Disney's Gargoyles in GURPS

[LoneWolf23k]

I just love the Gargoyles Greg Weisman created for Disney, and I thought about how to handle them in GURPS.

Here's the basic template for a generic Gargoyle.

Attribute Modifiers: ST+3 [30], HT+2 [20]
Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: HP+5 [5]
Advantages: Sharp Claws [5] Flight (Small Wings, -10%; Controlled Gliding, -45%) [18], Clinging (Nuisance Effect: digs holes in surfaces, -5%) [19], Damage Resistance 3 (Tough Skin, -40%) [9], Night Vision +5 [5]
Disadvantages: Nocturnal [-20], Fragile (Brittle; only during Day , -20%) [12], Sense of Duty (Clan) [-5], Unnatural Features 4 [-4]
Skills: Aerobatics (H) DX Flight (A) HT [2] Meteorology (A) IQ

Please note that no two Gargoyles are identical, which means the template can vary greatly from Gargoyle to Gargoyle. Lexington would have SM-1 and less Strength, but a higher Dexterity, for exemple, and Zafiro of the Guatemala Clan would have Vermiform (drop no manipulators)..

Any opinions on the subject?

[ham2anv]

This is 3rd edition, but it might be a good place to start for ideas.

[LoneWolf23k]

Ah, thank you.

[Akahige]

I, too, have been trying to update them to 4E. Most of what you chose I agree with, though my version does have a few differences: the template excluded morphology (instead making it a lens, and thus uniformly applicable to Bronx, Lexington, and others with non-humanoid postures), and I used Alternate Form to cover the change (an inanimate stone statue that regenerates -- I don't think that Nocturnal is appropriate). Perhaps later today I'll post the details.

[RyanW]

Lifting ST and Striking ST with Emergencies Only and Nuisance Effect: Glowing eyes.

[Blood Legend]

I'd say a lot more Damage Resistance and a lot more strength. And a tail striker.

They take a lot of damage, even for a disney cartoon where lasers dont burn holes in people. Explosions, medieval weapons, as I took it, they were responsible for a good deal of the wars their castle won.

And you forgot Social Stigma Monster. Nocturnal does actually seem very appropriate, since when I read basic for the first time, Gargoyles was the first thing to pop in my head. Perhaps you could add an effect that makes you turn to stone when the sun comes up.

Do their claws have armor piercing? I cant remember the episodes specifically, but tearing through armor and robots seemed to be the occasional norm.

[LoneWolf23k]

Good suggestions, Bloodlegend. I did indeed think of Gargoyles when I read of the Nocturnal disadvantage. I also added the Fragile: Brittle disadvantage to cover their stone forms, which can be shattered during the day with sufficient force.

Ok, here's a revised template:
Gargoyles [82]
Attribute Modifiers: ST+5 [50], HT+2 [20]
Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: HP+5 [5]
Advantages: Sharp Claws (armor divisor 3,+100%) [10] Flight (Small Wings, -10%; Controlled Gliding, -45%) [18], Clinging (Nuisance Effect: digs holes in surfaces, -5%) [19], Damage Resistance 5 (Tough Skin, -40%) [9], Night Vision +5 [5], Crushing Tail Striker (Cannot Parry, -40%; Clumsy, -20%) [2]
Disadvantages: Nocturnal [-20], Fragile (Brittle; only during Day , -20%) [12], Sense of Duty (Clan) [-5], Social Stigmata (Monster) [-15], Unnatural Features 4 [-4]
Skills: Aerobatics (H) DX [] Flight (A) HT [2] Meteorology (A) IQ

Not sure how to total up the points for racially learned skills though.

[nerdvana]

Body of Stone. Almost by definition they have it. The gargoyles who were destroyed during the day were not flesh and blood covered in stone, they were solid stone. Nothing in your template covers that currently that I can see (although I agree with the fragile, just that it is part of an alternate form).

[Akahige]

Maybe I don't quite understand the intricacies of the system, but it doesn't seem to me that the stone form really needs any serious statting. I believe it can all be done with Alternate Form (Active Change, +20%; Maximum Duration, sunrise to sunset, −0%; Once On, Stays On, +50%; Unconscious Only, −20%; Uncontrollable Trigger, sunrise, −10%) [21].

The disadvantages of having zero ST, DX, and IQ as an inanimate stone statue far outstrip the cost of Regeneration and DR. Nocturnal isn't really appropriate either, since it implies that you're just unconscious. Neither is Fragile needed, since the rules already state "...bricks and toasters -- are worth 0 points or less" and that "...you can become a typical example of an object like this without the need for a specific racial template."


P.S.: Here's the template I made up a while back. Obviously it bears a significant resemblance to the 3E one in the "Unofficial GURPS Gargoyles Page", just updated for 4E instead.

Alternate Form (Active Change, +20%; Maximum Duration, sunrise to sunset, −0%; Once On, Stays On, +50%; Unconscious Only, −20%; Uncontrollable Trigger, sunrise, −10%) [21]; Clinging (Nuisance Effect, leaves claw marks, −5%) [19]; Damage Resistance 1 (Tough Skin, −40%) [3]; Enhanced Muscles 5 (Costs Fatigue, 1/minute, −5%; Emergencies Only, −30%) [26]; Extended Lifespan 1 [2] Extra Attack [25]; Night Vision 3 [3]; Perfect Balance [15]; Sharp Claws [5]; Sharp Teeth [1]; Temperature Tolerance 2 [4].

We could debate all day on exactly how many levels of given traits they should have, but then again if you're trying to rationalize it, gargoyles really shouldn't be able to fly with their quoted weights.


P.P.S.: As I stated earlier, I suggest that the above package covers the common traits of all gargoyles, and that one can easily come up with lenses that further specify which groups they belong in. Digitigrade Posture, Enhanced Move (Air), Flight (Controlled Gliding; Winged), Prehensile Tail, et cetera, are all options to be considered for the humanoid ones.

[LoneWolf23k]

While I can see the argument for Stone Form, I think it would be overcomplicating things a bit. The gargoyles don't move around in Stone Form, and the amount of force needed to smash their sleeping forms is more or less equal to that which would kill them in flesh form. So the fact they turn into statues during the day is just a cosmetic effect of Nocturnal, with the Fragile Disadvantage added.