GARGOYLE: The Guarding

Character concept: Disney
Game mechanics: White Wolf
Conversion and convergence: David Austin Peters (dapeters@alpha.delta.edu)

Setting

The World of Darkness is mysterious and magical. . . to those who are aware. And few know as much as the watchful Gargoyles. Some would say that Gargoyles are merely flying golems or demons from another dimension. However, Gargoyles are a breed of unique awakened beings. Each has a personality and appearance of its own. Some believe that Gargoyles are the forefathers of humanity itself.

Gargoyles are can be very territorial beings, protecting their lands and the inhabitants thereof, or they can be very selfish and nomadic, taking what they need and moving on when the territory is no longer of any value to them.

The Nature of the Gargoyle

Gargoyles are individuals more than anything else. They tend to be almost one sided in their views of the world. For this reason, many have identical Natures and Demeanors. Also, they follow their Nature more stongly than humans, sometimes forcing their views on others. Clan leaders often try to get the entire clan to follow their ways as they view them as the only way. This can be seen in the Gargoyles cartoon series as Goliath tells the other Gargoyles that they must protect the city. If his Nature were different, then he might have told the clan to follow the old ways, make others fear them, don't take anything seriously, or even criticize all that exists. This can cause problems with the other members of the clan, but few ever leave the clan, and fewer yet challenge the clan leader for his position.

Character

Gargoyle characters can be as wide and varied as any human. The first step in character creation is visualizing your Gargoyle. Is your Gargoyle male, female, a neuter, a hermaphrodite? How long has it been since hatching (how old is he)? What does he look like? Does he have wings, a tail, claws, big teeth, deep set eyes, a long forked tongue, long flowing hair, any scars, or anything else that would make him...him? Once you develop a visual picture of your Gargoyle.. it's time to go on to the next step.

Like all World of Darkness characters, Gargoyle characters are defined by a set of stats. These stats are based on your visual picture you just came up with. Beginning Gargoyle characters get 15 point to allocate to their attributes. These points may be spent however is fitting to the character concept. Remember though, a Gargoyle with one dot in Intelligence will only be able to communicate via a series of growl, grunts, and other animalistic sounds and a Gargoyle with one dot in Appearance will almost always be assumed to be some kind of beast from Hell! Beginning attributes may be much higher than the normal limit of five dots for humans. This is because of the vastly different physical structure of Gargoyles in general.

Abilities come next. Beginning characters are allowed thirteen, nine, and five respectively to split up among talents, skills, and knowledges. Keep in mind that most Gargoyles won't have such skills as drive, streetwise, or science. However, if it's fitting with the character concept and if the Storyteller allows it, it may be permitted.

Most Backgrounds are only appropriate if there is a reason for the Gargoyle to have it. If he's new to town, he won't have many Allies or Contacts. Resources are almost useless to these creatures of the night. Arcane can be useful, as can Dream. Beginning Gargoyle characters get only 3 point to allocate to Backgrounds. This is due to the fact that Gargoyles just aren't as concerned with society in the ways we are.

Seven dots are divided up between Willpower and Regality, with a minimum of one dot in each. Willpower is a measure of internal control and self-confidence that the character has over himself. A character's Regality score determines how much natural Gargoyle power he possesses. A character with one dot in Regality would be nearly human and would almost be viewed as a second class citizen in some clans. However, a Gargoyle with ten points in Regality would be very powerful and would more than likely be a clan leader. Regality also determines how many Advantage dots are available to the character (see systems below).

Advantages include such things as Claws, Wings, Tail, Teeth, etc. These are used to define any useful appendages and abilities the Gargoyle may have. Just because you have zero dots in Teeth, it doesn't mean that you are toothless, just that your teeth are no stronger than a normal human's. If you have zero dots in Wings, you can opt to have useless wings or none at all. This list of Advantages is, by no means, complete; other Advantages exist. Some Gargoyles have been known to have additional arms and others have been know to have extraordinary senses of sight and smell be creative).

