Immortal Sentries

Gargoyles started their existence as decorative statues and as a form of protection. However, existing in a world where animated constructs exist, inanimate defenders seemed kind of pointless. So, an enterprising arcanist imbued them with elemental essence, granting them life and more importantly movement.

Gargoyles are thought to be immortal, but in truth, the just do not age while they 'sleep' granting them longevity unavailable to other creatures.

Made To Order

Gargoyles are made, not born. Starting their existence as statues before being granted life. As such, they come in all manner of shapes and sizes. Frequently, they appear in the form of grotesque fiends or dragons approximately the same height as humans, but in other cultures they take on other appearances.

Gargoyles have a bad reputation, owing mostly to their horrific appearances. But such fears are often unwarranted. Many of them are made to decorate and guard temples, and as such, they frequently share the alignment and ideals of the god worshiped within. Exceptions do exist however, due to the simplicity of the spell that grants them autonomy, gargoyles do have free will. and can choose to do with their existence as they so please.

After enough of them went rogue and pretending to be gods, people were forbidden from turning statues of divinities into gargoyles, resorting to traditional and more expensive golemancy if such protections are required.

Fly like a Stone

Contrary to common belief, the wings that many gargoyles are carved with do not grant them flight. They're kind of heavy and not aerodynamic. In fact, being an earth elemental kind of makes flying even harder.

"So how?" you ask. Simple. Time.

The longer a gargoyle remains on the Material Plane, the less it becomes a being from the Elemental Plane of Earth, and becomes more a being of ours. Over time, their dormant state becomes less stone-like, and more alive. It has flesh, and claws. Their wings are made of what they resemble. And so, if they have wings, they can fly.

You can typically tell how long a gargoyle has been on the Material Plane out of its dormant state by how different they look from one another. The dormant state of a gargoyle always resembles the statue it was carved from, albeit in a different pose. The longer a gargoyle has spent active, the more like a creature of flesh and blood its active form resembles.

Gargoyle Racial Traits

These traits are common to all gargoyles.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2 and your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Age. Gargoyles live up to 50 years, but do not age while they are asleep.

Alignment. Gargoyles are by their nature protectors, so many of them are lawful, and their moral alignment largely depends on their creator and what they're supposed to guard. But ultimately, they are free agents, and can go 'rogue' and be of whatever alignment they choose.

Creature Type. Your creature type is Elemental.

Size. Gargoyles are about the same height as a human, but being made of stone makes them far heavier. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Elemental Nature. You are a being of stone, as such, you have the following benefits:

• You have advantage on saving throws against being poisoned, and you have resistance to poison damage.
• You don't need to eat, drink, or breathe.
• You are immune to disease.
• You are immune to petrification.

Sleep Like a Rock. You do not need sleep, per se. But when resting, you revert to a perfectly still state.

While asleep, you become petrified, despite otherwise having immunity to the condition. While petrified this way, your weight does not increase, you have tremorsense up to 120 ft, and are immune to all bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing damage from nonmagical weapons that are not adamantine. This petrification ends when you wake up.

Stone Skin. Even not in your dormant state, your tough leathery skin is almost as hard as rock. When you aren't wearing armor, your AC is 15. You can use your stone skin to determine your AC if the armor you wear would leave you with a lower AC. A shield's benefits apply as normal while you use your stone skin.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Terran.

Alternative Gargoyles

Gargoyles can look like almost anything, this also includes being larger or smaller than usual. These alternate gargoyles traits replace the Ability Score Increase, Size, and Stone Skin traits.

Soar Like A Stone

Prerequisite: Gargoyle

You have spent enough time on the Material Plane that you've adapted to it and your form is more your own. You gain the following benefits:

• Increase an ability score of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20.
• You gain a fly speed equal to your walking speed.