by JEB and Dracandros
This is originally from another document, "The Races of Fantos," where they were called the "Dargoyle." However, since that was written in late 1995, much more has been revealed about Disney's Gargoyles (upon which the original race was based). Further, that document's race was nowhere near as descriptive as the gargoyles deserved. So, nearly 3 and a half years later, I'm taking another crack at it.
Ability Score Adjustments: Fantos gargoyles are powerful beings. They gain a +3 bonus to their initial statistics, which can be distributed in any way between Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution. (For example, +1 Str +1 Dex +1 Con, or +2 Dex +1 Con, or +3 Str, etc.) However, they are seen by many (demi)humans as evil monsters, and thus suffer a -3 to their starting Charisma. The penalties for low Charisma do not apply to other Fantos gargoyles.
Ability Score Range:
Ability
Min/Max
Strength
10/21
Dexterity
6/21
Constitution
6/21
Intelligence
6/18
Wisdom
5/18
Charisma
3/15
Class Restrictions:
Class
Max. Level
--------------------------------------------
WARRIOR
Fighter
U
Ranger
15
Paladin
--
Avenger*
15
--------------------------------------------
WIZARD
Mage
20
Illusionist
15
Chronomancer**
15
Specialist***
15
--------------------------------------------
PRIEST****
Cleric
10
Druid
10
--------------------------------------------
ROGUE
Thief
10
Bard
--
--------------------------------------------
OTHER
Psionicist
12
Tinker*****
15
--------------------------------------------
* From the RAVENLOFT campaign setting - see Domains of Dread.
** From the Chronomancer accessory.
*** Fantos gargoyles may be any kind of Specialist Wizard.
**** Fantos gargoyle priests cannot cast spells from the Sun
sphere. However, they can cast the reverses of any spells from that sphere.
***** Originally from the DRAGONLANCE campaign - however,
this is not the Krynnish Tinker but the version from my personal campaign,
found in the document "The Tinker."
Fantos gargoyles may multi-class in the following combinations: Fighter/Mage, Ranger/Mage, Avenger/Mage, Fighter/Cleric, Fighter/Psionicist, Mage/Cleric, Mage/Thief, Psionicist/Thief, Psionicist/Tinker, Tinker/Mage, Tinker/Thief, Fighter/Mage/Cleric, Psionicist/Tinker/Thief . From Chronomancer, they may also be Temporal Champions and Temporal Raiders, with maximum levels of 15 and 10, respectively.
HIT DICE: PC gargoyles of Fantos receive Hit Dice by class.
ALIGNMENT: Fantos gargoyles can be of any alignment.
NATURAL ARMOR CLASS: 8
BACKGROUND:
Fantos gargoyles are a race of winged humanoids
thought to be a natural form of the animated stone gargoyles found in other
worlds. In fact, some sages believe that the Fantos gargoyle may have inspired
the statues from which the evil gargoyles were made. According to their
ancient and hard-to-find records, these beings originated in an alternate
prime-material world, which they called "Terra." Most Fantos gargoyles,
however, are unaware of these origins, nor do they care to know- they are
not a species that dwells on such things. A few venerable and learned elder
gargoyles have some knowledge of this subject, despite that.
They have a great variety in appearance. Most
appear as vaguely reptilian humanoids, with a pair of bat-like wings growing
from their backs and a prehensile tail. They have four fingers and toes,
all of which are clawed. Their feet are large, with three toes in the front
and one on the heel, and they walk on the balls of their feet rather than
the entire foot. They also have pointed ears and fangs, and almost all
have a ridge of horns where a human would have their eyebrows, or on their
forehead or the entire top of their skull. These horns vary greatly in
configuration, being anywhere from two nubs to a full triceratopsian crest.
Fantos gargoyle skin colors include a wide variety of pigments, including
blue, green, gray, orange, violet, red, yellow, lavendar, brown, pink,
black, and white. Their hair colors, however, are only within the human
range- blond, brown, black, red, gray, or white. A number of gargoyles,
by birth or by choice, are also bald.
