The Gargoyles are a bloodline of vampire

Vampire

Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...

s from White Wolf Game Studio's Vampire: The Masquerade

Vampire: The Masquerade

Vampire: The Masquerade is a role-playing game. Created by Mark Rein·Hagen, it was the first of White Wolf Game Studio's World of Darkness role-playing games, based on the Storyteller System and centered around vampires in a modern gothic-punk world....

books and 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...

s.

The Gargoyles are a bloodline created by the Tremere as servitors. Although technically not a Tremere bloodline, the bloodline is largely under their control. The Gargoyles were created using the blood of three different clans: the Gangrel, the Nosferatu, and the Tzimisce. The blood was combined to form three specific types of Gargoyle: scouts (Gangrel-Nosferatu), warriors (Gangrel-Tzimisce), and sentinels (Nosferatu-Tzimisce). Warriors focus on Potence and combat Abilities; sentinels focus on Fortitude and alertness; and scouts practice stealth, survival and the like.

However, there is an additional classification to the bloodline; free and slaves.

The Gargoyles who remain slaves of the Tremere are Camarilla as well, but by default. Most have little or no sense of identity, no memories of existence before being transformed into Gargoyles and no free will. A Tremere-bound Gargoyle who begins to demonstrate more than a rudimentary sense of self is often destroyed.

Descendants of the so-called Slaves who escaped from Tremere domination in centuries past and more recent escapees, the free Gargoyles cluster in isolated communities either in mountain retreats or industrial cities that offer nothing to the Tremere. More adventurous souls flock to the Camarilla cities to offer themselves as bodyguards, muscle and other sorts of labor for hire. It is a show of prestige for a prince to have Gargoyle bodyguards at her Elysium, and a show of strength to be able to afford Gargoyle assassins to deal with enemies

Bloodline	Founder	Parent Clan	Faction	Disciplines	Nicknames	Weakness
Gargoyles	None, (Artificially created via Thaumaturgy)	Created by Tremere Tremere The Tremere are a clan of vampires in the Classic World of Darkness setting.The Tremere backstory is heavily based on Ars Magica, and the original House Tremere appeared as a Hermetic house in that game system. As the World of Darkness progressively diverged from Ars Magica's medieval Europe,...  with Gangrel Gangrel (World of Darkness) The Gangrel are a clan of vampires, often associated with the Camarilla, from White Wolf Game Studio's Vampire: The Masquerade, Vampire: The Dark Ages, and books and role-playing games.... , Nosferatu Nosferatu (World of Darkness) The Nosferatu are a clan of vampires from White Wolf Game Studio's Vampire: The Masquerade, Vampire: The Dark Ages books and role-playing games.... , and Tzimisce Tzimisce The Tzimisce are a clan of vampires in White Wolf Game Studio's books and role-playing games Vampire: The Masquerade and Vampire: The Dark Ages....  blood	Camarilla, (Indentured to Tremere Tremere The Tremere are a clan of vampires in the Classic World of Darkness setting.The Tremere backstory is heavily based on Ars Magica, and the original House Tremere appeared as a Hermetic house in that game system. As the World of Darkness progressively diverged from Ars Magica's medieval Europe,... )	Fortitude, Potence, Visceratika, (Flight)	Slaves, Guardians	Appearance trait of 0, -2 Willpower to resist Dominate and other mind-controlling effects. No Gargoyle can take the mentor background.

History

Dark Ages

The bloodline was first created via Thaumaturgical ritual in 1167, created in three variants: the Gangrel-Nosferatu, Gangrel-Tzimisce, and Nosferatu-Tzimisce. For the first several centuries after their creation, all their "powers" were in the form of rituals cast upon them by their Tremere masters.

Victorian Age

At this point in their history, Gargoyles have "evolved" beyond the need for Tremere rituals, instead having developed their own special Discipline, called Visceratika.

Final Nights

Many free Gargoyles during the Final Nights have discovered that while they may be vampires, they are also practically their own species. They are capable of biological reproduction with other Gargoyles.

Background

The process of creation is particularly intense for Gargoyles, especially for those taken directly by the Tremere. The surge of competing strains of vitae, combined with the magical energy inherent to the transformation even after all of these centuries, serves to wipe away the preexisting memories and loyalties of a new Gargoyle, leaving a tabula rasa on which the Tremere can work. The process is a trifle gentler for Gargoyles Embraced by other Gargoyles, who sometimes retain at least vague senses of their former lives, but even so most of the past just dissolves under the occult onslaught. (Note: Free Gargoyles actually Embrace mortals; the Tremere prefer to take Kindred of the three "root' clans and transform them into Gargoyles.) As for what drives a Gargoyle to Embrace a mortal, most times it's a case of simple obsession, and even the most eloquent members of the bloodline shrug and put it down to "gut feeling".

Flight

Gargoyle characters technically start with a 4th discipline; Flight. Only Gargoyles can learn this discipline, and though it functions like any other to the player, the character is not aware that it's a Discipline. Level 1 of this ability allows the character to glide, with max speed equaling prevailing winds. Each additional level increases this ability, with two allowing flight and running take-offs; three, the ability to vertically ascent; and four and five increasing both speed and how much the character can lift.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines

The Gargoyle bloodline makes an appearance as an possible enemy in the PC game Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines developed by Troika Games

Troika Games

Troika Games was a video game developer created by the key people behind the first of the critically acclaimed Fallout series of games. The company was focused on role-playing video games between 1998 and 2005, best known for Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura and Vampire: The Masquerade –...

 in 2004

2004 in video gaming

-Events:*January 20 — Wireds Vaporware Awards gives its first "Lifetime Achievement Award" to recurring winner Duke Nukem Forever.*March 4 — Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Peter Molyneux into the AIAS Hall of Fame*March 22-26 — Game...

. Gargoyles appear similar to their Vampire: The Masquerade

Vampire: The Masquerade

Vampire: The Masquerade is a role-playing game. Created by Mark Rein·Hagen, it was the first of White Wolf Game Studio's World of Darkness role-playing games, based on the Storyteller System and centered around vampires in a modern gothic-punk world....

description, although with a distinctly Asian motif. The player can either fight or talk their way out of the confrontation.

Vampire: The Eternal Struggle

The Gargoyles also appear as a bloodline in the card game Vampire: The Eternal Struggle

Vampire: The Eternal Struggle

Vampire: The Eternal Struggle, published as Jyhad in the first or "Limited" edition and often abbreviated as VTES, V:TES or V:tES, is a multiplayer collectible card game set in the World of Darkness. It is published by White Wolf, Inc....

.

Strategy

Gargoyle cards mix well with the Tremere and Tremere anititribu, as well as the Blood Brothers. The Gargoyle are also one of the bloodlines most suited for single-clan play.

While Flight is a Discipline in the role-playing game, it is not a Discipline in the card game. It is treated similarly, however. Some minions are identified as having flight, and some library cards require flight to use.

The Gargoyle Slave ally (from The Sabbat expansion) does not represent a Gargoyle vampire. Any card that requires a vampire of Clan Gargoyle (or a "Slave Gargoyle") requires an actual vampire; controlling a Gargoyle ally is not sufficient.

New terms

Slaves

Some Gargoyles are identified as Tremere slaves or Tremere antitribu slaves. A slave vampire cannot take a directed action if his controller doesn't control a ready member of the specified "owning" clan. If a member of the owning clan controlled by the Gargoyle's controller is blocked, the controller can tap the slave Gargoyle to cancel the combat and untap the acting vampire and have the slave Gargoyle enter combat with the blocking minion instead.