| Level | 4 |
| Alignment | |
| Images of gargoyles | |
Source: Bestiary, pg(s). 161 | |
Gargoyle
(Redirected from Kapoacinth)
| Gargoyle | |
|---|---|
| |
| (Creature) | |
| Kapoacinth | |
|---|---|
| (Creature) | |
Resembling stony statues of winged monsters, gargoyles are airborne menaces in both civilised regions and remote wildernesses. They often worship the demon lord Xoveron, whose titles include Lord of Gargoyles.1
Appearances
Gargoyles resemble a stone statue of some hideous, malevolent demon. They can remain so unnaturally still that they can pass as statues, and it takes a perceptive eye to distinguish them from normal, inanimate statues. A gargoyle's appearance very slowly shifts over time to adapt to its surroundings, which allows it to match the local architectural style.2 It even adapts in wilderness regions matching the surrounding stone. The Ashwing gargoyles of the Cinderlands have smooth, wind-worn bodies with rippling ashen and brick-coloured patterns,34 while gargoyles of the Uwaga Highlands are chalky and pale to better resemble the Chalk Cliffs they call home.5
Habitat and ecology
Gargoyles can live anywhere there is open sky and a place to perch. Groups of gargoyles are called "wings", and they tend to dwell in more rugged wilderness areas. Lone gargoyles often prefer to hide in densely populated cities where their hunting can go unnoticed.2
Many gargoyles have obsessive behaviours like collecting items from their prey, and their collections can range from books or weapons to grisly trophies. Some gargoyles are willing to ally with other creatures, but these alliances are fleeting at best; gargoyles prove treacherous and vengeful allies, showing terrible wrath at even the smallest imagined slight.2 In rural areas, gargoyles hunt much like any other primitive humanoid tribe. In civilized areas they tend to hunt on society's outcasts, beggars, drunks, and vagabonds at night, which helps conceal them from their victims.2
Elephant-sized shantaks, which are much more powerful than gargoyles, possess an irrational fear of them.6
On Golarion
Tribes of gargoyles fly over the scorching depths of the Ketz Desert in Qadira.7
Beyond Golarion
On the Elemental Plane of Air various tribes of gargoyles dwell on the floating Ruins of Nebrindae, using it as a base to raid the other residents of the plane whenever their home floats nearby to another inhabited location.8
Variants
Kapoacinths are an unusual aquatic variety of gargoyle. These strange creatures retain a gargoyle's fearsome appearance, but instead of swooping through the night sky, kapoacinths glide through the depths of the seas, their wings useless for flight. Groups of kapoacinths are far more likely to gather in wings than their land-based cousins since they have no interest in solitary life. They also tend to dwell in coastal shallows rather than the dark depths of the open ocean. Though they are aquatic creatures, they can survive on land and enjoy shambling out of the water to attack isolated coastal communities.2
References
- ↑ Erik Mona et al. (2008). "Religion". Campaign Setting, p. 175. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-112-1
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Jason Bulmahn. (2009). Bestiary (First Edition), p. 137. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-183-1
- ↑ Michael Kortes. (2008). A History of Ashes. A History of Ashes, p. 54. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-093-3
- ↑ Jacob Frazier. (2008). The Cinderlands. A History of Ashes, p. 61. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-093-3
- ↑ Steve Kenson. (2009). In the Shadow of Pale Mountain. House of the Beast, p. 51. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-160-2
- ↑ Wolfgang Baur et al. (2010). Bestiary 2 (First Edition), p. 244. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-268-5
- ↑ Jessica Price. (2017). Qadira, Jewel of the East, p. 37. Paizo Inc. ISBN 978-1-60125-912-7
- ↑ John Compton, Paris Crenshaw, Eleanor Ferron, Thurston Hillman, and Jessica Price. (2016). Planes of Power, p. 16. Paizo Inc. ISBN 978-1-60125-883-0