Fantos gargoyles appear in other configurations
as well. Some have wings like those of a flying squirrel, a membrane stretched
from elbow to knee. Others have beaks like those of a pterodactyl. Still
more resemble avian or mammalian lifeforms, such as griffins, eagles, unicorns,
or lions. These Fantos gargoyles look like anthropormorphic versions of
these creatures, with wings that are feathery like a bird's. At least one
known gargoyle had the lower body of a snake and scaly skin with feathered
wings. Obviously, there is a great disparity in the looks of Fantos gargoyles.
There is a subspecies of the Fantos gargoyle
known as a gargoyle beast. These creatures roughly resemble dogs, but have
the reptilian features of the common Fantos gargoyle. Many have a resemblance
to small, wingless dragons. They are thought to be related to these gargoyles
as apes are related to humans. (Gargoyle beasts will be described in more
detail in a later document.)
When these gargoyles are angered, their eyes
glow. The eyes of males glow white, while those of females glow red. This
is generally consistent across the species, but some gargoyles are known
whose eyes glow the opposite color from their gender, or completely different
colors (such as yellow, blue, green, or gray).
Gargoyles are active entirely at night- while
the sun is up, they are in what is termed "stone sleep." (See below for
more information on that.) Female gargoyles of Fantos become fertile for
a few weeks every 20 years. The children are laid as eggs slightly larger
than those of an ostrich, and hatch in ten years. The children are raised
by the entire clan- the concept of mother and father, daughter and son,
is non-existent. The hatchlings are the children of the whole clan, the
older members of the clan their siblings and parents. The gargoyle aging
process is far slower than in humans- specifically, the average gargoyle
of Fantos lives twice as long as the average human. However, they also
take twice as long to mature- for example, a 32-year-old gargoyle looks
and acts like a 16-year-old.
These beings live in groups of between roughly
a half-dozen to 4 dozen members, called clans. These clans are led by one
leader, and a "second", short for second-in-command. All members of a clan
tend to be fiercely loyal to each other- even lawful good and chaotic evil
members are expected to coexist (and amazingly, usually do). This does
not mean that all gargoyle clans are so harmonious, however- in some clans,
in-fighting is frequent and even commonplace. But in most clans, such battles
are forbidden- if it occurs, the main aggressor (and sometimes even the
defender) are banished from the clan, becoming outcasts. The same penalty
holds for other crimes, such as murder, stealing, or otherwise betraying
your clanmates. An outcast gargoyle is generally a dangerous and bitter
soul, but some become wandering adventurers and seek a new "clan" in the
form of an adventuring party.
Often, a clan of these gargoyles join forces with
a (demi)human community, acting as nocturnal defenders of those communities.
In exchange for protection at night, the town guards the sleeping clan
by day.
Most Fantos gargoyles are warriors, but there
are those who choose other professions. Wizards are common among gargoyles,
perhaps due to their inherently magical nature. Priests, however, are not-
while they do have vague religious beliefs, they do not have any formalized
religion or deities. This does not mean there are no gargoyles who choose
a priestly path, but they are scarce beyond belief. Outcast gargoyles are
known to become druids in addition to those in clans, so they are ever-so-slightly
more common than clerics. Thieves are also less common than warriors, for
Fantos gargoyles do not tolerate stealing within the clan- however, some
develop these skills to use on people outside the clan, for gargoyles too
can be attracted by wealth. Psionicists are rarer yet, because, while the
magical nature of this species promotes wizardly abilities, it hinders
the development of psionics. More frequent than the psionicist but less
common than the thief, some gargoyles take up the Tinker class. Tinkers
are frowned upon by elder generations of Fantos gargoyles because of the
lack of emphasis on combat, but more recent generations have become more
tolerant. There are also craftspeople and sages among gargoyles, but these
are extremely rare. Gargoyles only sometimes use weapons and armor, and
have little interest in material goods, so craftspeople are not generally
needed. Sages are infrequent due for the same reasons as Tinkers. Gargoyles
too elderly to fight will sometimes become sages, however, but elderly
gargoyles are also very rare thanks to their lifestyle.
PC gargoyles of Fantos are either outcasts,
or members of a clan who have decided to strike out on their own for whatever
reason. The latter can often turn to their clans for assistance in times
of trouble, but the former are completely on their own.
