Random Gargoyle Generator
by Christine Morgan
christine@sabledrake.com
The topic came up recently how one went about creatingnew gargoyle characters. Because I have had some
luck in this area, developing many over the courseof my fanfic career, I thought it would be interesting to
sit down and come up with a random generator.
To make it even more interesting, this will be thetopic for the Fall 2000 Challenge. Using the tables in the
generator and some ordinary six-sided dice, rollup a brand new gargoyle. Then send a writeup or pic to
be included in the next issue of Avalon Mists. Mailthe results to christine@sabledrake.com
In addition to examples taken from the show, Ill citesome from fanfic, fanart, and RPGs. Mostly my own
fanfic, naturally, because those are the characterswith which I am most familiar.
Some results will automatically negate subsequent rolls.For instance, if you roll an Equine type, its pretty
much a given that you can skip the Tail Style tableand just go with a horsetail.
Requires up to 3 ordinary six-sided dice, referredto as a d6.
Roll once in each category:
| Gender Roll 1d6 1-3 -- male 4-6 -- female | Age Roll 2d6 2 -- hatchling 3 -- child 4-5 -- adolescent 6-7 -- young adult 8-9 -- adult 10-11 -- elder 12 -- ancient | Build Roll 2d6 2-3 -- slight (Lex) 4-5 -- lean/slender (Brooklyn, Una) 6-8 -- average (Griff, Demona) 9-10 -- buff (Goliath) 11 -- stocky (Hudson) 12 -- portly (Broadway) | General Type Roll 2d6 2 -- gargbeast, wingless 3-5 -- mythical (roll on Mythical table) 6-9 -- classic 10-11 -- animal (roll on Animal table) 12 -- garg beast, winged |
General Type subtables; only roll if indicated:
| Mythical Roll 1d6 1 -- gryphonian 2 -- quetzacoatlan 3 manticoran 4 -- draconian 5 -- aquatic mertype 6 -- chimeran | Animal Roll 2d6 2 -- insectile (scorpion, beetle, mantis, etc.) 3 -- primate (monkey, lemur, ape, etc) 4 -- aquatic mamallian (otter, sea lion, dolphin, etc) 5 -- cloven-hooved (goat, deer, boar, etc) 6 -- equine (horse, zebra, unicorn, etc) 7 -- feline (lion, leopard, panther, etc) 8 -- canine (dog, wolf, fox, etc) 9 -- avian (eagle, raven, peaco*ck, etc) 10 -- reptilian/amphibian (snake, lizard, toad, etc) 11 -- large herbivore (bull, elephant, giraffe, etc) 12 -- aquatic piscean (shark, manta ray, fish, etc) |
Roll once in each category:
| Wing Style Roll 3d6 3 -- none 4-5 -- feathered, bird/angel (Griff) 6-7 -- webbed (Lex) 8-10 -- batlike (Goliath) 11-12 -- dactyl (Brooklyn) 13 -- split (Coldfire) 14 -- extra strut (Orin -- Crzy) 15 -- pteranodon (Fia -- CM) 16 -- strut-framed (Cassius -- CM) 17 -- fanlike (Thisbe -- CM) 18 -- feathered, arm-style (Isis -- Egyptian mythology) | Tail Style Roll 3d6 3 -- none 4 -- short flap/tuft (Bronx) 5-6 -- grasper (Jamie Cross -- CM) 7-8 -- club-ball tip (Coldstone) 9-12 -- plain (Goliath) 13-14 -- arrowhead or spade tip (Damien or Godiva -- CM) 15-16 -- bifurcated, branching, or webbed (Tourmaline -- CM) 17 -- barbed or spiked (Cassius or Coira -- CM) 18 -- paddle/fin (Deborah -- CM) | Skin Color Roll 3d6 3 -- white 4 -- black 5-6 -- yellow/orange (Subtable 1) 7-8 -- purple (Subtable 2) 9-10 -- blue (Subtable 3) 11 -- grey (Subtable 4) 12-13 -- green (Subtable 5) 14-15 -- brown (Subtable 6) 16-17 -- red (Subtable 7) 18 -- mottled/marked; roll twice more on this table and reroll results of 18 |
Roll as indicated:
| Subtable 1 -- Yellow/Orange Roll 1d6 1 -- lemon yellow 2 -- golden yellow 3 -- dark yellow 4 -- orange-yellow 5 -- rich orange 6 -- burnt orange | Subtable 2 -- Purple Roll 1d6 1 -- light lavendar 2 -- dark lavendar 3 -- greyish-purple 4 -- eggplant 5 -- royal purple 6 -- deep violet | Subtable 3 -- Blue Roll 1d6 1 -- powder blue 2 -- azure 3 -- blue-grey 4 -- blue-green 5 -- royal blue 6 -- indigo | Subtable 4 -- Grey Roll 2d6 2 -- pale grey 3 -- silvery grey 4-5 -- green-grey 6-7 -- slate grey 8-9 -- blue-grey 10-11 -- charcoal grey 12 -- smoke grey |
| Subtable 5 -- Green Roll 1d6 1 -- light green 2 -- blue-green 3 -- olive green 4 -- green-grey 5 -- emerald green 6 -- forest green | Subtable 6 -- Brown Roll 2d6 2 -- light tan 3-4 -- golden tan 5-6 -- dark tan 7-8 -- reddish brown 9-10 -- chocolate brown 11 -- deep brown 12 -- dun brown-grey | Subtable 7 -- Red Roll 2d6 2 -- soft pink 3 -- salmon pink 4 -- red-orange 5-6 -- brick red 7-8 -- maroon 9-10 -- rust red 11 -- bright red 12 -- magenta |
Hair; roll once in each category:
