GARGOYLE: The Crusade

By Kash Hefley (spriggn@webzone.net)

Author's Notes

I created Gargoyle: The Crusade as a response to all the amoral vampires and slash-and-burn werewolves out there, all the characters that had no regard for human, especially mortal life. And not to mention the poor rendition of Gargoyles by both Disney and WhiteWolf (Scottish protectors and stone-skinned bloodsuckers. Who are they trying to kid?) none of which had the Gothic feel nor the connection to churches and cathedrals that were/are the basis for gargoyles in general, the whole religious, dare I say it, Catholic backbone. So the Grigori I created in a response to that. I plan on delving deeper into the world of the Grigori, along with several Brotherhoods and Orders subpartitioned below the Malleus Dei, as well as some Infidel groups. But for now, this is the core package. Please feel free to print, utilize, change, etc Gargoyle:The Crusade but know that in the end I own original copywrights. I've put a lot of time and effort into this and I hope it makes your RPG's all that more interesting. Enjoy!

Introduction

The origins of gargoyles goes back farther than the stone parapets of Gothic medieval cathedrals. Their history is rich in the Biblical traditions, a tradition they uphold to this very day.

According to the Tome of the Grigori, their sacred book next to the Holy Bible, The Grigori, (the word Grigori "those who watch," "those who never sleep") or Sons of God, were the biblical angels who cohabited with the "daughters of Adam" (mentioned in Genesis 6:2). In the Tome of the Grigori it is told that these Grigori, the very first angels, were the fathers of ghastly offspring, most of which included vampires, werewolves and other monstrous creatures. And these creatures ravaged the earth, killing the sons and daughters of Adam, spreading decay and mayhem and death everywhere, a rampage that lasted for eighty days. And when God discovered that these creatures were the children of the Grigori, the angels who rejoiced in His name, he cursed them with their own monstrous, demonic looking forms, and hurled them out of Heaven with such force that the stone into which they plummeted into melted around their own skin, permanently encasing them in a flesh of rock. He then further cursed them in His rage, cursed them to become as stone and immobile as their new skins when the light of His sun touched them and to only become alive when the night had risen, to join their children in the chaos.

The Fallen Grigori mourned and wailed their banishment from God's Light and begged to the Heavens to be allowed back in. But God refused, telling them that only when their abominable offspring no longer cursed the children of Adam would they be allowed final redemption.

"And the First Grigori asked the Lord to assist them in this purge. And the Lord blessed them. And water poured from their mouths" (Tome of the Grigori Chapter 3:7)

And it was this water, which vomited from their mouths in such massive amounts, that resulted in the Flood. And though it killed many, many Abominations, as well as those people tainted by the First Grigori's offspring, it did not kill them all. And so they continued their path for redemption in His name.

For centuries after their fall, the First Grigori battled against their night children and until the birth of Christianity their progeny, these Abominations, outnumbered them greatly and dealt them constant harsh blows and many of the First Grigori's newer stone-like children, became disillusioned with their Path to Redemption. But after the birth of the Christian Church, the entire Grigori line was empowered with a new influence, Faith, and it was the very first apostles who showed the Grigori, and their newer progeny, the powers included with Faith and Belief in God.

Agniel, the Grigori strongest in conjury and magics, then proceeded to weed out those of his people unfit for the Crusade, a term given to their Path of Redemption by the Christian Church, and reassembled the Grigori powers of Sol and Prosopopeia (to fit under the Church's parameters and guidelines). Agniel also created the magic discipline, Fidelis, which focused a Grigori's religious faith into mystical powers as well as forming a body of Grigori counsel and hierarchy called Convocations, which met and debated in certain allocated towns or buildings. For their assistance in helping the Grigori achieve a new understanding and new powers, the Church was given protection and alliance from the Grigori. Many a medieval cathedral was protected by large, indomitable Grigori by day, water pouring from their mouths as a warning to any Abominations of what could happen again, to which the French priests and monks named them Gargouille, for the sounds they made as they poured out their water (which later evolved into "gargoyle").

Eventually the Church assumed control of these monstrous stone creatures, honing them into razor-sharpened instruments for their own political needs or religious wars.

And so for many thousands of years, the Grigori have hunted down the creatures which their society calls Darklings or Hellspawns in the holy war which they call The Crusade.

Appearance

Grigori are, more often than not, grotesque, monstrous stone figures. The more monstrous, the better esteem held by other Gargoyles, the greater the Redemption Path they must follow in order to be forgiven and become an angel again. Some Grigori have large, stone wings depending upon their Heritage. Some do not.

