Golem, General Information

Golems are several types of magically created constructs. They are mindless, emotionless creations that know only how to fulfill the orders of their creators.

Abilities

They are tough, fearsome combatants with incredible defenses. Although they move like living creatures, they are merely animated objects, giving them several advantages and disadvantages in battle. As constructs, golems are innately immune to a number of attacks; among these are mind-altering, poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning, disease, and death effects as well as most spells. THey possess both low-light and darkvision and they are mindless.

Creation

The creator of a golem is typically a wizard or a cleric, both of whome have control over the creature. They can issue simple commands so long as they are within 60' of the construct. The creation process involves harvesting an animating force and binding it to the golem. This animating force is different for different forms of golems, with creatures such as stone or iron golems typically being animated by a spirit from the Plane of Earth, while something like a flesh or bone golem being animated by the souls of the diseased, sometimes having the original bearer of the soul trapped within the creation in the case of a flesh golem.

Types of Golems

Organic

• Bone Golem: Evil creatures made from the bones of re-animated skeletons that were subsequently destroyed.
• Brain Golem: A creation of the mind flayers, these exist purely for the desires of the illithids and are unswayed from their goals. They appear as huge, burly humanoids with oversized brains for heads. In faction, the wholy body is made up of brain tissue. Brain golems are more intelligent than other golems.
• Demonflesh Golem: Demonstrating truly fiendish grafting of demonic body parts assembled into avile whole. These resemble flesh golems. Most are reasonably intelligent. The making of demonflesh golems has become something close to a sport on some levels of Baator.
• Dragonbone Golem: Crafted from the skeletons of one or more dragons and wired together into a gruesome whole, these are easily mistaken for skeletal dragons or dracoliches. They wade into combat without hesitation as commanded by their creators.
• Dragonflesh Golem: Made out of the remains of dead dragons, these creatures can remember more complicated commands than most golems can, but because they cannot think, they obey commands to the letter rather than evaluating the intent.
• Fang Golem: An abomination created by a druid made of claws, fangs, and tusks.
• Flesh Golem: These golems are created from human or demihuman remains. If control over the Flesh Golem is lost, it goes berserker, attacking allies and enemies both.
• Maggot Golem: A maggot golem at first glance appears to be a shambling, offwhite mound that is vaguely humanoid but with a constantly shifting form.
• Necrophidius: A sort of golem also known as a death worm, necrophidii are golems made for a specific purpose—typically assassination.
• Nyraala Golem: A second form of golem created by illithids, these flailing, slimy creatures are capable of stealth and surprise attacks.
• Serpentflesh Golem: This automaton is a grisly assortment of decaying serpentine body parts grafted together into a gruesome form.
• Topiary Golem: Made to resemble giant animals made of shrubbery, these creates blend in among estates of the wealthy.
• Zombie Golem: Unlike traditional flesh golems, these creatures are composed of rotting body parts and are completely silent creatures, being a blend of construct and undead.

