #223 (TSR, Inc.), pp. 20, 22.
- ↑ Elaine Cunningham (May 1998). Tangled Webs. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 84. ISBN 0-7869-0698-7.
- ↑ Gary Gygax (August 1983). Monster Manual II 1st edition. (TSR, Inc), p. 83. ISBN 0-88038-031-4.
- ↑ Jeff LaSala (May 2013). “The Ecology of the Gargoyle”. In Steve Winter ed. Dragon #423 (Wizards of the Coast), p. 11.
- ↑ Mike Mearls, Greg Bilsland, Robert J. Schwalb (June 2010). Monster Manual 3 4th edition. Edited by Greg Bilsland, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 92. ISBN 978-0-7869-5490-2.
- ↑ Michael Fleisher (December 1988). “The Gathering”. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons #1 (DC Comics) (1)., pp. 15–16.
- ↑ Michael Fleisher (December 1988). “The Gathering”. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons #1 (DC Comics) (1)., pp. 18–22.
- ↑ Dan Mishkin (May 1990). “Day of the Darkening”. In Elliot S. Maggin ed. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons #18 (DC Comics) (18)..
- ↑ Ed Greenwood, Jeff Grubb (August 1987). “Cyclopedia of the Realms”. In Karen S. Martin ed. Forgotten Realms Campaign Set (TSR, Inc.), p. 92. ISBN 0-88038-472-7.
- ↑ Monte Cook (April 1999). The Glass Prison. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 7, p. 105. ISBN 978-0786913435.