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| Honestly, they were just too complicated to adapt as a race rather than a Framework. |
Today is Midsummer’s Day for 2017. The best part of Midsummer’s Day is, of course, Midsummer’s Night – and the best part of Midsummer’s Night is William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream.
And the best part of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream is showrunner Greg Weisman's Gargoyles, the 1994 Buena Vista (not, officially, Disney) syndicated animated series about medieval Scottish living gargoyles transplanted to modern-day Manhattan where they fight supervillains and indulge in a lot of Shakespeare references.
"One thousand years ago, superstition and the sword ruled. It was a time of darkness. It was a world of fear. It was the age of gargoyles. Stone by day, warriors by night, we were betrayed by the humans we had sworn to protect, frozen in stone by a magic spell for a thousand years. Now, here in Manhattan, the spell is broken, and we live again! We are defenders of the night. We are Gargoyles!"
Gargoyle Abilities and Bonuses
It was the age of gargoyles: Over one thousand years ago, gargoyles were common throughout Earth. During this time, clans often developed adaptations to their environments. In addition to the abilities below, the player may choose an additional two points of positive racial abilities from the following options in The Tomorrow Legion Player’s Guide:
- Semi-Aquatic
- Armor (scaly hide or spikes)
- Attribute Increase
- Flight (bird-like wings)
- Keen Sense (muzzle instead of humanoid mouth)
- Leaper
- Natural Weaponry
- Pace (four-footed running)
- Parry (responsive tail)
- Reach
- Size
- Toughness
Stone by Day: Magic infuses gargoyle physiology, giving them supernatural abilities unexplainable by science. Chief amongst these is “stone sleep,” a process in which the bodies of gargoyles calcify, effectively turning to stone. The transformation is triggered by the dawn of whatever time zone or world the gargoyle is upon – regardless of whether the gargoyle is shielded from direct sunlight or not – and reverses at sunset.
While in stone sleep, gargoyles may make a natural healing at +2 roll to regenerate from wounds. Given their hardy constitutions, this usually means that all but the most deadly of wounds heal after a single night.
Gargoyles are completely immobile in stone form, dreaming but effectively inanimate. They are immune to drowning, the elements, toxins, and suffocation and count as Objects with Toughness 12. Any damage suffered while in stone sleep is not regenerated, and the race was nearly hunted to extinction by humans smashing them during the day.
Another drawback to stone sleep is that gargoyles use it to absorb and store solar energy, and suffer the withdrawal symptoms of the Dependency negative racial trait if they go more than one day without sunlight.
Warriors by Night: Physically more powerful than humans with exceptional night vision and the ability to glide, Gargoyles are supremely adapted to lives as nocturnal hunters and warriors.
With longer muscle fibers than humans (but just as many motor neurons), even small gargoyles are stronger and faster than un-augmented humans. All gargoyles begin with Agility, Strength, and Vigor at d10 and can advance to d12+3 without taking additional Edges. Their stout hides give them Toughness +1. Their powerful claws allow them to do Str+d6 (AP 2) damage and they never count as unarmed defenders; they also gain a +2 bonus to Climbing when scaling surfaces they can embed their claws in.
All gargoyles possess Low Light Vision.
While they cannot truly fly, gargoyles can glide exceptionally long distances after leaping from even relatively short heights. They can effectively fly at their normal Pace with a Climb of 0 if they leap from at least one story high.
Gargoyle Complications
Betrayed by the humans we were sworn to protect: Even during the age when (some) gargoyles lived in peace with humans, humans feared and distrusted gargoyles. Cultural and physical differences between the two races have often made cooperation between humans and gargoyles impossible. All gargoyles suffer from the Distinctive D-Bee (-2) and Non-Standard Physiology negative racial abilities as well as the Outsider Hindrance. Cultural differences give gargoyles the Clueless Hindrance when dealing with most races (the exception possibly being the Children of Oberon).
We are defenders of the night: Gargoyles are painfully trusting with powerful instincts toward territoriality. All gargoyles possess the Loyal Hindrance and their need to protect their nests and clans (and non-gargoyles they regard as their clan) acts as a Vow [Major].
Note that gargoyles suffer no restrictions on cybernetics or learning Arcane Backgrounds.
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| I mean, one of these gargoyles is a wizard and another was a cyborg (in a Puck-induced dream sequence). |
