Clay Golem, The Earthen Sentinel
“Unleash the unstoppable power of a Clay Golem – an ancient, magical behemoth that smashes through enemies and defies spells!”

A Clay Golem is a towering, hulking creature forged from dark, unyielding clay, standing over 9 feet tall with a broad, muscular frame that resembles a humanoid shape. Its rough, earthen exterior is streaked with cracks and fissures, which glow faintly with an inner, arcane energy. The golem’s eyes, if present, are glowing orbs of a deep, fiery red, and its mouth is a jagged slit, offering little sign of sentience. Despite its crudely sculpted appearance, the golem’s strength is immense, and it radiates a quiet, menacing aura, like the stillness before a storm.
Clay Golems are created solely for one purpose: to serve their master, usually through complex rituals of arcane magic. They operate without free will, their every movement guided by the precise commands of the mage or creator who brought them to life. The golem’s behavior is mechanical and relentless, performing tasks with tireless efficiency but lacking in creativity or initiative. When commanded, it moves with the calculated pace of a juggernaut, unaffected by fatigue or fear, and will fight until its creator’s will is fulfilled or it is destroyed.
These creatures are typically found in secluded, magical strongholds or deep within ancient, enchanted ruins where their creators, often powerful wizards or necromancers, reside. Some are tasked with guarding hidden treasures, forbidden knowledge, or sacred places, while others are constructed to safeguard a personal or familial legacy. In rare instances, Clay Golems may be employed in large-scale battles as virtually indestructible soldiers.
In combat, the Clay Golem is a formidable adversary. Its method of attack involves crushing its enemies with earth-shattering punches or sweeping blows, each strike capable of breaking bones or splintering steel. It is impervious to most forms of magic, rendering many magical attacks useless, and is immune to common afflictions such as poison or disease. However, its slow movement makes it vulnerable to nimble, strategic opponents.
Motivated solely by its creator’s will, a Clay Golem has no desires, fears, or hopes of its own. Its existence is a perfect reflection of its creator’s intent—undying loyalty, brute strength, and unwavering obedience. It seeks no reward, nor does it question its orders, existing solely to carry out the tasks it was constructed for. Once its duty is fulfilled, or if its creator meets their demise, the golem may crumble into ruin, its purpose at an end.
Clay Golem 5e
Clay Golem 3.5
Clay Golem

Large Construct, Unaligned
Armor Class: 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points: 133 (14d10 + 56)
Speed: 30 ft.
STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
22 (+6) | 9 (-1) | 18 (+4) | 3 (-4) | 10 (+0) | 1 (-5) |
Saving Throws: None
Damage Immunities: Poison, Psychic
Condition Immunities: Blinded, Charmed, Deafened, Frightened, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned
Senses: Blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), Passive Perception 10
Languages: Understands the languages of its creator, but cannot speak
Challenge: 9 (5,000 XP)
TRAITS
- Magic Resistance: The Clay Golem has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
- Immutable Form: The Clay Golem is immune to any spell or effect that would alter its form. It cannot be charmed, frightened, or paralyzed.
- Constructed Nature: The Clay Golem doesn’t need to eat, drink, or breathe. It is immune to poison and disease and cannot be healed by magical healing.
ACTIONS
- Multiattack: The Clay Golem makes two Slam attacks.
- Slam:
Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 21 (3d8 + 6) bludgeoning damage. - Crushing Grip (Recharge 5-6):
The golem attempts to crush a creature within its reach.
Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 28 (4d8 + 6) bludgeoning damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 17). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the golem can’t make Slam attacks against other targets. The golem can use its Crushing Grip on a restrained target to crush them at the start of its turn (automatically dealing the damage).
REACTIONS
- Spell Reflection (1/Day): When the Clay Golem is targeted by a spell that requires a ranged attack roll, it can use its reaction to reflect the spell back at the caster. The spell makes a new attack roll with disadvantage, and if it hits, the Clay Golem reflects the damage back at the original caster.
TACTICS
The Clay Golem is a resilient and relentless combatant, leveraging its strength and durability to overpower opponents:
- Close Combat Dominance: It prioritizes frontline combat, closing in on weaker or smaller enemies to grapple and restrain them using Crushing Grip.
- Disable Key Targets: The golem targets spellcasters and other high-priority enemies first, using its Spell Reflection ability to mitigate magical attacks against it.
- Single Target Lockdown: Once a creature is restrained by Crushing Grip, the golem focuses its efforts on finishing that target before moving to another.
- Unyielding Pursuit: Immune to most conditions, the Clay Golem will relentlessly chase enemies, unable to be stopped by fear, charms, or poisons.
LEGACY AND ROLE
Clay Golems are designed as guardians of treasure hoards, ancient relics, or as eternal protectors of magical vaults. Their resistance to magic and ability to overpower foes makes them a challenging adversary for any adventuring party.
Clay Golem

