Grandfather plaque

A grandfather plaque was a type of small, guardian gargoyle in the Realms, created for the purpose of acting as a door guardian.
==Description==
All grandfather plaques were immobile constructs, lacking any sort of limbs, being that they were designed to be attached to the stone lintel of a door. Their bodies consisted entirely of a bas relief of a human face, depicted with strong, dignified features. On average they measured around .
==Personality==
All grandfather plaques possessed an average level of intellect, comparable to that of a human, allowing them to converse with and screen guests. They were utterly devoted to their role as guardians, finding their existence to be meaningless if they were left without people to guard, and exhibited absolute loyalty towards anyone who lived within a building they guarded. Their focus was so narrow that they seldom interacted with other creatures unless a response was needed.
However, whenever a grandfather plaque's building fell into ruin and abandonment, it would engage in conversation with other intelligent creatures, imploring them to either repair the structure or remove them from their lintel and install them elsewhere on a door of a structure that was in active use. They would often, in return, offer all the treasures that had accumulated over the years from previous trespassers.
==Abilities==
These constructs possessed a limited form of telepathy, allowing them to mentally converse with a single person whom was designated at the time of their creation. They also had the power to wizard lock the doors they were attached to, allowing them to open and close them at will.
Grandfather plaques were imbued with three spell-like powers to defend themselves and their charges. Firstly, they could shoot magic missiles from their eyes. They could shout at intruders, as per the wizard spell. And anyone who touched either them or their door without permission would find themselves weakened, as if they were the victim of a ray of enfeeblement. Additionally, they could only be harmed by weapons that had a +1 or greater enchantment.
==Society==
Grandfather plaques were solitary constructs, never being placed on doors in pairs. If ever a complex had more than one grandfather plaque as part of its security, they would always be found on separate on doors.
==Notable Grandfather Plaques==
* Grandfather plagues were among the specialized stone monsters that guarded the lair of the blue dragon Iymrith.
* The Sleepy Dwarf Tavern in Ravens Bluff had a grandfather plaque installed on the stairwell door leading to its second floor. Anyone who attempted to pass through its door would be directed to first check-in with Mary Grace at the Guests Relations podium.
* In the Vast, the manor house of the wizard Raven had a cemetary that included a tomb for the Warlord Hastigor whose doors were guarded by a grandfather plaque with a bearded visage.
* Within the burial vaults of the Uthtower, the nobility of the kingdom of Uthtower had a grandfather plaque in the likeness of their own face installed on the stone alcove of their burial niche. Beneath each of these grandfather plaques was an inscription, detailing the name of the person interred as well as their birth and death dates, enumerated in Uth Reckoning. Some were additionally inscribed with a rather cryptic message. If these plaques were addressed or touched in any fashion, they would incite the inscription in an archaic dialect of Common.
==Appendix==
===Notes===
===Appearances===
===References===
Category:Constructs