Want to build a golem?
It isn't easy . . . .

b y   J o h n   C .   B u n n e l l

From an article by Oriel of Arborgate in
The Quill Arcane  (vol. 641), the journal of
the Mages? Guild at Menwyn:

The construction of golems is a mysterious and difficult process, the more so
since the principles involved are usable by
clerical spell-casters as well as by members of our own Guild and profession.
Further, history relates that some mages ?
notably Quardian of Menwyn and the
notorious Iriana al-Iskir ? have succeeded
in creating golems prior to attaining the
levels of mastery usually required for
casting the necessary spells. This treatise
attempts to gather in one place all that is
known about golem-craft and to answer
some of the persistent questions surrounding the art.
We will first discuss the so-called ?lesser
golems? created by clerics through the use
of a single spell ? called, appropriately
enough,  golem.  While such golems are far
less costly to build than those of the
greater sort, this ease of golem-making is
offset by the lesser golem?s sharply limited
lifespan. (However, since many lesser
golems are apparently crafted expressly
for combat, their average lifespan is often
far shorter than the maximum allowed
them anyway.)

In most cases, a cleric?s cost to craft a
lesser golem will not exceed 1,000 gp (see
Table 1) and will often be much less. It was
once believed that only the cleric could
fashion the creature?s form, but a case is
now recorded in which an expert craftsman was retained to carve a wood golem.
This practice is believed to drastically
reduce the time needed for construction,
but doubtless it increases the cost greatly.
Lesser golems are much easier for opponents to ?kill??-than the greater variety, but
they are known to be subject to the same
danger from possession by evil spirits as
the more powerful clay golem. Newly
unearthed scrolls left by a former Gray
Vizier of Alexor?s Onyx Temple recount a
battle in which a possessed leather golem
turned on its creator: "It thrashed out like
a wild beast, and its form glowed with the
frenzy of the demonic mind within. My
acolytes were wounded more severely
than I believed possible." This suggests that
such golems will always attack at peak
efficiency and are notably harder to
destroy than nonpossessed types (see
Table 1). It also raises an intriguing quest-
ion ? are such golems, unlike the normal
unintelligent sort, vulnerable to mind-
affecting magic? No answer is known, and
no cleric has volunteered to cooperate in
experiments to seek one. 1

-
Something of the same reticence extends
 to a minor riddle surrounding the more

powerful clay golem, also a clerical creation. Logic suggests that any cleric able to
cast a resurrection spell should be able to
fashion a clay golem, but only those who
are thoroughly familiar with the spell and
are able to gain the spell by prayer are
known to have succeeded in doing so
without the aid of a manual. 2

Unfortunately, the mysteries surrounding the various magically created greater
golems ? those of flesh, iron, and stone,
and the peculiar ?pillar golem? known to
scholars as the caryatid column ? are
more serious. The most persistent puzzle
concerns the apparently insufficient magical powers of some of their creators, as in
the case of Quardian and Iriana. A second
set of questions is raised by the rare manuals which enable relatively inexperienced
mages to craft fully powered golems, and
a third concerns the building of pillar
golems, where the few generally accepted
scraps of wisdom fail to mesh with practical reality.

The Greater Arcanium states that a wish
and a  polymorph any object  spell (among
others) are needed to fashion any magical
greater golem, save when manuals are
used. Yet by her own apprentice's testimony, Iriana al-Iskir lacked the mastery to
cast either spell when she built the flesh
golem commissioned during the reign of
Kethyl the Greedy in Genwold, and the
student?s notes make no mention of a
manual. Less is known of Quardian?s stone
golem, but authorities agree that the mage
could not have cast a  wish  until a full
decade after the golem was made.
Two explanations spring to mind to
account for these seeming contradictions,
but neither is entirely satisfying. The first,
of course, is the possible use of scroll
spells in one or both cases, since magicked
scrolls do allow access to spells beyond a
mage?s usual level of mastery. Such spell
use carries a risk, however, and while the
scroll theory is quite reasonable in Iriana?s
case, Quardian is known to have been
almost fanatically cautious and thus
unlikely to have relied on scrolls. (It is also
worth noting that fewer than eight  wish
scrolls have been reported to exist on this
continent since the Colonization, some
seven centuries past.)

