Gargoyles

 

       They are described as carrion eaters and like to live in groups. It is possible that they will attack a man, but it happens rarely. In France, there are three species reported that are either bigger than a human or human sized.

Appearance      

       Gargoyles are terrifying and monstrous beings, with an appearance that is as varied as it is horrifying. There is no “typical” gargoyle. No two gargoyles are alike, and the range of size, shape, color, and features varies widely across individuals. The concept of a common gargoyle appearance is futile, as they may differ vastly in form and nature, even within the same region. Some gargoyles are bipedal, winged, and mammalian, following the more familiar Western European legends. They stand upwards of nine feet tall, with well-muscled and lean limbs, bat-like wings, and razor-sharp claws capable of rending even a werewolf to pieces. Their skin may be made of rough stone or tougher materials, often displaying unnatural hues or patterns that mark them as supernatural.

       At night, gargoyles are nearly unstoppable: their stone forms grant them near invulnerability, and they can glide effortlessly through the air, swooping in and out of danger. During the day, however, they become completely helpless, their strength and abilities diminished as they turn to stone and remain immobile until nightfall.

       In Human Form: When in human form, gargoyles appear far more subtle, though still intimidating. They may retain some of their monstrous features, but they are much more adaptable to human society. A gargoyle in human form is typically tall and well-built, often towering over most humans. Their skin can be a pale, stony gray or an earthy tone, sometimes with faint stone-like patterns etched into their flesh. In human form, their eyes are often the most striking feature, glowing faintly or shining with an unnatural light, marking them as beings of power. Their hair is often dark and unruly, resembling feathers or stones in texture.

       While they have the ability to conceal their more monstrous aspects in human form, certain traits may still be visible. Gargoyles often have prominent, jagged features—such as sharp cheekbones, elongated ears, and an angular jawline—that hint at their true nature. Some may also retain traces of their original wings, which are either hidden beneath their clothing or tucked into their back in a way that suggests they were once meant to be larger. Their hands and feet can still bear the faintest hint of claws or ridges, making them seem out of place in normal society. Gargoyles in human form tend to dress in dark, simple clothing that allows them to blend in, but their height and presence can make them hard to ignore. Their strength and durability remain in human form, but they are not as overwhelming as when they are in their full gargoyle form.

Biology and Culture
       Gargoyles are an ancient race that has existed alongside mankind since the beginning of time. It is speculated by some that they were children of Marmee Noir, by others that they were the product of magical breeding experiments.
       They often refer to themselves as "The First Race," with humanity being the second, and the Faerie as the third. They do not count vampires as a separate race at all, merely a disease among men but, of course, some may rebel against this concept for a reason or another, specially if seeking refuge in Vero. It's also a good point of conflict as antagonist if your character is of the disposable kind that doesn't mind dying.
       While usually mammalian in appearance and mating habits, Gargoyles hatch from eggs. Female Gargoyles usually lay one egg at a time, in 20 year cycles. The eggs will then harden dependent on the care and heat received. The eggs hatch after ten years. Eggs that were not hardened properly will most often yield non-sentient Gargoyles.
       Hatchlings grow and age at a rate roughly half that of humans; thus, a Gargoyle can be thirty years old, and still in adolescence. Non-sentient Gargoyles grow at an analogous rate: roughly half that of whichever animal they most resemble. The average lifespan of a healthy sentient Gargoyle is 140 years.
       The rising of the sun turns Gargoyles into solid stone for the day. At sunset, this transformation is reversed, with the outer layer of stone skin being shed as it cracks with movement. Avoiding the sun's rays does not appear to prevent the transformation.
       Some theories suppose that while stone a Gargoyle stores up solar energy in special organs that convert it into the phenomenal amounts of energy required to carry itself aloft when gliding at night.
       One other feature of Gargoyles is that their eyes glow when they are angered. With a few exceptions, males' eyes glow white, while females' glow red. No one is certain of either the cause nor the significance of this fact.

