Dwarven MechGolems

[Sylvaroth]

For my CS I plan to have the dwarves of the world (see sig) utilizing golemlike constructs which they use as war suits and for mining (i. e. they sit inside of them and control them by thought), but I am not quite sure how the 'mind control' thing could be done.

Any suggestions?

 

[Halivar]

You shouldn't have them be telepathic. If you make it skill based (levers, gears, etc.), a character can't just sit in it, and some characters will be more skilled with them then others. It's also a balancing factor. You might also want to require a feat.

As an aside, while I personally think the idea of golem-mechs is cool (I have always wanted to put them in my game), people like me are few and far between. You do run the risk of being pelted with cheetos and/or other snack foods at the gaming table when you roll out your new creation ("Hey, is there a Japanese schoolgirl with magic powers inside it? I roll a search check.").

Just a warning...

 

[Sylvaroth]

Thanks, Halivar!

As an aside, while I personally think the idea of golem-mechs is cool (I have always wanted to put them in my game), people like me are few and far between. You do run the risk of being pelted with cheetos and/or other snack foods at the gaming table when you roll out your new creation ("Hey, is there a Japanese schoolgirl with magic powers inside it? I roll a search check.").

Your concearn and warning are well appreciated, but I still want to do them.
I take a chance so that in the end there will be something pretty innovative I think. If the above situation should occur I still would know for myself that I had done something I dreamd of for some time now. I hope you are there, too.

You shouldn't have them be telepathic. If you make it skill based (levers, gears, etc.), a character can't just sit in it, and some characters will be more skilled with them then others. It's also a balancing factor.

The dwarves are not actually telepathic, but sitting inside a war respectively mining golem enables them, eg. through donning some kind of helmet like device, to steer them, replacing the elemental spirit that naturally animates a golem. To distinguish each pilot and her golem from the other I would suggest to use some of the pilots stats (BAB, Ref, etc.), though tose could as well be a little enhanced by the golem. Of course the pilot should have to make concentration checks on certain occasions (after taking particularly heavy damage aso.) and should need to recover from the mental strain for some time, so the use should be limited concearning duration and difficulty of the performed tasks, that is succeeding the concentration checks should become harder by time, applying modifiers for certain tasks or incidents.

You might also want to require a feat.

Of course the mental conditioning of the golem pilots should require a feat.

Golem Conductor [General]
You are able to operate a dwarfish war or mining golem.
Prerequesites: Tharsûnian Dwarf, ...
Benefit: ...
Normal: You cannot use a dwarfish golem.

As three more specific tasks I would like to create the Dwarven Golem stats, the corresponding Create Dwarven Golem creation feat and the Golem Conductor feat required to control the construct mentally.

 

[Sylvaroth]

Any suggestions. Anybody?

 

[SteelDraco]

As three more specific tasks I would like to create the Dwarven Golem stats, the corresponding Create Dwarven Golem creation feat and the Golem Conductorfeat required to control the construct mentally.

Well, I would say that the Create Construct feat from the MM should be sufficient for the creation of a dwarven golem, assuming that they have the proper spells, plans, and materials. I don't see any need to make it a different feat.

As to the golems themselves... it kind of depends on how important these things are going to be to the campaign. If they're not much more than scenery, just describe them, and move on. If you want them to be a major feature, or something PCs can get involved with, then you'll need to come up with stats.

Two places to look at for rules for this sort of thing. DragonMech has rules for fantasy mecha, which sounds quite a bit like what you're doing here. Also, the Warcraft stuff has things like this; there's even a prestige class for someone in mecha-ish battle armor.

In brief, I would probably give the golem basic stats, but have it use the driver's BAB and other, skill-based things. A Piloting skill probably wouldn't be a bad idea, which you can take after you pick up the Golem Conductor feat. Piloting could be used to resist things that usually use Reflex saves or various skill checks.

How tough do you want these things to be? You could range anywhere from basing the stats on an ogre to a stone golem, depending.

