Gargoyle

This information is intended for use with the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.


At a Glance

An earthy monstrous humanoid.


Appearance

Size

The gargoyle is described in the Monster Manual. Basically it’s a living statue. The point of this section is to outline how big it is and how much it weighs.

The gargoyle is a monstrous humanoid, not a construct, so it’s not carved, and it’s not totally accurate to think of it as proportional to a human male. However, it does have two arms, two legs, and a head (plus wings and a tail) and I’m going to look at it as a human male with 25% extra body mass which accounts for the extra appendages.

It’s convenient to equate gargoyle height and HD, so that’s what I’m going to do. At 4 HD, a gargoyle is 4 ft tall and Medium size. At 8 HD, it’s 8 ft tall and Large size.

I see gargoyles being made of granite. Granite has a density/weight of 2691 kg per cubic meter, so a certain amount of granite is roughly 2.7 times the weight of an identical quantity of human flesh and bone.

The process for finding a reasonable weight for a gargoyle is pretty straightforward. Start with the weight of a healthy human male of the appropriate height… 180 lbs at 6 ft tall, for example. Add 25% for the wings, tail, and horns: 225 lbs. Finally, multiply by 2.7 because it’s all made of granite: a 6-foot gargoyle should weight about 600 lbs.

Here’s a more complete table.

Ht (ft) Wt (lbs)
4 265
5 415
6 600
7 825
8 1075
9 1350
10 1675
11 2000
12 2400
13 2800
14 3250
15 3750
16 4250
What You See
Art Review

Visually, there’s plenty of inspiration on Google, but I’m thinking here more specifically about humanoid gargoyles. Here’s one example from deviantArt, and this one is also good.


Climitat


Variations

Gargoyles are related to kapoacinth.


Notable Individuals

In Faerûn
Elsewhere

Sources

Primary Sources
Passing Mention

Disclaimer

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Caryatid Column

This information is intended for use with the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.

At a Glance

A construct.

The caryatid column is described in the 3e Fiend Folio. Basically, it’s a stone golem with some special abilities. The point of this post is to outline how big it is and how much it weighs.

As noted in the FF, the caryatid column is crafted from marble. I assume that it’s shaped to be proportional to a human woman; most giants are also proportional to humans but you could make variant columns which resemble dwarves or orcs or skeletons if you wanted to… that would change these numbers.

Height

Using the blackstone gigant as a precedent, I suggest making caryatid column height equal to HD. This means that the caryatid column’s range of 6-18 HD translates to a range of 6 ft to 18 ft height.

Weight

Solid marble has a density/weight of about 2563 kg per cubic meter (that’s 160 lbs per cubic foot). A human woman, standing 6 feet tall, has a volume of about 0.067 cubic meters (2.4 cubic ft) which means a marble woman weighs 378 lbs. A 6 ft tall woman made of uh, womanstuff, on the other hand, should be somewhere around 147 lbs, which supports our knowledge that marble statues are heavier than people.

Column

As described in the FF, a caryatid column can shapechange into a simple, featureless, stone column. The dimensions of this column logically should depend on the volume of the stone lady.

Note that this column assumes that the caryatid column is carved in the image of a nude woman. If the column is carved to include a skirt or dress, it will have significantly more volume (and weight), and the column form will have a larger diameter.

Quarried

Finally, the FF also notes that the column must be carved out of a single block of marble. It might not be relevant to most adventurers but it could be a fun bit of trivia to know the size of the block needed to create these magnificent women.

So here’s how the numbers work out.

Ht (ft) Wt (lbs) Column Quarried
6 378 8 inches diameter, 6 ft tall 2 ft W x 1 ft D x 6 ft H: 12 cu ft (1920 lbs)
7 514 9 inches diameter, 7 ft tall 3 ft W x 2 ft D x 7 ft H: 42 cu ft (6720 lbs)
8 672 10 inches diameter, 8 ft tall 3 ft W x 2 ft D x 8 ft H: 48 cu ft (7680 lbs)
9 850 10 inches diameter, 9 ft tall 3 ft W x 2 ft D x 9 ft H: 54 cu ft (8640 lbs)
10 1050 11 inches diameter, 10 ft tall 4 ft W x 2 ft D x 10 ft H: 80 cu ft (12800 lbs)
11 1270 12 inches diameter, 11 ft tall 4 ft W x 2 ft D x 11 ft H: 88 cu ft (14080 lbs)
12 1512 12 inches diameter, 12 ft tall 4 ft W x 2 ft D x 12 ft H: 96 cu ft (15360 lbs)
13 1774 13 inches diameter, 13 ft tall 5 ft W x 3 ft D x 13 ft H: 195 cu ft (31200 lbs)
14 2058 13 inches diameter, 14 ft tall 5 ft W x 3 ft D x 14 ft H: 210 cu ft (33600 lbs)
15 2362 13 inches diameter, 15 ft tall 5 ft W x 3 ft D x 15 ft H: 225 cu ft (36000 lbs)
16 2688 14 inches diameter, 16 ft tall 6 ft W x 3 ft D x 16 ft H: 288 cu ft (46080 lbs)
17 3034 14 inches diameter, 17 ft tall 6 ft W x 3 ft D x 17 ft H: 306 cu ft (48960 lbs)
18 3402 15 inches diameter, 18 ft tall 6 ft W x 3 ft D x 18 ft H: 324 cu ft (51840 lbs)

Of course the height range is only a guideline. There could be smaller and larger columns.

