Let's Read The Monster Manual II: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Fight Them

[War_lord]

I see it as Maglubiyet deliberately designing the Goblinoids to act as one giant army. The Goblins are good scouts, skirmishers and manual labourers. Hobgoblins are tough enough to stand in a battleline, disciplined enough to follow orders and smart enough to make plans and understand logistics. Bugbears make up the SF, just point them at something or someone that needs destroying and they'll get it done.

[Shining Wrath]

I see it as Maglubiyet deliberately designing the Goblinoids to act as one giant army. The Goblins are good scouts, skirmishers and manual labourers. Hobgoblins are tough enough to stand in a battleline, disciplined enough to follow orders and smart enough to make plans and understand logistics. Bugbears make up the SF, just point them at something or someone that needs destroying and they'll get it done.

The Volo's account is that the goblinoids used to have separate gods until Maglubiyet defeated all their gods and forced the various races to submit to his will. The Nilbog is the result of a goblin trickster god managing to survive the goblinoid Gotterdamerung. Maybe Maglubiyet forced a sort of evolution upon each race to better fill out his army, or maybe he chose the gods to defeat so that the end result would be a good mix of forces. I have a problem with the idea of bugbears as SF, as bugbears are depicted as lazy and that's about as far from a SF guy as you can get.

[Arimm]

So are we splitting up golems? Or will just one entry for all of them do?

[Unoriginal]

Depends who does it

[Shining Wrath]

Golems do have a sort of different flavor - the tougher ones don't lose their "control", the softer ones can.

[Arimm]

Clay Golems
From the depths of jewish legend and supplements way back in first edition comes the clay golem! The perfect extremely strong servant for any temple priest, mad wizard, or modest sculptor.
Warning: damage to golem may cause serious injury or death.

Art

The art here isn't particularly striking, though when the only emotions your subject can express are anger and obedience it must be a bit restrictive. It does get across size more than some other pictures however, as the golem's overly large legs and hands get across that while this being is humanoid in shape it's much more wild and elemental in nature. Its expression shows that its meant to berserking in this image but there is no sign of the damage that's meant to cause its rage, which I would have liked to get a visual of.

Purpose

This is a pure tank, with a dozen immunities(both damage and condition), magic resistance(though weapons have to be magical to hurt it), acid absorption(because it's clay?) and the ability to raise its AC to 16 every few rounds. All the while this golem will be dishing out damage on characters maximum hit points and, if a smart master is present, likely using its massive strength to knock down walls and throw trees.

The main focus is it's berserk mode which comes straight from the old stories of golems and can make a battle interesting as suddenly the golem turns on it's master(or whoever happens to be nearest) wreaking havoc with its monster strength.

Social encounters are pretty limited because it only responds to its masters voice and so unless there are multiple amulets of golem control present there's nothing your PC's can do but hit it.

Fluff

These are the most basic golem, and the second most finicky(apparently its less rigid physical form causes this), having a chance of entering a rage when damaged enough for the elemental spirit to start escaping, which is the easiest way you'll get a hook out of them. Despite this, many priests divinely bring these to life to do good work for their towns(or maybe imposing a religious dictatorship?). Menial labour seems to be their main purpose, as battle is always risky with these things.

Hooks

The golem of Serenrae's temple has gone berserk can the party halt its destructive path, and find out who managed to damage such a behemoth?

A golem has been coming in to town once a week and taking all the lumber/stone/gems and walking off without any of the townsfolk even being able to hurt it, can the party find where it's taking these resources and why?

Help wanted: My golem has started thinking for itself, it is now insisting to eat dinner with me despite not needing food and demanding clothes despite the fact that clothes that big would be hugely expensive, will reward anyone who can help with 500 gold and the manual of golems that started this mess
- Stanley the Wizard

Verdict

This creature, though simple has a lot of potential with a good plot thread, however some of it's abilities like the acid absorption and its inexplicable vitality-draining hits make me not too eager to actually use it for a fight and instead let the party find special ways of disabling it.(like banishing the spirit within it or some such thing) Overall, interesting and mythologically classic.

[Shining Wrath]

I find golems to make excellent long-term guards; if you want someone who will stand in front of the entrance to the royal treasury and never ever move unless ordered to do so by someone on a short list of authorized people, golems work very well. If you are worried about marauding gnolls and want someone who will stay outside the walls and fight to buy time to raise the drawbridge, golems are a good investment.

