Disney's Gargoyles in GURPS

[Zorian]

I would. I may use them in a game at some point and since you are so kindly going through the work I am more than willing to use your templant as the basis. Will probably tweak it but that is the fun of GURPS. I would also like the file for the Character creator if you are doing that too.

[Vaevictis Asmadi]

I don't have the Character Creator program, but I'll post the template in text.



I thought I'd be done by now, but I'm having big problems with the movement. I thought that your suggestion would work, but I ran into a problem: decreasing Basic Move also decreases their ability to jump. I don't think Super Jumping is appropriate, because they didn't jump quite that amazingly. But there's no other way to increase jumping besides Basic Move, and Super Jumping.

The four options I have right now are these, and they all have problems:

C
HT 13; DX 10 [30]
Enhanced Dodge +1 [15]
Climbing Skill Bonus +2 [4]
Basic Move +1 (ground move only -5%, Temporary Disadvantage: quadruped) [3]
Basic Speed 5.75, Dodge 9, Basic Move 5, Ground Move 5, Quad Ground Move 6, Air Move 5, High Jump 20 in, Long Jump 7 ft
The bipedal ground move needs to be smaller than a human's, and the jump move needs to be higher than a human's. Right now both are equal to a human's.

D
HT 13; DX 11 [50]
Climbing Skill Bonus +2 [4]
Basic Move -1 [-5]
Basic Move +1 (ground move only -5%, Temporary Disadvantage: quadruped -35%) [3]
Basic Speed 6, Dodge 9, Basic Move 5, Ground Move 5, Quad Ground Move 6, Air Move 5, High Jump 20 in, Long Jump 7 ft
Same problems as C above. Bipedal movement is too high, jumping movement is too small.

F
HT 13; DX 11 [50]
Climbing Skill Bonus +2 [4]
Basic Speed 6, Dodge 9, Basic Move 6, Ground Move 6, Air Move 6, High Jump 26 in, Long Jump 9 ft
Bipedal ground Move is way too high, needs to be 4 instead of 6, but all the rest is good.

G
HT 13; DX 10 [30]
Enhanced Dodge +1 [15]
Climbing Skill Bonus +2 [4]
Basic Move -1 [-5]
Basic Move +2 (ground move only -5%, Temporary Disadvantage: quadruped -35%) [6]
Air Move +1 [2]
Basic Speed 5.75, Dodge 9, Basic Move 4, Ground Move 4, Quad Ground Move 6, Air Move 5, High Jump 14 in, Long Jump 5 ft
This one is good except that the ability to jump is too weak.


Is there a way to reduce bipedal ground move, or increase jump move, separately from all other forms of move?

Basic Move (bipedal ground move only, -5%) [5]
Jumping Move based on Quadrupedal Move, Without Temporary Disadvantage [??]

If I can just figure out how to write these Advantages, I can make the template work the way I want. But look at Basic Move (bipedal ground only) -- does that also effect jump, quad ground move, swimming, and flying moves? Or are they based directly on raw Basic Move?

[Vaevictis Asmadi]

Alright! I think I'm all done, assuming I calculated the different Moves correctly.

I dropped the wing Strikers, and drastically reduced the Vulnerability to something reasonable (I don't know where I came up with the original crx3!)

EDIT: Updated with small changes.
EDIT 2: Update Aug 2010: more small changes


GARGOYLE [93]
(template common to all members of the species)
Note that since gargoyles reach adulthood around 36 years, they will have more Skills than a young adult human char.

ATTRIBUTES [105]
ST +5 [50]
HT +3 [30]
DX +1 [20]
Perception +1 [5]

ADVANTAGES [81]
Acute Smell Only 3 [3]
Climbing Skill Bonus +2 [4]
DR 2 (Tough Skin) [6]
Enhanced Move 0.5 (Air, Reduced Deceleration) [10]
Extended Lifespan 1 [2]
Extra Arm (Tail, Extra-Flexible, 75% ST, -3 manual DX, Bad Grip) [2]
Flight (Winged, Controlled Gliding) [12]
Air Move +1 [2]
Jumping at DX+1 [2]
Night Vision 3 [3]
Regeneration (Slow, 2 HP at 24-hour interval) [10]
Resistant to Disease (not metabolic illness) +8 [5]
Sharp Claws (Armor Divisor 2) [8]
Super Climbing 2 [6]
Temperature Tolerance 2 [2]
Gargate Fertility Cycles (Gargate Fertility Cycles (Breeding season is once every 20 years. During each breeding season, Lecherousness (9) and -3 to resist sex appeal if unmated; if mated you behave the same way but only towards your mate. At all other times +1 to resist sex appeal if unmated; if mated, +1 to resist sex appeal from your mate, +3 to resist sex appeal from anyone else.) [1]
Polyphyodonty (tooth Regrowth)(incisors only, 1d+1 weeks) [1]
Reduced Consumption 1 (Food Only) [1]
Sharp Teeth [1]

