Statue gargoyle - Revision history

Umbire the Phantom: /* Strategy */ word choice, spacing, etc.

2026-05-13T19:22:07Z

‎Strategy: word choice, spacing, etc.

Umbire the Phantom: touch-ups

2026-04-20T00:48:51Z

touch-ups

Umbire the Phantom: tweaks

2025-07-10T05:30:14Z

tweaks

Umbire the Phantom: /* Strategy */ another one

2025-05-21T14:45:41Z

‎Strategy: another one

Umbire the Phantom: /* Strategy */ word choice

2025-05-21T14:45:10Z

‎Strategy: word choice

Umbire the Phantom: word choice

2025-05-21T14:42:37Z

word choice

Umbire the Phantom: /* Strategy */ detail

2025-04-13T12:46:49Z

‎Strategy: detail

Umbire the Phantom: temp

2025-03-23T16:10:56Z

temp

Umbire the Phantom: var

2025-03-23T16:07:20Z

var

Umbire the Phantom: /* Strategy */ specify games

2025-03-23T16:07:02Z

‎Strategy: specify games

@@ Line 102: / Line 102: @@
 Two of the strongest melee classes&mdash;the Samurai and Barbarians&mdash;lack any way to hurt statue gargoyles within their starting inventories, and will have to come up with another plan.
-Fortunately, statue gargoyles have no [[Magic resistance (monster)|MR score]] and no resistance to spells or wands outside of the {{+ of|sleep}} spell, wands of sleep or [[wands of death]], as implied by the table above. A fortuitous hero may need as little as a few well-placed bolts from a [[wand of striking]] to easily take them out&mdash;wands of digging can also halve their HP, though this is not always practical and engraving [[Elbereth]] with that charge might be preferable. A [[Vampire (starting race in SLASH'EM)|vampire]] hero can drain a statue gargoyle to death through their bite attack, which may take a while since the drain effect doesn't always trigger. While casting stone to flesh on a statue gargoyle is obviously impractical for early heroes that cannot deal with ''normal'' gargoyles, heroes that are mid-game ready at minimum and capable of fighting off gargoyles can use this to possibly obtain [[corpse]]s for sacrifice from the normally-corpseless statue gargoyles.
+Fortunately, statue gargoyles have no [[Magic resistance (monster)|MR score]] and no resistance to spells or wands outside of the {{+ of|sleep}} spell, wands of sleep or [[wands of death]], as implied by the table above. A hero may need as little as a few well-placed bolts from a [[wand of striking]] to easily take them out if things fall in their favor&mdash;wands of digging can also halve their HP, though this is not always practical and engraving [[Elbereth]] with that charge might be preferable.
-As attacking monsters that have enchantment resistance with unenchanted weapons will still train that weapon's [[skill]], a hero with sufficient [[AC]] or recovery to survive a statue gargoyle's attacks can use them to raise various weapon skills. Additionally, in [[Vulture's Claw]], statue gargoyles look like normal [[Gnome (monster)|gnomes]], so keep an eye on the combat log.
+A [[Vampire (starting race in SLASH'EM)|vampire]] hero can drain a statue gargoyle to death through their bite attack, which may take a while since the drain effect doesn't always trigger. While casting stone to flesh on a statue gargoyle is obviously impractical for early heroes that cannot deal with ''normal'' gargoyles, heroes that are mid-game ready at minimum and capable of fighting off gargoyles can use this to possibly obtain [[corpse]]s for sacrifice from the normally-corpseless statue gargoyles. As attacking monsters that have enchantment resistance with weapons will still train that weapon's [[skill]] even if they lack the required enchantment to deal damage, a hero with sufficient [[AC]] or recovery to survive a statue gargoyle's attacks can use them to raise various weapon skills.
 ==References==