Also, they don't lose focus for just a little damage; it requires damage greater than half of their initial total (60 of 133), and even then it's a 1/6 chance per round. Since they are often created by clerics, healing your clay golem can be full of win.

For sadistic fun, a black dragon could hire clerics (or threaten them) to fill a room with clay golems, and hit the entire room with its breath weapon every few rounds. It would likely heal the golems to full health each time....

[INDYSTAR188]

Help wanted: My golem has started thinking for itself, it is now insisting to eat dinner with me despite not needing food and demanding clothes despite the fact that clothes that big would be hugely expensive, will reward anyone who can help with 500 gold and the manual of golems that started this mess
- Stanley the Wizard

There goes Stanley, at his wacky shenanigans again! Definitely taking this for future use.

I did not know that golems were based in Jewish tradition, really interesting. I really like the berserk mechanic but I don't think of clay as particularly durable stuff. All in all a pretty awesome write-up for an otherwise kinda boring monster.

[Arimm]

All in all a pretty awesome write-up for an otherwise kinda boring monster.

Aw thanks man, great to here Iv'e helped to inspire you and whatnot. But um...
Can someone please explain to me why acid heals them? Because that seems to just come completely from left field for me.

[Millstone85]

So, all golems are immune to attacks that are neither magical nor made with adamantine.

For lycanthropes and silver, I imagine it prevents their wounds from closing immediately.

But adamantine is just really really hard metal, right? The sort that cuts through stone and iron.

What then is the rationale regarding clay and flesh golems?

[Unoriginal]

What then is the rationale regarding clay and flesh golems?

The material that composes golems is way harder than the standard version.

[Sredni Vashtar]

I assume the special weapon necessity and the acid absorption have to do more with the chewy elemental filling than the crunchy clay exterior.

[ShikomeKidoMi]

Social element is lacking with the Golem directly, but golems aren't like most monsters. They're not naturally occurring, they're always deliberately made, so a social element can be supplied by the maker.

[Arimm]

a social element can be supplied by the maker.

True, and there is always the possibility that a PC somehow marks themself as a second master of the golem and then you get conflicting order shenanigans between that PC and the golem's maker.

[twas_Brillig]

Despite this, many priests divinely bring these to life to do good work for their towns(or maybe imposing a religious dictatorship?). Menial labour seems to be their main purpose, as battle is always risky with these things...

Help wanted: My golem has started thinking for itself, it is now insisting to eat dinner with me despite not needing food and demanding clothes despite the fact that clothes that big would be hugely expensive, will reward anyone who can help with 500 gold and the manual of golems that started this mess
- Stanley the Wizard

I think these two start to key in on a part of the mythos (slash, most common sci-fi trope about robots) that lets you add a social/puzzle aspect if you want. Golems have two common personality traits, if they have personality: the religious servant, and Pinocchio syndrome.

Pinocchio syndome on its own lets you fill in whatever personality you want, though obviously the party might find it simpler to smash the thing instead of trying to help it understand love or whatever.

The pious servant angle lets a clever party take a fight on their own terms, if its (Evil?) creator has an interest in keeping their temple or town intact, they might be able to restrict the golem's movements or even make its creator order it off the field. Alternatively, a golem that's been programmed with a reasonably complicated set of commands (based around keeping their temple or whatever clean and sacrosant, say), the party might be able to bypass it completely with some detective work (e.g. taking off their shoes to enter the sanctuary, not touching any of the parts of the shredded altar covering, keeping their voices to a whisper, etc.) or exploiting its behavior (messing up the sand garden while its in a different part of the building so it has to spend an hour fixing it and tying a broom to it so it keeps messing up the sand...or just tricking it into falling into a big hole because it Must Return the Relic they stashed at the bottom).

