Are gargoyles mamals?

[luguvalium]

I would think not.

I only ask because because in ITL p146 under Mammal Poison, it states "All the humanoid races described in this book, except the Reptile Men, are mammals."

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by luguvalium

I would think not.

I only ask because because in ITL p146 under Mammal Poison, it states "All the humanoid races described in this book, except the Reptile Men, are mammals."

Their description on p.79 says they have a silicon metabolism, which rules out their being a member of any Terran taxonomic group (arguably including Life).

You could maybe rule Mammal Poison works on them anyway if it matters. For all you know it's lethal to anything with a silicon metabolism.

[hcobb]

Stone beetles eat humans and humans use some Silicon in their metabolism and structure, so it may be a matter of degree.

[phiwum]

Seems strange to think that gargoyles are mammals to any real degree. I'd rule that the description of mammal poison accidentally omitted gargoyles.

[Axly Suregrip]

I would not let mammal poison be used on gargoyles. For me, gargoyles are not mammals.

[phiwum]

I could kinda see gargoyles giving live birth, but I'm having trouble imagining breastfeeding. But I am a man with limited imagination.

[David L Pulver]

Perhaps those who originate from oil-bearing rock formations may produce crude oil?

[Bill_in_IN]

As a kid, this 1972 movie about Gargoyles kind of shaped my view of these creatures. This predates my exposure TFT in 1980.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWaXbTC0c-U

In this movie, I can't remember if they went into them being Silicon based creatures. But it clearly showed that they laid eggs and nurtured them to hatching. The Gargoyles lived in a network of caves and a large room within that cave network was dedicated to the eggs.

There was also an implication that these eggs were in very large numbers but only laid, nurtured, and hatched over a very long period of time--perhaps 100s of years. Therefore, the main priority of the of the living Gargoyles was to protect the eggs so that their numbers could greatly increase.

It was kind of like the Horta on The Original Star Trek.

I'll have to watch that movie again. The last time that I watched it completely was about 50 years ago.

[Bill_in_IN]

Originally Posted by Bill_in_IN

As a kid, this 1972 movie about Gargoyles kind of shaped my view of these creatures. This predates my exposure TFT in 1980.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWaXbTC0c-U

In this movie, I can't remember if they went into them being Silicon based creatures. But it clearly showed that they laid eggs and nurtured them to hatching. The Gargoyles lived in a network of caves and a large room within that cave network was dedicated to the eggs.

There was also an implication that these eggs were in very large numbers but only laid, nurtured, and hatched over a very long period of time--perhaps 100s of years. Therefore, the main priority of the of the living Gargoyles was to protect the eggs so that their numbers could greatly increase.

It was kind of like the Horta on The Original Star Trek.

I'll have to watch that movie again. The last time that I watched it completely was about 50 years ago.

Well...I watched it again after all of these years.

A better video quality version is available on Prime Video.

There was no mentioned of the Gargoyles being of a Silicon based life. However, there was mention mention of them appearing to be cold blooded like reptiles. Thus explaining their being hatched from eggs. The hatch-lings were the size post-toddler children. It wasn't shown but there was an implication that they grew to adulthood more quickly that humans.

Their Earth history lore was more related to being minions of the devil arising every 400 to 600 years in numbers large enough to attempt to replace mankind as the dominant race. Of course, this could have been how it was written in history while they were simply a competitive species. That wouldn't have to be the case for their Cidri counterparts. Since this story was in the American Southwest, the last wave of Gargoyles in the 1400s was repelled by Native American warriors.

They had hive-like comparisons among them. Gargoyles with wings, male and female, were breeders and leaders while the non-winged Gargoyles were more soldier types. The winged ones could fly. The non-winged one could run fast enough to jump on top of a moving car. They were physically strong. While the physical strength is somewhat inherent in ITL, the other differences are not mentioned. They are not brainiacs by any means with the exception of their leader and even he understood that he was illiterate and wanted to correct that.

So, in some ways, they fit the ITL description and in others they did not.