Sanctuary

Gargoyles are assigned a building upon their maturity into Grigori society. This building is the assigned Gargoyle's responsibility thereafter and is monitored by other, elder Grigori for keeping out or killing Hellspawns.

Government

Within each city is a designated building for government and counsel called The Cathedral (they need not necessarily be place of worship but most churches allow Gargoyles to perform their business there, thus traditionally slimming the chances of a supernatural attack upon that place). Members of The Convocation, or parliamentary organization, vary in number from city to city (sometimes 3, sometimes 700) depending upon both human and Hellspawn population. Each month certain Archbishops, elected by Grigori and consisting of those with a Bishop or at least a Monk rank, meet and discuss the most pressing business at hand, and vote on Gargoyle law. All Clerics and Paladins can voice their opinion through two representatives for each rank but cannot vote (except in Archbishop elections). Each Dominion is achieved according to the number of Hellspawn killed by one's hand or doing within their lifetime. Paladins usually start out with 0-60 kills, Clerics with 60-150 kills, Monks with 150-300 kills and Bishops with 300-700 kills. Ascending to a new Dominion is usually done with great ceremony during a Convocation with the candidate getting much glory and praise from his elders and resulting in a greater substantiation of his Faith.

The hierarchy is as shown: archbishop, bishop, monk, cleric, and paladin.

It is the Archbishops that assign Clerics and especially Paladins into supernatural "Nests" and plan the best possible tactics for eliminating creatures of Hellspawnish nature with the least likely exposure. They are the head of the machine while the others below them are the heart and the fist.

Views

Grigori are largely trained early to hate all other creatures supernatural (vampires being hated very keenly because of their parasitic involvement with mortals) but especially werewolves, who are their most formidable opponent in battle. Ghosts cause them a great deal of unease, especially in Paladins, perhaps because of the lack of knowledge Grigori and the Church has about lost souls in general. Arcadia and Faeries are not recognized by the Church but Gargoyles usually have diplomatic relations with these creatures. Old myths regarding faeries as fallen angels who were not as weighed down with as much sin as Demons contributes to this perception. The Grigori see many similarities with fae to themselves and their angelic history.

Background And Weaknesses

More often than not a young Grigori is the progeny of his Gargoyle mother and father. The Church allows them to bear children but only with another Grigori. Though it has never been attempted (or at least recorded), a Gargoyle's mating with a human, werewolf, vampire, etc, is considered a sinful and blasphemous act. Any such action usually results in excommunication (for Archbishops) or death by the hands of Malleus Dei (for non-Archbishops). Once Grigori are conceiving a child, their flesh begins to lose its stone texture and many say, that for a brief moment, they are back in their angelic forms, though the Church denies this. This is also considered one of the Gargoyle's weakest point, since they are only vulnerable in their fleshy youth, engaging in intercourse or when paralyzed by the sun's rays.

When a new Gargoyle is born and emerges from the egg, he is as human as a mortal baby. Everything about him makes him indistinguishable from human newborns. He continues to look this way until his adolescence at which time the skin slowly begins to solidify into a harder, rock-like substance, the face begins to change into its Gargoyle visage and the back begins to form small lumps for its wings (if any). It is this time that a young Grigori is taught the laws and ways of his people, and of the Crusade. He is trained to hate all Offspring and to do whatever is necessary to purge the Earth of them. Several years pass until his family believes he is ready, physically and spiritually, for induction as a Disciple into the Exordium, the Beginning. The Disciple is brought before a selected Magister, who therein trains the him on the outside world and specific physical combat to the level of a church-recognized Paladin. And so the Grigori's life begins.

Malleus Dei

The strongest piece in the Crusade's armour, Malleus Dei are the specialized shock troops of loyalists who are trained by special Archbishops and whose strength in their Faith is as resilient as their brawn. They are allowed access to some of the most hidden secrets about Fidelis, Sol, and Prosopopeia powers and are assigned by the Convocation to weed-out and destroy Infidels, act as constables, judges, executioners in internal Grigori conflicts as well as specialized Crusades against very powerful Offspring. They are also responsible for certain Crusades called Quests which are rare but valuable missions in which they are sent to recover certain holy relics by full force invasions upon the Hellspawns that occasionally possess them.

Their velocity and ferociousness in combat is immeasurable. They are wolves in their agility, cheetahs in their speed, and bear-like in their sheer power, a zealot force of nature.

Infidels

The weakest link in the Crusade's structure are the occasional Infidel, those rebels or Watchers no longer involved in the Church's holy war. Many Infidels have different reasons for their vacancy of the Church and its conflicts. Some still practice their Faith, thus keeping their Fidelis powers intact, but stay away from the Church.

