By Lee Garvin (LeeGarv@aol.com)
These rules are only additions to those found in the rulebooks of the Storyteller games. Unless noted, assume the rules are the same as the standard.
| Walk | 7(9) |
| Jog | 12(14) + Dex |
| Run | 20(22) + Dex x 3 |
| Glide | 60 + Dex x 2 |
Numbers in parentheses indicate speed while quadrupedal.
This rule is similar to the Frenzies of Werewolves and Vampires. However, Gargoyles don't go into this berserk state for the same reasons.
Gargoyles have a very strict sense of morality. When someone or something offends a Gargoyle's sense of Moral Outrage, he must roll Willpower with a Difficulty determined by the Outrage. One success is all that is required to resist the Outrage.
| Offense | Difficulty |
| Cheating | 3 |
| Torture | 5 |
| Any corruption of nature | 6 |
| Murder | 7 |
| Betrayal | 8 |
| Manipulating an innocent (or yourself) into performing an aberrant act | 9 |
While in a state of Outrage, the Gargoyle ignores the wound penalties from damage. Also, he cannot use any weapons or special brawling maneuvers. The Gargoyle must attack until the object of his Outrage is down, dead, gone, or out of range.
Unlike other Frenzies, the Gargoyle's Outrage will not cause him to attack a friend unless the offense was betrayal.
Gargoyles handle combat just like any other characters. While most prefer to use melee weapons, or their own bodies, they are quite capable of using firearms and other missile weapons.
Wing Slap: The Gargoyle unfurls his wings suddenly and violently at his opponent. The resultant force is quite surprising and most people who have never fought Gargoyles will be caught completely flat-footed and knocked off their feet.
Special Maneuvers: These Maneuvers are only available to characters with the Brawling Ability. For each dot in brawling, a character can choose one of these maneuvers.
Horn Grab: This maneuver is most useful against another Gargoyle. The character grabs one of his enemy's horns (or a hunk of hair, visor of helmet, etc.) and repeatedly slams the hapless foe's head into his fist. This is a sustained hold, and the damage must be rolled each turn that the foe cannot break the hold.
Swooping Strike: This is an attack made while in the air. It is actually just a means of delivering another attack. A Gargoyle may make a Swooping attack with any of the following Basic Maneuvers: Body Slam, Claw, Headbutt, Kick, Punch, Tail Whip, or any basic Melee Weapon Attack. If the Attack is successful, then the damage is increased by one for every ten feet the Gargoyle had to build the attack swoop.
Tail Sweep: For this attack, the Gargoyle ducks and whips his tail through his opponent's feet. If the attack is successful, the opponent may resist by rolling Dex + Athletics. If the attacker receives more successes, the damage is done and the opponent is knocked off his feet.
Wind Buffet: By focusing his wings, the Gargoyle can blow an opponent backwards for one yard per success. The damage for this attack comes only >from the landing. The Opponent may Resist by rolling Strength. Each success against a 6 removes one of the Gargoyle's Successes. The attacker then rolls one die of damage per net foot knocked back.
| Maneuver | Roll | Difficulty | Damage | Actions |
| Bite | Dex + Brawl | 5 | Strength *@ | 1 |
| Body Slam | Dex + Brawl | 7 | Special @ | 1 |
| Claw | Dex + Brawl | 6 | Strength + 2 *@ | 1 |
| Grapple | Dex + Brawl | 6 | Strength @ | 1 |
| Headbutt | Dex + Brawl | Opp. Strength +2 | Special % | 1 |
| Kick | Dex + Brawl | 7 | Strength + 1 @ | 1 |
| Punch | Dex + Brawl | 6 | Strength @ | 1 |
| Tail Lash | Dex + Brawl | 7 | Strength +1 % | 1 |
| Wing Slap | Dex + Brawl | 7 | Strength - 1 | 1 |
| Special Maneuvers | ||||
| Evasive Action | Wits + Dodge | 6 | none @ | 1 |
| Horn Grab | Dex + Brawl | 8 | Strength +1 # | 2 |
| Leaping Rake | Dex + Brawl | 8 | Strength + 2 *@ | 2 |
| Swooping Strike | Dex + Gliding Combat | 7 | Attack + Special | 2 |
| Tail Sweep | Dex + Brawl | 8 | Strength # | 1 |
| Wind Buffet | Strength + Gliding | 8 | Special # | 1 |
* - Aggravated Damage
# - See Description
@ - The descriptions for these maneuvers are found in Werewolf: The Apocalypse, 2nd Ed.
