Parent Pages: Rules : Spells : Spells By College / Spells By Name / Spells By Rarity / Spell Sandbox
Colleges | Charm, Transmutation or Life |
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Components | Verbal, Material |
Casting Time | 32 seconds |
Duration | Permenent |
Special Note: When used to make Flesh Golems, this is a Life spell. When used for other types, this is both a Charm and Transmutation spell. It also fits into other colleges on a case by case basis. For example, if animating a chocolate golem, this is a Food spell. Many golem types are Elemental (with Earth and Mineral being the most common), any kind of metal or plastic fits into Metal and Synthetics, Bone and Ivory are Necromancy, etc.
This animates specially shaped materials into a servant that is loyal to it's creator, by binding an elemental spirit to them (except in the case of flesh golems, which function similar to the Raise Dead spell).
Due to this fact, it should be noted that the lasting effect of this spell is not magical and the typical golem does not require mana to function. The elemental spirit provides the motive force and senses of the golem.
It is possible to build a golem powered by mana instead of an elemental spirit. Simply add a Dependency on Mana or give it the No Mana Shutdown Disadvantage. The Dependency version is effectively a walking spell that's easily disrupted by cutting off it's supply of mana; it begins to fall apart without it. The No Mana Shutdown version is effectively a large magical item that moves around on it's own.
Before this can be cast, the user must shape appropriate materials into a vaguely humanoid form. Other shapes are possible, but the GM is free to require additional skill rolls for shaping unusual features, possibly requiring one roll for each physical feature added to the design.
Adding better than average appearance should require an additional Artist (Sculpting) skill roll with a penalty equal to the desired reaction modifier. In most cases it's appropriate to use the equivalent flat reaction modifier for the desired level of appearance, since golems are sexless.
Not all modifications require shaping the Golem in a particular way. The most common change in this category is to remove Fragile (Unnatural) from the template. This produces what's known as a resilient Golem.
This works on many materials, with varying statistics based on design and base material. The most common form of Golem is shaped from clay. With few exceptions, all Golems are solid material the whole way through. For most materials, this gets quite expensive.
Skill rolls to shape the Golem's body may be required, but easy to shape materials like snow or clay can be used to produce a crude Golem without a skill roll. These will invariably be ugly, or worse, initially damaged. The GM may impose such restrictions for hasty work. One good example of this is a stone Golem made from dried clay whose body was never fired in a kiln. This type of Golem would have a Weakness to water that causes it to slowly erode in the rain.
Golems may be repaired by anyone using a skill appropriate to the base material, if repair of non-Golem objects of similar construction is possible. This will often require material to patch damaged areas with. Snow Golems can be ordered to patch themselves up, due to the easiness of building snowmen. All Golems other than Flesh Golems may benefit from the Mending spell or any effect similar to it (Golems aren't technically alive).
If a PC keeps a Golem (or a hundred) around constantly, the GM should require them to pay full points for Allies. If they often have duties at home that keep them from adventuring with the PC, then frequency of appearance may be used to reduce the value of this Advantage. If the player won't pay for their new ally, then the GM is free to arrange an “accident” for it.
