Doom Guard

A doom guard begins as an ordinary suit of armor and becomes an animated, golem-like construct through a chain of dark enchantments. Their makers post them as sentries in castles and towers. Suits come in western, eastern and many other styles. They never speak and have no language, and they can follow only a simple order or two, such as guarding a room against everyone but the creator, or slaying anyone who opens a particular chest until told to stop.

There is nothing clever about a doom guard. When its orders call for a fight, it walks straight at its target and swings. A thoughtful party can often trick one rather than meet it blade to blade. Most carry a sword, axe or club and deal 1d8 points of damage per hit; about one in ten has a heavier or lighter weapon instead (even odds), dealing 1d10 or 1d6.

Although often mistaken for undead, it is not one, so it cannot be turned and ignores magic such as control undead. Having no mind, it shrugs off charm, hold, sleep and other mental magic, and having no living body, it is unaffected by poison or by spells that work on biology, such as cause blindness or cause light wounds.

Fire and cold do only half damage, or none on a successful save where one is allowed. Lightning and electricity do full damage. Either crystalbrittle or transmute metal to wood destroys one instantly by wrecking the delicate web of magic that animates it.

These artificial beings have no society and cannot reproduce. They stay wherever they were made and posted.

Despite appearances, a doom guard is not really enchanted armor; no spell is ever cast on the suit itself. Its power comes from the enchanted anvil of darkness on which it is forged.

The anvil must be cast from metal taken from a destroyed iron golem, with a scarab versus golems (any type) or an untouched, unread manual of golems sealed in its core. While the metal is still hot, a powerful wizard enchants it in four steps: enchant an item to prepare it, fabricate to give it creative essence, binding to trap the last trace of the spirit that drove the iron golem, and permanency to fuse the whole into one lasting enchantment.

With a finished anvil, a skilled armorer can turn out a new guardian each 20 weeks. After starting, the armorer must labor at least 8 hours of every 24, and any pause or delay whatsoever ruins the enchantment.