College of Golems
At this college you will study the demanding disciplines of Golem construction and activation. The college has but one spell, which is given to you upon successful completion of studies.
A wizard must be at least Fifth Level to attend this college. The tuition is 6000 gp; the seminar requires four full weeks of intense study and an L2 IQ SR is required to pass.
Construction
The construction of a golem merely requires the appropriate craft skills (sculpture for clay, carpentry for wood, etc.), and this need not be performed by the wizard but may commissioned to more competent hands -- under proper supervision, of course. The materials are simple and often inexpensive, with the exception of the nervous system. A duplicate of a living being's energy meridian must be built into the golem's body by implanting five special focus crystals at the primary meridian points (hip, navel, heart, neck, & head). These crystals are gems whose value depends on the type of golem.
Animation
Once properly constructed, the golem is animated with the Fifth Level spell, It's Alive, Igor! (ST or mana cost of this spell is determined by golem type). A golem will follow the instructions of only one master and that person must be specified when the spell is cast. The designated person must be present during the spell-casting or the golem will go berserk.
The Nature of Golems
Golems can perform only one task at a time and will fulfill it literally, regardless of obstacles. The tasks must be relatively simple ones, but if given a continuous task, a golem will persist until ordered to stop. If given a task that is triggered by some event (e.g., "kill anything that walks through that door"), it can wait indefinitely, ever vigilant (note, however, that in the previous example, it will ignore anything that flies through the door).
Every month, or each time a violent task is performed, roll two dice; if the result is snake-eyes, the golem becomes berserk and proceeds to smash everything in sight and kill anything that moves. Once berserk, control cannot be regained.
Because of their physical nature, all except flesh golems are immune to arrows and similar stabbing projectiles (although they may be affected by secondary effects, such as fire). All (including flesh)
golems are unaffected by any disease or poison. Finally, since only the flesh golem has a living brain, all others are unaffected by TTYF, Mind Pox, and other charm & psychic type spells.
To determine the personal stats for a golem, roll 2d6 (not three) for all attributes except IQ, which is always 2. Each golem type then has certain modifiers to apply to the results.
Golem Types
The table below gives the cost of the creation spell, the time & manner of construction, and the average cost of the materials and life-gems for each golem type. More detailed description of each
type is given below, with attribute modifiers and average combat rolls. A golem's combat roll is a number of dice equal to its Strength multiplier, with adds determined normally.
Golem Type | Mana | Time to Construct (in Weeks) | Cost of Materials (in GP) | Cost of Gems (in GP) |
Wax | 15 | 1 | 20 | 120 |
Cloth | 17 | 3 | 15 | 200 |
Tar | 20 | 2 | 25 | 150 |
Paper | 22 | 2 | 30 | 400 |
Wood | 26 | 3 | 20 | 1500 |
Clay | 30 | 2 | 40 | 2500 |
Dust | 25 | 1 | 0 | 1500 |
Glass | 36 | 1 | 75 | 10,000 |
Ice | 32 | 1 | 0 | 12,500 |
Stone | 42 | 4 | 500 | 100,000 |
Iron | 50 | 6 | 1000 | 200,000 |
Flesh | 15 | 4 - 24 | ? | N/a |
Wax Golem
Modifiers: 2 × ST
The basic cheap work-horse golem. Temperatures over 90°F do one point to CON per hour. Persistent temperatures below 40°F will immobilize it. Cold attacks slow it by half, but do no damage. Fire attacks do only normal damage.
Combat roll & CON
Average: 2d-2, 7 hp
Maximum: 2d+12, 12 hp
Cloth Golem
Modifiers: 2 × ST, 3 × CON
When in combat, if it rolls doubles on its combat dice, it will enwrap one opponent, pinning them with cloth strips & doing 1 pt/round of strangulation/crushing. An enwrapped victim may break free with a L2 ST SR. If a golem has only one enwrapped victim, it may still attack others normally.
Attacks on a golem with enwrapped victims are hazardous -- one third of the hits delivered to the golem are instead taken by the enwrapped victims. Fire attacks have a 2 in 6 chance of setting it
ablaze, doing 2 pts/round.
Combat roll & CON
Average: 2d-2, 20 hp
Maximum: 2d+12, 35 hp
Tar Golem
Modifiers: 2 × ST, 2 × DX, 2 × CON
A favorite inexpensive combat golem. Any weapon used against a tar golem has a 2 in 6 chance of getting stuck, requiring a L2 ST SR to pull free. [If a combatant is left hanging on to a stuck weapon
(i.e., attempted the SR & failed), he is at the mercy of the golem and must take a double share of hits.] Roll for "sticking" each round, regardless of whether any hits were scored.
Cold attacks will slow or immobilize it (depending on how many hit points are scored), but do no damage. Any fire attack has a 3 in 6 chance of setting the golem ablaze, doing 1 pt/round but adding
one die to its attack roll. If the golem is not on fire, it will regenerate two CON points per round.
