Gargoyles were vicious predators imbued with magic.[citation needed]
Behavior
Their original nature 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. Gargoyles also loved to inflict pain. They would torture any victims they could hold helpless, going as far as eating them alive just to hear their screams even though they required no food to survive, but much prefer intelligent races over anything else. Inflicting pain gave the gargoyles pleasure. Sometimes, they worked for an evil master in exchange for some small amount of treasure, though their primary payment was the opportunity to attack intruders.[citation needed]
They could often be found lairing underground or in ruins with small groups of their kind.[citation needed]
Description
Gargoyles appeared to be winged statues of demon-like humanoids. These creatures had mastered the ability to stand motionless for long periods of time, which added to the façade of their statue-like appearance.[citation needed]
Gargoyles were found amid ruins and perched on tall buildings. Here, their appearance was hidden among other statues of non-living gargoyles, thus hiding in plain sight. These treacherous creatures then ambushed anyone who passed by, slaying the unfortunate being and stealing anything of value. Gargoyles particularly enjoyed shiny objects containing gemstones and precious metals.[citation needed]
Society
A tribe of gargoyles was known as a "nastiness", the plural of which was "nastinesses".[6]
Uses
Gargoyle horns were often used as an ingredient in the brewing of potions of invulnerability and potions of flying.[4]
Variants
Kapoacinth
Kapoacinths were 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.[citation needed] Kapoacinths were known for loving torture, and a number of them lived in lairs beneath the city of Ascarle near the Purple Rocks.[7]
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.[8]
Grist
Also known as greater gargoyles or true gargoyles, grists resembled constructs more than they did magical beasts. They were created by casting wish, stone shape, polymorph any object, fly and geas/quest on a statue resembling a gargoyle. Grists were only semi-intelligent and could only understand simple instructions, though they would follow these instructions to the letter. The spells used to create them make them incredibly resistant to damage and unlike their less magical kin, it was impossible to determine whether they were alive or not without magical aid. Their ability to fly came from the magic used to create them, but their wings improved their maneuverability in the air. They had no vocal cords so they could not speak, they could not reproduce their species, and they could not grow, remaining at the same height throughout their lives. They occasionally ate gemstones and coins that they found on their opponents' bodies but, like other gargoyles, they did not need to eat.[citation needed]
History
Allegedly, gargoyles were all originally made of stone, artistic monuments placed on buildings to help prevent the erosion of the walls of stone buildings by deflecting rainwater. At some point, an unknown mage gave life to these monuments, who became the monsters that once stalked Faerûn.[citation needed]
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.[9] Later, they snatched up Cybriana, Priam Agrivar, Vajra Valmeyjar, Timoth Eyesbright, and Onyx the Invincible, carrying them into the tower, but were slain.[10]
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.[11]
Appendix
Gallery
Appearances
- Adventures
- The Accursed Tower
- The Ark of the Mountains
- Boltsmelter's Book
- Black Heart of Vengeance
- Chelimber's Descent
- Mayhem in the Earthspur Mines
- Dungeon #66 Operation Manta Ray
- Dungeon #20: The Ship Of Night
- The Howling Void
- The Ruins of Undermountain II: The Deep Levels
- Shadowdale: The Scouring of the Land
- Stardock Under Siege
- Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
- Dungeon #67 Witches' Brew
- Xanathar's Wrath
- Cards
- Comics
- Novels
- Condemnation
- Darkwalker on Moonshae
- Promise of the Witch-King
- Star of Cursrah (mentioned only)
- Video Games
- Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance
- Blood & Magic
- Curse of the Azure Bonds
- Descent to Undermountain
- Dungeon Hack
- Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms
- Neverwinter Nights
- Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer
- Secret of the Silver Blades
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 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.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 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.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Doug Stewart (June 1993). Monstrous Manual. (TSR, Inc), p. 125. ISBN 1-5607-6619-0.
- ↑ Gary Gygax (December 1977). Monster Manual, 1st edition. (TSR, Inc), p. 42. ISBN 0-935696-00-8.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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)..