Gargoyles


The gargoyle was a sort of cheap, mass-produced golem. A mage still had to go to the effort of breathing life into a chunk of carved stone to make one, of course, but the enchantments to give it life were simpler and required only runes to keep them going. Most of the gargoyles created in the old days of high magic are now no more than statues, but the ones in Loc Muinne have long outlived their original masters. These gargoyles still guard their territories fiercely, though, and slowly regenerate even after they’ve apparently been destroyed.

You can encounter a pair of lone gargoyles in Chapter 2 on Roche’s route, patrolling the kingslayers’ hideout. In Chapter 3, gargoyles must be battled in the course of completing The Gargoyle Contract . You also encounter them patrolling Philippa Eilhart’s house on Iorveth’s route, while completing the main quest The Spellbreaker . If you choose to fight the Operator as part of the quest From a Bygone Era , you must contend with pairs of super-strong gargoyles that he summons periodically throughout the battle.

Gargoyles are the strongest of the enemies that attack in packs. They hit as hard (or harder) than many creatures twice their size, but are perhaps the most agile enemies in the game. Gargoyles have no true weaknesses and are highly resistant to damage. Despite their speed, strong attacks are best used against them so you can defeat them in fewer blows. Even when you bludgeon away a gargoyle’s vitality, it still finds a way to attack you in death. Much like rotfiends, gargoyles explode when their vitality reaches zero. This explosion comes with less warning, does more damage, and inflicts incineration and knockdown if you’re caught in it. You can read the book Gargoyles, Gutters, Splutters—Maintenance and Repair to gain knowledge of gargoyles.

Gargoyles have two unique drops of note. Gargoyle dust in a standard game can be sold off, since it has no use in crafting and contains only vermilion, a common alchemical substance. In a Dark mode game, gargoyle dust is needed to craft the Kinslayer’s boots, Kinslayer’s gauntlets, and the steel sword Mourner. Gargoyle hearts can be used to craft elemental stones, but you usually have a steady supply of them by the time you begin fighting gargoyles regularly in Chapter 3. It can be more lucrative to simply sell them off.