Golem Overview

Nobody knows who first learned to make a golem, or whether one person did; the craft is older than any writing about it. Later rediscoverers set their methods down in enchanted manuals that help readers build them. Many think the earliest was a flesh golem, maybe the accident of a wizard trying to raise corpses, since once-living matter is the easiest medium. The technique was later extended to earthen substances, which give far stronger results.

Clay, stone, iron, even glass: golems are made of elemental matter, with organic exceptions such as the flesh golem. The force inside is a spirit drawn from the elemental plane of Earth, forced into the body and enslaved to its maker. Being foreign to its shell, it shrugs off most spells and many weapons. No researcher has learned what the spirit truly is, only that it hates all Prime Material life and its own binder above all. Variant golems work the same way, though their spirits may be tricked, lured, forced, or sometimes willing. An unwilling one may break loose, and a freed construct often goes berserk, destroying everything before it until it is itself destroyed.

Making the body is grueling, precise work, so most casters hire a mason, a dwarf or another expert, and a maker unskilled in the material needs twice the time. Each golem spell fixes the size of the result; research into other sizes has had little success. Costs include the body and every material or component consumed or built in. Animation rites can take a full month without interruption, already counted in the listed times, although shortcut designs such as the necrophidius and scarecrow are quicker. Spells may come from scrolls, wands or other devices, and a magical manual replaces the spells altogether and lets a much lower-level caster succeed.

Variants arose as generations of priests and wizards studied old designs, altered them and recorded the changes, work still under way in magical colleges everywhere. Craftsmanship matters: a caryatid column demands a master sculptor's loving care, while cruder types like the scarecrow and stone guardian need runes and glyphs drawn flawlessly instead.

Having no minds, all golems are immune to hold, charm, fear and other mental spells, and all are immune to poison. Most are fearless and never check morale. Spells that can harm a given type appear in its own entry.

Flesh: at least 6 fresh human corpses (each limb from a separate body, plus one for torso and head and another for the brain); strength, geas, wish, protection from normal missiles, polymorph any object.

Clay: only lawful good priests; one 1,000-pound clay block, about a month to sculpt; bless, prayer, commune, animate object, resurrection. Only the 30,000 gp vestments survive to be reused.

Stone: one block of granite or similar hard stone of 3,000 pounds or more, two months of carving plus a month of rites, 60,000 gp in materials; slow, geas, polymorph any object, wish.

Iron: 5,000 pounds of iron shaped by a skilled smith around an ornate sword; geas, cloudkill, polymorph any object, wish. A magical sword has a 50% chance of being drained on animation; the golem can use only its automatic powers, never command-word or sentient ones, and it becomes ordinary if pulled out.

Bone: since only a tenth of any skeleton is usable, the bones come from many humans, beasts and monsters, all skeletal undead raised and destroyed in the misty dread realm; wish, binding, symbol of fear, animate dead.

Caryatid column: needs a special manual of golems, and 20% of such tomes found describe it.

Doll: a child's toy such as a stuffed animal or baby doll; prayer, bless, holy or unholy word, hideous laughter, imbue with spell ability. The first turned up in a blood-soaked domain of the dread realm.

Gargoyle: a granite slab of 3,000 pounds and costly components, often posted atop a tomb, cathedral or other building; prayer, conjure earth elemental, stone shape, exaction, holy or unholy word, bless. Its reusable vestments save 15,000 gp on later ones.

Glass: all stained glass; rainbow, wish, prismatic spray, glassteel, animate object. The mix of spells usually calls for a multi-class or dual-class maker or a strong assistant. Its first maker is unknown, perhaps a mage with artistic pretensions.

Juggernaut: built like a stone golem, but a shapechanging one needs mimic blood in the final spells, which gives it intelligence and an alignment.

Necrophidius: burn a special manual whose ashes become its animating force, or follow long rites: a wizard uses charm person, limited wish and geas; a priest uses snake charm, silence, quest, prayer and neutralize poison. Every method needs a whole giant snake skeleton, constrictor or venomous, slain no more than 24 hours before work starts. Each has one task its maker truly intends, such as slaying a certain enemy; it never twists that intent, and its magic fades once the task is complete or impossible. A maker cannot give it a false errand meant only as a diversion, nor send a second one after a target already assigned, so they almost never cooperate. Legend speaks of a lost technique letting one gain 1 Hit Die per century spent on its task.

Scarecrow: a special manual, or a god answering a priest who casts command, quest, prayer and animate object, the quest spell at the new moon. Dressed in a chosen victim's own clothes, it heads straight for that person when its maker speaks the single word 'Quest', ignores everyone else, and turns to dust once its target dies.

Stone guardian: mud packed around a polished stone heart and covered in runes; magic mouth, transmute mud to rock, enchant an item, and wish or limited wish, plus detect invisibility if the maker wants it to have that power. Its spirit is forced in, so each activation carries a 20% chance it goes berserk. A ring made during animation stops that guardian from attacking its wearer or anyone within 10 feet, but guards against no other golem.