"STONE" SLEEP (traits only present while sleeping during the day) [2]
DR 3 (only by day) [9] (costs 12, up from 3 for DR 1 (tough skin))
Vulnerability: crx1.5 (common, only by day) [-4]
Fragile: Brittle (only by day) [-3]

DISADVANTAGES [-92]
Appearance: Horrific (only to humans) [-24] (Because of this, gargoyle PCs with a below-average personal appearance take their personal appearance at -75% points.)
Four Clawed Digits Per Hand (-2 manual DX) [-8] (with racial DX, 1 less than human average)
Ground Move -30% (only when bipedal, doesn’t affect gliding) [-4]
Nocturnal [-20]
Restricted Diet (food plus at least 6 hrs heat/sunlight per day)(very common) [-10]
Social Stigma (Monster) [-15] (but doesn't apply to every clan: no Social Stigma for Avalon and New Olympian clans, probably none or just Second-Class Citizen in Ishimura, probably Minority Group in the Labyrinth, probably Second Class Citizen or the like on Avalon after "The Gathering")
Unusual Biochemistry [-5]
Cannot Nap (sleep only when caused by Nocturnal) [-1]
Glowing Eyes (visible in twilight to darkness, only when angry, -1 to stealth) [-1]
Inept: Running [-1] (this and the Reduced Move are because humans are highly specialized for long-distance running, and gargoyles are adapted for gliding instead)
Partial Colorblindness (-3 to rolls to distinguish non-pure colors) [-1]
Protective (includes protective behavior, plus quirk-level guilt complex) [-1]
Tapetum (-1 to all vision rolls for faraway objects (racial average). Eyes reflect light in darkness and are visible.) [-1]

FEATURES
Dying Race [0]
Limited Fertility (fertile only in breeding years, 1 egg every 20 years, 3 eggs in a lifetime) [0]
Sense Magnetic North [0]
Spell of Humility (clothes and personal items also turn to "stone") [0] (the official explanation for how their clothes are animated)
Visual Acuity Centered on Equivalent of Night Vision 3 [0] (together with Night Vision 3, they have the equivalent of Night Vision 6, but get -3 to vision rolls in daylight)

RACIAL PERSONALITY QUIRKS [-3] (These are racial averages. Individual chars can buy them off and replace them with different traits.)
Broad-Minded [-1]
Congenial [-1]
Humble [-1]

TABOO TRAITS [0]
Acute Hearing 3 and above, Acute Vision 3 and above, Deep Sleeper, Quick Gadgeteer, Language Talent, Less Sleep, Regeneration (regular or better), Extra Sleep, Increased Consumption, Insomnia, Light Sleeper, Loner, Night Blindness, Sleepwalker, Sleepy, Slow Healing



CLAN LENS
Each of the ten clans has a lens with more specific traits common to the entire clan, including Area Knowledge, Wealth, Enemies, Allies, Dependents, Secrets, and any Sense of Duty beyond allies and dependents. This is also where things like widespread Chauvinism, or the Ishimura Clan's Legal Enforcement Powers, can show up.

[Vaevictis Asmadi]

Sorry, this doesn't fit in the first post.
EDIT: Updated with small changes.


GARGOYLE BEAST
This is the species Bronx belongs to. They are related to gargoyles, but are wingless, quadrupedal, and non-sentient. They are extremely rare: not all clans have them, and they do not exist at all in the wild.

ST 14; DX 12; IQ 5; HT 13
Will 10; Per 11; Speed 6.25, Dodge 9, Move 9

Meta-Trait (Gargate): Gargate Fertility Cycles*; Glowing Eyes*; Night Vision 3; Nocturnal; Partial Colorblindness*; Polyphyodonty (incisors only, 1d+1 weeks)*; Reduced Consumption 1 (Food Only); Regeneration (Slow, 2 HP at 24-hour interval); Resistance to Disease (not metabolic illness) +8; Restricted Diet (food plus at least 6 hrs heat/sunlight per day); Sensitive to Bright Lights*; Tapetum*; Limited Fertility (1 egg every 20 years); Tail
Meta-Trait (Stone Sleep): DR 3 (only during the day); Fragile: Brittle (only during the day); Vulnerability: cr x1.5 (only during the day)
Traits: Acute Smell Only 4; Appearance: Monstrous (only to humans); Domestic Animal; DR 2 (Tough Skin); Extended Lifespan 1; Humble; Innumerate; Non-Iconographic; Protective*; Quadruped; Sense of Duty (clan and protectorate); Sharp Claws (Armor Divisor 2); Sharp Teeth; Social Stigma (Monster); Super Climbing 1; Temperature Tolerance 2
Features: Dying Race; Early Maturation; Visual Acuity Centered on Equivalent of Night Vision 3
Skills: Brawling-15; Climbing-13; Swimming-13; Tracking-12



*trait described in Gargoyle Template


Customization options for beasts: Individuals of this species vary somewhat, though less than gargoyles.
IQ is fixed. ST ±3, DX ±1, HT ±2, HP ±3, Will ±2, Per ±1, FP ±2, Speed ±0.5. Beasts are often trained as guard animals, occasionally as trackers.
Many have horns: Striker (crushing or piercing, cannot parry).
Some might have a thick tail: Striker (crushing, weak, clumsy -2).
May have Very Rapid Healing.

