Can golems reason?

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

A stone golem has been set to investigate any loud sounds in its level of a megadungeon and to kill any intruders. It can hear intruders on the far side of a door it's too small to get through. There's another passage, blocked by a portcullis, that it could shove its way through (the portcullis has been installed by a different agency than the one that it responds to) in order to get to the intruders.

So, what does the golem do? Wait outside the door? Try to reach through? Go around through the portcullis? Or return to patrol along paths it can more easily travel?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I would say that most golems are able to reason within the parameters of their instruction- identifying friend & foe, for instance- but are not going to be great problem solvers.

It would definitely make attempts to reach through the small portal. If it had encountered the other aperature, it might attempt to force it's way through if it perceived an intruder in it's immediate vicinity, but probably not as a workaround... Unless it's instructions included phraseology like "Patrol and guard this dungeon, killing any intruders you find" or "by any means necessary." In that case, it may well have sufficient leeway in it's instructions to go seeking alternative paths to find intruders.

 

[Gilladian]

I would say that if when the golem was created and placed in the dungeon, the path that is now blocked by the portcullis was one that was unblocked and should be familiar to him, he'd try to go that way to get around to the room behind the small door.

If the route via the portcullis was never made part of his knowledge, then he will not explore to find that route. Instead he might try to smash the walls around the door to make the opening big enugh to go through.

 

[the Jester]

In my campaign, the golem would traditionally attempt to reach through but wouldn't think to go around.

But then, I'm not sure off hand what the golem's Intelligence is in 4e off hand. My answer might change a little based on that, if it had an Int of 6 or so.

 

[Bedrockgames]

I like my golems a little on the intelligent side.

 

[prosfilaes]

Per 3E RAW, they have an intelligence of 0, "Any creature that can think, learn, or remember has at least 1 point of Intelligence. A creature with no Intelligence score is mindless, an automaton operating on simple instincts or programmed instructions." I'd replace "investigate" with "follow" or "locate", and say that he couldn't push through a portcullis or something unless specifically told to.

 

[Lancelot]

The golem does whatever is most cinematic and liable to raise player anxiety.

In my game, it begins turning that "small door" into a gaping hole large enough to fit through by tearing huge pieces out of the wall. It'll be obvious that it will take some time to get through (so the players don't complain that I'm negating their smart plan to run through the door)... giving the players time to plan the next step of their escape.

Or, failing that, it struggles comically to get through the door for a couple rounds... then turns and strides away. I give the players a couple seconds to breathe a sigh of relief, and then tell them they hear a gawdawful metallic rending sound not too far away, and the walls shake around them slightly....

 

[Hand of Evil]

This is one of those times you need to be careful and list out the pre-programmed commands. As a rule of thumb I use caster level as the number of pre-programmed commands that can be placed into a golem.

follow your creators orders - this is the first command and is always in place. Other commands need to be listed but if NO commands have been given the golem will follow the installed program.

Example at golem creation:

• Follow your creators orders - no creator the following are followed
• Guard the Jewel of the Planes - will watch over the item but only act if someone touches it
• Kill any human, elf or dwarf that enters this room - but orcs are okay, as are a number of others - the golem would even try and kill the creator unless told to stop!

 

[Umbran]

Speaking in 3e terms, just as an example:

The golem has an Int of 0, but a Wis of 11. So, while it cannot "reason" its way out of most issues, it can use "common sense" and/or possibly perceive that there is another path.

So, after it tries to get at its target through the small door (by bashing it down, sending splinters everywhere, grabbing anyone within reach and possibly using its breath weapon through the door) and fails, you can give it a Wisdom check to see if it perceives that there's another possible path to follow its order.

 

[Quickleaf]

What kind of golem is it?

The one that teaches my evening classes seems to be able to reason, for example.