A golem is an animated being created entirely from inanimate matter.
Earliest stories
The earliest stories of golems date to early history. The first man is described as initially created as a golem when his dust was “kneaded into a hapeless hunk”. Like him, all golems were created from clay. They were a creation of those who were very holy and close to the Gods. A very holy person was one who strove to approach the Gods, and in that pursuit would gain some of their wisdom and power. One of these powers was the creation of life. No matter how oly a person became, however, a being created by that person would be but a shadow of one created by a God.
Early on, the notion developed that the main disability of the golem was its inability to speak. ” It is said that if a golem were made able to speak, that would give it a soul, and — because a golem cannot be made perfectly — that ability could make it very dangerous.
Owning and activating golems
Having a golem servant was seen as the ultimate symbol of wisdom and holiness, and there are many tales of golems connected to prominent clerics throughout history.
The Golem is inscribed with magic or religious words that keep it animated. Writing sacred words on its forehead, a slip of paper in its mouth, or enscribed on its body. Golems also need to rest on the lest they go berserk.
The classic narrative
The most famous golem narrative involves Rabbi Judah Loew the Maharal of Prague. He is reported to have created a golem to defend the Prague ghetto of Josefov from Anti-Semitic attacks.
The Emperor made an edict proclaiming that the Jews in Prague were to be either expelled on pain of death. A golem could be made of clay from the banks of the Vltava river in Prague. Following the prescribed rituals, the Rabbi built the Golem and made him come to life by reciting special incantations. The Rabbi’s intention was to have the Golem protect the Jewish community from harm. As Rabbi Loew’s Golem grew bigger, he also became more violent and started killing and spreading fear. Some versions also add that the Golem turns on his creator and attacks either his creator alone or the creator and the Jews as well.
In the face of the strength demonstrated and violence perpetrated by the Golem, the Emperor begged Loew to destroy the Golem, and in return he would promise that the persecution of and violence towards the Jews would stop. The Rabbi accepted this offer. To destroy the Golem, he rubbed out the first letter of the word “emet” or “aemaeth” (God’s truth) from the golem’s forehead to make the Hebrew word “met” or “maeth”, meaning death. It was made clear to the Emperor that the Golem of Prague’s remains would be stored in a coffin
in the attic of the Old New Synagogue in Prague, and it can be summoned again
if needed.
It is said that the body of Rabbi Loew’s golem still lies in the genizah of the Old New Synagogue in Prague. In some documents, the golem was stolen from genizah and entombed in a graveyard in ikov. In this very place, the great ikovská tower now stands.
The existence of a golem is sometimes a mixed blessing. Golems are not intelligent — if commanded to perform a task, they will take the instructions perfectly literally.
In some incarnations of the legend of the Maharal’s golem, the golem has powers that can aid it in its tasks. These include invisibility, a heated touch, and the ability to use the Maharal’s walking stick to summon spirits from the dead. This last power was often crucial, as the golem could summon dead witnesses, which the medieval Prague courts would allow to testify.
Clay Golem | |
Large construct | |
Hit Dice | 11d10+30 (90 hp) |
Initiative | -1 |
Speed | 20 ft. (4 squares) |
Armor Class | 22 (-1 size, -1 Dexterity, +14 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 22 |
Base Attack/Grapple | +8/+19 |
Attack | Slam +14 melee (2d10+7 plus cursed wound) |
Full Attack | 2 slams +14 melee (2d10+7 plus cursed wound) |
Space/Reach | 10 ft./10 ft. |
Special Attacks | Berserk, cursed wound |
Special Qualities | construct traits, damage reduction 10/adamantine and bludgeoning, Darkvision 60 ft., haste, immunity to magic, Low-Light Vision |
Saves | Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +3 |
Abilities | Strength 25, Dexterity 9, Constitution -, Intelligence -, Wisdom 11, Charisma 1 |
Skills | – |
Feats | – |
Environment | Any |
Organization | Solitary or gang (2-4) |
Challenge Rating | 10 |
Treasure | None |
Alignment | Always neutral |
Advancement | 12-18 HD (Large); 19-33 HD (Huge) |
Level Adjustment | – |
This golem has a humanoid body made from clay. A clay golem wears no clothing except for a metal or stiff leather garment around its hips.
A clay golem golem cannot speak or make any vocal noise. It walks and moves with a slow, clumsy gait. It weighs around 600 pounds.
Combat

(1852-1913)
Berserk (Ex): When a clay golem enters combat, there is a cumulative 1% chance each round that its elemental spirit breaks free and the golem goes berserk. The uncontrolled golem goes on a rampage, attacking the nearest living creature or smashing some object smaller than itself if no creature is within reach, then moving on to spread more destruction. Once a clay golem goes berserk, no known method can reestablish control.
Cursed Wound (Ex): The damage a clay golem deals doesn’t heal naturally and resists healing spells. A character attempting to cast a conjuration (healing) spell on a creature damaged by a clay golem must succeed on a DC 26 caster level check, or the spell has no effect on the injured character.
Immunity to Magic (Ex): A clay golem is immune to any spell or spell-like ability that allows Spell Resistance. In addition, certain spells and effects function differently against the creature, as noted below.
- A Move earth spell drives the golem back 120 feet and deals 3d12 points of damage to it.
- A disintegrate spell slows the golem (as the slow spell) for 1d6 rounds and deals 1d12 points of damage.
- An Earthquake spell cast directly at a clay golem stops it from moving on its next turn and deals 5d10 points of damage. The golem gets no saving throw against any of these effects.
Any magical attack against a clay golem that deals acid damage heals 1 point of damage for every 3 points of damage it would otherwise deal. If the amount of healing would cause the golem to exceed its full normal hit points, it gains any excess as temporary hit points. For example, a clay golem hit by the breath weapon of a black dragon heals 7 points of damage if the attack would have dealt 22 points of damage. A clay golem golem gets no saving throw against magical attacks that deal acid damage.
haste (Su): After it has engaged in at least 1 round of combat, a clay golem can haste itself once per day as a free action. The effect lasts 3 rounds and is otherwise the same as the spell.
Construction
A clay golem’s body must be sculpted from a single block of clay weighing at least 1,000 pounds, treated with rare oils and powders worth 1,500 gp. Creating the body requires a DC 15 Craft (sculpting) check or a DC 15 Craft (pottery) check.
CL 11th; Craft Construct, animate objects, commune, resurrection, caster must be at least 11th level; Price 40,000 gp; Cost 21,500 gp + 1,540 XP.