% - The descriptions for these maneuvers are found in Werewolf Player's Guide.
The sight of a Gargoyle gliding through the night sky is one to stir heroic ballads and ancient fears alike.
When a Gargoyle glides, he catches the shafts of warmer air (called "thermals") that push him upwards for a short time. With the altitude he gains from this, he can then glide in his chosen direction for a distance of twice the distance to the ground, unless he finds another thermal before reaching the end of his glide-path. A Gargoyle loses one meter of altitude for every two meters forward he travels. The gliding character may decide to attempt to find another thermal when he is nearing the end of his path, or when he is about to drop lower than he wishes. If the attempt is successful, then the cycle begins again.
Following are the difficulties for finding a thermal, using Perception + Gliding.
| Location | Difficulty |
| Large City (many tall buildings) | 4 |
| Small City | 6 |
| Oceanside/out to sea | 5 |
| Mountains | 5 |
| Volcanic area | 3 |
| Countryside | 7 |
Note: if the altitude is below 40 feet, there is a + 4 to the difficulty.
As thermals continue upwards to the top of the sky, there is no theoretical limit (within the Earth's atmosphere) to how high a Gargoyle can drift upwards. In order to ride upwards, the character must roll Dexterity + Gliding with a target number equal to their desired change in altitude (in meters) divided by ten. Failure indicates they fell out of the thermal, and are on the way down again.
Gargoyles will be the first to tell you that an entire people (or species) cannot be evil. They have their own monstrous appearance to remind them of that every night. Because of this belief, they are not quick to judge, and prefer to make their own decisions as to whom their enemies shall be.
Following are general opinions held by most Gargoyles regarding the other Inhabitants of the World Of Darkness.
The Kindred have always found Gargoyles to be a thorn in their side; protecting humans, taking the best sanctuaries, etc. What makes it worse is that Gargoyle blood is dangerous to them. While a Gargoyle's blood can be drained like any other creature, and a Vampire can even gain nourishment from it, it is often not worth the trouble it causes. Each point of Gargoyle Vitae can be spent just like any other blood, but if any of it is still in the Vampire's system at dawn, it turns to stone in his body, doing two levels of aggravated damage for each dot.
Gargoyles dislike Vampires a great deal, and will often attack them on sight, though some will attempt to reason first.
Rarely, a vampire may become friends with a Gargoyle. This usually happens if the vampire restricts his prey to the criminal element or other threats to innocents.
As mentioned earlier, Garou and Gargoyles once shared a bond of alliance. While this bond is no longer there, some Glass Walker and Bone Gnawer Septs are beginning to see a benefit to remaining on good terms with their city's clan. When holding moots in unfamiliar territory it can be very handy to have some extra security.
Unfortunately, these alliances tend to be short-lived. Many Glass Walkers see it as a lack of scope on the part of the Gargoyles. Their goals are the same at the root: protect. However, the Gargoyles are interested in protecting the innocent in the here and now, not the planet in the future.
The history of contact between Gargoyles and Mages has been marred by mistrust, treachery, and misunderstanding. The Gargoyles know there are some good Mages, however, as many of the Clans would be extinct now if it were not for them.
The Technocracy has no such sentiment. They perceive the Gargoyles as a threat to their ideal paradigm: they have no apparent fear of discovery, and blithely glide through the night sky in full view of the Sleeper population, occasionally mixing with them.
