Defenders of the Gate

I've never been happy with the D&D gargoyle. Sure, I know that like most monsters, it got cast as an evil creature ready to jump out at unsuspecting adventurers, but I always felt there should have been more to it than that. In medieval times, after all, gargoyles were used to ward off evil spirits, not mug travelers. So here is a different vision of the gargoyle with that role in mind: a construct used by temples to protect their land from incursion. The second monster is a retooled version of a creature I submitted to Bastion Press as part of an open call for cavern-dwelling monsters. It didn't make it in, so I tweaked it a bit and threw it up here. As a bonus, there's a half-fiend "badass" version too.

 

Temple Gargoyle Small Construct Hit Dice: 6d10+10 (43 hp) Initiative: +3 Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares), fly 40 ft. (good) Armor Class: 19 (+3 Dex , +6 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 16 Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+1 Attack: Claw +8 melee (1d4+2) Full Attack: 2 claws +8 melee (1d4+2) Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. Special Attacks: Smite evil, water spout Special Qualities: Construct traits, damage reduction 5/magic, darkvision 60 ft., magic circle against evil. Saves: Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +2 Abilities: Str 14, Dex 17, Con -, Int 13, Wis 16, Cha 10 Skills: 27 Hide +15*, Listen +12, Move Silently +10, Spot +12 Feats: Combat Expertise, Flyby Attack (B), Improved Disarm, Weapon Finesse Environment: Any Organization: Solitary or wing (2-12) Challenge Rating: 4 Treasure: None Alignment: Always good (any) Advancement: - This creature looks like a small statue of a winged beast of some kind-except, of course, that it is moving. A temple gargoyle is a small stone figure animated with a willing spirit from the Upper Planes. Unlike most constructs, the gargoyle is quite intelligent, capable of defending its church without explicit instructions. Clerics often craft temple gargoyles as permanent defenders of a specific temple, designing the gargoyle's shape to fit into a specific niche in the building's façade. Temple guardians stand no more than 3 feet tall but weigh over 80 lbs. They speak Celestial and Common. Combat Temple gargoyles fight to defend their home from evil influences, though they are occasionally employed to simply protect a sensitive area of the temple from nosy parishioners. Magic Circle Against Evil (Su):A temple gargoyle is always under the effect of a magic circle against evil. This effect can be dispelled (as if cast by a 11th level caster), but the temple gargoyle can reactivate it as a free action on its turn. Smite Evil (Su): Once per day, a temple gargoyle may make a normal melee attack to deal extra damage equal to its Hit Dice (in this case, +6) against an evil foe. Water Spout (Su): The temple gargoyle can let loose a blast of water from its mouth as a standard action. The water splashes all creatures within a 30-foot line, inflicting 3d6 points of nonlethal damage (Reflex half DC 13). The temple gargoyle can spout water at will. Three times per day, the temple gargoyle may instead spout holy water. The spray has the same effect except against undead or evil outsiders; they instead suffer 6d6 points of normal damage (Reflex half DC 16). The holy property of the water dissipates immediately after the spray. Skills: Temple gargoyles have a +2 racial bonus to Hide, Listen, and Spot. The Hide bonus increases by +10 when concealed against worked stone in a setting where statuary is evident. Construction A temple gargoyle's body must be crafted from a block of stone weighing 100 lb. The stone must be of exceptional quality, and costs 500 gp. Sculpting the body requires a DC 13 Craft (stonemasonry) skill check. Creating a temple gargoyle has the following requirements: Craft Construct, create water, bless water, lesser planar ally, magic circle against evil, caster must be good and at least 9th level; Price: 15,000 gp, Cost: 8,000 gp + 600 XP Variants Though more rare, temples devoted to gods of non-good alignments sometimes craft temple gargoyles. Such creations have their special qualities and attacks shifted to reflect their new alignment. For example, a chaotic temple gargoyle would smite law, enjoy the protection of a magic circle against law, and could use its water spout attack thrice per day to damage undead or lawful outsiders.

 

