Ideas for a flawed golem army

[ffy]

I think I have it now. The 'old' golems are toxic to the environment, which is why they were sealed away underground beneath a temple - the entrance being only recently discovered, when the church was disbanded and the temple heavily damaged (the plot of our previous adventure in the city). There is still a stockpile of the toxic substance used to power them near where they are buried underground (as it was decided that would be the safest way to dispose of the substance), the effects of which haven't been showing because by itself it is just a highly acidic liquid with a noxious odor. It becomes dangerous to all living things (causing infertility, mental disabilities, various bodily birth defects as well as problems in growing plantlife) only when 'digested' by the golems. And of course upon research it is revealed that to create more of the substance requires huge amounts of alcohol, which would make life in the city very hard indeed. Crops won't grow well, yet you need crops to feed the people as well as to make fuel for the golems. In other respects however, the old golems are just as good as the new ones.

The 'new' golems, while working pretty well so far, have a secret of their own. During their stay in the city, whenever they have seen (or organized for) someone being killed in the streets, the corpses have disappeared very fast. They haven't really payed attention to it, probably just thinking that it is a sign of the organization of the city (it is indeed a well organized city, with well planned streets and lots of working businesses around), but it is actually something more sinister - the corpses are being used to power new golems, or to 'touch up' ones that have become a bit worn with time. If they fight one of the new golems, I can imagine the reveal being that when it falls its stone body cracks apart and peeking out beneath it is a dried out, grayed corpse of a human with its eyes removed and a pained expression on its face. The corpses of everyone who has died in the city are being used to 'power' the guard force in a gruesome show of necromancy and transmutation.

I believe developments like that should give enough grounds for an interesting series of decisions. Will the PCs go for the easier, more devastating but morally less evil path, or will the choose the pragmatic choice and favor the necessary evil?

Thanks for all that gave their ideas here, this forum is ing awesome

 

[Aeolius]

On the outskirts of town, near the abandoned tavern that burned to the ground in an orc incursion, is an overgrown cemetery all but forgotten by the local townsfolk. Though a small creek now winds lazily through the grounds, each grave is marked with a statue of stone depicting the soul which rests below.

Unknown to the townsfolk, the statues once defended their homes many decades in the past. A local wizard had held in his collection a number of stone statues, unfortunate victims from a basilisk’s foray into town. In the town’s time of need, he animated the statues as golems, unspeaking soldiers to defend his home against the marauding orcs. He never imagined that the souls of each of the basilisk’s victims had remained, tortured and entrapped within prisons of stone. Their tenure complete upon the basilisk’s defeat, the statues stood immobile once more.

Yet their number had grown by one. In the center of the overgrown cemetery, standing beside a desecrated tomb, is the petrified body of the wizard himself. Resting amongst his mortal effects in the magically-protected tomb below is a wondrous tome detailing his animation of the stone soldiers, his discovery of their true nature, and the magics required to awaken them once more.

 

[Scott DeWar]

Hmmmm, very thought provoking!

 

[Bleys Icefalcon]

The "old" army was created by the "old" wizard. The wizard who was deposed by the current "benevelent" wizard controlling the new army. By deposed, I mean killed. To reawaken the old army, they will need to gain the old wizards ring. The ring is sealed up with the old wizard's corpse. The new wizard knows the ring is key to his downfall, but, is unable to destroy it due to the nature of its curse. The ring - and specifically that which is stored in the flawed amber gemstone, the soul of the old wizard - is destined to slay him. If the new wizard destroys it, he dies, if it falls into the heands of his enemies, they can control of "the golden army" - the Mk Is are siginificantly superior to the Mk IIs, it will be a slaughter. The reason the ring destroys him if he in turn destroys it - the old wizard was the new wizards father/brother/master (or some combination therein).

 

[Scott DeWar]

What if the old wizard and new wizard were the same, but created by a clone spell. The clone, or new wizard was victorious,the old wizard had a contingency: trap the sould on the flawed apiece of amber? a vice a verse switch a roo, if you will.