Combat roll & CON
Average: 2d+2. 14 hp
Maximum: 2d+24, 24 hp
Paper Golem
Modifiers: 3 × DX, 3 × LK
These golems are just stupendously useful. They can refold themselves into almost any shape -- chairs, animals, parasols, books -- the possibilities are endless. Wounds inflicted by a paper golem
are usually…er, paper cuts; those injured who fail a L1 IQ SR have their next combat total halved because of the pain.
Any fire attack has a 5 in 6 chance of setting the golem on fire, doing one point per round.
Combat roll & CON
Average: 1d+16, 7 hp
Maximum: 1d+48, 12 hp
Wood Golem
Modifiers: 2 × ST, 3 × CON
Because of their organic nature, wood golems can be given slightly more complex instructions than the average golem; and will not go berserk while actually performing a task (or acting on instructions,
even if simply "wait until…").
Blunt weapons are ineffective against wood golems; attackers using such weapons must halve their combat total. Fire attacks have only a 1 in 6 chance of setting it afire, doing one point per round.
Combat roll & CON
Average: 2d-2, 20 hp
Maximum: 2d+12, 35 hp
Clay Golem
Modifiers: 4 × ST, 3 × CON, 2 × CHA(negative)
The classic golem and a sentimental favorite. No one is sure why, but clay golems seem to have a predilection for blood-letting. If given a violent task, even if they don't go berserk, they usually overdo it.
Fire attacks have no effect. A bucket of water will do one point, and a heavy rain will do 1 pt/round.
Combat roll & CON
average: 4d+12, 20 hp
maximum: 4d+36, 35 hp
Dust Golem
modifiers: 2 × ST, 2 × DX
Dust golems can "sift" through small cracks & holes and reform on the other side. Anyone who takes hits from a dust golem must make a L1 LK SR or be blinded by the dust for one round.
Being mostly insubstantial, no weapon can inflict more than one point per round on a dust golem. Fire attacks do full normal damage. A good dose of water will reduce it to a helpless pile of sludge, but when it dries out, it will reform again.
Combat roll & CON
average: 2d+2, 7 hp
maximum: 2d+24, 12 hp
Glass Golem
Modifiers: 3 × ST, 3 × CON, 2 × DX
Because they are transparent and reflective, they can be rather difficult to see, particularly in low light conditions. Any opponent who fails a L2 IQ SR must halve their combat total (or if firing missiles, must double the level of the to-hit SR).
When hit, a glass golem tends to scatter shards of glass; for every hit point scored on the golem, a like amount must be taken among the melee opponents.
Combat roll & CON
Average: 3d+9, 20 hp
Maximum: 3d+36, 35 hp
Ice Golem
Modifiers: 3 × ST, 4 × CON
Ice golems never go berserk so long as the temperature is below freezing. They may also be magically charged by casting a Freeze Pleeze spell at it immediately upon its awakening. Thereafter, it will be able to cast that spell once per day, with power equal to the original spell as it was cast.
Temperatures above 40°F will do 1 point per hour; above 70°F will do 1 pt per turn. Fire attacks will do normal damage; cold attacks will heal hit points.
Combat roll & CON
Average: 3d+5, 30 hp
Maximum: 3d+24, 45 hp
Stone Golem
Modifiers: 5 × ST, 2 × DX, 5 × CON
Stone golems may use any weapon their ST and DX allow, and often carry tower shields. They may be magically charged by casting a Medusa spell at it immediately upon its awakening. Thereafter, the golem will be able to cast that spell once per day and will be immune to Slush Yuck spells.
Each round that a bladed weapon is used against a stone golem, there is a 1 in 6 chance the weapon will lose one add due to chipping.
Combat roll & CON
Average: 5d+23, 35 hp
Maximum: 5d+60, 60 hp
Iron Golem
Modifiers: 6 × ST, 3 × DX, 8 × CON
Iron golems may use any weapon their ST and DX allow. They may also be magically charged by casting a Wall of Iron spell at it immediately upon its awakening. Thereafter, it will be able to cast
that spell once per day, either in the normal fashion, or to instantly regenerate all its lost CON.
Blunt weapons and arrows are totally ineffective against an iron golem. Each round that a nonmagical bladed weapon is used against it, there is a 1 in 6 chance the blade will completely shatter.
Combat roll & CON
Average: 6d+37, 55 hp
Maximum: 6d+84, 95 hp
Flesh Golem
Modifiers: 3 × ST, 2 × CON, IQ = 1d6
Since flesh golems have an inherent nervous system, meridian crystals are unnecessary. Their bodies are, however, not really alive, and they need no food or water, and are unaffected by climatic
extremes, etc.
Roll 1d6 for the flesh golem's IQ. If you roll a 3 or better, it is semi-intelligent and can speak the first language of the original brain. Also, you must now roll for control loss during every task. If control is lost, it will not necessarily go berserk. Instead, it becomes an independent, free-willed being.
Combat roll & CON
Average: 3d+5, 14 hp
Maximum: 3d+24, 24 hp
Credits
Most of the Golem types in this college were inspired by (or ripped off from) various contributions to the three (out-of-print) volumes of All the World's Monsters edited by Jeff Pimper & Steve Perrin.