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 Žižkov. In this very place, the great Žižkovská 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

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.