 

[rkanodia]

Personally, I would just treat them as suits of armor that grant bonuses to the character inside, and price them accordingly. For instance, a war suit might be +1 plate mail that grants the character +2 strength, DR 2/- and does a slam attack for 3d6 points of damage. A mining suit might grant a burrow speed of 3 feet. Either suit completely encloses the character's body, preventing him from using his hands to manipulate items; the suits are sufficiently jointed to be able to throw a boulder or carry a sword (though not to grasp it as a weapon), but, say, a quill pen would be too small for it to pick up. Because of the limited vision out of a suit's cockpit, the flanking bonus against a character inside a suit is increased to +4. Requiring a feat might be a reasonable way to reduce the cost of creating them.

 

[Sylvaroth]

Well, I would say that the Create Construct feat from the MM should be sufficient for the creation of a dwarven golem, assuming that they have the proper spells, plans, and materials. I don't see any need to make it a different feat.<

Since the Tharsûnian Dwarves would be the only race in possession of the proper construction plans I agree.

As to the golems themselves... it kind of depends on how important these things are going to be to the campaign. If they're not much more than scenery, just describe them, and move on. If you want them to be a major feature, or something PCs can get involved with, then you'll need to come up with stats.

Reasonable, but I like to have background information and details. Imagine some kind of arena fight with DwarvenMechs, that would definitely be one situation those would come in handy.

Two places to look at for rules for this sort of thing. DragonMech has rules for fantasy mecha, which sounds quite a bit like what you're doing here. Also, the Warcraft stuff has things like this; there's even a prestige class for someone in mecha-ish battle armor.

I have not yet received but ordered my copy of DragonMech, so I will have to wait for that. As for the "WarCraft stuff" could you give me closer info about where to find those things you mentioned?

In brief, I would probably give the golem basic stats, but have it use the driver's BAB and other, skill-based things. A Piloting skill probably wouldn't be a bad idea, which you can take after you pick up the Golem Conductor feat. Piloting could be used to resist things that usually use Reflex saves or various skill checks.

How tough do you want these things to be? You could range anywhere from basing the stats on an ogre to a stone golem, depending.

Well, I think we would have to do some stats before going into such things as skills, any suggestions?

 

[Sylvaroth]

Personally, I would just treat them as suits of armor that grant bonuses to the character inside, and price them accordingly. For instance, a war suit might be +1 plate mail that grants the character +2 strength, DR 2/- and does a slam attack for 3d6 points of damage. A mining suit might grant a burrow speed of 3 feet. Either suit completely encloses the character's body, preventing him from using his hands to manipulate items; the suits are sufficiently jointed to be able to throw a boulder or carry a sword (though not to grasp it as a weapon), but, say, a quill pen would be too small for it to pick up. Because of the limited vision out of a suit's cockpit, the flanking bonus against a character inside a suit is increased to +4. Requiring a feat might be a reasonable way to reduce the cost of creating them.

Sounds interesting, what would the stats for such a MechArmor look like?

 

[rkanodia]

Sounds interesting, what would the stats for such a MechArmor look like?

Uh, I think I just wrote them out. Let's try it like this:

Dwarven MechArmor: This suit of +1 plate mail is made of stone and fashioned to look like a golem, covering the entire body. Any character wearing it gains a +2 enhancement bonus to strength and DR 2/-. The suit's "gloves" are too clumsy to wield weapons, but they can be treated as a manufactured weapon dealing 3d6 points of damage per hit. Price/caster level: Not really sure; I guess the thing to do would be to start with +1 plate mail and use the charts from there.

 

[Sylvaroth]

Uh, I think I just wrote them out. Let's try it like this:

Dwarven MechArmor: This suit of +1 plate mail is made of stone and fashioned to look like a golem, covering the entire body. Any character wearing it gains a +2 enhancement bonus to strength and DR 2/-. The suit's "gloves" are too clumsy to wield weapons, but they can be treated as a manufactured weapon dealing 3d6 points of damage per hit. Price/caster level: Not really sure; I guess the thing to do would be to start with +1 plate mail and use the charts from there.

Thanks for your effort. Though the final Dwarvengolem would be some kind of enhanced armor I do not picture them as "too clumsy to wear weapons". They should in fact be able to wield a vast array of weapons and tools. I think in general I will stick to the golemlike base instead of making them some kind of animated maic armor.