d20 Dog Soul Golemcraft 101.pdf

AUTHOR:

Scott Carter

GRAPHIC ARTIST:

Deborah Balsam

COVER IMAGE

and ILLUSTRATIONS:

Sean C. Frolich

EDITOR:

Duane Nutley

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Every adventurer has heard of that most fearsome of

foes, the Golem. Long the guardians of the most formidable

ancient tombs, mystic temples, and arcane towers, these

mighty creatures are loyal and steadfast servants, outlasting

their masters as they tirelessly stand vigil. Considered to be

the pinnacle of magical item creation, most Constructs are

far beyond the skills of all but the most advanced of casters.

While none of the Constructs in the Monster Manual can be

animated by a caster of less than 13th level, with the excep-

tion of th e Homunculus, a wizard could choose to study this

highly specialized ﬁ eld as early as 6th level, or a cleric by 9th,

by taking the requisite feat, Craft Construct (see Chapter 6:

Monster Skills and Feats of the Monster Manual.)

Fortunately, Constructs are no longer the domain

of the most puissant of wizards and clerics alone. While the

Golems of legend remain beyond reach for a time, home-

made servants can attend even average spellcasters. is book

presents a new set of rules for building Constructs at lower

levels, as well as modifying and adapting Constructs and

golems found in the Monster Manual and other sources.

Getting Started

e Craft Construct feat gives a character access to

rituals designed to bind mindless elemental forces to both

the mundane materials of a Construct’s body as well as the

caster’s will. Construction requires several things: knowledge

and ability to cast the needed spells, special material com-

ponents for the spells, time to perform the ritual, and the

Constructed form to be animated. Ultimately, a Construct’s

Total Cost equals Base Body Price + Ritual Cost+ any ad-

ditional Features. e caster must also spend XP equal to

1/25th Construct’s Total Cost upon initiating the ritual.

Purchase Cost of any Construct created this way is 250% of

the Construct’s Total Cost, although the DM may determine

that certain features or qualities make the Construct more or

less valuable.

The Body

e crafting process begins with the physical form of

the Construct. Calculating the cost of the Construct’s body

assumes a four-limbed form, in most cases a rough human-

oid, although animal shapes are also possible. Diminutive

and Tiny Constructs may have as many as eight appendages

at no additional cost. Larger Constructs may be made in the

shape of animals, but those with four or more legs must pay

extra per the Additional Pair of Legs mundane modiﬁ cation

(described below). A character will also need an appropriate

space to build and animate the Construct, either a smithy,

workshop, or laboratory, the cost of which is not accounted

for in the Construction process.

TABLE 1: BASIC MATERIAL COSTS AND QUALITIES

MATERIAL

Price per lb or square yard

in gp

Natural AC bonus

Special Qualities

Golem Clay

5 gp

DR 5/bludgeoning, Vulner-

able to Sonic energy

Golem Wood

7 gp

DR 5/slashing, +2 Dex,

Vulnerable to Fire

Golem Stone

8 gp

DR 10/bludgeoning, +2 Str

Golem Iron

10 gp

+10

DR 15/bludgeoning, +2 Str

Golem Steel

15 gp

+12

DR 17/bludgeoning, +2 Str

Golem Cloth

40 gp

DR 15/slashing, -2 Str, +4

Dex, Vulnerable to Fire

Golem Silk

100 gp

DR 20/slashing, +4 Dex,

Vulnerable to Fire

Golem Gold

500 gp

DR 5/bludgeoning, +2 Dex

Golem Mithral

5000 gp

+10

DR 20/-, +2 Str, +2 Dex

e materials needed must be specially treated to allow the

binding ritual described below to take place. In most cases

the cost of 1 pound of treated material is 10 times the regular

price (see Table 1: Basic Material Costs and Qualities, for Basic

Construct material costs). However, metals are more di cult

to treat and thus cost 100 times their regular price (compare

the listed cost of 10 gp for iron to the Trade Goods table from

Chapter Seven: Equipment of the Player’s Handbook which

lists iron for 1sp per pound). Other materials are also pos-

sible. If the caster has the Craft Construct feat and intends

to build the body, assume that the character knows how to

prepare these materials from their mundane counterparts and

other mystical components as part of the building process.

If the character intends for someone else to build the body,

assume that the caster can give the craftsman instruction or

assistance in preparing the materials. In either case, use the

listed price as the total of the base and mystic material costs.

e cost of the body depends on both the material

and the size category of the desired Construct. To determine

the Base Body Price, multiply the cost given in Table 1 with

the Size Multiplier appropriate for the material given in Table

2. In the case of a metal body, the body is not a solid mass

but rather a hollow metal wire frame with an outer shell.

A simple functional body can be crafted with a suc-

cessful Craft check (the type depends on the material) DC

15. Some physical modiﬁ cations (see below) may increase

this base DC. It takes at least 1 day to create a Diminutive

body or 2 days for a Tiny body; otherwise, the time to create

is a number of days equal to the Size Multiplier divided by

10. If the caster cannot or does not wish to create the body,

a body may be commissioned for a price equal to 120% the

Base Body Price.

Example: e base body cost for a Medium Iron

Construct would be 3000 gp (10 gp x 300) and take 30

days, a Tiny Clay Construct would cost 50 gp (5gp x 10) and

take 2 days to build the body, and a Small Wood Construct

would cost 525 gp (7gp x 75) and take 8 days to complete.