Ht (ft) Wt (lbs) Column Quarried
1 10 3 inches diameter, 1 ft tall 1 ft W x 1 ft D x 1 ft H: 1 cu ft (160 lbs)
2 42 5 inches diameter, 2 ft tall 1 ft W x 1 ft D x 2 ft H: 2 cu ft (320 lbs)
3 94 6 inches diameter, 3 ft tall 1 ft W x 1 ft D x 3 ft H: 3 cu ft (480 lbs)
4 168 7 inches diameter, 4 ft tall 2 ft W x 1 ft D x 4 ft H: 8 cu ft (1280 lbs)
5 262 8 inches diameter, 5 ft tall 2 ft W x 1 ft D x 5 ft H: 10 cu ft (1600 lbs)
32 10751 20 inches diameter, 32 ft tall 11 ft W x 6 ft D x 32 ft H: 2112 cu ft (337,920 lbs)
64 43003 28 inches diameter, 64 ft tall 22 ft W x 11 ft D x 64 ft H: 15488 cu ft (2,478,080 lbs)
96 96758 34 inches diameter, 96 ft tall 32 ft W x 16 ft D x 96 ft H: 49152 cu ft (7,864,320 lbs)

Sources

Disclaimer

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Havenmere Sheep

This information is intended for use with the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.

At a Glance

An animal.

An ill-tempered breed of sheep unique to the town of Havenmere in the Thunder Peaks.

Source

  • Dungeon Magazine #14: A Question of Balance, page 14

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Blackstone Gigant

This information is intended for use with the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.

At a Glance

A construct.

DM’s Notes

Since they’re constructs, they can be created in any shape. In particular, I see two versions being popular:

  • a gigant with two legs, resembling a female drow
  • a gigant with a snake tail, resembling a marilith

Drow Gigants

This examination looks first at the ones that are made to resemble multi-armed drow females. Blackstone gigants typically range from 32-96 HD; they’re Gargantuan at 32 HD and become Colossal at 64 HD. Conveniently, Gargantuan humanoids range from 32-64 feet in height. So I recommend making humanoid blackstone gigants’ height equal to HD.

At 32 ft tall, the “average” drow female would weigh about 4600 lbs. I calculate the volume of such a drow to be about 2.1 cu m, which means if she’s actually a blackstone gigant made of basalt, rather than a living drow, she weighs 13,900 lbs. There’s quite a bit of leeway here if you need it to be lighter or heavier; if you interpret “blackstone” to be obsidian, the weight might be as low as 10,600 lbs, but if you take it to mean black sapphire it’ll be more like 18,500 lbs. You can also increase the weight a bit by deciding that your gigant is armored and therefore has a little more bulk; gigants, as written, are nude except for perhaps some jewelry. The main factor controlling weight is what stone you carve it out of, rather than the presence of armor; different substances clearly means different weights. I think basalt is a good compromise, especially since it’s a very black stone.

I heard you were looking for some basalt?

The “deal” with blackstone gigants is that they frequently have more than two arms. So here are some variations, assuming that you use basalt as the stone and create the golem in the shape of a drow female (with legs, not a snake tail).

2 arms 4 arms 6 arms 8 arms
32 HD, 32 ft tall 13,900 lbs 15,150 lbs 16,400 lbs 17,650 lbs
64 HD, 64 ft tall 55,600 lbs 60,600 lbs 65,600 lbs 70,600 lbs
96 HD, 96 ft tall 125,000 lbs 136,300 lbs 147,600 lbs 158,800 lbs

Marilith Gigants

If you want to do the blackstone gigant as written in the Fiend Folio — which is to say, more like a marilith (phenomenal illustration) — then I suggest adding 75% to the above volume and weight numbers.

Why such a big addition? Because according to the experts, a human leg accounts for roughly 15% of total body weight. If 30% of our weight is legs, then 70% is our upper bodies. If you don’t add sufficient mass to balance out the upper body, then the creature’s center of gravity is too high and it falls over. Entertaining, but not very efficient in combat.

