Golem VI [Stone Variants]

These constructs are closely related to the stone golem. Mighty wizards build them to serve as guards or laborers in almost any setting.

Caryatid column: Dormant, this construct looks exactly like the classic architectural feature, a finely carved pillar about 7 feet tall shaped like a graceful young woman. Look closely and a slim blade can be seen in the maiden's left hand, but nothing hints that she is anything more than masonry. She is usually posted over a treasure or an important place and waits without moving until whatever trigger her creator set is met. Then she changes with startling speed: the smooth gray stone flushes into living skin tones, light or dark depending on the carving, her eyes blaze white, and the slender stone blade becomes polished steel.

Juggernaut: This version typically takes the form of a massive stone vehicle that rolls on wheels or drums. Certain juggernauts are a strange blend of stone golem and mimic and can reshape themselves as mimics do, sprouting up to six limbs suited to whatever they need. A limb might become a horn to sound an alarm, for instance.

Stone guardian: A heavy humanoid of stone that batters foes with its huge arms.

The caryatid column strikes with her sword for 2d4 per hit. Her magic grants +4 to saving throws. Nonmagical weapons do only half damage; magical weapons do full damage but lose their bonuses, so a long sword +2 deals ordinary long sword damage. Any weapon that hits her has a 25% chance to shatter, minus 5% per plus (a sword +2 has a 15% chance), and a magical weapon without an attack bonus counts as +1 for this purpose. Stone shape, stone to flesh or transmute rock to mud destroys her instantly if she fails her save. Once her task is done she goes back to her post and turns to stone again. If slain, she and her sword become stone for 2d6 rounds and then fall to dust.

The juggernaut is ponderous and clumsy, but it simply rolls over whatever is in front of it. In its first round of activity it moves at 3, gaining 3 more each round up to 12. It turns poorly, managing only a 90 degree change of direction per 30 feet traveled. Anyone in its path is run down; if the victim is able to dodge, the juggernaut needs a normal attack roll. A crushed victim takes 10d10 damage, halved with a successful save vs. death magic, and every item carried must save vs. crushing blow or be destroyed whether or not the victim saved. A mimic-blooded juggernaut can also turn its limbs into hammers or maces that strike for 2d6 each thanks to its tremendous strength, though seldom more than two can reach one opponent.

The stone guardian deals 1d8+1 with each massive arm. Edged weapons inflict only one quarter damage, cold, fire and electrical attacks only half, and normal missiles none at all. It gets no save against dig, stone shape, transmute rock to mud or stone to flesh, any of which destroys it on the spot.