Giant four-armed gargoyles,[2] also known more simply as gargoyle maulers,[1][5] were a unique mutation[3] or variant of gargoyles for whom it was said only the lich Acererak knew the secrets for how to create. They were typically utilized by him as guardians over his tombs.[2]
Description[]
These gargoyles on average stood around 8 to 9 feet (2.4 to 2.7 meters) tall,[2] though could potentially be as large as 10 feet (3 meters),[4] and weighed roughly 5,000 pounds (2,300 kilograms).[2] Besides their height, the most distinguishing feature these gargoyles exhibited was two sets of arms.[1][2][3][4]
Abilities[]
These creatures could naturally see in areas of total darkness and were at times more perceptive than the standard gargoyle.[1][2][4][note 1] They could enter an inanimate stone form at will, granting them greater resistance to harm, regeneration from damage, and a short range tremorsense.[1] While in this form they were entirely motionless, almost indistinguishable from a statue.[2]
Combat[]
As was typical of most gargoyles, these creatures fought by rending their opponents with their ferocious claws and fangs.[1][2][4]
Ecology[]
Languages[]
Being creatures of elemental earth, these gargoyle variants knew the languages of both Terran[2][4] and Primordial.[1]
History[]
After murdering the nine trickster gods of Omu and enslaving the city's citizenry to build for him a dungeon that would come to be known as the Tomb of the Nine Gods,[6] Acererak stationed four of these gargoyles at the entrance to the dungeon's forth level, the bottom of a grand staircase. There the four sat perched on a cylindrical stone pedestal, atop a tile made of precious metal. Each pedestal measured 10 ft (3 m) tall and 5 feet (1.5 meters) wide, was situated at one of the four cardinal directions, and had a slot in it 4 feet (1.2 meters) above the ground that was large enough to press a standard coin through.[7]
Acererak had designed it so that each of the four pedestals was meant to take a certain denomination of currency corresponding to the type of precious metal atop them, though the gargoyles would also accept equivalent tithes of multiple coins, such as 10 copper pieces in place of a single silver piece, or coins that were of a greater value overall. The northern pedestal was meant to take a copper piece, the eastern pedestal a silver piece, the southern pedestal a gold piece, and the western pedestal a platinum piece. If their tithe was not paid or if any of their pedestals were damaged, the gargoyles would spring to life and attack those passing through.[7]
On that same floor, Acererak also placed a giant four-armed gargoyle within a mirror of life trapping to act as one of its guardians.[8] And on the fifth floor of the dungeon complex, Acererak had a statue of one of these creatures as part of a puzzle to obtain the Eye of Zaltec. This statue stood a measly 6 feet (1.8 meters) and was impossible to destroy. Those who plucked the Eye of Zaltec from its hands would open a nearby secret entrance, but also be met with the statue opening its mouth and filling the hallway with sleeping gas.[9]
Sometime between 1488 DR and 1492 DR,[note 2] a group of adventurers traveling through the Tomb of the Nine Gods encountered both sets of four-armed gargoyles.[7] When they finally reached the statue on the fifth floor, they found that one of its four arms had broken off and was lying on the ground close to it.[9]
Appendix[]
Notes[]
- ↑ The standard gargoyle of 5th edition is stated to have a passive perception of 10, while the giant four-armed gargoyle has a passive perception of 15. Though in 4th edition, this creature and the standard gargoyle both have a perception of +12.
- ↑ Canon material does not provide a year for the events described in Tomb of Annihilation, however it is understood to take place sometime between 1488 DR and 1492 DR. The earlier date is based on the fact that Port Nyanzaru is stated to have gained independence from Amn nine years prior to the start of the adventure (p 15), which would be 1488 DR at the earliest given the city was firmly under Amnian control as of 1479 DR (as described in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide, p 102). The later date is based on the presence of Volothamp Geddarm, who is promoting the in-universe Volo's Guide to Monsters during the adventure (p 24) but is stated to have concluded his promotional tour and begun a new book as of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist (see pp 5, 24), which is understood to be set in 1492 DR. Unless a canon source states otherwise, this wiki will use this range for events related to this sourcebook. The adventure is also assumed to take place concurrently with or slightly after the events of Storm King's Thunder based on the subplot involving frost giants in the service of Jarl Storvald (p 13).
Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Ari Marmell, Scott Fitzgerald Gray (July 20, 2010). Tomb of Horrors (4th edition). (Wizards of the Coast), p. 112. ISBN 978-0-7869-5491-9.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 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.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Bruce Cordell (2005-10-31). Tomb of Horrors (Revised). Wizards of the Coast. pp. 10–11. Archived from the original on 2009-06-03. Retrieved on 2024-06-29.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Gary Gygax and Christopher Perkins (April 2013). “Tomb of Horrors”. In Kim Mohan, Miranda Horner eds. Dungeon #213 (Wizards of the Coast) (213)., p. 73.
- ↑ Gary Gygax and Christopher Perkins (April 2013). “Tomb of Horrors”. In Kim Mohan, Miranda Horner eds. Dungeon #213 (Wizards of the Coast) (213)., p. 92.
- ↑ Christopher Perkins, Will Doyle, Steve Winter (September 19, 2017). Tomb of Annihilation. Edited by Michele Carter, Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 125–129. ISBN 978-0-7869-6610-3.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Christopher Perkins, Will Doyle, Steve Winter (September 19, 2017). Tomb of Annihilation. Edited by Michele Carter, Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 157. ISBN 978-0-7869-6610-3.
- ↑ Christopher Perkins, Will Doyle, Steve Winter (September 19, 2017). Tomb of Annihilation. Edited by Michele Carter, Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 163. ISBN 978-0-7869-6610-3.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Christopher Perkins, Will Doyle, Steve Winter (September 19, 2017). Tomb of Annihilation. Edited by Michele Carter, Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 172–173. ISBN 978-0-7869-6610-3.