Some versions of the traditional golem are animated by inscribing the word 'Emet' ('truth') on them, and deactivated by scratching out the 'E' to form 'met' ('death'). You could have a compound of golems who are controlled by shared stone commandments, with an Intelligence: Religion check to determine if you can make a change (advantage if the player gives you a convincing spiel or pun on the existing command to justify the new one) and a Dexterity: Artisans' Tools check to make the change. (DC for both based off of how complicated a change is and how important the original text is, i.e. changing "Feed the doves" to "Feed the dogs" is easier than changing "Thou shalt not let a follower of Berronar Truesilver come to harm" to "Thou shall let..." because in the original High Dwarven the command is incredibly precisely written.) Failing badly enough sends one or more golems berserk due to a syntax error.

[M Placeholder]

The Volo's account is that the goblinoids used to have separate gods until Maglubiyet defeated all their gods and forced the various races to submit to his will. The Nilbog is the result of a goblin trickster god managing to survive the goblinoid Gotterdamerung. Maybe Maglubiyet forced a sort of evolution upon each race to better fill out his army, or maybe he chose the gods to defeat so that the end result would be a good mix of forces. I have a problem with the idea of bugbears as SF, as bugbears are depicted as lazy and that's about as far from a SF guy as you can get.

In the Birthright setting, Goblins are all one race and come in three different sizes, with the sizes corresponding to Goblins, Hobgoblins and Bugbears. The diety for the Goblins on Cerilia, Kartathok is stated to be very similar to Maglubiyet, and so the mix of forces (and their numbers) does fit the idea of them being created as an ideal army.

They are one of the three major monstrous races in that setting, with the Orogs and the Gnolls the other two, and the most organized, with the Gnolls being a rabble, and the Orogs in between the Goblins and Gnolls in terms of organization.

[Unoriginal]

I think these two start to key in on a part of the mythos (slash, most common sci-fi trope about robots) that lets you add a social/puzzle aspect if you want. Golems have two common personality traits, if they have personality: the religious servant, and Pinocchio syndrome.

...what are you talking about?


If there is one things that Golems are associated with, in term of personality, it's with them taking orders to the extreme. Order a Golem to bring some water, and it'll flood the city, that kind of things, in a manner similar to the Sorcerer's Apprentice plot.

They're rarely associated with being religious servants or having Pinocchio syndrome, even in settings where Golems are individual.

[Sredni Vashtar]

...what are you talking about?


If there is one things that Golems are associated with, in term of personality, it's with them taking orders to the extreme. Order a Golem to bring some water, and it'll flood the city, that kind of things, in a manner similar to the Sorcerer's Apprentice plot.

They're rarely associated with being religious servants or having Pinocchio syndrome, even in settings where Golems are individual.

The Pinocchio stuff is basic robot fare, which could be ported onto (intelligent) golems.

The religious stuff is from the original golem story.

[Regitnui]

The Pinocchio stuff is basic robot fare, which could be ported onto (intelligent) golems.

The religious stuff is from the original golem story.

Ignoring the Pokémon, the golem is very much a creation of Jewish mysticism. Adam, the first human, was created as a golem by God, and men tried to replicated the effect, creating golems from clay like Adam was. Of course, it doesn't work as well when men try instead of gods.

[Unoriginal]

The Pinocchio stuff is basic robot fare, which could be ported onto (intelligent) golems.

Maybe, but it isn't standard golem plot, even when golems are individuals like in the Discworld novels

I even would argue that golems tend to stay away from the "I want to be human" stuff because they're more likely to be alright about being different from humans.

The religious stuff is from the original golem story.

The original Golem story is "rabbi creates a golem, golem goes out of control, rabbi has to destroy it". They're less pious servants and more "dangerous servants created by pious people who f***ed up", like many other tales about men playing god.

[Regitnui]

The original Golem story is "rabbi creates a golem, golem goes out of control, rabbi has to destroy it". They're less pious servants and more "dangerous servants created by pious people who f***ed up", like many other tales about men playing god.

And you are living up to your name if "dangerous servant created by pious people who made a mistake" doesn't lead to "dangerous servant created by pious people who didn't make a mistake". What about the clear line of technological evolution from animated armour/golem, to iron defender, to warforged? Isn't that a plot worth exploring?

[Unoriginal]

"dangerous servant created by pious people who didn't make a mistake".

Err, that wording implies that the pious people deliberately created an unstable being that will turn against them

What about the clear line of technological evolution from animated armour/golem, to iron defender, to warforged? Isn't that a plot worth exploring?