Here's a table for the most common materials used in Golem construction and a list of the effects on statistics (this table assumes SM 0 Golems; use the section on size for other Size Modifiers):
Solid | |||||||
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Material | ST | DX | IQ | HT | DR | Notes and Additional Traits | Template File |
Adamantite | +40 | +2 | -1 | +5 | 10 | Built-in cutting or impaling weapons must have an armor divisor of (2) or better Very, very expensive | Adamantite Golem.gct |
Aluminum | TL 6 | ||||||
Bakelite | +2 | +2 | -1 | +2 | 2 | TL 6 | Bakelite Golem.gct |
Ballistic Gel | 0 | +4 | -2 | +2 | 0 | TL 8 Used for high-end forensics work to setup near-identical circumstances for testing | Ballistic Gel Golem.gct |
Bronze | +15 | +3 | -1 | +5 | 6 | Bronze Golem.gct | |
Carbon Fiber | TL 8 | ||||||
Clay | +5 | +1 | -2 | +3 | 0 | No skill roll required Stats represent wet clay Dry clay is a Stone Golem with a Clay Golem's Weakness to water Fired clay is a Stone Golem, glaze adds 1 DR | Clay Golem.gct |
Chocolate | +0 | +2 | -2 | +3 | 1 | Chocolate Golem.gct | |
Concrete | +7 | +1 | -2 | +3 | 1 | Concrete Golem.gct | |
Copper | +11 | +3 | -1 | +4 | 5 | Copper Golem.gct | |
Crystal | +10 | +5 | -1 | +3 | 2 | Crystal Golem.gct | |
Garbage | +3 | +1 | -2 | +1 | 1 | Building with “clean” garbage removes Bad Smell | Garbage Golem.gct |
Glass | +10 | +5 | -1 | +3 | 1 or 2 | Built-in cutting and impaling weapons should get +1 damage per die compared to an equivalent weapon Comes in three varieties: Glass, Stained Glass and Tempered Glass | Glass Golem.gct |
Gold | +10 | +3 | -1 | +3 | 4 | Very, very expensive | Gold Golem.gct |
Ice | +5 | +2 | -1 | +2 | 3 | Often used in teaching exercises | Ice Golem.gct |
Ice, Essential/True | +15 | +2 | -1 | +5 | 9 | True Ice will only melt when exposed to Essential Fire | Ice Golem.gct |
Iron | +15 | +2 | -1 | +5 | 6 | Iron Golem.gct | |
Ivory | +4 | +2 | -2 | +2 | 1 | Ivory Golem.gct | |
Leather | +2 | +3 | -2 | +2 | 2 | This is layer after layer of tanned leather, stitched together with leather strips Optionally with a furred layer on the outside | Leather Golem.gct |
Leather, Dragonhide | Special | +0 | +0 | +0 | +1-4 | As Leather, but see DF1:27 Treat as armor, directly adding to DR and weight multiplier multiplies total ST (not just the modifier) and gives the golem a -3 reputation among dragons, unless a layer of fur has been tacked over the top or the dragonhide is otherwise hidden | Leather Golem.gct |
Marble | +10 | +1 | -2 | +5 | 6 | Marble Golem.gct | |
Mithril | +15 | +3 | -1 | +5 | 7 | Built-in cutting and impaling weapons should get +1 to damage compared to an equivalent weapon, but can never benefit from use of a Dwarven Whetstone (see p. DF1:25) Usually constructed by Dwarves | Mithril Golem.gct |
MMC | +40 | +3 | -1 | +5 | 20 | TL 10? | MMC Golem.gct |
Orichalcum | +15 | +3 | -1 | +5 | 6 | Very expensive | Orichalcum Golem.gct |
Plastic | 0 | +3 | -2 | 0 | 1 | TL 7 Milk-jug plastic | Plastic Golem.gct |
Rubber | +1 | +5 | -2 | +5 | 1 | TL 5 | Rubber Golem.gct |
Silicon | 0 | +4 | -2 | +2 | 0 | TL 8 Can be made incredibly life-like Identical duplicates of people are possible at TL 9 | Silicon Golem.gct |
Silver | +10 | +4 | -1 | +3 | 5 | Very expensive | Silver Golem.gct |
Snow | -3 | -2 | -2 | -1 | 0 | No skill roll required Often used in teaching exercises | Snow Golem.gct |
Steel | +35 | +2 | -1 | +5 | 9 | Steel Golem.gct | |
Stone | +10 | +1 | -2 | +4 | 5 | Stone Golem.gct | |
Tar | +5 | +3 | -2 | +3 | 0 | Tar Golem.gct | |
Titanium | +30 | +2 | -1 | +5 | 12 | TL 7 | Titanium Golem.gct |
Topiary | +10 | +3 | -1 | +3 | 5 | Made of living plants in specially designed, tough walking pots that resemble large boots Requires regular watering to avoid becoming a strange-looking wood golem The pots add +5 DR to the feet but are not actually part of the golem and if their DR is penetrated, the pots spill their dirt May alternatively have No Legs (Sessile) for a golem that has no pots for feet If made from a thorn bush, add Spines | Topiary Golem.gct |
Wax | 0 | +2 | -2 | +3 | 0 | Wax Golem.gct | |
Wood | +10 | +2 | -2 | +3 | 5 | High-quality wood may have better stats Varnish will add 1 DR and provide Resistant (Weather, +3 to HT) [3] | Wood Golem.gct |
Hollow | |||||||