But those who have left their Faith have found their Fidelis powers waning and, while in constant fear of Malleus Dei, have on occasion hired themselves out as mercenaries, bodyguards or assassins to certain Darklings. This, again, is the exception, not the rule. Disassociating oneself from the Church in many cities results in death.

The First Grigori

Though no one has actually seen the First Grigori, they are said to comprise The Chorus, which deals secretly with internal Grigori conflict and with the central hub of the ongoing war.

Powers

All Paladins start out with Level one powers. All Clerics with levels two and three. All Monks with levels three and four and all Bishops with level five. Archbishops usually possess level six powers.

The life of the Grigori is tightly intertwined with stone, and the religious symbolism of the element. Prospopeia is the result of this union of spirituality and enbodiment, enabling a Grigori to manipulate his stone form and the form of stone around him.

* Word of Stones: With this power, a Grigori may touch a statue, figurine, or rock element and animate it long enough for it to tell him all that has gone on in its presence.

** Castlebond: A Gargoyle may "sink" into a stone wall, in an effort to facet himself into a proper hiding place. The Gargoyle cannot meld into the stone (concrete, rock) completely as he can in Might of the Castle. In fact, the Gargoyle's body is partially revealed and his upper torso and head are seen as extended beyond the wall itself.

*** Stonesculpt: A Grigori may change, manipulate, and sculpt another Gargoyle's body and face into a more human-like aspect. The flesh is still stony and rough but it resembles a human's characteristics. This power can only be used by a Gargoyle on another Gargoyle and cannot be applied to one's self. The Stonesculpt form last only for a night or until wounding harm is made (One Health level), in which case the the Grigori assumes his usual shape involuntarily.

**** Jagged Rocks: A Grigori may Stonesculpt his own hands into a myriad of weapons such as pick axes, hatchets, swords, clubs, etc. This power is confined strictly to a Gargoyle's hands and forearm.

***** Might of the Castle: A Grigori can increase his mass, size, and weight by melding into a rock-like material and emerging with its matter. This of course, makes the rock unstable. But a Gargoyle can increase his mass up to 8x his original size.

****** Eyes of Basilisk: A Gargoyle can turn a target (or targets up to 15) into stone for the period of one evening with a stare. This does not affect other Grigori (unless used by a skilled God's Hammer).

By embracing the light of the sun, a Grigori can amass an unbelievable potential. The Gargoyle does not possess life-giving blood or require food in order to survive. His body absorbs sunlight instead, ultimately in a fashion which requires his body to induce a paralytic sleep in order to fully collect the solar energy. Some say this is due to the humbling effect of the Light from the Heavens on a Grigori's soul. In any case, the Grigori becames statuesque when the sun touches his skin, completely immobile.

* The Light of God: A Gargoyle can utilize his stored solar energy to emit a brief blinding flash of light from his eyes. This is effective on Vampires as it does increased damage upon them.

** Veil of Shadows: A Grigori may create a field of complete darkness around an intended target by absorbing any surrounding light photons (effective up to an 8 ft. radius) and in effect creates a womb completely void of light, thus unseen. This does not include any unnatural light, i.e. from streetlights, etc; starlight and moonlight only.

*** Color of the Chameleon: This allows a Grigori to use his Sol energy to refract and bend light around him, thus appearing invisible. This power can be used while a Gargoyle is moving but is an incredible solar drain when performed this way.

*** Flesh of Molten Rock: A Gargoyle may heat his body through stored sunlight to a maximum of 270 degrees. This skin temperature causes aggravated damage in battle as a Gargoyle's claws become violently hot and searing.

**** Shade of Mirrors: A level up from Color of the Chameleon, this allows a Gargoyle to replicate mirror images of himself (up to seven max.)

**** Sunwalk: A Gargoyle can transport himself or others anywhere sunlight is making contact with Earth and himself. Without the use of Defiance of Apollo though, this transportation results in arrival to a new place but immediate paralysis by the sun (this is more often used by Grigori seeking to escape death during their day paralysis, though transported they are still paralyzed, vulnerable).

****** Body of the Sun: With an extreme amount of solar energy spent, a Grigori can turn his body into a being of intense heat and fire, burning and searing all around. The Gargoyle is invulnerable for however long this form can be maintained (no longer than fifteen minutes) since the heat is so powerful it incinerates anything it touches.

****** Defiance of Apollo: An advanced power, Defiance of Apollo enables a Grigori to ignore the paralyzing effect of the sun's rays, allowing him to walk about in the daylight.