Tunnel Guardian Medium Magical Beast Hit Dice: 8d8+24 (60 hp) Initiative: +3 Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares), climb 20 ft., swim 20 ft. Armor Class: 19 (+3 Dex , +6 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 16 Base Attack/Grapple: +8/+10 Attack: Gore +10 melee (1d8+3) or 4 spikes +11 ranged (1d6+2/19-20) Full Attack: Gore +10 melee (1d8+3) or 4 spikes +11 ranged (1d6+2/19-20) Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. Special Attacks: Spikes Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., independent eyes, repulsion field, true seeing. Saves: Fort +9, Ref +9, Will +3 Abilities: Str 14, Dex 16, Con 16, Int 4, Wis 13, Cha 14 Skills: Climb +10, Escape Artist +4, Hide +6*, Listen +2, Move Silently +5, Search +5, Spot +11, Swim +10 Feats: Ability Focus (repulsion), Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot Environment: Underground Organization: Solitary or pack (2-5) Challenge Rating: 6 Treasure: Standard Alignment: Always neutral Advancement: 9-12 HD (Medium), 13-18 HD (Large) Level Adjustment: -1 Blue and scaly, this creature resembles a man-sized chameleon, complete with three horns and a pair of bulbous eyes. Its tail ends in a thick knot of sharp spikes. Tunnel guardians are reptilian carnivore often tamed by Underdark residents to protect sensitive passageways. They are valued highly for their ability to not only defend an area, but to literally prevent passage by any creature. The tunnel guardian is a solitary hunter, using its magical abilities to corner rats, bats, or any small mammals it comes across. They will often cling motionless to a cave wall, waiting for potential food to pass by before activating its repulsion. Tunnel guardians have few natural predators; those beasts that would normally prey on the chameleon-like creatures have difficulty overcoming their inherent defenses. They prefer wet caves, often lairing near subterranean lakes and streams. Very few tunnel guardians still live wild in the Underdark, however, as their value as a sentry is so great that most are raised in captivity now. They are widely tamed by troglodytes, though they have also been encountered in the service of duergar, hobgoblins, and kuo-toa. Some have even been trained to wear special barding, to greater protect the investment their trainers have made in them. Tunnel guardians cannot speak, but can be trained to understand simple phrases in one language, usually Undercommon. Combat Tunnel guardians only use their tail spikes for protection against larger creatures, in which case they use the repulsion to keep enemies at bay while pelting them with spikes. When trained to protect a location, they are often paired with regular guards armed with bows or other missile weapons. The guardian is commanded to keep the repulsion effect at full strength while the archers shoot. Independent Eyes (Ex):Tunnel guardians' eyes can look in opposite directions simultaneously. They cannot be flanked. Repulsion (Su): Tunnel guardians radiate a constant magical field that acts as similar to the repulsion spell (caster level 11th). Whenever a creature attempts to move towards the tunnel guardian, they must make a Will save (DC 18; this save is Charisma-based). If they fail, they cannot move towards the tunnel guardian this round, though they may move in another direction or take any other action. They may attempt to move towards the guardian on future rounds, though they will need to make a new save to do so. Once a creature successfully saves against a tunnel guardian's repulsion, they are unaffected by the repulsion of that particular creature for a period of one hour. The guardian may enlarge or reduce the radius of the repulsion as a free action during its turn, up to a maximum radius of 110 feet. A tunnel guardian is always unaffected by the repulsion of another tunnel guardian. Spikes (Ex): A tunnel guardian can let loose a volley of four sharp tail spikes as a standard action (make an attack roll for each one). This attack has a range of 220 feet with no range increment. All targets must be within 30 feet of each other. In any 24-hour period, a tunnel guardian can only launch one volley of four spikes for every 4 Hit Dice it possesses. True Seeing (Su): Tunnel guardians can see through illusions easily; they operate as if under a continuous true seeing spell. Skills: Tunnel guardians gains a +15 racial bonus to its Hide skill checks in an underground environment. They have a +8 racial bonus to all Search and Spot skill checks. The tunnel guardian receives a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on Climb checks, even if rushed or threatened. The tunnel guardian also receives a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use a run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line. Training a Tunnel Guardian Training a tunnel guardian requires a successful Handle Animal skill check (DC 26 for a young specimen; DC 30 for an adult). A tunnel guardian matures in two years. Their eggs or young are worth 9000 gp on the open market, while professional trainers charge an additional 3000 gp to train them. In addition to learning tricks that can be taught to any creature, tunnel guardians can be trained to raise or lower their repulsion effect on command (Handle Animal skill check DC 20), to alter the radius of the field on command (DC 25), or to make a special noise whenever it sees an invisible creature or an illusion (DC 30), though it cannot tell its owner exactly where the deception magic is being used.

 

Tunnel Master Large Outsider (Augmented Magical Beast) (Evil) Hit Dice: 18d8+108 (189 hp) Initiative: +4 Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares), climb 20 ft., fly 20 ft. (average), swim 20 ft. Armor Class: 22 (+4 Dex , +9 natural, -1 size), touch 13, flat-footed 18 Base Attack/Grapple: +18/+30 Attack: Gore +23 melee (2d6+8) or 4 spikes +21 ranged (2d6+8/19-20) Full Attack: Gore +23 melee (2d6+8) and 2 claws +21 melee (1d6+4) and bite +21 melee (1d8+4); or 4 spikes +21 ranged (2d6+8/19-20) Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft. Special Attacks: Smite good, spell-like abilities, spikes Special Qualities: Damage reduction 10/magic, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to poison, independent eyes, repulsion field, resistance (acid, cold, fire, and electricity) 10, spell resistance 28, true seeing. Saves: Fort +17, Ref +15, Will +9 Abilities: Str 26, Dex 18, Con 22, Int 8, Wis 13, Cha 16 Skills: Concentration +11, Climb +21, Escape Artist +9, Hide +21*, Listen +22, Move Silently +25, Search +23, Sense Motive +12, Spot +30, Swim +21 Feats: Ability Focus (repulsion), Cleave, Improved Natural Attack (spikes), Improved Precise Shot, Iron Will, Multiattack, Point Blank Shot, Power Attack, Precise Shot, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (unholy aura). Environment: Underground Organization: Solitary Challenge Rating: 13 Treasure: Double standard Alignment: Always lawful evil Advancement: - Level Adjustment: -1 This creature appears to be a giant blood-red chameleon, but an sinister resolve burns in its bulbous eyes. Deadly black spikes grow from its tail and a trio of jagged horns adorns its scaly head. In the deepest subterranean kingdoms, there are tales of massive tunnel guardians, almost as large as the passages they defend. Few, however, know that the blood of a demon runs in their veins. Intelligent and deadly, the tunnel masters are used as free roaming guardians by the minions of the most powerful demon lords. The tunnel master is identical to the tunnel guardian, except as listed above and described here: Repulsion (Su): A tunnel master's repulsion effect has a Will save DC of 24, reflecting the creature's greater Hit Dice and higher Charisma score. Smite Good (Su): Once per day, a tunnel master may make a normal melee attack to deal extra damage equal to its Hit Dice (in this case, +18) against a good foe. Spell Like-Abilities (Sp): 3/day: darkness, poison (DC 22), unholy aura (DC 21). 1/day: blasphemy, contagion (DC 16), desecrate, horrid wilting (DC 21), summon monster IX (fiends only), unhallow, unholy blight (DC 17). Caster level 18th and all save DCs are Charisma-based.

 

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