Grist

Called the true gargoyle, a grist resembles a gargoyle or margoyle but is far bigger and more frightening. It was made by the archmage of a hidden wizard's valley, who took a gargoyle-shaped statue and layered geas, fly, fear, stone shape, polymorph any object and finally wish upon it; this was his idea of what a gargoyle ought to be. Several dozen are thought to exist. Its surface matches the building or cliff it clings to, and its dense stone body weighs one to three tons. It moves 9 on foot and 12 aloft; the wings only steer, so damaging them worsens its maneuverability class by one. It bonds effortlessly to brick, rock or stone, and nothing else, becoming a seemingly fixed statue.

It waits motionless until its order is triggered, for example 'keep armored humans out of this building,' or until attacked. Until then only detect life reveals it as alive, though detect magic shows its enchantment. Once roused it fights without fear until destroyed, preferring the air, and concentrates every blow on one foe before moving to the next. It claws, bites and swats with a maul-like spiked tail; some have four arms, for six attacks a round. If two claws hit one target in a round, the grist seizes it, carries it up and drops it.

Every ten minutes it can emit a gray beam of fear from its eyes, a cone 2 feet wide at the source, 30 feet wide at the end and 60 feet long; those caught must save vs. spell or suffer the effects of a fear spell. Normal weapons cannot hurt it, no fire or cold, mundane or magical, affects it, resists other spells at 20%, and is immune to poison.

A grist cannot speak, having no vocal cords, and has no will of its own beyond its master's orders. It heals 24 hit points a day by rejoining its post and drawing minerals from the stone. Grists are sexless, cannot reproduce, and never change size. They appear in groups of 2d4, more of them meaning a more important charge. They own nothing, but they swallow ore, coins, gems and jewelry taken from victims, so a shattered grist sometimes yields treasure.

Grists are found only on buildings, inside or out, and on columns, roofs and cliffs. They are not thought to communicate with one another.