Beasts typically come out as 0-point Dependents and/or Allies to their clan.


Edit Aug 2010 for update (not much change)

[Zorian]

Nice, having tried to make a template for GURPS for some races from a LARP I used to play I know how "fun" it can be. I see you found the rule about jumping skill replacing the base move.

[Vaevictis Asmadi]

I updated the template and beast with a few changes. I have additional advantages and disadvantages for customizing individuals, but those no longer fit within the first post. Also changed some of the original personal customization traits, so I'm retyping all of them.

I'm also working on a (very long and complicated) attempt at the Fair Folk/Gods/Third Race/Oberati/other long names, if anyone wants to see it.


ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
For customizing gargoyle characters. Gargoyles as a species have tons of physical variation, way more than dogs. This is supposed to be purely biological, though I don't really believe that about Hooves and Coatl.
All of these are mundane and physical unless noted otherwise.

Ambidexterity [5]
A common trait among gargoyles cartoon characters.

Attached Wings [20]
Your wing membranes are attached to your arms and legs, limiting your range of motion with your limbs, but improving lift and making you more streamlined when gliding. You cannot use arms, legs, or weapons to attack while you glide, and you can only carry small objects in your outstretched hands. DX+1 (only while gliding -30%), double the Enhanced Move, Flight has a Temporary Disadvantage: No Fine Manipulators -30%, you can’t wear any clothes without piercing the wing membranes, you need special clothes designed for you, and your membranes can get in the way when reaching into small spaces.
If you simply go nude, that’s a -15 point Odious Personal Habit!
(note: does not represent Lexington; for him, see Web Wings below)

Clan Leader (Rank 2, no automatic status) [2 or 10] depending on your interpretation of the clan's social structure (social)
Buy Duty separately: may be occasional hazardous missions, or may be nonhazardous (no additional hazards beyond what all warriors face)

DR +1 (Tough Skin) [3]
in addition to the racial template DR

Elbow Spikes [2]
You deal +1 damage per die with an elbow strike.

Knee Spikes [2]
You deal +1 damage per die with a knee strike.

Pseudo-Feathers (DR+1, Tough Skin, wings only) [2]
Your wings are protected with a feather-like covering. It is not the same as bird feathers, though it looks very similar from a distance.
This also reduces drag, but the effect may be too small to change character stats.

Second in Command (Rank 1, no automatic status) [1 or 5] depending on your interpretation of the clan's social structure (social)
Buy Duty separately: may be occasional hazardous missions, or may be nonhazardous (no additional hazards beyond what all warriors face)

Semi-Aquatic (Amphibious plus Non-Grasping Tail) [9]
Only allowed in the clan lens for the Loch Ness Clan.
Your body is streamlined for swimming, your fingers and toes are webbed, your wings are shaped somewhat like manta-ray fins, and you have a dolphin-like fluke on the end of your tail. You are Amphibious, and instead of an Extra Arm, your tail is a Striker (crushing, weak, clumsy -2).

Striker (horns, crushing or piercing, cannot parry) [3]

Striker Tail [2]
Your tail has spikes, or a bony club, on the end of it, but you cannot grasp with it. Instead of an Extra Arm, your tail is a Striker (crushing or piercing, clumsy -1).
(This striker is 4 pts, up from the 2 pts for extra arm.)

Very Rapid Healing [10]
(You don't pay twice for Rapid Healing.)

Feature: Snout/Beak [0]

Anonymous (social) (not sure about this cost. -1? -5?)
You have no name. Other gargoyles don't care, but humans may treat you as as (even) less of a person (-1 on some reaction rolls), forget who you are, and/or assign you a nickname that may or may not be flattering.

Bad With Names [-1] (social)
You constantly forget the names of people, places, companies, etc. Humans find this annoying and/or rude. More common in times and places where most human names have no clear meaning in the local language (such as mdoern English-speaking Western countries).

Blunt Toes [-2]
Your feet have Blunt Claws instead of Sharp Claws, and your Climbing Skill Bonus is only 1 instead of 2.
(this is the probable result of hooved and normal gargoyles mating)

Coatl [-8]
Only allowed for gargoyle members of the Mayan Clan in Guatemala. Your legs are vestigial and hidden under your skin and muscles. You slither on your very large tail.
No Legs (Slithers); Water Move +0.5 (before rounding); your Extra Arm is effectively Short because you have to stand on your tail all the time. No racial Jumping Skill; no Super Climbing; Climbing Skill Bonus is only 1. Taboo Trait: basic move can never exceed 11.