Material | ST | DX | IQ | HT | DR | Notes and Additional Traits | Template File |
Porcelain | -1 | +3 | -1 | 0 | 0 | Often used in dance and etiquette instruction Usually have above-average appearance | Porcelain Golem.gct |
Particulate | |||||||
Material | ST | DX | IQ | HT | DR | Notes and Additional Traits | Template File |
Dirt | +1 | +3 | -2 | +1 | 2 | Dirt Golem.gct | |
Other | |||||||
Material | ST | DX | IQ | HT | DR | Notes and Additional Traits | Template File |
Bone | -1 | +2 | -2 | +0 | 2 | Made from complete bones Often resembles a skeleton | Bone Golem.gct |
Bone, Dragonbone | +14 | +5 | -1 | +4 | 6 | Made from alchemically-treated, complete dragon bones, instead of regular bones | Bone Golem.gct |
Flesh | +8 | +2 | -2 | +3 | 0 | Shaped using Surgery skill Requires large bodies (SM+1 over the maker's size) May also have a racial template Remembers life before becoming a Golem (memories come from the brain used to construct it) | Flesh Golem.gct |
Origami | -5 | +4 | -2 | 0 | 0 | Origami Golem.gct | |
Rags | -2 | +4 | -2 | 0 | 0 | Often used in teaching exercises Often used to entertain children Easily made from rag dolls or stuffed animals Using Giant Spider Silk gives +1 DR | Rag Golem.gct |
Scarecrow | -3 | -1 | -2 | +3 | 0 | Scarecrow Golem.gct |
There are various construction options that can be applied in building a Golem, to increase it's capabilities or reduce it's point value so a lesser spell-caster can create something more powerful. These are merely examples.
The assumption of these changes is that adding them makes it possible for the Golem's animating spirit to do less work to do the same job; therefore it puts it's efforts into working more effectively. For example, Articulation (see below) makes a Golem more dextrous, because the animating spirit doesn't have to work as hard to make the Golem's limbs move, thus allowing it to react quicker.
Each requires an Engineering roll to fit the feature into the overall design and some form of appropriate craft roll to actually incorporate it.
Option | ST | DX | IQ | HT | Will | Per | DR | Notes and Additional Traits | Template File |
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Animation | TL 4+ Golem has a power system and likely requires fuel of some kind or is tied to a stationary power source Reduces the point total of the Golem Remove Doesn't Eat or Drink and note the fuel required as a feature Generally gains an eight hour running time May pick up other traits, such as a Noisy engine, Bad Smell from exhaust, etc. If the power source fills a significant portion of the Golem's interior, then it loses Injury Tolerance (Homogenous) and gains Injury Tolerance (No Brain, No Neck, Unliving) The Maintenance Disadvantage is common along with this option | ||||||||
Articulation, Hinged | +1 | TL 1+ Requires a metal material Allows chinks in armor to be attacked | |||||||
Articulation, Gears | +2 | TL 4+ Requires a metal, synthetic or wood material Allows chinks in armor to be attacked | |||||||
Articulation, High Tech | +3 | TL 5+ Requires a metal or synthetic material Allows chinks in armor to be attacked | |||||||
Chain | +2 | +2 | Requires a metal material that can be forged into chain mail Looks like a walking mass of chain mail; it's obviously not a suit of armor, however Make sure you add the Flexible Limitation to DR, unless the Golem is of Elven construction (see p. DF1:27) Remove Ham-Fisted if the hands are made from solid material | Chain Golem.gct | |||||
Comprehension | +(TL-3)/2, rounded up | -Same | -Same | TL 4+ Requires adding some form of calculation machinery, such as a clockwork calculator, Babbage Engine, etc. Grants an IQ bonus equal to (TL-3)/2, rounded up, which does not contribute to Will or Per This normally adds mental aberrations (such as quirks), based on the type of thinking engine used Computers used in this fashion lose all capability to run programs; the effect of becoming part of a Golem completely re-purposes the computer hardware This also adds the Disadvantage Has a Brain if the Golem is homogenous or diffuse for -5 points or removes Injury Tolerance (No Brain) | |||||
Controls | Normally combined with Hollow (see below) and/or some level of Payload, this allows the Golem to be driven like a vehicle Add Compartmentalized Mind (Controls) Driving or Environment Suit are the skills most appropriate for operating a Golem, depending on size and others might work for unusual shapes The specialty of those skills is determined by the Golem's hollowness, shape and size | ||||||||
