Guardgoyle

Guardgoyles were constructs created by Zhentarim wizards to protect their treasures.

They resembled baby gargoyles, hence their moniker, and their small stature (2 feet tall/long) allowed them to hide amongst a wizard's possessions. It waited ready to fly out and strike if it sensed a presence in the room it was guarding that wasn't its creator or one of the five people it could be programmed to not attack.

If not destroyed, the magic animating them would last as long as their creator lived. Any repairs that they needed could be administered with a single stone shape spell. Due to these facts and that they only cost around 1000 gold pieces worth of raw materials to create, guardgoyles were cheap and effective guardians.

Greater guardgoyles tended to be between 4–6 feet tall and lacked the ability to fly. They were also much more expensive to create and required much more powerful magic to animate them.