False Appearance. While the gargoyle remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from an inanimate statue.
Keen Hearing and Smell. The gargoyle has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.
Magic Resistance. The gargoyle has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Sunlight Petrification. Each time that the gargoyle ends its turn in sunlight, its speed is reduced by 20 feet until it leaves the sunlight. While its speed is reduced to 0 from this effect, it is also restrained. If the gargoyle is already restrained in this way and the sun is up when it ends its turn in sunlight, it turns to inanimate stone until the sun sets and gains 20 temporary hit points that last for the same duration. While it is inanimate stone, the gargoyle is petrified and isn't immune to being petrified, and it gains a +2 bonus to AC.
Sunlight Sensitivity. While in sunlight, the gargoyle has disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
Undead Hybrid. The gargoyle is also an undead.
Multiattack. The gargoyle makes three attacks: one with its bite, one with its claw, and one with its tail. It can replace one of the attacks with an attack using its halberd.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) piercing damage plus 3 (1d6) necrotic damage.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) slashing damage.
Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) bludgeoning damage.
Halberd. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (2d10 + 5) slashing damage.
Tail (Greataxe, Variant Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (2d12 + 5) slashing damage. If the gargoyle takes slashing damage from a critical hit, its tail is cut off, and this attack becomes unusable until it is reattached by magic.
Flame Breath (Recharge 5–6, Variant Only). The gargoyle exhales dark fire in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw, taking 21 (6d6) fire damage plus 10 (3d6) necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Description
With the proper dark magic, the winged elementals of stone called gargoyles can be raised as cursed undead monsters with greatly increased size and strength — creatures known as dread gargoyles.
Sunless Ritual. The ritual to create a dread gargoyle can only be done during the dark of night. First, a living gargoyle must be slain. Then, before the sun rises again, the gargoyle's body must be buried entirely in soil taken from desecrated graves. Finally, a spellcaster must use the most powerful forms of necromancy over an hour of ritual spellcasting to complete the magic in the same night. If the ritual is a success, the earthen corpse will absorb the desecrated soil into its body to grow in size and necromantic power, rising after the next sunset as a dread gargoyle under the spellcaster's control. A dread gargoyle will obey its master's commands eternally.
Stone in Sunlight. The curse that animates a dread gargoyle is weakened by the light of day. When the sun rises, dread gargoyles must flee to the shadows if they wish to remain animate. Those who linger in the light of day become more and more stone-like until they cannot move at all, trapped in statue-form until the sun sets.
Undead Nature. A dread gargoyle does not require air, food, drink, or sleep.
Variants: Weapon-Tail & Flame Breath
Over the ages, necromancers have experimented with a variety of clever ways to improve the power of their dread gargoyles. Two that appear often are fusing the gargoyle with a weapon and imbuing the gargoyle with breath of potent flame. These dread gargoyles have the same statistics as normal dread gargoyles, but with the following changes.
If the gargoyle's body is buried with its tail firmly wrapped the handle of a cursed weapon, the dread gargoyle that emerges will have its tail fused with the cursed weapon. The most common choice is a cursed greataxe or greatsword. If the gargoyle's tail is severed, the weapon can be used on its own. The dread gargoyle's tail attack is replaced by the Tail (Greataxe) attack or a similar weapon-based attack.
If the gargoyle's mouth and stomach are filled with the ashes of a dozen humanoid corpses, the resulting dread gargoyle will be able to exhale black flames like a dragon. It can use the Flame Breath action, but its flying speed is reduced to 50 feet.
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