The second possibility involves the use
of device-generated spell effects, as (for
example) with a  ring  of three wishes.  Though <r>
neither of the mages mentioned is known
to have possessed such objects, their histories are far from fully documented and
the idea cannot be ruled out. Yet while this
idea easily accounts for the needed  wish
spell, no known magical device generates
the polymorph any object  enchantment.
Recent experiments by this writer suggest that a third answer may be more
accurate. Both  wish  and  polymorph any
object   derive much of their difficulty from
the breadth of power available to the
mage casting them. Conclusive results
have yet to be obtained, but research
shows that narrowly defined versions of
these spells, specifically designed for the
crafting of golems, may in fact require a
lower degree of mastery than is normally
the case. (Care should be taken to note
that the narrow version of  wish  is not
equivalent to the well-known  limited wish
spell. The level of energy released is different and must be precisely focused in the
golem-crafting application.) 3

We may now turn to the USE of enchantment manuals as a means of crafting
golems. While they are quite rare, such
books are eagerly sought by those not yet
able to create golems through normal spell
use. Besides containing specific incantations and instructions for shaping the
creatures themselves, those tomes offer
advice on the use and control of the finished golems. Present-day mages have
tried to write these manuals, but all have
failed; one scribe believes the reason concerns the books' physical composition.
"Close study," he writes, ?reveals the manuals to be imbued with minute particles of
iron, stone, or whatever else is to be used
in the golem's construction. It therefore
seems that the books may be distillations
of finished golems, or at least that golem
fragments were used in making their
bindings and parchment.?

An odd aspect of using manuals is that,
contrary to expectations, they do not
make the process shorter or less costly. In
fact, the opposite usually occurs, as eager
mages pour more time and effort into
book-aided golems than their elders spend
creating golems via spells. It is uncertain
whether the added time and cost are a
function of inexperience or a condition
inherent in the use of the manuals (see
Table 2).

It is important to realize that, while
manuals eliminate much of the trial and
error of golem construction, they do not
notably affect the most difficult aspect of
the process -- that of fashioning the
golem's body. Each sort of golem must be

__________________________________________

Table 1
Lesser Golems
 

Type	Cost to construct (gp*)	XP value *
Straw	250	110
Rope	500	220
Leather	750	440
Wood	1000	880

* If an expert craftsman is employed, cost
is doubled but construction time is cut in
half. This figure includes the cost of topquality materials (note that straw golems
require clothing which must be stuffed, as
with a scarecrow) and necessary herbal
powders which enable the animation to
take place.

* * In the case of golems which have been
possessed, all attacks which hit will do
maximum damage, and the experience
awarded should be 1½ to 2 times normal

shaped in painstaking detail, whether
animation is achieved through spells or a
manual. It is this crafting that in most
cases makes up the enormous expense
involved in creating one of the creatures.
The techniques required for shaping each
sort of golem are discussed briefly below.
Like lesser golems, clay golems are often
constructed by the clerics themselves
rather than by expert craftsmen. This can
add significantly to the cost of such a
project, since not many clerics are skilled
artisans; Mordecai Novelir, a noted
Southpool curate several generations past,
is known to have made six unsuccessful
starts before finally completing a satisfactory clay statue in his seventh attempt. As
each figure requires between 300 and 700
lb. of fine clay (which cannot be ?recycled?
if the fashioning goes ill), this is no small
matter. Moreover, the finished statue must
be kiln-fired and treated with a special
glaze, whose composition is integral to the
eventual animation of the golem. It is no
surprise, therefore, that many clerics
commission golem-statues from experts,
insuring prompt completion of a quality
figure. 4

Though flesh golems are arguably the
easiest of all greater golems to craft, few
respectable mages will discuss the creatures or take part in their construction.
This is undoubtedly due to the unsavory
nature of the materials needed ? large,
muscular human or humanoid body parts.
(For unknown reasons, a flesh golem
cannot be made from a single intact
corpse. All such efforts have resulted
either in total failure or the creation of

