In the Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...

fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

 role-playing game

Role-playing game

A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...

, a gargoyle is a grotesque winged monstrous humanoid

Monstrous humanoid (Dungeons & Dragons)

Monstrous humanoids are a "creature type" in the 3rd and 3.5 editions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Monstrous humanoids are differentiated from humanoids by their monstrous or animalistic features, and not all are technically "humanoid" in body form...

 creature, with a horned head and a stony hide.

Dungeons & Dragons (1974-1976)

The gargoyle was one of the first monsters introduced in the earliest edition of the game, in the Dungeons & Dragons "white box" set

Dungeons & Dragons (1974)

The original Dungeons & Dragons boxed set by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson was published by TSR, Inc. in 1974. It initially included the original edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game...

 (1974), where they were described as a reptilian bipedal beast, Chaotic in alignment.

The kopoacinth, an aquatic version of the gargoyle, first appeared in the 1975 Dungeons & Dragons supplement, Blackmoor by Dave Arneson

Dave Arneson

David Lance "Dave" Arneson was an American game designer best known for co-developing the first published role-playing game , Dungeons & Dragons, with Gary Gygax, in the early 1970s...

.

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)

The gargoyle appears in the first edition Monster Manual (1977), where it is described as a ferocious predator of a magical nature, found among ruins; it attacks anything it can detect.

The marlgoyle first appears in the module Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth

Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth

The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth is an adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It was written by Gary Gygax and published by TSR in 1982 for the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules. The 64-page adventure bears the code "S4" and is set in the World of...

(1982), and later appears in Monster Manual II (1983) as the margoyle.

Dungeons & Dragons (1977-1999)

This edition of the D&D game included its own version of the gargoyle, in the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set

Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set

The original Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set boxed set was first published by TSR, Inc. in 1977, and comprised a separate edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, distinct from the first edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game, which was initially published in the same...

(1977, 1981, 1983). The gargoyle was also later featured in the Dungeons & Dragons Game

Dungeons & Dragons Game (1991 boxed set)

The New Easy to Master Dungeons & Dragons Game is an accessory for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, published in 1991....

set (1991), the Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (1991), and the Classic Dungeons & Dragons Game set (1994).

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)

The gargoyle and margoyle appear first in the Monstrous Compendium Volume Two (1989), and are reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993), along with the kapoacinth.

The Greyhawk

Greyhawk

Greyhawk, also known as the World of Greyhawk, is a fictional world designed as a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game...

 campaign setting

Campaign setting

A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A campaign is a series of individual adventures, and a campaign setting is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place...

 module Gargoyle

Gargoyle (module)

Gargoyle is an adventure module for the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, set in the game's World of Greyhawk campaign setting. The module has the code WG9 and was published by TSR, Inc...

(1989) featured the gargoyle (of the Tors). In Gargoyle, which is set in the City of Greyhawk, the player character

Player character

A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...

s are hired by a pair of gargoyles to find their stolen wings. The grist (true gargoyle) appeared in Vale of the Mage

Vale of the Mage

Vale of the Mage is an adventure module published in 1989 for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Plot summary:In this scenario, renegade wizards have fled to the Vale of the Mage, and the player characters are sent across the Barrier Peaks after them; if the character make it to the...

(1990).

The guardgoyle for the Forgotten Realms

Forgotten Realms

The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...

 setting appeared in the Ruins of Zhentil Keep boxed set (1995).

Four variant gargoyles appeared in the "Dragon's Bestiary" column of Dragon

Dragon (magazine)

Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...

#223 (November 1995), including the archer, the grandfather plaque, the spouter, and the stone lion. These creatures were reprinted in Monstrous Compendium Annual Three (1996).

Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 edition (2000-2002)

The gargoyle and kapoacinth appear in the Monster Manual for this edition (2000).

Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition (2003-2007)

The gargoyle and kapoacinth appear in the revised Monster Manual for this edition (2003).

The guardgoyle returned in City of Splendors: Waterdeep (2005).

Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008-)

The gargoyle appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2008), including the nabassu

Nabassu

A nabassu is a fictional demon in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Description:Nabassus are demons very close to undead creatures. Nabassus resemble dark horned demons with bat wings, evil glowing eyes, sharp teeth and long talons...

 gargoyle.

Description

A gargoyle is usually chaotic evil. A gargoyle has the ability to hold itself so still that it appears to be a statue.

Variants

The marine gargoyle is known as the kapoacinth.

The margoyle, or marlgoyle, is a more horrid form of gargoyle.