| Hair Style Roll 3d6 3-4 -- bearded, roll again (female characters reroll) 5 -- tufted (Griff) 6-7 -- short 8-10 -- long, flowing (Goliath) 11-12 -- long, spiky (Demona) 13-14 -- braided/ponytailed (Angela) 15 -- curly (Coldfire) 16-18 -- bald (skip Hair Color table) | Hair Color (use also for Feathers) Roll 1d6 1 -- white/grey (Subtable 8) 2 -- blond (Subtable 9) 3 -- brown (Subtable 10) 4 -- red (Subtable 11) 5 -- black 6 -- other (Subtable 12) |
Roll as indicated:
| Subtable 8 -- White/Grey Hair Roll 1d6 1 -- frost white 2 -- silvery white 3 -- buff white 4 -- silver 5 -- iron grey 6 -- white or grey streak; roll again on Hair Color | Subtable 9 -- Blond Hair Roll 1d6 1 -- white-blond 2 -- bright yellow 3 -- ash blond 4 -- dirty blond 5 -- honey blond 6 -- golden blond | Subtable 10 -- Brown Hair Roll 1d6 1 -- light brown 2 -- golden brown 3 -- chestnut 4 -- tan brown 5 -- dark brown 6 -- mahogany | Subtable 11 -- Red Hair Roll 1d6 1 -- strawberryblond 2 -- red-gold 3 -- bright orange-red 4 -- auburn 5 -- dark red 6 -- maroon | Subtable 12 -- Other Hair Color Roll 1d6 1 -- blue 2 -- green 3 -- purple 4 -- metallic 5 -- streaked; roll Hair Color twice 6 -- exotic (Spike -- CSH) |
Roll once in each category:
| Features Roll 3d6 3 -- rams horns (Malachi -- CM) 4 -- antlered or branching horns 5 -- quills (Godiva or Cassius -- CM) 6-7 -- none (Angela) 8 -- single row short knobby scalp-bumps (Broadway) 9 -- double row short knobby scalp-bumps (Hudson) 10-11 -- two upward pointed horns (Brooklyn) 12-13 -- two downward-curling horns (Coldfire) 14 -- beaked, roll again (Brooklyn) 15 -- chin, cheek, or facial horns, roll again (Gabriel) 16 -- bumps or spurs elsewhere on body (shoulders, down spine and tail, etc) 17 -- elbow/knee blades (Damien -- CM) 18 -- roll twice, ignore results of 18 or 6-7 | Special Skills Roll 3d6 3 -- magic/alchemy 4 -- languages 5 -- artistic skill (painting, sculpture, etc) 6 -- craft skill (armory, leatherwork, etc) 7 -- leadership 8 -- cunning / fast talk 9 -- expert weapon skill (Subtable 13) 10-11 -- expert hand to hand 12 -- expert martial art / combat tricks 13 -- hunting/tracking 14 -- swimming/fishing 15 -- performance skill (singing, acting, etc) 16 -- scholar/scientist (historian, gadgeteer, etc) 17-18 -- no appreciable special skills |
Roll once:
| Accessories Roll 2d6 1-5 -- none 6-7 -- weapon (Subtable 13) 8-9 -- armor (Subtable 14) 9-11 -- jewelry (Subtable 15) 12 -- magic item (Subtable 16) | ||||||
Accessories Subtables, roll as indicated:
|
Optional:
Dinosaurian Traits (may replaceother Features)
Roll 3d6
3-4 -- pachycephalosaur bony skull (Rudy -- CM)
5 -- iguanadon thumb spikes (Liam -- CM)
6 -- stegosaurian plates (Coira -- CM)
7 -- pterodactyl crest (Aiden -- CM)
8-12 -- none
13-14 -- raptor hindclaws (Crimson -- CM)
15-16 -- triceratops head plate (Ophelia)
17 -- hadrosaur crest (Niall -- CM)
18 -- dilophosaur fans on sides of head (Joy -- CM)
Sample Random Gargoyles:
Rolling these up took less than ten minutes. Lookingat the results, I can determine what sort of characters they are.
| 1. Gender: female Age: young adult General Type: classic Build: average Wing Style: batlike Tail Style: grasper Skin Color: olive green Hair Style: braided/ponytailed Hair Color: light brown Features: two down-curling horns Special Skill: craft Accessories: none The olive-green female, Ill | 2. Gender: male Age: adult General Type: gargbeast, winged Build: average Wing Style: dactyl Tail Style: arrowhead tipped Skin Color: royal purple Hair Style: tufted Hair Color: bright yellow Features: beaked Special Skill: hunting/tracking Accessories: none The male beast Ill name | 3. Gender: male Age: adult General Type: classic Build: buff Wing Style: dactyl Tail Style: plain Skin Color: blue-green Hair Style: long flowing Hair Color: ash blond Features: two up-pointing horns Special Skill: cunning / fast talk Accessories: ivory armband The blue-green male shall |
| My fourth try turned out especially interesting. Rolling an Avian animal for type, I automatically chose feathered bird-style wings and did not need to roll on several tables (Features, Hair Style, Hair Color) because the results would be apparent from her Avian type. So, this is Phoenix ... a small reddish-brown female | 4. Gender: female Age: adolescent General Type: animal, avian Build: slight Wing Style: feathered, bird Tail Style: plain Skin Color: reddish brown Feather Color: red Hair Style: n/a Hair Color: n/a Features: n/a Dinosaurian Traits: n/a Special Skill: expert martial arts Accessories: hand weapon |
Now its your turn!
Send the results to christine@sabledrake.comfor inclusion in the Fall 2000 issue of Avalon Mists!
Random Gargoyle Generator copyright 2000 by Christine Morgan