Code of Honor (Ishimura no Bushido) [-10] (mental)
Only allowed for Japanese gargoyles and humans taught by them. Similar to human Bushido, but with far less sepukku.

Crippled Wing/Missing Wing/Wingless (no Flight) [-24]
Only possible as an injury or deformity. Cost may be different if stacked with Attached Wings or Web Wings?

Dependent Group (clan children) [varies] (social)
Always part of a clan lens. Since eggs hatch every 20 years, and children are not adults until their 36th year, a healthy clan will always have at least some children under under 20 years of age.

Hooves [-5]
Your feet have Hooves (hind feet only) instead of Sharp Claws, your Super Climbing is only 1 instead of 2, and your Climbing Skill Bonus is only 1 instead of 2.
So far, this trait has only been seen to exist in the London Clan.

Non-Grasping Tail [-1]
Your tail is not prehensile. Instead of Extra Arm, you have a Striker (crushing, weak, clumsy -2).
(This striker costs 1 pt, down from the 2 pts for extra arm)

Secret (existence and/or location of clan) [-30] (social)
Every clan lens has this, except the Avalon and New Olympian clans.

Short Legs (Ground Move -1, doesn't affect air move) [-4]
(this is the probably result of legless Coatl and normal gargoyles breeding together)

Short Tail (no Extra Arm, DX-1 (only while gliding -30%)) [-16]
Your tail is too short to grasp with, and too short or weak to be a striker or an effective gliding ruddder. Either you hatched with a short tail, or it was severed. If you are Semi-Aquatic, you must also purchase Water Move -3 separately.

Suspicious of Humans (or Chauvinistic to Humans) [-1] (mental)

Territorial [-1] (mental)

Three Digits Per Hand [-4]
An additional -1 manual DX. So far this trait has only been seen to exist in the Ishimura Clan of Japan.

Web Wings [-4]
As Attached Wings, but in addition your wings are very short, which reduces your lift. Air Move -2, No Enhanced Move, DX+1 (only while gliding -30%), Flight has a Temporary Disadvantage: No Fine Manipulators -30%, and your wingspan is equal to your height. You need special clothes and must pierce your wings to wear them, and your membranes can get in the way when reaching into small spaces. If you go nude all the time, that’s a -15 point Odious Personal Habit.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Akahige

By the way, does anyone have theories or explanations as to why Goliath is able to fly, despite weighing over 300 pounds? I know we're dealing with a cinematic cartoon here, but I was hoping there might be a semi-believable way to pull this stunt off.

A wizard did it.

[Vaevictis Asmadi]

I have trouble believing he weighs 300 pounds. There was supposedly a Disney book that suggested Broadway weighted a whole ton at night, and magically increaesed to 3 tons during the day, but it's not canon.

But I'm honestly considering just replacing Controlled Gliding with a different Limitation: cannot take off from the ground. Because honestly, what they do in the show can't be called gliding, it's real flying. Besides, there are no thermals at night, and dynamic gliding doesn't work in the lee of buildings.

I've given up pretending that gargoyle biology and abilities are even marginally plausible -- though if I were to run a game about them, I'd alter their biology somewhat to make them more plausible, and drop the Spell of Humility, too.



EDIT: I decided to drop Night Vision down to 3 and replace Sensitive to Bright Lights with the more logical Feature: Visual Acuity Centered on Equivalent of Night Vision 3 (pinched from the Asgardian thread). This gives them no vision penalties in -3 to -6 darkness, but still gives them -3 in full daylight and in -9 darkness (not a normal outdoors light level but "one LED in a gymnasium" as Kromm described it). This reflects the fact that they're nocturnal but can operate in twilight as well as starlight, but that they didn't hide in caves until humans started killing them.

[Phoenix_Dragon]

Originally Posted by Vaevictis Asmadi

and dynamic gliding doesn't work in the lee of buildings.

Wait, why not? Seabirds manage dynamic soaring off shallow waves, I would think the much large buildings and street-ways would be good for dynamic soaring. And some of those buildings should make some pretty strong cases of slope lift, too.

Though it did seem for many places in the show that they were much closer to full flight rather than gliding.

[Vaevictis Asmadi]

Sorry, I meant slope soaring. I don't think dynamic soaring applies on land at all.

From my admittedly limited understanding of it, slope soaring takes advantage of air that is forced upwards around obstacles. On the windward side, the air pushes up, forming an updraft. On the lee side, the air flows back down, sucking down anything trying to glide there.

The same principle also creates wet regions on the windward side of mountain ranges and rain shadows in the lee.