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
    |frequency=1
    |genocidable=Yes
-   |attacks=Claw 1d3 [[Physical damage|physical]], claw 1d3 physical
+   |attacks=[[Claw attack|Claw]] 1d3 [[Physical damage|physical]], claw 1d3 physical
    |weight=900
    |nutr=0
@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
    |reference=[[SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2/monst.c#line729]]
 }}
 A '''statue gargoyle''', {{monsym|statue gargoyle}}, is a type of [[monster]] that appears in [[SLASH'EM]], [[SlashTHEM]] and [[Hack'EM]]. It is a [[Gremlin (monster class)|gremlin-like]] [[humanoid]] creature that is an animated statue, and is [[mindless]], [[unbreathing]] and [[thick-skinned]].
-Statue gargoyles have two claw attacks, and possess [[poison resistance]], [[sleep resistance]], [[stoning resistance]], and [[death resistance]]. They are very likely to be the first monster encountered by the [[hero]] that has some level of resistance to [[weapon]]s without [[enchantment]] and [[Need +x weapon to hit|require a +1 weapon or better to hit]], and they also have the implicit ability to [[Hits creatures as +x weapon|hit as +1 weapons]].{{refsrc|mhitm.c|1002|version=SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2}} As a monster made of rock, [[ray]]s from a [[wand of digging]] or the {{+ of|dig}} spell will halve the current [[HP]] of any statue gargoyles they hit, which will never leave them at less than 1 HP{{refsrc|dig.c|1294|version=SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2}}&mdash;additionally, casting [[stone to flesh]] on a statue gargoyle will also turn it into a normal [[gargoyle]] if gargoyles are not [[genocided]] or [[extinct]].{{refsrc|zap.c|377|version=SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2}}
+Statue gargoyles have two claw attacks, and possess [[poison resistance]], [[sleep resistance]], [[stoning resistance]], and [[death resistance]]. They [[Need +x weapon to hit|require a +1 weapon or better to hit]], making them very likely to be the first monster encountered by the [[hero]] that has some level of resistance to [[weapon]]s without [[enchantment]], and and they also have the implicit ability to [[Hits creatures as +x weapon|hit as +1 weapons]].{{refsrc|mhitm.c|1002|version=SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2}} As a monster made of rock, [[ray]]s from a [[wand of digging]] or the {{+ of|dig}} spell will halve the current [[HP]] of any statue gargoyles they hit, which will never leave them at less than 1 HP{{refsrc|dig.c|1294|version=SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2}}&mdash;additionally, casting [[stone to flesh]] on a statue gargoyle will also turn it into a normal [[gargoyle]] if gargoyles are not [[genocided]] or [[extinct]].{{refsrc|zap.c|377|version=SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2}}
 ==Generation==
-Statue gargoyles are always generated as hostile, and will not randomly generate normally in [[Gehennom]].
+Statue gargoyles are always generated as hostile, and will not randomly generate normally in [[Gehennom (SLASH'EM)|Gehennom]].
-Ten statue gargoyles are generated in fixed locations within [[The Temple of Moloch]] at level creation.
+Ten statue gargoyles are generated in fixed locations within [[The Temple of Moloch]] during level creation.
 Statue gargoyles [[Corpseless|do not leave a corpse]] upon death.
@@ Line 42: / Line 41: @@
 * '''Difficult''': Have no viable way to kill them with initial inventory.
-Note that "Simple" does not necessarily mean statue gargoyles are trivial for that role: a [[Tourist/SLASH'EM|Tourist]] can kill them with darts as they do other monsters, but that remains a dicey proposition as it would be with a [[giant ant]]. The following roles are always or nearly always classified as Simple:
+Note that "Simple" does not necessarily mean statue gargoyles are trivial for that role&mdash;a [[Tourist/SLASH'EM|Tourist]] can kill them with darts as they do other monsters, but that remains as dicey a proposition as it would be with a [[giant ant]]. The following roles are always or nearly always classified as Simple:
 * [[Caveman/SLASH'EM|Caveman]]
@@ Line 53: / Line 52: @@
 * [[Yeoman]]
-The remaining roles are listed in the table below using the aforementioned categories. A split rating denotes different complexities based on different possible starting inventories, ignoring inventory variations with a probability of {{frac|10}} or lower, e.g. [[poisoned]] weapons for chaotics:
+The remaining roles are listed in the table below using the aforementioned categories. A split rating denotes different complexities based on different possible starting inventories, ignoring inventory variations with a probability of {{frac|10}} or lower, e.g. [[poisoned weapon]]s for chaotic heroes:
 {|class="prettytable"
@@ Line 86: / Line 85: @@
 ||[[Rogue/SLASH'EM|Rogue]]
 ||''Medium''
-||Poisoned projectiles do normal damage, which rogues can always make a stack of; daggers are preferable, but darts will work.
+||Poisoned projectiles ignore enchantment resistance to do normal damage, and Rogues can always make a stack of them; daggers are preferable, but darts will work.
 |-
 ||[[Samurai/SLASH'EM|Samurai]]