The Importance of Clan
       Gargoyle culture is unusual by human standards and it's important that you are fully informed about it if you will roleplay being displaced. Being almost completely community-oriented, individual Gargoyles have no names unless they have been in contact with humans or others and encouraged to take names. Separate identity, while not a foreign concept, is more determined by what one has done than by who your parents were.
       The most important things to any Gargoyle, in order of importance, are the Clan, the Castle, and the Rookery.
       The Clan is the extended family of Gargoyles, banded together for security and fellowship. Sometimes, a non-Gargoyle will be welcomed into the Clan. This is very rare, and denotes a tremendous respect, trust, and friendship. Regardless of their origin or species, all Clan members are afforded equal status, and any of them will defend any other of them to the death. Sometimes, a Clan member may be guilty of some transgression against the laws of another group or society. If the Clan feels the laws violated are honorable, it will desire to see the guilty punished. However, they will still defend their companion: Gargoyles must only answer to Gargoyle justice, which can be just as compassionate as that of any other society's, or just as brutal.
       The Castle is the Gargoyles' home, the place they roost in the sunlight, live at night, and defend with their lives at all times. The Castle may be an actual castle, a tower, a church, a mansion, a mountain, or even an entire city. The only qualifications are that it must be their home and that it must be defensible.
       The Rookery is where the Clan's eggs are stored, protected, and cared for. The entire Clan looks after the eggs in turns. After they hatch, the Clan likewise divides the parenting duties among the adult members; a Gargoyle may never know which female was her mother, or which was male her father.
       The non-sentient members of a Clan are no less members, despite their lack of speech and apparent intelligence. They are given duties and affection just as the sentient Clanmembers.

History
       When Gargoyles first encountered Humanity, they were feared and hated as demons. This was not helped by the fact that many Gargoyle clans had set their roosts in the very cliffs and hills that war-like humans found so defensible. Eventually, however, they reached something of a compromise. The humans would build their castles, monasteries, citadels, and keeps, while the Gargoyles were allowed to stay, providing an extra layer of defense at night, and intriguing statuary in the day.
       This partnership was a doomed one, however, and Mankind all over the world eventually destroyed or drove out all the Gargoyles.
       No one is sure of where, when, or why the betrayals started. Sometimes, it was manipulation from behind the scenes that turned humans against the Clans. Humans began hunting Gargoyles, guided by undead hands, frustrated at the level of protection the monsters afforded the mortals on whom the vampires wished to prey. The pawns of the vampires led nations, armies, and even the church into a pogrom against the Gargoyles.
       Saddest of all was the devastation visited upon them by their own kind. No one knows why (though some believe it was the result of foul magic), but at the same time that the Clans were facing this besiegement from without, some Gargoyles, a few in each Clan, betrayed them from within, exposing them to the hammers of fearful humans in daylight.
       Handfuls were all that survived, many by retreating to the highest mountains, and many others by making a timely alliance with the Fey, who allowed some of them refuge in their homelands under the hills.
       The last bastion of Gargoyle civilization toppled in 1057 in Scotland, when betrayal on both sides played the end of an age.
Most humans have forgotten these days, and the forces of the Inquisition have done their best to stamp out the beliefs and knowledge of anything that could threaten their power structures.
       Now, a thousand years after their heyday, Gargoyles are attempting a comeback. Some after an enforced period of hibernation, brought on by Mages or Fey. A few are coming out of hiding after centuries of isolation. And some are just now returning to Earth from the Fey realms after being granted sanctuary there. The world has changed greatly in their absence, and their numbers have been sorely depleted. Now, most Gargoyles seek to reforge the partnership they once shared with mankind, without reawakening the ancient fears and prejudices that plagued them so long ago.

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Weakeness:

• Vulnerability to Magic: Gargoyles, though powerful in their stone form, are highly susceptible to magical attacks. Spells that manipulate stone, such as earth magic or enchantments that affect inanimate objects, can weaken or damage them. Powerful mages or witches can exploit this weakness, causing gargoyles to crack, crumble, or become temporarily immobilized.

• Limited Mobility in Stone Form: While gargoyles are virtually invulnerable when turned to stone, they cannot move, see, or interact with the world around them in this state. If they are trapped or surrounded by enemies while in their stone form, they are completely defenseless and unable to act until they are able to revert to their living, mobile state. Additionally, strong enough forces or impacts can damage or shatter them while in stone form.

• Weakness to Water: Gargoyles, especially those made from porous stone, can be damaged by prolonged exposure to water. Heavy rain, flooding, or immersion in water can cause the stone to erode or crack over time. Certain types of stone, like limestone, may also become brittle or dissolve when exposed to water for too long. This vulnerability to water makes gargoyles less resilient in stormy or rainy environments.

• Lack of Regeneration: Unlike some supernatural creatures, gargoyles do not possess rapid healing abilities. While they are tough and can withstand physical damage, if they are severely damaged or broken in battle, they will remain injured or shattered until they are repaired by magic, divine intervention, or a skilled artisan. This makes them vulnerable to sustained attacks, especially against weapons that cause deep or destructive wounds.

• Sunlight Sensitivity: Gargoyles often suffer from an extreme sensitivity to sunlight. While they are perfectly capable of remaining in their stone form during the day, prolonged exposure to sunlight can weaken their vitality when they shift into their living form. Over time, they may become sluggish or disoriented in the daylight, their powers diminished, and their movements slower. This can make them particularly vulnerable to daytime attacks or to being outmatched by enemies in broad daylight.