The Progenitors would love to get ahold of a Gargoyle or two to use as lab specimens, possibly to breed as guards for their facilities.
Those Gargoyles still hidden in umbral pockets are faced with the threat of the Void Engineers. The Engineers don't concern themselves with the clans as long as they stay put, but once they attempt to return home, they attack and attempt to drive them back.
On the other hand, some Mages see Gargoyles as a vital hold out of the Mythic Age. Their Legendary Potential shows that they are a solid fixture in the central beliefs of all humanity. If this wasn't so, the Gargoyles would shrivel and die.
Among Tradition Mages, the Verbena and the Order of Hermes keep an eye on them, ready to lend aid, but staying out of their way -- they have no wish to reawaken old grudges.
The Celestial Chorus still count many Clans among their friends, and have even granted them refuge, remembering the days when they defended the church together.
Gargoyles naturally have little contact with the dead, but sometimes they run across a particularly strong-willed individual. When they encounter them, Gargoyles will usually opt to help a Wraith, since they cannot stomach loneliness and they imagine that is what the Wraiths must feel.
On the Wraiths' side, they appreciate the intense emotions felt by Gargoyles. Perhaps, because they spend half their lives as cold, unfeeling stone, they must cram all of their emotions into the time they spend as flesh.
Gargoyles are also prime targets for Skin Riders; they're long-lived, tough, able to take on many foes, and can do things other bodies cannot.
Many Gargoyles, knowingly or not, serve as guardians for Wraiths' fetters.
Many Clans alive today owe their survival to the Fey, and to the sanctuary granted to them in the lands under the hill. Unfortunately, this is also a point of resentment among many of the fair folk, because while the Gargoyles were safe and hidden away for a thousand years, the Changelings were in exile, and are still unable to return. The Gargoyles are confused by the Fey, being grateful at one encounter, enraged at the next by the inexplicable behavior of the "Children of Oberon."
Despite the dislike for subterfuge most Gargoyles share, they all realize that going public today would be disastrous. Any one of their particular foes would leap upon the chance to capture, exploit, or destroy them.
And that doesn't even count forces like the Inquisition or the Technocracy, who would hunt them down as a matter of course.
This gargantuan corporation is rivaled only by Pentex, Incorporated in the sheer scope of its involvement. The two corporate giants rarely do business with each other, because even David Xanatos doesn't want to be immortal on a world that has become unlivable. Companies owned by Xanatos manufacture everything from pharmacuticals to experimental particle beam weaponry.
The level of technology flaunted by Xanatos has led some people who know of such things to believe that there must be a substantial number of Technocrats or even Sons of Ether working within the company.
The owner and C.E.O. of the company, David Xanatos, is no stranger to the strange. A lower echelon member of the Illuminati, he nevertheless pursues his own peculiar agenda. Obsessed with immortality, he has undertaken several schemes to insure his own continued existence, as well as more recently, that of his wife, Fox.
To say that he is rich would be a criminal understatement; he has more money than any three royal families.
Xanatos resides in the restored Castle Wyvern, which was transplanted from its native Scotland, and rebuilt, stone by stone, on the roof of his Manhattan skyscraper. While seen by some as an unforgivably ostentatious display, the installation of the castle was simply one step in a terrifically Byzantine plot. The plot was a mixed success, which ended with him serving a six month sentence on Ryker's Island.
This is one thing to remember about Xanatos; while on the surface a particular endeavor may have failed, in fact it probably set the stage for future projects. While capturing his knight may seem like a major victory for his foes, it was precisely what he was leading them to, with his mind at least eight moves ahead.
He can be made to see reason, but only as it profits him.
Some enterprising and violent Gargoyles may take it upon themselves to kill Xanatos once and for all. This is not a problem. In fact, they may even succeed. At least, they will appear to...