@@ Line 103: / Line 103: @@
 Two of the strongest melee classes&mdash;the Samurai and Barbarians&mdash;lack any way to hurt statue gargoyles within their starting inventories, and will have to come up with another plan.
-Fortunately, statue gargoyles have no [[Magic resistance (monster)|MR score]] and no resistance to spells or wands outside of {{+ of|sleep}} or [[wands of death]], as implied by the table above. A fortuitous hero may need as little as a few well-placed bolts from a [[wand of striking]] to easily take them out&mdash;wands of digging can also halve their HP, though this is not always practical and engraving [[Elbereth]] with that charge might be preferable. A [[Vampire (starting race in SLASH'EM)|vampire]] hero can drain a statue gargoyle to death through their bite attack, which may take a while since the drain effect doesn't always trigger. While casting stone to flesh on a statue gargoyle is obviously impractical for early heroes that cannot deal with ''normal'' gargoyles, heroes that are mid-game ready at minimum and capable of fighting off gargoyles can use this to possibly obtain [[corpse]]s for sacrifice from the normally-corpseless statue gargoyles.
+Fortunately, statue gargoyles have no [[Magic resistance (monster)|MR score]] and no resistance to spells or wands outside of the {{+ of|sleep}} spell, wands of sleep or [[wands of death]], as implied by the table above. A fortuitous hero may need as little as a few well-placed bolts from a [[wand of striking]] to easily take them out&mdash;wands of digging can also halve their HP, though this is not always practical and engraving [[Elbereth]] with that charge might be preferable. A [[Vampire (starting race in SLASH'EM)|vampire]] hero can drain a statue gargoyle to death through their bite attack, which may take a while since the drain effect doesn't always trigger. While casting stone to flesh on a statue gargoyle is obviously impractical for early heroes that cannot deal with ''normal'' gargoyles, heroes that are mid-game ready at minimum and capable of fighting off gargoyles can use this to possibly obtain [[corpse]]s for sacrifice from the normally-corpseless statue gargoyles.
 As attacking monsters that have enchantment resistance with unenchanted weapons will still train that weapon's [[skill]], a hero with sufficient [[AC]] or recovery to survive a statue gargoyle's attacks can use them to raise various weapon skills. Additionally, in [[Vulture's Claw]], statue gargoyles look like normal [[Gnome (monster)|gnomes]], so keep an eye on the combat log.

@@ Line 103: / Line 103: @@
 Two of the strongest melee classes&mdash;the Samurai and Barbarians&mdash;lack any way to hurt statue gargoyles within their starting inventories, and will have to come up with another plan.
-Fortunately, statue gargoyles have no [[Magic resistance (monster)|MR score]] and no resistance to spells or wands outside of {{+ of|sleep}} or [[wands of death]], as implied by the table above. A fortuitous hero may need as little as a few well-placed bolts from a [[wand of striking]] to easily take them out&mdash;wands of digging can also halve their HP, though this is not always practical and engraving [[Elbereth]] with that charge might be preferable. A [[Vampire (starting race in SLASH'EM)|vampire]] hero can drain a statue gargoyle to death through their bite attack, which may take a while since the drain effect doesn't always trigger. While casting stone to flesh on a statue gargoyle is obviously impractical for early heroes that cannot deal with ''normal'' gargoyles, heroes that are mid-game ready at minimum and capable of fighting off gargoyles can use this to possibly obtain [[corpse]]s for sacrifice from the normally-corpseless monsters.
+Fortunately, statue gargoyles have no [[Magic resistance (monster)|MR score]] and no resistance to spells or wands outside of {{+ of|sleep}} or [[wands of death]], as implied by the table above. A fortuitous hero may need as little as a few well-placed bolts from a [[wand of striking]] to easily take them out&mdash;wands of digging can also halve their HP, though this is not always practical and engraving [[Elbereth]] with that charge might be preferable. A [[Vampire (starting race in SLASH'EM)|vampire]] hero can drain a statue gargoyle to death through their bite attack, which may take a while since the drain effect doesn't always trigger. While casting stone to flesh on a statue gargoyle is obviously impractical for early heroes that cannot deal with ''normal'' gargoyles, heroes that are mid-game ready at minimum and capable of fighting off gargoyles can use this to possibly obtain [[corpse]]s for sacrifice from the normally-corpseless statue gargoyles.
 As attacking monsters that have enchantment resistance with unenchanted weapons will still train that weapon's [[skill]], a hero with sufficient [[AC]] or recovery to survive a statue gargoyle's attacks can use them to raise various weapon skills. Additionally, in [[Vulture's Claw]], statue gargoyles look like normal [[Gnome (monster)|gnomes]], so keep an eye on the combat log.