Dwarven | Requires a metal material and cannot be combined with Chain unless the material is Mithril The golem is built extra sturdy, using techniques similar to Dwarven armor construction (see p. DF1:27) Add the DR bonus normally and multiply final ST by the weight multiplier This generally makes the golem appear extra thick in all body parts | ||||||||
Hollow | This modifies a solid material to make it hollow Golem has a hollow interior, in order to save on materials, but making it easier to damage This can also become useful, because the Golem can be modified to have internal Payload Cannot be combined with Crystal, Leather, Snow, Tar or Topiary | Hollow Construction.gct | |||||||
Mana-Bound | The golem is dependent on drawing mana from it's environment in order to stay in one piece Add Dependency (Mana, Very Common, Constantly) [-25] This is common for golems made of smaller, unlinked objects functioning as a swarm, or odd particulate materials not normally used to build a golem, like dirt Requires no extra rolls to incorporate | ||||||||
Mana-Powered | The golem is dependent on drawing mana from it's environment in order to function Add No Mana Shutdown [-20] (see p. Thm119) Requires no extra rolls to incorporate | ||||||||
No Elemental Spirit | 0 | The golem is animated directly by magic without summoning an elemental spirit This results in a golem with IQ 0 and must include the effects of Mana-Powered This type of golem normally performs a simple, repetitive function (turning a crank continuously), or also has the Controls option It's very rare for them to be used in any other fashion, because they require complex instructions that foresee all possibilities in order to otherwise function and they can often get into a confused state where they end up performing an action on the wrong object Requires no extra rolls to incorporate | |||||||
Particulate | This modifies a solid material to make it particulate Golem is made up of many smaller objects or possibly a swarm of smaller golems or creatures Cannot be combined with Leather, Snow, Tar or Topiary Includes the effects of Mana-Bound | Particulate Construction.gct | |||||||
Perception | +TL-4)/2, rounded up | TL 5+ Requires the addition of sensory equipment Grants a Perception bonus equal to (TL-4)/2, rounded up This can grant senses a Golem normally lacks, such as touch or taste and smell This can also grant other Advantages, such as Infravision or Ultravision | |||||||
Poison Metal | Golem is made of a Poison Metal alloy (see p. DF8:33) Requires a metal material | Poison Metal.gct | |||||||
Wire | +2 | +1 | -1 | TL 1+, but TL 2+ is much more likely Requires a metal material This is layer after layer of thin, sharp wire pieces wrapped into the shape of a Golem It's surface is normally frayed, with lots of small sharp bits At TL6 or higher, the Golem can be made from barbed wire or razor wire | Wire Golem.gct |
This table assists in adjusting the Golem templates based on size (note, ST is listed as a percentage of a SM 0 Golem's ST):
Size Modifier | ST | DX | HT | Basic Speed | Move |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
-6 | 5% | +3 | 0 | +0.75 | -5 |
-5 | 10% | +3 | 0 | +0.5 | -5 |
-4 | 20% | +2 | 0 | +0.5 | -4 |
-3 | 30% | +2 | 0 | +0.25 | -3 |
-2 | 50% | +1 | 0 | +0.25 | -2 |
-1 | 70% | +1 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
0 | 100% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
+1 | 160% | 0 | 0 | -0.25 | +2 |
+2 | 220% | -1 | 0 | -0.25 | +4 |
+3 | 350% | -1 | -1 | -0.5 | +6 |
+4 | 600% | -2 | -1 | -0.5 | +8 |
+5 | 780% | -2 | -1 | -0.75 | +10 |
+6 | 1300% | -3 | -2 | -0.75 | +12 |
All of the forgoing assumes a roughly human shape. To make Golems shaped like other races, animals or monsters, start with the creature's base ST and treat the Golem's size modifier 0 ST as a percentage figure used to modify the creature's strength. For DX, average the scores for the Golem template and the creature's template, rounding up. IQ and HT use the Golem template's score. Add other traits as appropriate to body form (the Ichthyoid, Quadruped and Vermiform Meta-Traits are quite appropriate, as well as Teeth and Claws).