You might point out that the above statement doesn’t seem to make sense given that the mass of our legs is quite a bit less than that of our upper bodies (30% vs 70%) but the difference between a marilith and a human is that the human has legs, which must always be carefully positioned so as to maintain a vertical position. The marilith, in contrast, has sufficient mass in her lower body that she doesn’t need to remain coiled… she can do basically whatever she wants with her tail and remain upright while doing it. Therefore, the tail must overcompensate a bit. This is why I figure the marilith’s body mass is divided at least 40%/60% in favor of her lower body.

There’s also the point that snake flesh is probably more dense than human flesh. So far, Google is not my friend in this regard… I can’t find specific information. I’ll work on the numbers again if/when I get new information, but for now it does assume equal density.

Finally, the assumption is that a marilith “stands” 150% as tall as the humanoid upon which its upper body is based, due to the necessary bending of her lower body. As written in the Fiend Folio (and interpreted by me) the marilith is based on a 6 ft tall female; therefore she stands 9 ft tall. Of course she can reach much higher than that when she wants to, but that’s her normal standing height. Since the gigant merely replaces flesh with stone, the gigant’s shape will be exactly the same as that of a living marilith.

Here are some variations on the marilith-shaped gigant, still using a female drow for the upper body and still using basalt as the stone-of-choice.

2 arms 4 arms 6 arms 8 arms
32 HD, 48 ft tall 24,300 lbs 26,500 lbs 28,700 lbs 30,900 lbs
64 HD, 96 ft tall 97,250 lbs 106,000 lbs 114,750 lbs 123,500 lbs
96 HD, 144 ft tall 218,800 lbs 238,500 lbs 258,200 lbs 277,900 lbs

Sources

Disclaimer

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Worghest

This information is intended for use with the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.

At a Glance

A native outsider— specifically a goblinoid.

A foul blend of goblin, orc, and barghest. These tieflings lead the feuding humanoid tribes which now control Tethyamar.

Source

  • Lost Empires of Faerûn [17738] page 135

Disclaimer

Wizards of the Coast, Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, Forgotten Realms, and their logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the United States and other countries. This blog is not affiliated with, endorsed, sponsored, or specifically approved by Wizards of the Coast LLC.

All-Consuming Hunger

This information is intended for use with the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.

At a Glance

An undead ooze. This is a departure from the official description; explained below.

DM’s Notes

I think the idea behind this creature is fine, but the execution is… flawed. Here are a couple points of disagreement.

It can’t have an alignment

It has no Intelligence score… I think this should preclude having an alignment.

It can’t be a swarm

It’s described as a swarm, but this doesn’t make any sense unless each individual part comprising it is a creature in its own right. Otherwise, where would the swarm get the ability to move? A swarm of ants works, but a swarm of light bulbs does not.

Solution: it’s an ooze, not a swarm. Yes, an undead ooze. Yes, it’s okay for it to have two Types; see anaxim and atropal in the Epic Level Handbook for the precedent.

The disease needs tweaking

All-Consuming Wasting is a supernatural disease which (presumably) everyone who comes in contact with the Hunger must save versus. A failed save means the victim becomes another Hunger. Scary. However, there’s no advancement given, which breaks the logic of this attack. Say a Hunger emerges from the Underdark into someone’s cellar, and slimes a hapless family of four 1st-level commoners. Two days later, there are four new 16-HD Hungers. See the problem? There’s no way to logically explain making a 16-HD monster out of anything with less than 16 HD. Especially using a wasting disease.

Solution: consuming a fallen foe (which the Hunger can and will do even while fighting other opponents) adds the victim’s HD (and body parts) to the Hunger. The Hunger does not gain HD from class levels… only from base HD. The Hunger does not gain spell usage or any other abilities possessed by creatures consumed. The Hunger starts with 8 HD, and when it exceeds 24 HD an 8-HD ooze splits off of it. This consumption does prevent or limit resurrection, the same as if the hapless victim had been eaten by a barghest or whatever else.

Sources

Disclaimer

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Urophion

This information is intended for use with the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.

At a Glance

A roper ceremorph.

Sources

  • Lords of Madness page 170
  • Urophions are mentioned in Drizzt Do’Urden’s Guide to the Underdark, on pages 22, 23, 31, 78, and 80.
  • WotC Monster Index

Disclaimer

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Tzakandi

This information is intended for use with the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.

At a Glance

A tzakandi is a lizardfolk ceremorph.

Source

  • Tzakandi are mentioned in Drizzt Do’Urden’s Guide to the Underdark, on pages 22, 23, 76, 78, 79, 80, 81, and 84

Disclaimer

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Mozgriken

This information is intended for use with the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.

At a Glance

A svirfneblin ceremorph.

Sources

  • Mozgriken are mentioned in Drizzt Do’Urden’s Guide to the Underdark, on pages 22, 23, 79, and 121.
  • Mozgriken are also defined on the FR wiki.

Disclaimer

Wizards of the Coast, Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, Forgotten Realms, and their logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the United States and other countries. This blog is not affiliated with, endorsed, sponsored, or specifically approved by Wizards of the Coast LLC.