Oh, exploring the evolution of the creation of artificial beings is indeed worthwhile. I could totally see adventurers visiting a workshop full of half-finished prototypes and broken down constructs, from the animated armor to the mechanical gadget, with a magic user lost in though, absently scribbling on a paper observing the movements of a butterfly.


My point was that what was talked about was not a classical golem trope. Golems were about warning humans against playing god (by creating human-like beings), like the creature of Frankenstein, not about technological advancement.

[Regitnui]

Err, that wording implies that the pious people deliberately created an unstable being that will turn against them

A dog is dangerous, but it never turns on its owner. Why wouldn't they deliberately create a dangerous creature if they could control it?

Oh, exploring the evolution of the creation of artificial beings is indeed worthwhile. I could totally see adventurers visiting a workshop full of half-finished prototypes and broken down constructs, from the animated armor to the mechanical gadget, with a magic user lost in though, absently scribbling on a paper observing the movements of a butterfly.


My point was that what was talked about was not a classical golem trope. Golems were about warning humans against playing god (by creating human-like beings), like the creature of Frankenstein, not about technological advancement.

Arguably, a golem operating outside its programming, whether that's going berserk or questioning its existence, is the golem story. You're looking at the moral and claiming that's the story, whereas there are other aspects to it than that. How and why was the golem created, why did it go berserk, how was it defeated, are all very valid questions to draw on from the same legend. Coming up with new answers is part and parcel of storytelling.

[Unoriginal]

A dog is dangerous, but it never turns on its owner.

...that's not very accurate. Plenty of dangerous dog owners get attacked or bitten, depending on circumstances.

[QUOTE=Regitnui;21873984]Why wouldn't they deliberately create a dangerous creature if they could control it?

There is a reason why "they turned against their creators/masters" is a prevalent trope. The creators would certainly believe they can control the dangerous creature, even take precautions to prevent losing control if they can, but the plot will often involve them losing it when they do a foolish mistake.

Arguably, a golem operating outside its programming, whether that's going berserk or questioning its existence, is the golem story. You're looking at the moral and claiming that's the story, whereas there are other aspects to it than that. How and why was the golem created, why did it go berserk, how was it defeated, are all very valid questions to draw on from the same legend. Coming up with new answers is part and parcel of storytelling.

I'm not saying it is not, I'm saying it's not the classical one. Same way you could interprete the story of Herakles as a cautionary tale explaining how physical power and feats of might, dedication and cunning are ultimately meaningless compared to the strength of social constructs such as royalty, laws and judiciary sentences, contracts and marriage, but it wouldn't be the classical, original interpretation.


Speaking of which, another plot hook idea


An Efreeti has been imprisoned by an evil spellcaster, who intent to use the genie in an experiment: what if using a more complexe and intelligent elemental being to create a golem would result in a new, better form of golem? In desperation, and using a bit of magic they got their hands on in peculiar circumstances, the Efreeti manages to contact the adventurers through their dream, and promise them riches and favors if they can help. However, it is progressively revealed during the adventure the Efreeti was known for being an horrible s***head and a trickster, before being imprisoned. The Efreeti promises to change their ways if freed, and seem sincere. Will the adventurers trust the genie? Will they let the spellcaster potentially gain a powerful servant? Will they stop the spellcaster but keep the Efreeti imprisoned?

[Shining Wrath]

Another take on golems would be Frank Herbert's ghola in Dune; the loyal even past death Duncan Idaho, who would regain his memories if ordered to slay an Atriedes (or reasonable facsimile thereof). It's a flesh golem, mind, but still a result of man (well, Bene Telixeau) playing god. And yet another might be Isaac Asimov's robots with their Three Laws designed to keep the golems from turning on their creators.

I think the idea of "man made creature with vaguely humanoid shape and some level of sentience" has more roots in more mythos than just the Jewish one and the inevitability of betrayal or suffering also varies.

[Spellbreaker26]

Flesh Golem

Introduction

What seperates this golem from regular undead is that it's more of a Karloff-knock-off than just a bag of bones. It's more the preserve of mad wizards than death clerics or Oathbreaker paladins, and is pretty easily made mad itself.

Art

On the surface the art is ok (it certainly manages to look unsettling) but I find one major flaw in it. It mostly looks like a very tall man who died with a dozen lacerations than something cobbled together from the bodies of criminals. Maybe if it was a little more mismatched and asymmetrical?

