Making it fair, unkillable/puzzle monsters.

[th3g0dc0mp13x]

Edit: This turned out phenomenally, My players were on the edge of their seats the entire time and having a blast. Thanks for all your help.

I need some help with this one. I'm running a session this Sunday, where I'll be introducing my take on weeping angels from doctor who. I've got a couple of different ways that I think I would run them and I'm looking for some advice from other dm's.


Immune to all damage/status effect while seen. However they are unable to move in this case.
An attack that physically ages the body instantly, however the mind experiences all of that time while in a harmless demiplane. (This is partially a plot device for the Paladin, he's addicted to a fantasy version of heroin that I created for him.)
A forced blink where all of the creatures attacks happen in a "blink of an eye"
Multiple resolution paths.

Everyone is level 6
Aasimar Glamour bard
Human inquisitive rogue
shadar kai oathbreaker paladin
half elf divination wizard
Dragonborn Grave Cleric




Attacking the creatures while explicitly not looking at them. (the entire party would have to be looking another way.)
A primordial symbol on their forehead that once translated and spoken aloud freezes that one in place for an hour. Perception check, then intelligence check.
Classic doctor style, force them to look at each other freezing them until they are physically blocked from each others site.
Entomb them in a crypt in the graveyard.
Something the players come up with that seems thematic and interesting.







The main questgiver warns them of an unusual guardian. That no one has been able to defeat.
Have an adventurer who managed to escape that they can talk to. Super old elf who is only 50.
Once they reach the site have a body just Inside the gates with a notebook of "theories" on how to successfully get past the guardians.
Have the blink and a statue has disappeared thing happen at a few different points.
Have them attack once and then backoff. After this show two of them staring at each other unmoving.
Possibly have an adventuring party in the graveyard that looks super old and Haggard, and when they blink or look away there are just a bunch of dessicated corpses.
An image of a beholder holding off about a dozen of them.



First. Run them as a fairly standard monster. Initiative and facing rules applied to make it possible to run. Give them 100 hp multiattack, and a recharging "timedrain" type of attack.

Second option. Run them as a unstoppable juggernaut that just continues to haunt and drain the party unless they get smart about it. I wouldn't use initiative for this, more of an ongoing saving throw to avoid blinking.

So I'm essentially looking for input on these things.

Any other resolutions for this kind of monster.
Any other way to run it, I'm absolutely okay with using rules outside the normal 5e system.
Any input on how to quickly ramp up the tension and keep everything nice and suspenseful while this is going on.
How to keep it from getting stale/boring for the players.

[cullynthedwarf]

Give hints early and often of how you think they should be dealt with. If you think the ultimate solution should be having all your gargoyles watch each other then have mirrors shattered or whole left around where the main nest of these are going to be. If this going tonne a on going running maze as they try to navigate out have smashed or broken mirrors seen at T intersection s or long straightaways with motion activated continual flame torches or just a motion active light spell. Have both these broken and mirror by it broken at first then one or the other final both in in working order the farther from the nest you get.

Leave some kind of clue that states seeing their own reflection locks them in their stone form so having crumbled statues around near the working mirrors and torches may also help drive home the correct path. But then again they may come up with something totally different based off the clues you give them.

(Making mobile attack chariot by tying a mirror\torch combo to a wheeled armour stand and using that to trap gargoyles for a while)

Just some thoughts from a guy who know of the angles but never watched them

[Kane0]

Do you want the challenge to be in figuring out the gimmick or dealing with the gimmick? Try not to do both, that leads to the most frustration.

[th3g0dc0mp13x]

Do you want the challenge to be in figuring out the gimmick or dealing with the gimmick? Try not to do both, that leads to the most frustration.
This is the kind of insight I'm looking for actually, I was thinking of having it be both but now that you've said that I'm reconsidering. Personally I would prefer it be figuring it out. Once they've got it figured out I'd be okay with the actual gimmick be fairly simple. I think the best one of the possible solutions for simple gimmick would be using the glyph. Have them learn about the option, and I know one of my players knows primordial (and three of them took comprehend languages/tongues) so after that a simple intelligence check to decipher ancient primordial and speak it aloud.


Give hints early and often of how you think they should be dealt with. If you think the ultimate solution should be having all your gargoyles watch each other then have mirrors shattered or whole left around where the main nest of these are going to be. If this going tonne a on going running maze as they try to navigate out have smashed or broken mirrors seen at T intersection s or long straightaways with motion activated continual flame torches or just a motion active light spell. Have both these broken and mirror by it broken at first then one or the other final both in in working order the farther from the nest you get.


I hadn't actually considered them using a mirror to look at itself, that's an amazing one actually. Mirror's would probably be the first things people tried after figuring out how to stop them.

Puzzle help: an angel staring at itself inside a crypt
foreshadowing: broken mirror's in strategic places.

Thank you for the ideas and insight.