@@ Line 105: / Line 105: @@
 Fortunately, statue gargoyles have no [[Magic resistance (monster)|MR score]] and no resistance to spells or wands outside of {{+ of|sleep}} or [[wands of death]], as implied by the table above. A fortuitous hero may need as little as a few well-placed bolts from a [[wand of striking]] to easily take them out&mdash;wands of digging can also halve their HP, though this is not always practical and engraving [[Elbereth]] with that charge might be preferable. A [[Vampire (starting race in SLASH'EM)|vampire]] hero can drain a statue gargoyle to death through their bite attack, which may take a while since the drain effect doesn't always trigger. While casting stone to flesh on a statue gargoyle is obviously impractical for early heroes that cannot deal with ''normal'' gargoyles, heroes that are mid-game ready at minimum and capable of fighting off gargoyles can use this to possibly obtain [[corpse]]s for sacrifice from the normally-corpseless monsters.
-As attacking statue gargoyles with unenchanted weapons will still train that weapon's [[skill]], a hero with sufficient [[AC]] or recovery to survive a statue gargoyle's attacks can use them to raise various weapon skills. Additionally, in [[Vulture's Claw]], statue gargoyles look like normal [[Gnome (monster)|gnomes]], so keep an eye on the combat log.
+As attacking monsters that have enchantment resistance with unenchanted weapons will still train that weapon's [[skill]], a hero with sufficient [[AC]] or recovery to survive a statue gargoyle's attacks can use them to raise various weapon skills. Additionally, in [[Vulture's Claw]], statue gargoyles look like normal [[Gnome (monster)|gnomes]], so keep an eye on the combat log.
 ==References==

@@ Line 101: / Line 101: @@
 |}
-Of note is that two of the strongest melee classes - Samurai and Barbarians - lack any way to hurt statue gargoyles, and will have to come up with another plan.
+Of note is that two of the strongest melee classes&mdash;Samurai and Barbarians&mdash;lack any way to hurt statue gargoyles within their starting inventories, and will have to come up with another plan.
 Fortunately, statue gargoyles have no [[Magic resistance (monster)|MR score]] and no resistance to spells or wands outside of {{+ of|sleep}} or [[wands of death]], as implied by the table above. A fortuitous hero may need as little as a few well-placed bolts from a [[wand of striking]] to easily take them out&mdash;wands of digging can also halve their HP, though this is not always practical and engraving [[Elbereth]] with that charge might be preferable. A [[Vampire (starting race in SLASH'EM)|vampire]] hero can drain a statue gargoyle to death through their bite attack, which may take a while since the drain effect doesn't always trigger. While casting stone to flesh on a statue gargoyle is obviously impractical for early heroes that cannot deal with ''normal'' gargoyles, heroes that are mid-game ready at minimum and capable of fighting off gargoyles can use this to possibly obtain [[corpse]]s for sacrifice from the normally-corpseless monsters.

@@ Line 110: / Line 110: @@
 <references/>
 {{slashem-7E7|offset=1}}
-{{variant-343}}
+{{variant-343}}<!--{{variant-36X}}-->
 [[Category:SLASH'EM monsters]]
 [[Category:SlashTHEM monsters]]
 [[Category:Hack'EM monsters]]

@@ Line 32: / Line 32: @@
 ==Strategy==
-Statue gargoyles can prove vexing for starting and early-game heroes that encounter them: despite their low attack power, middling 5 [[AC]] and 9 [[speed]], their inability to take damage from enchanted weapons can make them hard if not quite difficult to overcome depending on the hero's [[role]], and they are additionally immune to most forms of [[instant death]] that a early hero could possibly access. Most heroes' starting [[pet]]s will be unable to inflict damage either, since a majority of them are [[domestic animal]]s that do not hit as enchanted weapons. Furthermore, statue gargoyles can appear as early as [[dungeon level]] 3, including areas such as the [[Mall]] where players spend a lot of time.
+Statue gargoyles can prove vexing for starting and early-game heroes that encounter them in SLASH'EM and SlashTHEM: despite their low attack power, middling 5 [[AC]] and 9 [[speed]], their inability to take damage from enchanted weapons can make them hard if not quite difficult to overcome depending on the hero's [[role]], and they are additionally immune to most forms of [[instant death]] that a early hero could possibly access. Most heroes' starting [[pet]]s will be unable to inflict damage either, since a majority of them are [[domestic animal]]s that do not hit as enchanted weapons. Furthermore, statue gargoyles can appear as early as [[dungeon level]] 3, including areas such as the [[Mall]] where players spend a lot of time.
 The best recourse for any hero if they lack an enchanted weapon is to give the statue gargoyle a wide berth until they can be dealt with at a later point. A hero that can obtain an [[artifact]] weapon via [[sacrifice]] will find them much easier to deal with: artifact weapons are counted as +2 weapons before factoring in their enchantment for purposes of attacking monsters with enchantment resistance, and any gifted artifact will be at least +0. As before, however, access to an artifact weapon this way also depends heavily on the hero's role and [[race]]. Even with access to an artifact weapon or other enchanted weapon, the -4 [[to-hit]] penalty for unskilled weapon use combined with the 5 AC of the statue gargoyle typically makes for even further difficulties in overcoming them.