Homebrew Gargoyle Species Details

This race is inspired by the 90's cartoon of the same name. I had to change the rules a little on their stone form to make them viable adventurers during the day. 

Gargoyles are an ancient race that migrated from the material plane into the elemental plane of earth thousands, maybe even millions of years ago. They have only recently begun to travel back to the material plane. Though they are creatures of flesh, they are transmuted to stone at the light of day. This seems to be a side effect of their time spent in the plane of earth. 

Gargoyle culture is mostly tribal, and varies from clan to clan. A gargoyle's loyalty to his or her clan is usually their primary gauge of morality. Most tribes have no laws, codes or rules to follow. The only serious crime of most tribes is the killing of a fellow clan member.

Gargoyles on the material plane tend to gravitate toward living in ruins of castles or other great stone structures. It is also not unheard of for other humanoid races living in a castle to employ a gargoyle clan as protectors in exchange for a place to live. They can sometimes be found living in natural rock formations on mountains but it is rare. 

Gargoyles do not give themselves or each other names. The concept of naming people is somewhat foreign to them. A gargoyle who has a name was usually named by another humanoid who befriended it.  Because of this most gargoyles either have no name or have a name that sounds like it came from another race.

Rookeries are where gargoyles lay their eggs and raise their small children. Gargoyles prefer to make their rookeries underground like in a cave or a dungeon that is nearby the perch where the adults and adolescent gargoyles sleep. They do this because young gargoyles don't have full use of their wings until about age 9. Once a gargoyle is old enough to use its wings it can begin living up on the perch with the other gargoyles. Gargoyles raise their children as a clan. Eggs are laid sometime in early spring by the females of the clan. An egg will hatch after about 3 months after its laid. The role of parenting varies from clan to clan. Some clans only the males raise the children, others its the females, and in many it is done by a combination of both.

Gargoyles who grow up in the rookery together refer to one another as "rookery brother" or "rookery sister". They are considered siblings even though they may not share biological parents. Once a gargoyle reaches adolescence it begins living up on the perch with the other gargoyles. There it is taught how to glide effectively with it's wings, how to hunt and some forms of combat. In late winter the younger more fertile adult gargoyles leave the clan perch to find a mate with a gargoyle of one of the other clans. These gargoyles will be able to sense the presence of another gargoyle via hormones and smell. The mating usually occurs in a secluded space like a cave on a tall mountain. After mating they return in early spring when the females begin laying eggs. This is ritual to promote genetic diversity among the race. The older gargoyles stay behind to watch the children and their home. A male gargoyle usually becomes infertile around age 40 and females around age 45. It is around this age that gargoyles begin to choose life partners.

When a gargoyle becomes infertile they generally seek out another gargoyle, usually of the opposite gender, to spend the rest of their lives with. Similar to a marriage in other humanoid races. Most gargoyles will do this with a member of their clan, but some seek a partner outside of the clan, like a gargoyle they fell in love with during a mating ritual or perhaps someone they haven't even met yet. There are also some gargoyles who prefer solitude in their old age. 

A gargoyle could become an adventurer for a myriad of reasons. She could have been exiled for killing a clan member or he could be seeking his life partner in old age. The clan may have had a curse put on them leaving them in their stone form, even at night. 

Gargoyle Traits

Your Gargoyle character has the following traits.

Ability Score Increase

Your Constitution score increases by 2

Age

A Gargoyle is effectively immortal. Gargoyles age visibly and at about the same rate as humans until about the age of 60 at which point they stop aging altogether. 

Alignment

Most Gargoyles lean toward neutrality. They can be lawful or chaotic, good or evil, but tend to be right in between both spectrums of alignment.

Size

Your size is Medium. Gargoyles can vary in height greatly. They can be as short as 3 ft or as tall as 8 ft. Gargoyles bodies are far more dense than most other races, making their weight about twice that of a human of the same size. 

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Resistances and Immunities

In their flesh form, Gargoyles are resistant to poison damage and acid damage. They are also immune to the poisoned condition. Gargoyles gain advantage when making saving throws against being petrified.

Glider's Wings

Gargoyles have wings but cannot fly. You wings serve as gliders when falling. You can fall or "glide" as slow as a rate of 10 ft per round, but can speed it up if you choose. You can also move parallel to the ground at the same rate as your walking speed while gliding. You only take fall damage if you are incapacitated or if you choose to fall at a rate faster than 60 ft per round.

Additionally your wings give you a way to propel your jumping height and distance. When making a high jump, you can add 10 ft. When making a running long jump, you can add 15 ft. When making a standing long jump add 10 ft. See the “Special Types of Movement” section in chapter 8 of the players handbook for rules on calculating jump distances.

Stone Form

When taking a long rest you do not exactly sleep. Instead you and everything you are carrying turn to stone when the sun rises, making you petrified. You cannot be awoken from this state in any way other than the sun setting for the day. When you awake the stone statue that you became bursts into tiny pieces, leaving you in its place. 

While in your stone form your Max HP doubles, as does your current HP. Your AC is 18, no matter what it is while you are awake. You are also immune to all forms of magical damage and resistant to all non magical damage. You are immune to all conditions, other than the petrify condition that you are already in. Your weight is tripled. If you are reduced to 0 hit points in stone form, you die instantly. 

The petrify cannot be prolonged beyond sunset by any means other than a sleep or flesh to stone spell cast at level 9 or higher and cast on only the stone gargoyle as the target. If done so the petrify is permanent, unless dispelled by dispel magic or wish.

You can choose to resist the stone form at sunrise but it wears on your mind and body to do so. While resisting your stone form you cannot concentrate on spells and you suffer 1 level of exhaustion every 3 hours. 

If on a plane that does not have a day/night cycle, you can sleep as most other humanoids do for a long rest.

Remaining in stone form for at least 8 hours will act as a long rest, cure any condition, remove all levels of exhaustion and regenerate any lost limbs or appendages. You cannot take a long rest while the sun is down. If the sun sets during your long rest it, is interrupted. 

Death's Density

You should never need to make death saving throws (Exceptions for abilities that cause you to retain consciousness at 0 HP). If you are reduced to 0 HP while in your flesh form, you revert to your stone form with 10 HP, even if it is night. If it is night, you can be awakened with any spell or ability that removes the petrified condition or by waiting until the next sunset. If the petrify condition is removed you awaken with the 10 HP you gained while in stone form. If you are reduced to 0 HP in stone form, you die. 

Languages

You can speak Common and Primordial. You cannot read or write but can learn.