Last are the freebie points. These additional points are used to "fine tune" your character. Players get fifteen freebie points to spend. Their cost per dot by catagory is as follows:

Attributes	5 per dot
Abilities	2 per dot
Willpower/Regality	2 per dot
Backgrounds	1 per dot
Advantages	5 per dot

To sum it all up, that was:

Attributes: 15
Abilities: 13/9/5
Willpower/Regality: 7
Backgrounds: 3
Advantages: Varied (see Regality)
Freebies: 15 (5/2/2/1/5)

Systems

Many new aspects have been added to the World of Darkness through the creation of this module. Only the new aspects will be listed below.

Regality can be used in many ways. First, it determines where in the clan a Gargoyle fits in. Secondly, it allows a form of Gargoyle rage. And, lastly, Regality determines how many dots of Advantages a character gets in character creation. First, we'll discuss the respective clan levels.

Regality

*	The character is viewed as a second class citizen and other clans view him as nothing more than human.
**	The character is viewed as a pet. Other clans laugh at him.
***	The character is viewed as a child or incompetent and other clans don't take him seriously.
****	The character is considered a young adult. Other clans view him indifferently.
*****	The character is considered an average adult Gargoyle. Other clans view him indifferently.
******	This character is healthy and well. Often used in breeding. Other clans view him indifferently.
*******	This character is a powerful warrior and often protects the eggs. Other clans don't mess with you.
********	The character is a very powerful member of the clan. Other clans are in awe of your power.
*********	If the clan leader isn't in, this character is in charge. Other clans respect him out of fear.
**********	The character is a clan leader and comands the respect of other clans.

Now let's discuss Gargoyle rage. When Gargoyles get angry, they have access to great power. When a player wants his character to rage, he tells the Storyteller and the Storyteller must decide if it is a suitable reason. If it is, the character can rage for a number of rounds equal to his Regality rating. During this rage, the Gargoyle may substitute his Regality rating for any dice pool . For instance, a Gargoyle with five dots in Regality would be able to rage for five rounds and fight, dodge, intimidate, or do various other things with a dice pool of five instead of her normal skill.

Finally, the Regality rating determines how many Advantage points a Gargoyle gets. This is done by simply multiplying the Regality rating by 1.5 and rounding up. For the sake of ease, this chart shows how many Advantage points a character gets.

Regality	Advantages	Regality	Advantages
1	2	6	9
2	3	7	11
3	5	8	12
4	6	9	14
5	8	10	15

Gargoyles aren't as strong as you may believe. Due to their natures, at daybreak, a gargoyle's body becomes stone preventing him from moving or talking. While they are stone, they are extremely hard to hurt, but they are prone targets, so they're easy to hit (3X normal soak, difficulty 3 to hit them). A gargoyle can fight this transformation by rolling willpower-regality at difficulty seven and getting at least two successes. With but a single success is, the Gargoyle is aware of his surroundings, but is still turned to stone. If this roll is botched, the Gargoyle will remain stone for a number of days equal to the number of ones rolled.

Advantages help to portray the power of the Gargoyles and show how they are different from one another. This list is not complete; gargoyles are a varied breed. New Advantages may be created and used at the Storyteller's discretion. Here are examples of a few made popular by the cartoon series.

Wings

* Very small wings. Better for extending the length of jumps than actually gliding.

** Small wings. Enough strength to glide when unencumbered.

*** Medium wings. Strong enough to glide while carrying some equipment.

**** Large wings. Powerful enough to glide while carrying another person.

***** Huge Wings. Strong enough to actually fly.

Tail

* Very small tail. -1 difficulty to flight rolls .