Purpose and Tactics

Whereas most golems can be described as "guardians" these guys swing slightly differently; bodyguards. They are too fragile (and their "material" is likely too perishable) to guard tombs or libraries for decades. Instead Necromancer wizards will likely employ one (or more if he's a big cheese) as a meatshield to keep the party away from them. Of special note is that they have a fairly low damage output - to a low level party without the requisite weapons a Flesh Golem can be employed as an implacable foe that they must (but can) escape from, though arcane casters in the party can probably nix this (fire being the most common type of damage that spells have, and a hard counter to any flesh golem).

Of individual tactics for DMs, one that might bear fruit is for the necromancer to pack a few lightning bolt spells for when the golem is low on health and try to target both the golem and the party with them. I think that flesh golems might be one of the only undead or construct types that can be healed at all in any way so this would be a very nasty surprise for the party.

It should be noted that as bodyguards, the Necromancer will likely be close to the golem and therefore trying to drive it berserk could counter-intuitively be less fruitful than using that tactic on a clay golem. On the other hand, if the necromancer fails then he's in for a rude awakening, a rare opportunity for little used rider effects that effect checks like the warlock's Hex to come into play.

Fluff

Flesh Golems are amateur hour stuff by wizard standards, jury-rigged golems created by the skint, the reckless or the just plain mad. I'm not sure if their creation is supposed to fall into cosmically evil territory like the creation of regular undead, but given that from the flavour text the bodies often have to be stolen Vesalius-style and that they are by far the most dangerous to be around the wizards who make them are not going to get on well with the local serfs.

Hooks

Bodies have gone missing from graves all over the Citadel Hills! What sort of madman would be desecrating these graves, and for what purpose?

There's a bounty on the feared Necromancer Olaf, but he travels accompanied only by one (admittedly large) manservant. Surely an ambush could easily overthrow these two... or will the butler serve the party a heaping helping of fists?

There's chaos in the town square! Some monstrosity has torn its way out of the wizard Methusalah's tower and is tearing apart every civilian in sight! Can our brave heroes evacuate the town in time or will they fall prey to the Monster of Marrowdown Road?

Verdict

A fairly decent backup for an arcane caster enemy; but to be frank(enstein) this monster does not have the majesty to pull off "mysterious guardian" in the way that other golems can.

[Regitnui]

Flesh Golems are, despite what their stat block says, probably the most evil golem. Not of their own accord, but just by where they're likely to show up. But, for an injection of creativity:

The Wizard's Academy sends a call for adventurers. Their flesh golems, used for the teaching of medicine, are being stolen while inactive. The control amulets remain in safekeeping, so what is happening to these valued and expensive pieces of equipment?

[Shining Wrath]

Flesh golems exist because of Mary Shelly; full stop. And if you'll recall, Frankenstein did not end well for the eponymous doctor.
I agree with you about the art; there ought to be more variation in size, skin tone, etc.

Note the requisite damage to have the monster go mad is 40 out of 93; that's some decent meat shield before things go bad. Also notice that the golem attacks targets it can see; the common Invisible Jerk Wizard (Greater Invisibility is very handy once a wizard is high enough level to craft golems) won't be attacked unless someone is smart enough to drop See Invisible on the berserk monster.

Also like the clay golems, a Blue Dragon who filled his entrance hall with Flesh golems would be a nasty customer.

[Spellbreaker26]

Flesh golems exist because of Mary Shelly; full stop. And if you'll recall, Frankenstein did not end well for the eponymous doctor.

They are inspired by the Frankenstein story yes, but if it was just Mary Shelly then it would have a significantly higher INT for one, and probably wouldn't be listed under golems at all. This guy shows a lot more resemblence to the Hammer Horror interpretation played by Boris Karloff.

[Unoriginal]

[I'm not sure if their creation is supposed to fall into cosmically evil territory like the creation of regular undead

In 5e, creating undead does *not* fall into cosmically evil. It is not a good act, but not an evil one either.

On the other hand, regularly creating several omnicidal beings who will kill anyone nearby if their creator ever lose control, knowing the risks yet disregarding them, is noted to be something only evil people do. For obvious reasons.