Golem IV

Carved to watch over one particular building, the gargoyle golem is a sentinel of stone. It matches a true gargoyle in size, about 6 feet tall and 550 pounds, and has wings that are purely for show, since it cannot fly. It never speaks or signals, and wherever it moves the scrape of rock on rock gives it away. That grating noise is often the first hint a party gets that trouble is near.

The glass golem is close to a masterpiece: a knight rendered in stained glass, often set into a window of the same work so that it guards a church, shrine or similar place. It is silent too, but its movements chime faintly like fine crystal, and in light it flashes and shimmers as its panes split the rays into colors.

A gargoyle golem can spring as far as 100 feet and likes to drop onto intruders approaching its building. If no one has recognized it for what it is, opponents suffer a -2 penalty on surprise checks in the first round. Against a surprised target it pounces instead of punching, its weight crushing for 4d10 damage, and any items the victim carries in exposed spots (the DM decides which) must save vs. crushing blow or be ruined.

Otherwise it fights with two stone fists, both aimed at the same foe, each dealing 3d6. If both connect, the target must save vs. petrification or become stone. The golem then strikes that same statue on the next round, and any hit smashes it beyond the reach of resurrection, though reincarnation still works.

Like most golems it ignores nearly every spell cast at it. An earthquake directed at it shatters it at once while leaving the surroundings untouched. Transmute rock to mud deals it 2d10 damage, and transmute mud to rock heals the same amount.

A glass golem hidden in a window imposes a -3 penalty to surprise rolls on anyone who had no reason to suspect it. It then fights with its glass sword for 2d12 per hit. Every third round it can burst with a prismatic spray that fans out on all sides; every creature and object within 25 feet, ally or enemy, is affected as if hit by the wizard spell.

No golem is more brittle. Only weapons of +2 or better can strike it, and blunt ones deal double damage. A shatter spell aimed at it leaves it cracked, so that afterward each melee hit can destroy it outright, the percent chance being double the damage that blow dealt. A mending spell heals it completely, and in direct sunlight or something equivalent it regenerates 1 hit point per round.