** Small tail. -2 difficulty to flight rolls.

*** Medium tail. -2 difficulty, +1 die on flight rolls.

**** Long tail. -3 difficulty, +1 die on flight rolls.

***** Very long tail. -3 difficulty, +2 dice on flight rolls.

Claws (May be retractable at the cost of one additional dot)

* Weak claws (Dex+Brawl Diff:6 Dam:Str+1)

** Poor claws (Dex+Brawl Diff:6 Dam:Str+2)

*** Fair claws (Dex+Brawl Diff:5 Dam:Str+2)

**** Good claws (Dex+Brawl Diff:5 Dam:Str+3)

***** Great claws (Dex+Brawl Diff:4 Dam:Str+3)

Teeth (May be retractable at the cost of one extra dot)

* Weak teeth (Dex+Brawl Diff:7 Dam:Str+2)

** Poor teeth (Dex+Brawl Diff:7 Dam:Str+3)

*** Fair teeth (Dex+Brawl Diff:6 Dam:Str+3)

**** Good teeth (Dex+Brawl Diff:6 Dam:Str+4)

***** Great teeth (Dex+Brawl Diff:5 Dam:Str+4)

Advancement

Experience can be spent to raise any of a Gargoyle's traits. However, raising a Gargoyles Regality or Advantages trait should have some heavily role-played sessions involved. The cost in experience to raise each of a Gargoyles traits are as follows:

Trait	Cost
Attribute	Current rating X 4
New ability	3
Ability	Current rating X 2
New background	2
Backgrounds	Current rating X 1
New advantage	7
Advantage	Current rating X 4
Willpower	Current rating
Regality	Current rating X 3

Note: All advances should be roleplayed in some way and checked with the Storyteller!

Antagonists

Gargoyles must be cautious at all times. If humans were to find out that they existed there's no telling what kind of trouble they could cause. Vampires don't seem to care much about Gargoyles, unless, of course, the Gargoyles begin meddling in the Vampire's affairs. Mages find Gargoyles fascinating and some hunt them down to do experiments on them while others may seek their aid. Garou and Gargoyles may not get along, or they may, as some Gargoyles protect the land and its residents.

Character Sheet

_______________________________________________________________________________
Name:                      Nature:                   Clan:
Player:                    Demeanor:                 Clan Leader:
Chronicle:                 Description:              Homeland:
_________________________________Attributes____________________________________
        PHYSICAL                    SOCIAL                    MENTAL          
Strength____________*OOOO  Charisma____________*OOOO  Perception__________*OOOO
Dexterity___________*OOOO  Manipulation________*OOOO  Intelligence________*OOOO
Stamina_____________*OOOO  Appearance__________*OOOO  Wits________________*OOOO
_________________________________Abilities_____________________________________
         TALENTS                    SKILLS                  KNOWLEDGES    
Alertness___________OOOOO  Crafts______________OOOOO  Computer____________OOOOO
Athletics___________OOOOO  Drive_______________OOOOO  Culture_____________OOOOO
Awareness___________OOOOO  Etiquette___________OOOOO  Enigmas_____________OOOOO
Brawl_______________OOOOO  Firearms____________OOOOO  History_____________OOOOO
Dodge_______________OOOOO  Leadership__________OOOOO  Investigation_______OOOOO
Expression__________OOOOO  Meditation__________OOOOO  Law_________________OOOOO
Intuition___________OOOOO  Melee_______________OOOOO  Linguistics_________OOOOO
Intimidation________OOOOO  Research____________OOOOO  Medicine____________OOOOO
Streetwise__________OOOOO  Stealth_____________OOOOO  Occult______________OOOOO
Subterfuge__________OOOOO  Survival____________OOOOO  Science_____________OOOOO
_______________________________________________________________________________
        BACKGROUNDS                 REGALITY                    HEALTH    
____________________OOOOO     * O O O O O O O O O     Bruised              -0[]
____________________OOOOO          WILLPOWER          Hurt                 -1[]
____________________OOOOO     * O O O O O O O O O     Injured              -1[]
____________________OOOOO     o o o o o o o o o o     Wounded              -2[]
____________________OOOOO                             Mauled               -2[]
        ADVANTAGES                   COMBAT           Crippled             -5[]
Wings_______________OOOOO  Weapon       Diff  Dam     Incapacitated
Tail________________OOOOO  ____________ ____ ____
Claw________________OOOOO  ____________ ____ ____             EXPERIENCE
Teeth_______________OOOOO  ____________ ____ ____          ________________
____________________OOOOO  ____________ ____ ____          
_______________________________________________________________________________