Phasm (or, Iron Golem at CR 7?)

[SnowDog]

In a published scenario (Banewarrens, Monte Cook), I have the opportunity to introduce my players to a Phasm. I've never run a Phasm before, and after reading up on the rules and the material in the supplement, I'm a little confused.

The supplement suggests that the Phasm take the form of a giant for melee combat. That's all well and good, except as I understand the spells in question, I'm not sure the Phasm would get a weapon fit for that giant form. In this case, the Phasm-Giant would be attacking unarmed, dealing less damage (though most of the damage comes from STR), dealing subdual damage, and even triggering AoOs.

So I said, "Hmm. That's suboptimal. What other melee form could I find that fits the rules constraints of the Phasm?"

And I stumbled onto the Iron Golem. As I understand it, there's nothing stopping the Phasm from taking the form of an Iron Golem. Given the constraints of the ability, it certainly seems like this CR 7 creature could become an Iron Golem and have DR 50/+3 and magical immunity. In other words, it would be almost unstoppable against a party that could otherwise take on a CR 7 foe.

What am I missing?

Is the DR not part of the package? Clearly the spell immunity is (it's an EX ability, covered by shapechange), but the DR might not be ... the Shapechange wording seems vague.

 

[nameless]

DR is a (Su) ability. The Iron Golem is still a pretty good form to take, though Clay Golems tend to be a little tougher due to their slashing and piercing damage immunity.

 

[SnowDog]

DR is a (Su) ability. The Iron Golem is still a pretty good form to take, though Clay Golems tend to be a little tougher due to their slashing and piercing damage immunity.

D'oh. There it is, MM page 9. *sigh* Sorry to waste folks' time. *mutters something about checking the most obvious places first*

 

[IanB]

DR is almost always (Su) but I think there are one or two cases where it is (Ex), so it is always best to check. Lycanthropes for example, I think are listed as having (Ex) DR.

 

[James McMurray]

My players have only met one Phasm in their careers. They were 15th+ level at the time, but when it came up to them looking, acting, and talking like a party member they were a bit weirded out and never did fight it. They ended up talking to it and it was a pretty fun scenario to run. Much better than a combat could have been, especially against a CR7 creature at that level.