Mineral

• Clay Golem: Clay golems are created by clerics. While in combat, there is a cumulative chance as the battle progresses that the golem will be possessed by a chaotic evil spirit. If this happens, control over the golem is lost and it will attack the closest non-earth creature.
• Coal Golem: A variety of golems constructed out of coal and cinders by creatures with an affinity for Elemental Fire.
• Crystal Golem: Crystal golems are constructed from dagger-like shards of purple crystal and are surprisingly resilient given their fragile appearance. They can throw these crystals at their foes as missile weapons.
• Drakestone Golem: Appearing as beautifully crafted statues of dragons, whose muscles look like rippling stone flesh when in motion. THeir breath can petrify flesh.
• Gemstone Golem: Powerful golems with bodies made up entirely from precious gems.
• Geode Golem: A strange sort of golem formed primarily from stone with a large central core made up of crystal protruding inward.
• Diamond Golem: The most powerful—and most expensive to create—of the gemstone golems.
• Emerald Golem: Gemstone golems with control over electricity and poison.
• Ruby Golem: Powerful golems able to regenerate damaged parts of themselves.
• Hammer Golem: A rare variety of golem that is only constructed by dwarven priests.
• Lightning Golem: A type of greater golem made from gold. Crackling electricity is constantly present around them.
• Mud Golem: Typically created by swamp-dwelling spellcasters, mud golems have empty, hollow eye sockets with glowing red spheres in them.
• Puzzle Golem: A specialized stone golem constructed from smaller stone golems that split or reform.
• Sand Golem: Sand golems are incredibly evasive constructs that are more intelligent than most golems and can transform into storms of sand.
• Spiderstone Golem: A four-armed obsidian golem carved in the likeness of the deep elves.
• Stained Glass Golem: Made out of stained glass and built to harmonize with a structure's decor so that their presence is not obvious, these are flat replicas of living beings. When they move, they produce a tinkling sound like that made by delicate crystal.
• Stone Golem: Golems of stone are twice as powerful as those of flesh. They are highly resistant to attacks because of their stone composition. They do not revoke their creators control like flesh and clay golems.
• Gargoyle: A small, winged variant of a stone golem—though rarely made of other materials instead—capable of flight and requiring both an elemental spirit of air and one of earth.
• Stone Guardian: A rare variant of stone golems typically used to guard special sites.
• Vault Guardian: A further specialized stone guardian capable of feats of magic and used by those with extreme funds or magical knowledge to guard their treasure.
• Stone Juggernaut: Often simply known as a juggernaut, these very rare stone golem variants are unstoppable vehicles of war.

Metallic

• Adamantine Golem: Incredibly resilient golems that are sometimes found in the Underdark, usually in the service of shield, deep, or gray dwarves. These creations are one of the most pwoerful varieties of golems.
• Brass Golem: Made of brass, these are created to fulfill one goal, set at the time of their creation, and wait with absolute patience until activated to perform this task.
• Bronze Golem: Golems that are rather similar to those of iron, but are resistant to rusting due to their bronze construction.
• Chain Golem: Creations of the Kytons made out of chains, these serve as bodyguards for devils and as guardians of unholy places. They are composed entirely of shifting chains that vary in size and shape.
• Iron Golem: Iron golems are among the strongest type of golem and never revoke the control of those who create them.
• Ironwyrm Golem: An animated, self-contained furnace built into the shape of a dragon. Smoke trails from its nostrils except when the creature rests, and when animated, it exudes a palpable heat.
• Mithral Golem: Relatively lightweight golems that move with astounding agility, frequently surprising would-be adversaries.
• Shadesteel Golem: Crafted from metal mined and forged entirely on the Plane of Shadow, these silent and powerful guardians are sometimes created by necromancers and powerful undead. They are very stealthy creatures which float about.

Elemental

• Hellfire Golem: Built by devils, these appear as towering humanoid creatures that seem to be formed of brilliant lava and crumbling black crust. Most are reasonably intelligent.
• Ice Golem: A humanoid chiseled out of glacial ice, standing about 9 feet tall and weighing around 2,000 pounds. They are most typically found in the The Fahrym Unions.
• Minogon: A swift and deadly minotaur-like golem created using a furious minotaur soul and a Fire Elemental.
• Rimefire Golem: Rimefire golems are powerful beings made of living ice that are thuggish and have little regard for their own well-being.
• Snow Golem: Mounds of snow animated by magic with a much more free shape than other golems.

Other

• Alchemical Golem: Weighing 800 pounds, these humanoid golems are composed from a single tough membrane filled with toxic liquids.
• Half-Golem: A fusion of a creature with golem parts.
• Scarecrow: Terrifying constructs animated by the spirit of a slain evil creature.
• Siege Golem: A type of golem designed for siege warfare, capable of firing boulders.
• Rope Golem: Rope golems, also called hangman golems, are wrapped and shaped in vague humanoid shapes. It only communicates with the twisting sounds of its ropes.
• Web Golem: Built primarily by deep elf mages, these are approximately humanoid and are built from masses of spider web. They typically have eight eyes about their head and poisonous spider fangs.