This is a bioengineering firm owned by Xanatos Enterprises. Concerned mostly with the design and manufacture of various microbes for industrial use, their more public products are often producing monies to fund some more esoteric research. Gen-U-Tech's head, Dr. Anton Servarius, is involved in the design of the ultimate soldier for Xanatos. Servarius has been trying to get the attention of the Progenitors for some time now, hoping they'll let him in. He hasn't yet realized, however, that by allowing his creations to escape and make headlines he has very likely shot his chances of getting noticed in a good way. But they have noticed.
While he originally planned to clone the Gargoyle Goliath, this turned out to be a disaster. Another project has produced the Mutates; a group of once-human test subjects who have had the DNA of bats, electric eels, and various mammalian predators combined with their own. Originally intended as replacements for the clone army, they have since rebelled and are in hiding in an abandoned subway tunnel.
Servarius and Gen-U-Tech are still going strong, despite numerous police investigations and Servarius' apparent death.
The Pack were originally mercenaries gathered from all over the world, and hired on as performers for the popular children's show, "The Pack." They worked out of Pack Media Studios, an outfit owned by -- you guessed it -- Xanatos Enterprises. Of all the Pack, only Fox, their leader, knew who their employer was, or even what their purpose was.
In addition to the show, the Pack also acted as "special operatives" for their unknown employer.
A series of botched missions landed all but one of the Pack in jail and things began to change. Joining the original members Fox, Wolf, Jackal, Hyena, and Dingo, was an android built by the Technomages at X.E. The android looked like David Xanatos, and answered to the name, "Coyote."
Since this event, the Pack has been completely redesigned. Fox has left, preferring the "legitimate" lifestyle of Mrs. David Xanatos to that of an outlaw mercenary. Dingo has also left, answering the call of his conscience and becoming something of a vigilante in his native Australia. The brother and sister team of Jackal and Hyena both underwent extensive cybernetic augmentation, and were no longer recognizable as human. Jackal took this a step farther and bonded himself with the Celestine Anubis. His fate is still uncertain. Wolf underwent a transformation as well, courtesy of Gen-U-Tech. He now resembles a Werewolf in Crinos form, with the exception that he cannot change back. Coyote has been through at least three upgrades, each one being stronger and less humanoid than the last.
All of the Pack are extremely dangerous, and most have a particular dislike for Manhattan's Gargoyles, and by proxy, all Gargoyles.
The Illuminati styles itself as an all-knowing, all-seeing conspiracy with ancient origins and ineffable goals. The fact of the matter is, they are dupes. The Technocracy formed them for their own ends, and allowed them to think they were autonomous. Technocrats at the highest levels chuckle at this irony; that the master manipulators are dancing on the ends of strings even they don't see. The Illuminati counts among it's members government agents, police, industrialists, hedge mages, psychics, and even a few real Mages (although they don't know this).
The Illuminati can be counted on to be embroiled in some hideous plot or other at any time. However, most often, these plots will serve the secondary goals of the Technocracy.
Demona was once a trusted member of the Castle Wyvern Clan. In fact, she was second in command and mate to their leader, Goliath. Believing humanity to be untrustworthy and dangerous, she betrayed the lords of her castle with the aid of another human. Thinking to rid herself forever of human masters, allowing the clan to live in peace everafter, she told no one of her plans. Circumstances and guilt conspired to make her absent when the fateful attack came. The "Massacre at Castle Wyvern" was horrible. Hundreds of Gargoyles were shattered while they slept by the hammers and maces of the invading Vikings. Seeing the carnage, the female Gargoyle flew into a rage, blaming the humans for the death of her clan.
More than thirty years later, she had gathered together a ragtag band of surviving Gargoyles and was leading them as a bandit chieftain. It was during this time that she met Macbeth and entered into a mutual defense pact with him, allied against Macbeth's cousin, King Duncan. As part of the bargain the Weird Sisters, an enigmatic trio of umbrood, exchanged Macbeth's youth and vitality for some of her unnatural strength. As a part of the spell, both were rendered immortal until "one destroys the other."
