Can you enhance a golem?

[Xarlen]

Geeze. if you're going to be that paticular, just make a shield guardian...

 

[kreynolds]

Geeze. if you're going to be that paticular, just make a shield guardian...

I really like Shield Guardians, but I like Helmed Horrors much more. There is an NPC Wizard in one of my games that has a Helmed Horror as a cohort (funny...there's that cohort thing again ).

 

[Kai Lord]

In regards to having a Golem, I really don't think they are an exception from requiring the Leadership score. The only difference between having a Golem as a cohort or a Mind Flayer as a cohort is that the Golem is 100% loyal to you, will do anything you ask, no matter what, and will never question your commands, ever. This has nothing to do with the lack of an Intelligence score either. The XP expenditure is what makes a golem so loyal, and what truly makes it yours, and yours alone. I don't think the XP expenditure is meant to allow you to substitute equipment, wealth, and magic items for a horde of golems.

However, in regards to their loyalty, keep a close eye on those damn Clay Golems when you first build them!

I could see the "Frankenstein's Monster" angle of building a golem without the appropriate Leadership score, but that guy had human intelligence. These things are built to follow orders; and by your assumption no wizard could ever have more than one golem, unless he burned yet another Leadership feat to allow for a second cohort.

Nah, I just don't see it. You earn the creation feats, you build the body, you cast the right spells, you burn the XP, the golem is yours and he's loyal to you. If you want two, just repeat the process.

 

[Kai Lord]

I really like Shield Guardians, but I like Helmed Horrors much more. There is an NPC Wizard in one of my games that has a Helmed Horror as a cohort (funny...there's that cohort thing again ).

Sounds cool. Would you mind posting him in the House Rules forum so we could take a look at him?

 

[kreynolds]

Sounds cool. Would you mind posting him in the House Rules forum so we could take a look at him?

Why the house rules?

 

[Junkheap]

I don't think golems can lower their magic immunity. Even if they could though, any buffing spells would cease to affect them when the immunity went back up. Each golem type can be affected by a couple of spells, I believe the repair spells in Tome and Blood are effectively added to the list of spells that can affect a golem.

Depending on how generous your DM is, you might be able to get away with giving your golem armor and a weapon. Enchantments on the armor and weapon should still work since they affect the items rather than the golem itself. Golems don't have weapon or armor proficiency feats, though, so unless your DM allows you to create custom golems with those abilities, the golem might have significant penalties.

Whoa. Just reading your first sentence really got me thinking. We recently had a question of whether haste would affect undead, and came to the conclusion that intelligent undead could lower their immunity to fort based effects, so that they may be hasted. It didn't occur to me or i think anybody else about what would happen if they put their immunity back up after accepting haste. Technically they would negate the haste again, since they are making themselves immune to those effects again. But if they keep it down, they could be destructioned and such. Interesting.

Either way, i a case where the a specific mage created a golem, i would not have a problem with the mage buffing it up. The mage contorls it, or give it the orders. It could tell it to just accept the effects.(Btw this was another point we debated. If undead could do it, creators of golems could also do it to thier golems)

 

[Storm Raven]

Why the house rules?

Because treating magical constructs like golems and shield guardians as cohorts would be a house rule.

 

[Pielorinho]

Just ot be clear:

A golem’s creator can command it if the golem is within 60 feet and can see and hear its creator.

From the creation rules:

The cost listed for each golem includes that of the physical body and all the materials and spell components that are consumed or become a permanent part of it.

Understanding the rituals requires a character of the required level with the Craft Magic Arms and Armor and Craft Wondrous Item feats. The creator must labor for at least 8 hours each day in a specially prepared laboratory or workroom. The chamber is similar to an alchemist’s laboratory and costs 500 gp to establish.

Nowhere in the rules does it say one must have the Leadership feat in order to create a golem; nor does it say that the creator needs the Leadership feat in order to control the golem. Absent any indication in the rules to the contrary, counting a created golem as a cohort is a house rule.

Of course, a DM is free to disallow a PC to start with a created golem, just as a DM is free to disallow a PC to start with a sword, a hat, or a Decanter of Endless Water.

Daniel

 

[kreynolds]

Because treating magical constructs like golems and shield guardians as cohorts would be a house rule.

I'm not so sure about that yet. I suppose it could work similar to how items created by the caster only count against his wealth at half cost. So, instead of a golem being treated as a cohort, which would require the Leadership feat, no matter how you cut it, they would instead be treated just like equipment. That just seems funky to me, treating them like equipment.

I just have yet to see a compelling argument that suggests they shouldn't be treated as cohorts, that's all.

EDIT: Thanks Pielorinho. That was pretty compelling. Looks like I need to rework that Wizard NPC of mine.

 

[AuraSeer]

I just have yet to see a compelling argument that suggests they shouldn't be treated as cohorts, that's all.

Well, I have yet to see any argument at all that suggests they should be treated as cohorts. So there.

Seriously, though. Golems are constructed exactly like magic items. If an NPC wizard can construct a golem without having the Leadership feat, then so can a PC. (Magic item creation is always identical for NPCs and PCs.) Once the golem is constructed, it follows the orders of its creator, period. Even if you have a Charisma of 1 and a leadership rating of 0, your golem does exactly as you say.