_________________________________

Table 2: Greater Golems

                                                Cost in gp/Months
_________________________________
 

-	standard	with manual*
Pillar	30,000/4	80,000/6  * *
Flesh	40,000/1	50,000/2
Clay***	50,000/½	65,000/1
Stoner	60,000/2	80,000/3
Iron	80,000/3	100,000/4

* Except for the pillar golem (caryatid
column) information, this data is taken
from the DMG. However, since the chief
purpose of adding expense and time to the
process of creating golems with manuals
seems to be to deter low-level spell-casters,
DMs may elect to use the ?standard? costs
for  any  golem built by a character able to
do so without a manual, even when a
manual is used. (Reduction in time
required would still apply in the case of a
manual of caryatid columns.)

* * As noted in  the  text, the manual of
caryatid columns  allows creation of two
such creatures. <add this item to the list of new magic items from Dragon magazine>

* * * Statistics given are for clerics who
personally shape the golem and are successful on the first attempt. See note 4 in
the text for additional information.

weaker, short-lived zombies not worth the
time and energy.) These body parts must
be sought out and carefully matched in
order to produce a powerful composite
f o r m .   O n c e   t h e   p a r t s   a r e   s e w n   t o g e t h e r
with fine adamantite wire, the body must
be treated with a powerful preservative
ointment before the final spell-casting may
occur. Accounts differ as to whether the
strength  and  protection from normal
missiles  spells should be applied to the
ointment or to the treated proto-golem. 5

Stone golems, though rather expensive
to construct, are perhaps the most often
encountered sort because little tends to go
wrong in their crafting. Most mages hire
seasoned sculptors to undertake the actual
carving, which is most often done in granite, though basalt is also quite acceptable.
There is a report from deep in the Gnometeeth of a stone golem formed entirely of
polished obsidian, but the party encountering it was lost and badly malnourished
at the time, making their account questionable at best. Still, there is no reason to
discount the possibility in theory ? a
stone golem?s magic, after all, arises from
the sapphire which must be set somewhere on its body (to act as a focus for the
slow  magic) and the specially prepared
powder which is sprinkled over its form
during the animation process.

Given the comparative ease with which
stone golems can be built, it is something
of a wonder that the iron golem was
invented at all, for these monstrous guardians are exceptionally complex to create.
Not only must an expert armorer forge the
golem?s shell and assemble it with the
detailed hinges and joints which allow the
figure to move, a functioning device
involving a pump and bellows must be
created to fit inside the golem in order to
generate the poison gas effect associated
with these creatures. (Worse still, the
aspiring mage cannot commission any
noted dwarven ironworkers for the task,
as the dwarven antipathy to magic has
caused all statues from their forges to
reject the animation spells.) Only the
immense power of the completed golem
inspires mages to persist in replicating the
original iron golem known to us, found in
an empty treasure vault in northern Rivermarch shortly after the Colonization.

One unusual type of golem remains to
be discussed, but it is due only to remarkable good luck that clear information on
the pillar golem (caryatid column) is available. While exploring an abandoned tower
in Rathlake last year, the elven scholar
Kirias Evrion and his companions discovered a manual intended to aid the building
of these warriors, now definitely known
to be related to stone golems though quite
different in ability. Two major surprises
were immediately discerned:  the manual
of caryatid columns  described the fashioning of a matched pair rather than a single
creature, and the listed cost for their
construction was far less than had been
commonly believed. 6

The manual also confirmed that, like other golems, caryatids are immune to mind-affecting spells
such as  sleep  and  fear,  but indicated their
possible vulnerability to more sorts of
magic than is usual for golem-kind. 7

In
fact, despite its durability and relatively
high cost, the pillar golem seem more
closely related in some way to the lesser
golems than to its stone cousin.8

The construction of any golem, of
course, involves a significant commitment
of resources, time, and energy, and is not
to be undertaken without careful study
&& research. It is hoped that this compilation may help those mages or clerics who
are considering such a project to reduce
the uncertainties which have often accompanied the fashioning of golems.