LANGUAGES:
Fantos gargoyle PCs begin play with Fantos
gargoyle, common, and two demihuman languages (choose from elf, dwarf,
gnome, halfling, or DM’s choice).
SPECIAL ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANAGES:
The gargoyles of Fantos can glide on air currents
with their wings, at a rate of 18 (B). In times of need, this can be adjusted
to 24 (C) or 30 (D). After 3 continuous hours (plus one turn per level)
of flight, the Fantos gargoyle must stop to rest or take 1d3 damage per
turn that they do not do so. It takes an hour of rest to recuperate from
this exertion and damage. If the Fantos gargoyle's wings are damaged, the
penalties from exertion apply when an attempt is made to use the damaged
wings.
Fantos gargoyles start play with the Jumping
non-weapon proficiency. This is free, and does not count towards the PC's
initial proficiency slots. They can forego normal weapons and spells for
a claw/claw/tail attack that inflicts 1d6/1d6/1d4. Regardless of class,
a Fantos gargoyle can Move Silently, Hide In Shadows, and Detect Noise
as a thief with a 11% chance of success per level (maximum of 99%). They
can also Climb Walls with a base chance of 45% at 1st level, and increased
by 6% per level over 1.
Since a gargoyles' sole period of activity
is at night, they see as well under moonlight as humans do in sunlight,
and in mere starlight or torchlight to half range, and in total darkness
to 90'.
During the day, Fantos gargoyles' bodies
transform into an organic stone-like substance. This is unavoidable without
magical aid, even if the gargoyle is out of the sunlight, because this
is a biological process attuned to the rising and setting of the sun. It
is not dependent on the sun itself.
While in this "stone sleep" their Armor Class
increases to 3, but they have half their total hit points. A gargoyle attacked
in this state cannot defend themself. If they are reduced to -5 hit points,
their stone form is shattered and they are slain. They can only be resurrected
if all their stone pieces are found and the body rebuilt. Otherwise, a
wish
is all that can bring them back in their original form. Reincarnation
works as normal.
When they awaken from their stone sleep at sundown,
any damage they sustained before their sleep is healed, and any poisons
or diseases they were afflicted with- save magical ones- are purged from
their systems. However, deep scars and mutilations (such as missing hands
or blinded eyes) are not regenerated. Any damage sustained during stone
sleep also remains with them.
Fantos gargoyles are unable to purchase any
sort of clothing or armor due to their wings and tail without paying half
again the cost of such items. The only exception is when they are bought
from the craftspeople among their own clan. They also cannot purchase footwear
(other than footwraps) due to their unusual foot structure. However, they
generally do not need footwear, since their feet are as tough as leather
boots.
Lastly, Fantos gargoyles suffer a -4 to reaction
rolls because of their monstrous appearance. Also, as stated above, Fantos
gargoyles' eyes glow when they are angered. When this happens, opponents
who haven't fought a gargoyle before and won are at -2 to Morale checks.
However, their eyes tend to glow anytime they're angry. Thus, when they're
angry and their eyes are glowing they have a further -2 to reaction checks.
MONSTROUS TRAITS: Appearance, glowing eyes when angered.
SUPERSTITIONS: None
WEAPON PROFICIENCIES: Any
NONWEAPON PROFICIENCIES*: Danger sense, direction sense, hiding, blind-fighting, endurance, hunting, natural fighting, intimidation, mountaineering, survival, tracking, wild fighting, herbalism.
Proficiencies in bold italics are from The Complete Book Of Humanoids
AVERAGE HEIGHT AND WEIGHT
Hgt.
Wgt.
Base Modifier Base
Modifier
60/55 5d6
150/100 10d20
AGE
Base Age Variable
Maximum Age Average Max. Age
30
2d8 180+2d20
200
AGING EFFECTS
Middle Age* Old Age**
Venerable***
90
120 180
* -1 Str/Con, +1 Int/Wis
** -2 Str/Dex, -1 Con, +1 Wis
*** -1 Str/Dex/Con, +1 Int/Wis
THIEVING SKILL RACIAL ADJUSTMENTS
PP OL F/RT MS
HS DN CW RL
--- -5% --- #*#
#*# #*# #*# -15%
#*#--See above under Special Advantages.