D&D 5E Clay Golem HP Drain

[Jester David]

Where does it talk about the draining slam? Not seeing anything in the article...

 

[jadrax]

Oh my... that damage immunity is brutal. I guess it means that PCs will be dragging those golf bags again... *sigh*.

Its a bit odd as well, in the Iron Golem description it specifically calls out 'Their iron bodies imprison the spirits that drive them, and are susceptible only to weapons imbued with magic or the strength of adamantine.' Then it goes and gives Clay Golems the exact same immunities...

 

[bording]

The article originally had a link to a pdf with the stat block, but it seems to have been edited at some point and the link is gone now.

However, if you go here:

http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/media-resources/excerpts

and click on the Golem excerpt, you'll be able to download it.


*edit* Or you can get it directly from http://media.wizards.com/2014/downloads/dnd/MM_Golem.pdf

 

[AngryMojo]

Considering the spell to remove the hit point loss isn't really that tough to cast, I'm okay with it. The immunities are rough, but the HP total and AC are rather low for a monster of its CR (by the standards we have so far, at least), and it's capital "s" slow. I can see golems as being the monsters you need your specific tools to fight, and those tools are very effective. I like that kind of diversity in encounters, keeping the method of fighting monsters diverse helps the game from going stale.

 

[Remathilis]

Oh my... that damage immunity is brutal. I guess it means that PCs will be dragging those golf bags again... *sigh*.

5e's wording for Weapon Immunity/Resistance is very wonky.

Most creatures take damage normally from all types of weapons. Some creatures with "mystical" defenses (like devils, vampires, and lycanthropes) require a magical OR silver weapon, and some "extreme hardness" (like gargoyles and golems) require a magical OR adamantine. In some rare cases, only magical weapons will do (raksashas, liches, etc)

In all cases, a plain +1 weapon beats their resistance/immunity; silver or adamantine is just an additional non-magical (and perhaps purchasable) way to fight them.

 

[MightyZehir]

True. Of course it gets even worse if the players kill you before you get your next turn.

But tbh, regardless of efficiency, it just feels wrong.

Well, clay golems are very slow and they don't have reach, so haste is suppose to overcome that.

What irks me is the haste action doesn't double clay golem's speed. Since speed of 20 feet is so slow, PCs can kite him from range. That's the big part of haste action usefulness, I'm pretty sure that's just an oversight. I'll houserule that it gets the speed bonus for sure.

 

[Primal]

Its a bit odd as well, in the Iron Golem description it specifically calls out 'Their iron bodies imprison the spirits that drive them, and are susceptible only to weapons imbued with magic or the strength of adamantine.' Then it goes and gives Clay Golems the exact same immunities...

Yeah, that may be due to clay golems having 'DR 10/adamantine and bludgeoning' in 3.X. But *immunity*... that's quite harsh for a mid-tier monster (CR9). Especially as new players won't have a clue... it's a nasty, kind of "gotcha-ish" trait that should not exist in 5E. How could new players know that golems are immune to most weapons, and they need to assemble a golf bag of silver, adamantine and whatnot weapons (perhaps even needing one of each damage type?).

I think the golem's 'Haste' ability works a lot better in 5E, though.

 

[Mouseferatu]

it's a nasty, kind of "gotcha-ish" trait that should not exist in 5E. How could new players know that golems are immune to most weapons, and they need to assemble a golf bag of silver, adamantine and whatnot weapons (perhaps even needing one of each damage type?).

I disagree. Such traits should be rare, but not non-existent. How do the players know that golems have immunities? Through direct experience. Players should be surprised on occasion, and forced to retreat to reconsider/research their options. Again, not often--but sometimes.

 

[I'm A Banana]

I think that part of what folks don't seem to be grasping when they look at stuff like this (or like low saves for your dump stat) is that 5e seems to be set up to have a lot of back-and-forth swings.

I mean, that effect looks gnarly, but every 9th-level cleric/druid can cast Greater Restoration, and a Bard who wants to could do it, too. It's not a debilitating problem unless you get hit a LOT, and you don't have one of those available. It's a yo-yo status, easy come, easy go.

Which is fine, but come to think of it, it seems narrow. I'm a little surprised that the Medicine skill, the Healer's kit, etc. don't help with maximum HP loss. As it is, the clay golem is a "if you don't have a cleric or druid (or a certain kind of bard or particular magic items) be prepared to have less HP for the entire rest of the game." My guess is that magic items are meant to help that, but...if magic items are optional...

Maybe we're looking at a "magic items are assumed, so level 9 characters have access to potions of restoration, and if you remove magic items, here's a module to make sure you maintain the same level of resource access, if you want"?

Anyway, the effect itself doesn't seem to be a problem, but the limited ways one can recover from it might be. Sounds like a good use for the under-used Medicine skill to me!

But I really like the Berserk effect! Smashin' stuff is cool and interesting and evocative.

 

[The Hitcher]

I disagree. Such traits should be rare, but not non-existent. How do the players know that golems have immunities? Through direct experience. Players should be surprised on occasion, and forced to retreat to reconsider/research their options. Again, not often--but sometimes.

Yep, this. Or through research, or because some NPC tells them so, or because they make a good Arcana role. There are lots of ways.

Edit: I don't understand this concept of DM "gotchas". If a DM really wants to get you, s/he'll get you, and it doesn't require anything so fiddly as specific damage immunities.