 

CREATING A GARGOYLE CHARACTER

1.) Choose your level of power
- Hatchling
- Novice
- Moderate
- Alpha

2.) All powers are inherent except for the options given to Alpha and the individual gargoyle's chosen Rites.

Extra Powers (Alpha - choose 3, please):

Rites (Moderates - choose 1 rite of level 1, 2 and 3; Alphas - choose 1 rite of level 4 and 5)

HATCHLING
• Claws of Living Rock: Gargoyle claws, talons, teeth, beaks, and horns are all infused with the Gargoyle's inherent magical life-force; therefore they do extreme damage.
• Forbidding Glare: A Gargoyle can cause someone to flee from the area by glaring at them with their glowing eyes and rolling their minds. This power cannot be used on other Gargoyles.
• Frightening Laugh: This laugh can cause even the bravest of foes to freeze in their tracks in terror. The Gargoyle must let out an eerie, hearty laugh and roll the target's mind. The victim will remain immobile for a short time. Other gargoyles are immune to this power.
• Healing Sleep: While stone during the day, Gargoyles heal all damage done to them, unless that damage destroys an organ or severs a limb. Note that Gargoyles do not have the ability to heal while awake. Any damage done while a Gargoyle is in stone form is permanent, and may never be healed.
• Howl of Alarm: This is a hideous, deafening roar that can be heard for several miles. It can be used as a signal, as a warning, or even as a greeting.
• Swiftness: Gargoyles are naturally fast.

NOVICE
• Stone to Flesh: The Gargoyle can shed his stone for a short time to expose living flesh underneath and appear human.
• Might of Stone: This Trait can be used by Gargoyles when they need a burst of strength greater than that which they would normally be capable of.
• Rock Hide: This is the residual toughness present when someone spends half their life as stone. This allows a Gargoyle to shrug off some injuries that would

• Scenting: The character can track by scent anyone he knows very well, and can smell the differences in types of stone and can detect other Gargoyles.
• Blending: By standing still, the Gargoyle takes on the appearance of stone and will be mistaken for a statue.
• Sealing: The character can seal any two pieces of stone together, so that they effectively become one piece. This is a very effective second layer of defense. This ability cannot be used to repair broken Gargoyles.
• Borrowing Might: With this effect, the Gargomancer leeches power from someone else, and bestows it upon himself temporarily.
• Lending Might: This effect is the opposite of Borrowing Might. If the total brings the Gargomancer to zero, he passes out.

MODERATE
• Spouting: The stone-carvers who first turned their hideous decorations into defensive weapons based the idea on the stories of battles fought against the Gargoyles. Some of them have a predilection towards violent regurgitation on the battlefield. This sputum was never actual food, however. Their enemies would soon find themselves bathed in boiling oil, molten lead, or other similar substances. The Gargoyle must ingest the proper substance (water, oil, lead, or rock) a full hour before using it. If he does not use it before the sun rises, then it is metabolized while he is stone, and he awakes the next night with a bad case of gas.
• Revisionism: This is a very unusual effect. The Gargomancer may carve a feature for a Gargoyle (including himself) out of stone and attach it to the Gargoyle's body. The Gargoyle then holds the feature on himself and waits for sunrise. At the next sunset, the feature becomes a part of the Gargoyle until sunrise, when it returns to its natural stone and falls off. The feature may be a weapon, a limb, an extra tail, armor, or anything that would appear to be a part of the monster's body.
• Sculpting Life: The Gargomancer may imbue statues with temporary life. These statues, which may be prepared ahead of time, can be of small animals, people, creatures, or even titanic monsters. These creatures will only retain life for one night and one day, until the following sunset. Keep in mind, that while the creation will still be alive during the day, it's master will most likely be stone.
• Transfer of Respite: This allows the Gargomancer to transfer his stone nature onto another, non-Gargoyle being. The target will be stone during the day, while the Gargomancer will be able to move about in daylight. This effect lasts for one night. While stone, the target stores up energy just as a Gargoyle does.
• Gift of Stone: This is, indeed, an awesome and fearsome ability for a Gargomancer. The Gargoyle wizard can turn one being into stone forever, provided he touches the target. This fate can only be reversed by a Mage or someone with similar power.

EXTRA POWERS FOR ALPHAS
On top of all inherent previous levels powers, choose 3 from this list.

Gargoyles have many traits that make them monsters in the eyes of humans, but some are more monstrous than others. These traits are what gain Gargoyles access to the nightmares of their enemies.

