Title: Old world Gargoyle

Nicknames: The weird bat thing statues, ruin security, delver's bane, pre imperial automatons, Glow-bots, demon guards

Faction loyalty: Thanks to the devastation of the Territory Wars, it's hard to accurately gauge what kind of powers Gargoyles specifically served back in their prime. The most scholars and historians have gathered from their behaviour and construction is that they were a form of commissioned security systems for royalty, nobility, clergy, or in some rare cases, entire cities, designed uniquely for whatever the original clients wanted for their style of household protection. And of course, with those masters now long gone, the only thing these ancient gargoyles obey nowadays are their prime directive: Kill intruders, a command they seem keen to follow for as long as their withering bodies can go.

Type: Wandering Construct

Assigned equipment:

Attire- Like with most machines in the present day, Gargoyles have no need for environmental protection due to their stone-based construction, and whatever armour they possess is usually built into their bodies by default. However, unlike most machines, most of the Gargoyles that have been encountered all appear to sport very organic appearances, seemingly intentionally designed to mimic that of the lurking monsters within the surrounding nature, possibly as a tactic to dissuade easily frightened trespassers. Some historians even theorize that the commonly humanoid designs may have been inspired by early examples of mutants, making many a scholar believe that Silverwater might not have mankind's first encounter with the mutation. Whatever the case may be, it appears that in some cases, the people of old weren't quite as comfortable with how life-like and.... exposed, many Gargoyles appeared, leading to some encountered designs sporting sculpted in cloth and/or armour details, with a few even possessing actual clothing, though due to their excessive age, the most a gargoyle would be wearing nowadays are either worn rags, or the moss and vines sprouted across them.

Weapons- This too is a big variable. Before the Imperial establishment, gunpowder based weaponry was just not a thing, so most societies in those days were stuck with blades, bows, and offensive magic. Gargoyles in this case are similar, as many don't even use handheld weapons, instead relying on more monstrously styled defences built into their bodies, such as claws carved into their fingers, long whip like tails, spikes fused into their bodies, or even rudimentary spellcraft either cast like a human or spat out from their maws like dragons. In other cases when they do come equipped, Gargoyles typically use melee oriented weapons, most frequently polearms or swords, though a few archery-based models have been reported by delvers, with one case even having a crossbow contraption built into its own body. The construction of these weapons ranges from either legitimate metal and wood materials like any other tool of today, or being carved of the same exact stone as the Gargoyle itself, as if aesthetic design was a higher priority than practicality to the noble houses they guarded. Whatever the case, very few of these aged weapons are in any better condition than the constructs wielding them, rusted and weathered into brittle, borderline useless forms, but at least the damn beasts are acutely aware of that and plan around it, so good on them I guess.

Faction unique features- In terms of this aspect however, this is where Gargoyles falter. Even though their mere existence is an feat of artifice for their time, nowadays they pale in comparison to Ignition based technology. Their programming is painfully basic, designed only to seek out someone who doesn't meet a long forgotten criteria for entry, and terminate them. If not, return to post, and remain dormant until the proximity runes are triggered once again. A Gargoyle's greatest asset is largely their ability to hide in plain sight as an unassuming piece of architecture, and even then that's not going to stop any experienced delver, or even some delinquent from simply breaking it from afar. Age is also one of their biggest drawbacks, as their designs appear to predate the discovery of Serpentbloom, meaning that whatever damage they sustain is permanent without extensive and direct repairs. It is impressive they're still functional after over two whole centuries sure, especially for how they might've been created back in their time, but that doesn't mean they're at all capable of competing with the standards of present day.

Magical specialty: No-one has quite figured out how Gargoyles are even enchanted. The only kinds of automaton that aren't powered by the Ignition are instead basic mechanical engines, using exploits in the environment like steam, normal electricity, or even a wind up key. But the golems and constructs of the old world rarely have any mechanisms inside their forms, instead they often seem to have their own breed of magic entirely separate from the Ignition, or at least some older variant of its true power. The leading theories of a Gargoyle's power system claim it to be extensive enchantments of various sources, mostly of some spell that weakens or alters gravity, hence why the parts float and hover in the air to move. Some Gargoyles meanwhile can conjure basic spells themselves, likely as a result of further enchantments, such as bolts of fire, streams of lightning, blasts of force, or darts of ice. It is a construction that has baffled a lot of those more used to Ignition tech, yet due to both their age and aggression, successfully capturing and procuring a completely functional Gargoyle has proven to be nigh on impossible, so as it currently stands, it's anyone's guess as to how on earth pre imperial technicians were ever able to program these darn things.