Demona later betrayed Macbeth as well, all the while shifting the blame, once again, to the "untrustworthy humans." Once again finding herself clanless, she has since devoted her life to eventually wiping out mankind. She knows, however, that direct attacks will simply cause her to be hunted down. Therefore, she bides her time, and plots revenge on an epic scale.
During one of these plots, she ran afoul of Puck, the Faerie trickster. As a "gift," Puck granted Demona the ability to remain awake during the day... as a human woman.
The threat she poses to Gargoyles outside of Manhattan is a subtle one. She will attempt to manipulate them into joining her in her pogrom against humanity. If her new recruits are unwilling to be swayed, they instantly become "part of the problem," and targets.
Macbeth's is a sad tale. Torn from his loved ones by Demona's betrayal, he vowed her destruction. Taking up the mantle of "The Hunter," he has pursued her through the centuries, leaping upon any reported Gargoyle sighting, hoping to get a lead on her. He does not actually hate Gargoyles, but often finds that they get in his way. He would rather be allies, but his pride will not allow him to approach them in peace. To add to his woes, Demona is now legally his wife. Macbeth's only hope for peace is to kill Demona, thus ending himself as well.
Thailog was the result of Dr. Servarius' cloning experiment. Grown from Goliath's DNA, speed-grown in Gen-U-Tech's labs, and educated by a sleep-teach program designed by Xanatos, he has developed a twisted hatred for all three of his "fathers." Using Xanatos' resources, he embezzled 20 million dollars and set himself up as a reclusive Parisian businessman. Thailog wishes only to live well, be left alone, and get richer. He will gladly kill anyone, man or Gargoyle who tries to stop him.
GARGOYLES: THE VIGIL Name: Nature: Clan: Player: Demeanor: Castle: Chronicle: Concept:Attributes Physical Social Mental Strength_________**oooooo Charisma______ *oooo Perception_______ *oooo Dexterity________*oooo Manipulation___ *oo Intelligence_______ *oooo Stamina_________**oooooo Appearance_____oo Wits____________ *ooooAbilities Talents Skills Knowledge Alertness ___________ooooo Animal Ken ______ooooo Architecture_______ ooooo Athletics ___________ ooooo Combat Gliding ____ooooo Computer _________ ooooo Brawl _____________ooooo Drive ___________ooooo Geology __________ooooo Dodge _____________ooooo Etiquette ________ooooo Human Society ____ooooo Empathy ___________ooooo Firearms ________ooooo Investigation _______ooooo Gliding _____________ooooo Melee __________ooooo Linguistics _________ooooo Intimidation ________ ooooo Performance ____ ooooo Medicine __________ooooo Leadership __________ooooo Repair __________ooooo Night Lore ________ooooo Sculpting ___________ooooo Stealth __________ooooo Rituals ____________ooooo Subterfuge __________ooooo Survival _________ooooo Technology ________oooooAdvantages Endowments / Numina Backgrounds Merits and Flaws _____________________ooooo _________________ooooo ________________________ _____________________ooooo _________________ooooo ________________________ _____________________ooooo _________________ooooo ________________________ _____________________ooooo _________________ooooo ________________________ _____________________ooooo _________________ooooo ________________________ Combat Willpower Health Weapon/Maneuver Difficulty Damage * * * o o o o o o o Bruised OK __ _____________ ________ _______ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Hurt -1 __ _____________ ________ _______ Injured -1 __ _____________ ________ _______ Legendary Potential Wounded -2 __ _____________ ________ _______ * * * o o o o o o o Mauled -2 __ _____________ ________ _______ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Crippled -5 __ Incapacitated __ Experience Attributes: 7/5/3 Abilities: 13/9/5 Endowments: 5 Backgrounds: 5 Freebie Points: 15 (7/5/2/1)