Gargoyle

Gargoyles
Faction/Affiliation	Scourge, Knights of the Ebon Blade, Forsaken
Racial capital	Icecrown Citadel
Homeworld	Azeroth
Area(s)	Northrend (particularly Icecrown), Plaguelands, Ghostlands

This article is about the gargoyles of Northrend. For the gargoyles of Revendreth, see stoneborn and stone fiend.

“Out of nowhere, he was grabbed by stony talons and whisked away into the night sky...”

— Commander Falstaav^[2]

Gargoyles are large, vicious bat-like creatures from Northrend who have the ability to temporarily turn to stone. Most of them serve the Undead Scourge.

Background[]

Putrid Gargoyle — A gargoyle in *World of Warcraft*.

The gargoyles of Northrend are voracious flying creatures who revel in slaughter and mayhem.^[3]^[4] Although they are beasts of flesh and blood,^[5] they have rough, crystalline hides which protect them from attacks^[3]^[4] and make them look like animated stone.^[6]^[7] When in danger, they can land and quickly condense their hides into a stone-like surface to make themselves almost impervious to damage. They must remain motionless while in this stone form, but it gives them time to replenish their energies.^[3]^[5] They can use this ability to pose as statues until an enemy gets close, at which point they come to life and attack.^[8]

Effritus — A gargoyle resting in stone form.

Gargoyles make effective scouts and can be deadly if left to rain attacks from the air, but they have an obvious weakness: most of them have to go through long periods resting in stone form to maintain the energy needed to carry their heavy bodies through the air. During this time, they are vulnerable and can be easily destroyed.^[9] While in stone form, they can be shattered into fragments.^[10] In combat, gargoyles use their claws and teeth^[5] or kill their enemies by picking them up and dropping them from tall heights.^[11]^[12] Some can spit acid or poison.^[13]

Gargoyles serve as scouts,^[14] sentries,^[15] and powerful shock troopers^[16] in the Scourge. Scourge gargoyles are "made animate" and given deadly attack capabilities at crypts.^[17] Smaller gargoyles called grotesques are used to divert the flow of rainwater on Scourge buildings to prevent mausoleum flooding.^[18] The Scourge brought gargoyles with them from Northrend for the invasion of Quel'Thalas during the Third War.^[19] The creatures wheeled above Arthas' marching army like buzzards^[20] and notably intercepted the runners that Sylvanas Windrunner sent to Silvermoon.^[19] During the attack on the capital, swarms of gargoyles clashed with and eventually outnumbered the elven dragonhawk riders, while another flock attacked and sank three ships—the Morn'danel, the Fellovar, and the Varillian—trying to evacuate elven children.^[5]

Some gargoyles have left the Scourge and serve the Knights of the Ebon Blade.^[21] Some death knights can summon them using special collars.^[12] Forsaken gargoyles participated in the Battle for Darkshore.^[1]

Notable[]

As a companion pet[]

[Grotesque Statue] has a chance to drop from Azgalor in Hyjal Summit.

In the RPG[]

This section contains information from the Warcraft RPG which is considered non-canon.

Dire gargoyle — A dire gargoyle in the *Monster Guide*.

Gargoyles are not undead creatures in the Warcraft RPG, unlike in Warcraft III and World of Warcraft. Appendix Three of Manual of Monsters describes a different type of gargoyle which is described as formed of stone and earth and a proto-golem, however, the validity of the source is disputed. Many kinds of gargoyles can be found around Azeroth, some of the more common types include the subspecies of gargoyle represented by various groups of mobs, as well as the dire gargoyle (subspecies, possibly to differentiate from the normal gargoyle in Appendix Three). In Manual of Monsters Appendix Three, there are other subspecies of gargoyles: Four-Armed Gargoyle, Green Gargoyle, and Margoyle, however, the validity of the source is disputed.

Language: Low Common.

Notes and trivia[]

Gargoyle Spire Reforged — A Gargoyle Spire in *Warcraft III: Reforged*.

Death knights can summon an Ebon Gargoyle to aid them with the [Summon Gargoyle] talent.
High Priestess Jeklik, priestess of the bat loa Hir'eek, could transform into a humanoid bat form resembling a gargoyle.
- A shadowy version of the same model is used for when Hir'eek guides the player character in [10-30] Backdoor Dealings.
Kirtonos the Herald can transform into a "vampire" form, which uses the same model as a gargoyle.
The Leaper, a geist, transforms into a gargoyle instead of using a flying mount during his appearance in [35 Daily] The Protectors of Hyjal.
The demon Zelfrax uses a gargoyle model.
Many gargoyle mobs have an ability called Gargoyle Strike, which inflicts Nature damage.
Almost all gargoyles in World of Warcraft are classed as undead, except for Ebon Blade Gargoyles, Ebon Blade Winged Defenders, and the Gargoyles of the Battle for Darkshore, which are instead classed as humanoids.
During Warcraft III's development, Gargoyle units were originally produced from a unique "Gargoyle Spire" building, before changed into being produced from Crypts.
The Cathedral Gargoyle, a paladin minion in Hearthstone: The Witchwood, depicts a gargoyle that more closely resembles a stone statue shaped like a humanoid gryphon than it does previously established gargoyles.
The term gargoyle originally refers to a type of architectural grotesque serving as a waterspout. In popular culture, gargoyles are often depicted as stone monsters coming to life, often equipped with wings and demonic features like horns.

Speculation[]

This article or section includes speculation, observations or opinions possibly supported by lore or by Blizzard officials. It should not be taken as representing official lore.

It is not known what relation, if any, the gargoyles of Azeroth have to the stoneborn gargoyles of Revendreth. They may be a result of the Lich King seeing the stoneborn through the Helm of Domination and attempting to copy them, though the gargoyles' description in the Warcraft III manual implies that gargoyles are native creatures of Northrend that were simply recruited by the Scourge. They may be stoneborn themselves who escaped or were brought out of the Shadowlands somehow.

Alternatively, they may have been created by the aforementioned Hir'eek in the same way that other Wild Gods created humanoid animal races.