If any additional spell eﬀ ects or magical abilities will be added

to the Construct, they must be added before the binding

ritual.

The Ritual

e binding ritual requires the ability to cast a summon

monster spell. e needed spell level depends on the size of

the Construct (see below). e ritual bonds the creature to

the new body, which will determine Strength and Dexterity.

Should the ritual fail or the body be destroyed the creature

automatically returns to its original plane, to be reabsorbed

into its elemental essence.

Such elemental forces can be summoned to

animate diminutive Constructs with summon monster I , tiny

Constructs with summon monster II , and small Constructs

with summon monster III . Summon monster V is used in the

binding ritual for medium sized Constructs, while large and

huge Constructs are animated using summon monster VI

and VII respectively. Unlike other uses of summon monster ,

higher-level spells cannot be used to summon multiple num-

bers of lower level creatures. Material spell components equal

to 250 gp per spell level of summon monster are consumed in

the process. If the ritual is interrupted, the spell components

are rendered useless for magical purposes and the XP and

spell slot are spent, but the intended Constructed form can

be reused. Animation requires the caster spend 2 hours per

level of the summon monster spell used doing nothing but

performing the ritual.

Examples: e cost to animate the Construct ex-

amples given above would be:

Medium Iron Construct: Ritual Costs = 1250 gp (250gp

TABLE 2: SIZE MULTIPLIERS BASED ON MATERIAL

MATERIAL

Diminutive

Tiny

Small

Medium

Large

Huge

Cloth, Silk

100

400

1600

Wood

.75

7.5

150

600

2400

Clay

100

200

800

3200

Gold, Iron, Steel, Mithral

1.5

150

300

1200

4800

Stone

200

400

1600

6400

x5 for summon monster V ). Total Cost = 3000 gp +1250 gp

=4250 gp +170 XP.

Tiny Clay Construct: Ritual Costs = 500 gp (250 gp x2 for

summon monster II ). Total Cost = 550 gp+22 XP

Small Wood Construct: Ritual Costs = 750 gp (250 gp x 3

for summon monster III ). Total Cost =750 gp +525gp = 1275

gp + 51 XP.

At the completion of the ritual, the caster has a new

Base Construct servant. e newly minted creature has the

following characteristics, assuming no alterations for special

features as discussed below:

either through mundane or magical means, the possibility is

returned to 0%.

e Base Construct is essentially mindless. However,

it will follow simple clear directions and can be trained to

perform basic tasks by its master. e master, either the

creator or someone designated by the creator, can command

a Construct within 60 feet if the Construct can both see and

hear said master. If it has no clear commands, a Construct

will usually attempt to accomplish its last command or remain

motionless, waiting for orders. A Construct will attack if

attacked ﬁ rst unless speciﬁ cally commanded not to do so.

Examples of valid commands for a Construct are: “follow

me”, “guard this room”, or “carry this.” Being mindless, they

are incapable of following tactics or strategy, nor can they

accomplish any complex task. However, wise masters can

work within the limitations of the Construct and have them

successfully perform a wide array of chores.

• Wisdom and Charisma as the original elemental spirit

• Strength and Dexterity as determined by Table 3, Construct

Physical Abilities

• Base speed 20 feet, Diminutive, Tiny, and Small; Base speed

30 feet, Medium, Large, and Huge

• Construct Type, (as described in Chapter Seven: Glossary

of the Monster Manual), with Base Attack Bonus, and

saving throws determined by HD as a Construct. Since Base

Constructs have no Intelligence score they do not gain Skill

Points. It should be noted that unlike most of the Golems in

the Monster Manual, these Constructs do not possess immu-

nity to magic, and thus are as susceptible as any other magic

item to dispel magic or similar eﬀ ects. Golems receive DR

based on material components (see Table 1, Basic Material

Costs and Qualities.)

• A Base Construct is assumed to have attacks appropriate for

its size and shape. (see Table 3, Construct Physical Abilities,

for damage based on size).

• A Base Construct that takes damage has a cumulative 1%

possibility that the embedded binding ritual will be disrupted,

rendering the Construct inert. If the Construct is repaired,

Motivating Force

e summoned monster is a non-sentient bodi-

less spirit of pure elemental force, a spontaneous-

ly generated vermin-like being from the planes of

elemental earth. Before bonding, these elemental

spirits are considered Outsiders with the incorpo-

real subtype. Being vermin, these creatures have

no Intelligence scores, but otherwise can have

ability scores appropriate for an incorporeal out-

sider. Myriad, they have little in common with

one another. Determine Wisdom and Charisma

by rolling 3d6 twice, then apply the results as

desired. It is unlikely that a character will ever

encounter one in its natural form.

TABLE 3: CONSTRUCT PHYSICAL ABILITIES

SIZE

Strength

Dexterity

Slam

Bite

Claw/Sting

Gore/Tail

Diminutive

1/8

1/4

1d2

Tiny

1/4

1/2

1d3

1d2

Small

1/2

1d3

1d4

1d3

Medium

1d4

1d6

1d4

Large

1d6

1d8

1d6

Huge

1d8

2d6

1d8

2d6

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