Should constructs get xp's?

[Vahktang]

The party has a flesh golem around. It participates in fights, helps in opening doors, tricks traps, etc.

Should Victor (the golem) have gotten XP's? NPC XP's at least?

(Should constructs?)

He was around. He participated.

Can they get stronger, more powerful that way?

The Monster Manual says (pg 303):

A newly created construct has average hit points for it's Hit Dice.


Which begs the question, how about afterwards?


And the Awaken Construct spell (9th level)

I imagine the constructs can go up in character class after that. But what would the Effective Character Level of an Flesh Golem be? An Iron Golem? A Stone Golem.

 

[frankthedm]

The party has a flesh golem around. It participates in fights, helps in opening doors, tricks traps, etc.

Should Victor (the golem) have gotten XP's? NPC XP's at least?

(Should constructs?)

He was around. He participated.

mindless creatures should not be gaining XP / levels. They know no experiences.

Did the party buy or make the golem with treasure that should have gone towards magic items to make the characters stronger? if so, then it also should not have any influence on the XP totals the players receive. Supposedly a golem's effectiveness in combat shoud equal golems cost in magic items the party should have had otherwise.

Can they get stronger, more powerful that way?

The Monster Manual says (pg 303):

A newly created construct has average hit points for it's Hit Dice.

Which begs the question, how about afterwards?

Nothing modifies HD rolls after they are made IIRC. If you want a stronger golem, you build a stronger golem.

After the awaken construct spell gets involved, that is another kettle of fish.

 

[Squire James]

My general philosophy is that Experience (and therefore XP) is gained as a numerical representation of learning. Mindless golems don't learn, so they don't gain XP. If the golem is intelligent, it would be capable of gaining XP and then you'll have to think of an appropriate Level Adjustment for it. Note that Warforged, despite being partial constructs, still get full XP, as do characters with 10 levels of Green Star Adept (which are almost entirely constructs).

The reason Keraptis leaves flesh golems behind in White Plume Mountain (the most likely place some PC's could pick up a flesh golem without extensive DM collaboration) is because they don't even make good mooks anymore to guys like him! He has better stuff attending him these days...

 

[Vahktang]

Nothing modifies HD rolls after they are made IIRC. If you want a stronger golem, you build a stronger golem.

According to the create construct feat, you can't make stronger golems.

A newly created construct has average hit points for it's Hit Dice.

If they don't get xp's, and they only get average HP, it looks like it's not possible to have stronger constructs.

 

[frankthedm]

According to the create construct feat, you can't make stronger golems.

Says who?

Craft Construct [Item Creation]
Prerequisites
Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Craft Wondrous Item.

Benefit
A creature with this feat can create any construct whose prerequisites it meets. Enchanting a construct takes one day for each 1,000 gp in its market price. To enchant a construct, a spellcaster must spend 1/25 the item’s price in XP and use up raw materials costing half of this price (see individual construct monster entries for details).

A creature with this feat can repair constructs that have taken damage. In one day of work, the creature can repair up to 20 points of damage by expending 50 gp per point of damage repaired.

A newly created construct has average hit points for its Hit Dice.


Construction
The cost to create given for each golem includes the cost of the physical body and all the materials and spell components that are consumed or become a permanent part of the golem. Creating a golem is essentially similar to creating any sort of magic item. However, a golem’s body includes costly material components that may require some extra preparation. The golem’s creator can assemble the body or hire someone else to do the job. The builder must have the appropriate skill, which varies with the golem variety.

Completing the golem’s creation drains the appropriate XP from the creator and requires casting any spells on the final day.

The creator must cast the spells personally, but they can come from outside sources, such as scrolls.

The characteristics of a golem that come from its nature as a magic item (caster level, prerequisite feats and spells, market price, cost to create) are given in summary form at the end of each golem’s description.

Note: The market price of an advanced golem (a golem with more Hit Dice than the typical golem described in each entry) is increased by 5,000 gp for each additional Hit Die, and increased by an additional 50,000 gp if the golem’s size increases. The XP cost for creating an advanced golem is equal to 1/25 the advanced golem’s market price minus the cost of the special materials required.