D&D General Gargoyles need to be redone.

[Shades of Eternity]

Nobody ever uses them beyond a speed bump, and honestly, I'd rather play a gargoyle over an aarakocra as a pc.

so here's a quick brainstorm.

so here's my thoughts.

Gargoyles are sentient, ambulatory stone organisms sculpted from the architecture of faith, fear, or memory. They “grow” from places of emotional or mystical pressure and share traits of their parent structures:

• A gargoyle born from a cathedral spire has holy echoes, stained-glass veins, and gliding wings.
• One grown from a medical college’s parapet might have grotesque anatomical symbolism and parasitic humours that act like mutagens.
• A gargoyle formed from the ruins of a fortress becomes a warlike block of stratified battlestone, built to endure sieges.

They are simultaneously living sculptures and biological stones, deeply influenced by place, myth, and era.

Inspirations are:

• Disney's Gargoyles (clan structure, gliding, stone sleep, protectiveness)
• Medieval medical grotesques (anatomical exaggerations, symbolic organs, parasitic “humours,” alchemical symbolism)
• Princestons’ Gothic redesign (angular silhouettes, baroque armour-stone, cathedral-as-anatomy)

***************************************

Does this work, and do we want more?

Otherwise, how would you change them and how?

 

[Stormonu]

That's quite the bold claim, Cotton. I enjoy using gargoyles against low level parties. Grapple + fly straight up and let go has left many a horrified look on my player's faces.

But, I'm not against variants. Here's one of mine, the Ghargoyle

Spoiler

 

[cbwjm]

Nobody ever uses them beyond a speed bump, and honestly, I'd rather play a gargoyle over an aarakocra as a pc.

so here's a quick brainstorm.

so here's my thoughts.

Gargoyles are sentient, ambulatory stone organisms sculpted from the architecture of faith, fear, or memory. They “grow” from places of emotional or mystical pressure and share traits of their parent structures:

• A gargoyle born from a cathedral spire has holy echoes, stained-glass veins, and gliding wings.
• One grown from a medical college’s parapet might have grotesque anatomical symbolism and parasitic humours that act like mutagens.
• A gargoyle formed from the ruins of a fortress becomes a warlike block of stratified battlestone, built to endure sieges.

They are simultaneously living sculptures and biological stones, deeply influenced by place, myth, and era.

Inspirations are:

• Disney's Gargoyles (clan structure, gliding, stone sleep, protectiveness)
• Medieval medical grotesques (anatomical exaggerations, symbolic organs, parasitic “humours,” alchemical symbolism)
• Princestons’ Gothic redesign (angular silhouettes, baroque armour-stone, cathedral-as-anatomy)

***************************************

Does this work, and do we want more?

Otherwise, how would you change them and how?

This sounds cool, and due to my love of the old gargoyles cartoon, I'd like to see something where they're playable.

 

[MGibster]

What we need are a series of articles about various creatures explaining where they fit into the local ecology. You know, their behavior, habitats, treasure, etc., etc.

 

[Stalker0]

The idea that Gargoyles are grown from their environment and that this influences their look and abilities is pretty solid, I like that a lot.