• Extra Pair of Limbs: You have an extra pair of limbs.
• Acid Pores: You have specialized glands in your skin that produce a powerful acid. By concentrating, the Gargoyle can keep his secretions shut off temporarily. Once the concentration is off, however, the acid starts brewing again, albeit very slowly. Any clothes or weapons the character wishes to use on a regular basis should be dedicated to him to protect them. Without this protection, all but the thickest clothing will be eaten away over the course of one night.
• Stone Skin: This allows the Gargoyle to grow a layer of stone skin just like the one he is covered with at night. The difference is that this rock is broken at the joints, allowing nearly full range of movement, while providing extra armor for a short time.
• Stench of Death: Your flesh appears rotted and putrid, and periodically falls off in chunks, revealing the bones below.
• Horrible Stain: Your body takes on a horrible, oozing -- yet painless -- wound for each wound you inflict. That wound is linked to the opponent whose real wound it matches. While in view of the opponent, you can dig in the wound, poke it, prod it -- or anything you feel like doing. Your opponent feels each movement. While this causes no actual damage, they will think it is, and gain a psychological wound.
• Fleshless Horror: You have no apparent flesh; your body appears to be the skeleton of a beast that never lived. In actuality, your organs are extremely compact and are located inside your bones. These bones are hollow and contain your body rather than supporting it. Your wings appear to be empty bones, but there is a very thin, transparent layer of skin on them that shrivels up into the joints when not in use.
• Headless: You have no actual head, and your eyes, nose, ears, and mouth are all located on your torso.
• Flaming Head: While stone, you appear much like a demon with a blazing head. When flesh, it is much the same. Your head is constantly burning without being consumed. Fire based attacks do no damage to your head, and you can set objects on fire by touching them with your head.
• Two Faces: You have two faces, one on either side of your head.
• Faceless: You have absolutely no features: eyes, nose, mouth, and ears are all gone. Your voice seems to emanate from nowhere, and you eat by forcing food into your head where your face would be.
• Two Heads: You have a second head, and can operate it independently of the other. This allows you to look in two directions at once, and gives you two attempts at seeing, hearing, or smelling anything.

 

RITES
These are the rituals of Gargoyle life. Some are social, most are defensive. All Gargoyles are taught how to participate in the rites and Moderates and Alphas are taught to perform them.

Level 1 Rites
• Rite of Dedication: Performing this rite allows transfers some of the Gargoyle's life-force to an object and allows that object to become stone with them during the day provided that the Gargoyle has the item on themselves or in their hands.
• Calling the Clan: This rite is a silent call that alerts all members of the Clan to report to the Castle or another location for a meeting.

Level 2 Rites
• Rite of Recognition: This rite is the official initiation of a full grown Gargoyle or someone else who has been accepted into the Clan.
• Concealing the Roost: This is usually performed by a Gargoyle who finds himself too far away from home with sunrise approaching. Once finished, the place the character is perched will be pointedly ignored by all casual glances.
• Marking the Vandal: This rite is performed when the Clan suspects they may be in danger during the day. Performed on the entire Clan just before daybreak, it watches over them in the daylight. If anyone or anything damages or otherwise harms any of the Clan, the rest will know them on sight. This rite will only function on the day after it is performed.

Level 3 Rites
• Sealing the Rookery: By performing this rite on the Clan's Rookery, which must have a closable door, the Gargoyles make it impassable to all but members of the Clan. The seal may be broken by Magic of moderate level or better. This lasts for one month.
• Hunting the Vandal: This allows the entire clan to track the vandal marked in the earlier rite. Lasting for one night, it guides the Gargoyles in the direction of the foe by the most direct route. If the vandal is not found that night, or was too far away to reach, then the rite can be performed again, but the difficulty goes up.
• Rite of Rending: This dreaded rite is reserved only for the most heinous of Gargoyle crimes, and is only done when killing the offender is out of the question for some reason. By performing this rite, the Clan expels and excommunicates a former member. All members of the clan will know on sight that this Gargoyle (or other) is an outcast, and unwelcome. Even future generations of the Clan and new inductees will recognize the exile, despite having joined the Clan years after the rite.

Level 4 Rites
• The Hero's Rest: This is a preparation for great deeds or horrible battle. By performing this rite on another Gargoyle you send them into their stone sleep, not even to awaken at night. The Gargoyle sleeps this way for a few nights. On the night he revives, the Gargoyle is completely refreshed and has additional strength and agility. This bonus lasts for the entire night, and is gone the next night.
• Shielding the Sun: By spending essence and performing this rite, a Gargoyle may avoid or postpone turning into stone during the day. The only restriction is that he must remain completely out of the sunlight. If the slightest beam hits the smallest part of the Gargoyle, he is stone until nightfall.

Level 5 Rites
• The Sleepless Day: By spending an extended amount of essence and performing this rite, the character has the ability to function in the day as a human would. This rite cannot be used on consecutive days.

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