It is with his Faith, the absolute belief in God, that makes Gargoyles such tragic, redemptive figures and it is with this Faith that a Gargoyle manifests his most powerful ability, Fidelis. Wih Fidelis a Gargoyle can perform miraculous feats for the sake of the Crusade, though it results in a massive loss of Faith points (which must be recovered through repetitive prayer [+1], Meditation on one's sins [+3], meditation on the Gospel [+5],], Mass or Sabbath worship or one of the seven sacraments [+7]).

* Breath of God: A Gargoyle may tap into the tranquility of his own Faith to stay a physical attack by using his Faith to calm his opponent. Can only be used on a singular basis.

** Fear of God: By using this power, a Grigori can instill the cross with his Faith causing a religious foe to turn away if not run from it.

*** Speech of Babylon: A Gargoyle can blur a person's speech or the speech of several people (more Faith required) to an indistinguishable babble of nonsense. The target(s) may not know that they are affected but all others are aware.

**** Blood of Christ: A Gargoyle can revert blood into wine, whether outside the body or within. This proves very effective against vampires, as well as any Hellspawn possessing blood in their bodies. This often kills mortals and briefly cripples most other targets.

***** The Lazarus Touch: A Grigori may call upon God's grace to bring another creature, non-Grigori, back to life. So long as the subject has not been dead for longer than a day. This requires and expends massive amounts of Faith.

***** Penance Glare: Enables a Gargoyle to stare an enemy deep into its eyes and causes the target to relive all the pain it has inflicted on others, through the eyes of the victims. This drives some targets insane with remorse.

****** Trumpets of Gabriel: A Grigori can, with this power, emit a highly destructive sonic blast from his lungs, capable of bringing to a crumble an average two-story size house, after a large expenditure of Faith. The effect on anything living is potentially deafening, if not deadly.

Lexicon

Abominations: See Darklings, Hellspawn.

Archbishop: Last dominion of Grigori society. Usually means a member of the Convocation. Grigori who have surpassed over a thousand kills in their lifetimes achieve this rank and after election by supporting Grigori. They are also eligible as Patrons (instructors) of Cleric or Paladin Grigori.

Bishop: Fourth dominion of Grigori society. Priests have the authority to vote on certain issues in a Convocation.

Cleric: Second dominion of Grigori society. Usually leads certain Paladins into missions.

Convocation: The local governing organization of Gargoyles, located in a Cathedral.

Crusade, The: The war against the darkness that Grigori must wage in order to gain their redemption in Heaven.

Darklings: Demons or monsters or other malignant entities that threaten the Church.

Djinn: Rafiq of Suleyman term for Abominations

Dominion: A Grigori's rank within the social standing of his world.

Fidelis: A Grigori's manifestation of Faith as a supernatural power. A Grigori maintains his Fidelis through daily prayer, sacrament and a constant devotion to God and his Church.

Gargoyles: Synonymous with Grigori. Given by mortal French priests

Grigori: A race of grotesque living stone creatures whos Crusade it is to purge the world of demons and monsters. The First Grigori were angels cast from Heaven and plunged into stone, whose sexual sins resulted in the Offspring.

Heretic: Those who do not believe in Him. If human, held in pity or disdain. If Offspring, considered an even greater reason to be destroyed.

Hellspawn: Enemy of the Crusade. See Darkling, Offspring.

Infidels: Grigori who have left the Church and are hunted down by Malleus Dei.

Malleus Dei: An elite unit of Grigori, who are designated to act as constables against other Grigori as well as crack troops during certain secret missions.

Monk: The third dominion for a Grigori. Able to vote in Convocation.

Offspring, The: The progeny of the First Grigori, the first monsters and nightmarish creatures.

Paladin: First dominion of a Grigori. Front line soldier who is trained in the powers of Fidelis, Prosopopeia and Sol. Usually conducts certain missions into Darkling populations and executes them.

Prosopopeia: The power to manipulate rock, concrete or stone.

Progenies: Archbishop term for the Offspring, the Hellspawn.

Quest: A Church supported mission to recover holy relics, either through monetary means or full charged raids to seize them.

Relics: Tangible items of biblical signifigance such as the Spear of Longinius, The Knife of Aqedah, The Nails of The Cross, and the Cross of Judas. These items are collected only by Malleus Dei and used on selective missions by Malleus Dei exclusively.

Sol: Channeled from the sunlight which charges but paralyzes them, Grigori utilize solar energy as powerful magic.

Ticks: Paladin slang for vampires

Tome of the Grigori: Said to be written by the First Grigori, this book chronicles the Fall of the Grigori as well as the secrets to Sol, Fidelis, and Prosopopeia, and heralds the Rise of The First Grigori which ushers in the Apocalypse in Revelations and Christ's Second Coming.