To illustrate this process, a crazy wizard decides to stock his shark tank with Wood Golem Tiger Sharks! Tiger Sharks have a natural ST of 19. Human size and shape Wood Golems have a ST of 20. This indicates it will have 200% of the strength of a Tiger shark, giving a final score of 38. DX will be (12+13)/2 = 12.5, rounded up to 13. IQ will be 8 and HT 13. Finally, add Teeth and the Ichtyoid Meta-Trait and you've got a wooden shark!
The notable exceptions to this are Flesh Golem animals. Work ST as above, but the rest of the stats modify the animal's template, so a Flesh Golem Tiger Shark would have ST 38, DX 15, IQ 0 and HT 15. Unfortunately, the darn thing is brain dead (IQ 0) and thus, completely useless.
Now, if the Flesh Golem Tiger Shark had been made with a super-genius shark's brain (IQ 3 before surgery, IQ 1 after), or the brain of a human, then the IQ will be above zero and it will be able to function.
Generous GMs might allow an extra two Surgery rolls at a -10 penalty to salvage the shark's brain without damaging it. This is extremely delicate work and requires the surgeon to salvage the brain while it's still alive. The first roll is for removing the brain from it's original body. The second roll is to put it in it's new body. The rest of the surgical work will have to be done ahead of time, and the Golem body zapped to life just as the brain is implanted. If done by a single individual, the casting of this spell will take a -4 penalty to the activation roll, due to the distraction of simultaneous surgery and spell-casting. At higher TLs, equipment for brain transplants might make this process easier.
Slave Mentality Golems | Other Golems |
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Ally (25% of point total, Appears Automatically) [12] Constructed [+0%] You build the ally instead of gaining them socially Minion [+0%] Extended Duration (Permanent) [+300%] Takes Extra Time 5 [-50%] Magical [-10%] Spell Components [-40%] Must chant in Latin Must shape base material into body of Golem Level 2 [24] Increase Ally to 50% of point total [+1 base] Level 3 [36] Increase Ally to 75% of point total [+1 base] Level 4 [60] Increase Ally to 100% of point total [+2 base] Level 5 [120] Increase Ally to 150% of point total [+5 base] Level 6+ [+60/level] Increase Ally point total by 50% [+5 base] At this level and higher, the golem must be IQ 0 This requires the No Elemental Spirit construction option | Ally (25% of point total, Appears Automatically) [14] Constructed [+0%] You build the ally instead of gaining them socially Minion [+50%] Extended Duration (Permanent) [+300%] Takes Extra Time 5 [-50%] Magical [-10%] Spell Components [-40%] Must chant in Latin Must shape base material into body of Golem Level 2 [28] Increase Ally to 50% of point total [+1 base] Level 3 [42] Increase Ally to 75% of point total [+1 base] Level 4 [70] Increase Ally to 100% of point total [+2 base] Level 5 [140] Increase Ally to 150% of point total [+5 base] |