Dragonsfoot notes

1. While a possessed golem certainly has
a mind potentially susceptible to magic,
that mind is also of demonic origin and is
likely to have a degree of magic resistance.
DMs should determine individual specifics
of intelligence and magic resistance levels,
but a possible rule of thumb would be to
apply physical spell attacks  (fireball,  etc.)
to the golem?s physical form, while assigning the possessing spirit a base 20% magic
resistance to mental attacks (plus appropriate saving throws, of course). As with
the clay golem, possession is assumed to
occur on a 1% cumulative chance per
round in which the golem is involved in
melee, and the spirit possessing the golem
will be chaotic evil in alignment. All nearby living things are subject to attack, starting with the nearest beings. Only the
destruction of the lesser golem will end
the attacks. See Table 1 for combat notes.

2. According to the PH,
clerics may cast all the needed spells upon
attaining 16th level. However, given the
progression described in the  golem  spell in
Unearthed Arcana,  it is recommended that
DMs retain  the Monster Manual  rule
which states that clerics must be at least
17th level to craft a clay golem.

3. This discussion centers on the  MM's  establishment of two seemingly contradictory rules for would-be
golem builders: 14th.-and 16th-level mages
may craft flesh and stone golems respectively, but must use an eighth-level spell
(attainable at 16th level) and a ninth-level
spell (gained at 18th level) in order to do
so. To resolve the paradox, three suggestions are offered: a) permit the use of
wishes  from devices in golem construction, b) waive the normal chance of spell
failure when scrolls are used to provide
the two needed spells for this specific
purpose, or c) adopt the limited-purpose
spells postulated previously. These spells,
perhaps labeled as  golem  wish  and  polymorph golem,  would be identical in all
respects to their higher-level counterparts,
but would be treated as 7th-level spells
useable only for creating golems and
would have to be especially researched,
found, or copied. DMs may develop fur

ther refinements to this concept, but are
cautioned against rule changes that make
golem-building easier for PCs.

4. The cost and time figures for clay
golems listed in Table 2 are for those
shaped by the cleric personally, but do not
allow for a failed attempt at sculpture.
DMs might assign a base chance of success
of 75% to the cleric?s sculpting (with
appropriate modifiers for secondary skills
and dexterity), assessing an extra 10,000
gp and a weeks work time each time a
new effort is begun. Hiring an expert
craftsman adds 20,000 gp to the initial cost
but assures an acceptable statue on the
first try (with a 1-5% failure chance at
worst).

5. It is suggested that only evil (or at
least non-good) mages be permitted to
craft flesh golems for the reasons
described. Note also that most player
characters should object to the use of
player-character remains as golem parts if
some mage proposes it. This does not
preclude the possibility that an NPC mage
might covet a living PC?s anatomy for such
a project.

6. According to the FIEND FOLIO® tome,
creation of a caryatid column costs somewhat more than building a stone golem
and takes twice as long, a description that
seems excessive given the two creatures'
relative strengths. Revised figures are
given in Table 2, with the cost still higher
per hit point than for a stone golem. At
the DM?s discretion, ?bulk discounts? could
apply if a number of columns were built at
one time. As noted in the text, the  manual
of caryatid columns  (XP value 4,000; GP
value 40,000) enables the construction of
two such golems at the rate and time listed
in Table 2.

7. The FIEND FOLIO tome lists the caryatid column's magic resistance as "all saves
at +4," making no mention of other immunities or vulnerabilities. The description,
however, clearly identifies it as a form of
stone golem, and modification is therefore
necessary. Like all golems, the caryatid is
immune to mind-affecting spells, and like
the stone golem, it is affected by  transmute rock to mud/mud to rock  and  stone
to  flesh  (no save allowed). Against all other
spells, it saves as a 5-HD monster, adding
its +4 bonus.

8. It is recommended that the
experience-point value listed in the FIEND
FOLIO tome be raised, partly to bring the
award into line with those established for
lesser golems in Table 1 and partly
because the specified value of 280 XP
seems unusually low, especially if the table
on page 85 of the  DMG  is considered an
accurate guide. In fact, a caryatid column,
treated as a 5-HD monster, should have a
higher rating given its special abilities:
weapon breaking, resistance to physical
weapons, and saving-throw bonuses. The
experience-point value should then be 320
xp. If resistance to mind-affecting spells is
counted as well, this award rises to 360
xp, still a level-V monster.