Lore:

Engrievion's human civilisation prior to the Territory wars was many things. Squalid and wretched, fiercely selfish, rife with corruption, and above all else: Vast. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of structures and cities infested the already colossal forest continent, countless enclaves, nobilities and royal houses all locked in a constant, bitter rivalry that only ended with the fires of war snuffed out by the intervention of divine retribution, with the four hooved houses rebuilding society from scratch. Billions of lives were lost in the conflict, with nothing of those gigantic kingdoms remaining but the marks they left upon the land itself, tangled into the mutated forests.

Right behind monster hunting and mercenary work, the business of "Ruin Delving" remains as of Engrievion's most favoured professions of unofficial status. Whether it's for the satisfaction of discovering long lost history found in surviving records, or for the easy profit gained from treasures neatly stored away in the deepest of forgotten vaults, many members of reclaimed humanity find few greater fulfilments than uncovering and exploring these wrecks of once enormous societies. But like a lot of things in the forest nation, sometimes it is not this simple, for many ruins might not take well to plundering intruders. Just because no-one owns the areas anymore, doesn't mean their defence systems are no longer operational.

Enter the "Gargoyle".

At first glance, the average joe might look up at a strange looking statue carved into the side of a castle, standing in a crypt, or perched on the ledge of a cathedral, and think "Ooo, that's a nice bit of décor". But to an experienced ruin delver, the sight of these glorified garden gnomes are an omen of a far more treacherous adventure. For Gargoyles are a style of ancient, old world constructs designed to act as some form of automated security, tasked with safeguarding the numerous lost structures they used to call home, and will relentlessly carry out this objective until they are completely deactivated.

Gargoyles typically spent most of their existence laying in a dormant, unresponsive state where they look no different from an old aging statue, only to spring to life once an intruder has done something to trigger the ruin's countermeasures. Sometimes it's dislodging a suspicious looking treasure, sometimes it's tripping a wire, sometimes it's the simple matter of stepping into the area, and sometimes there's even pre-programmed patrol routes, there's no way to tell what activates the present Gargoyles in any given structure until the mystery trap is set off, so any Delver worth their salt should know full well to prepare themselves for any unwelcome surprises.

However, keep in mind that most Gargoyles are well over 200 years old, and without the regeneration of serpent Oil, time was not kind to these machines. They're essentially relics of a long forgotten history, mindless ghosts of the past that wander aimlessly through their duties for what could theoretically be eternity, assuming their broken, withering forms would even survive that long. Their age is their biggest weakness, the stone carapace of their bodies brittle and overgrown with grime, allowing them to be easily destroyed by warriors of decent skill. It is unbelievably rare to find a gargoyle that is in perfect condition, without any signs of damage, disrepair, or general malfunctions, and in many cases the enchantments that power them have long since decayed and perished, leaving them broken and lifeless.
That is not to say they should be underestimated of course, Gargoyles tend to possess more than enough strength to break a man into pieces, and some groups of Gargoyles can muster up enough strategy to outwit and terminate even the most adept of explorers. But their extensive dilapidation brings them down from an overwhelming threat, to a admirable challenge blocking the way to glorious profit, so with the right gear, the right crew, and the right amount of braincells, even the most powerful of these run-down guard dogs can fall fairly easily.
To a delver, all Gargoyles truly are is a test of whether or not you're worthy of taking the prize within the chambers you brave.

I mean, if there isn't any kind of deadly roadblock to overcome on the path to treasure hunting, then frankly, where's the fun in that?

---

So, fun fact, October 12th is my birthday, so I thought just now: "what's a better celebratory occasion than posting a character concept entirely based around the idea of being so old that you really shouldn't be alive?". So uh....here you go.

Gargoyles are a very classic monster style, so I was pretty eager to find a way to incorporate them into Engrieivon. However, I didn't want to go for the usual "turns to stone by day" gimmick, or just have them be living creatures somehow made of flexible organic stone, I wanted something a bit more unique. So, since magitech, robots and automatons are an established and very prominent feature of the setting, I figured why not try something with the real world idea of a Gargoyle, lean further into the idea that they're statues serving as man-made guardians of their structures.

So, they're rock robots in Engrievion now.

Screw you it's a cool idea.

Artwork by  Inert-Ren