A Race of Statues
Whether you embrace the philosophy that stone gargoyles were carved to resemble the real creatures, or that gargoyles were originally stone brought to life by magic either can be used to create fascinating characters in FUDGE. Stone by day and flesh by night, gargoyles have a peculiar lifestyle, needing a safe haven each day when they become stone.
Creating Gargoyle Characters
No matter what specific rules you use in your FUDGE games there are some traits that gargoyles should and should not have. Here are some guidelines for making gargoyles.
Objective Character Creation. Gargoyles shouldn't be made with any more levels then other characters or no one will want to be anything else but there are certain traits they must have.
Attributes. Most gargoyles are stronger then humans and they all have very tough skin. This can be depicted in several different ways depending on your style and rules. Any attributes used for strength should be higher then normal. If you use damage capacity or something like it to determine hit points, this should also get a bonus. Alternatively you might give gargoyles some natural armor. If you wish to use the scale rules, with humans being scale 0 then a gargoyle's strength, damage capacity, etc. should be scale 1. However if using scale this shouldn't affect the size of the gargoyle, as they can be larger or smaller then humans regardless of scale.
Skills. These always depend on the world the gargoyles are set in, but all gargoyles are taught to fight with their natural weapons. Gargoyles come in may shapes and forms, they usually have tails and claws, and they are always taught to use their natural weapons. Since gargoyles are flying creatures the clan will of course teach them airborne combat as well. You will have to work the individual skills out depending on your own skill system.
Gifts. If your gargoyles have natural armor this may be a gift as well as natural weapons. Extra arms, spiked tails, horns, and fangs can all be gifts. Also, all gargoyles should have the gift of flight, and may even be able to fight with their wings. Their most powerful gift is linked to their greatest fault, during the day when they turn into stone all their wounds are healed. Any poisons are cleared from the system, and wounds are healed, although limbs are not regenerated and this does not bring the gargoyle back to life. If a gargoyle is killed (s)he will turn to stone as normal but will then remain a lifeless stone forever.
Faults. As stated earlier, their greatest fault is turning to stone during the day. This affects them wherever they happen to be at sunrise, being indoors away from the sun does not help. When in this state all the objects they carry of wear become stone as well and they are very vulnerable to attack. When in stone form normal wounds will heal, possibly leaving a scar and the stumps of lost limbs will heal over but not regenerate. However any damage done to them while they are stone is not healed and affects them as normal when they awake the next night. If a gargoyle is killed in stone form (head smashed or just crushed to rubble) they will not become a corpse the next night instead they will remain stone.
There are several other things important to a gargoyle character, such as their clan and haven, so I'll explain these things in detail.
Clans
Gargoyle society is based on close knit groups called clans. These clans are like an extended family and they can range in size from about 5 to as much as 30 individuals. Clan members look out for their brothers and sisters and care for their children communally. Each clan usually has a safe haven for the day, treachery within the clan is very rare but justice is swift and merciless. Fighting between clans is just as rare but such battles can last a long time and cause mass destruction. Each clan has a leader although (s)he has no specific title or rank the clan leader is responsible for the clan and must listen to their wishes.
Orphans
A gargoyle who's clan has been destroyed is an orphan. Other clans will usually take in an orphan and make him/her part of their clan unless the orphan had been cast out of his/her own clan. Orphans who remain without a clan or a haven for too long will become paranoid and suspicious of everyone around and can have dangerous tempers.
Havens
All clans have a place they call home, a place they can feel safe during the day. The haven is a very important part of gargoyle society, if a clan looses its haven the first thought they have will be to find a new home, and then seek revenge on those who destroyed their old haven. Gargoyles will protect their haven fiercely if attacked but others that they trust will always be allowed in.
Children
Youngsters are cared for by the whole clan, the mother and father don't matter, the whole clan is equally family. Gargoyles are not born live, but are hatched from eggs. All unhatched eggs are kept in the safest place of the haven and guarded at all costs. Even as eggs, gargoyles still turn to stone by day. Anyone who harms gargoyle eggs will be the subject of the clan's vengeance until they are dead; there is no forgiveness for harming children.
Well that's it for my gargoyle PC guidelines, I hope you find them useful.