Converting monsters from Dragon magazine

[Cleon]

There are two reasons I don't like rapid healing. One, the original gives no hint of anything like that. Two, constructs can't heal on their own unless they explicitly get fast healing, etc, so I think you need extra justification to add it to a construct.

I've long preferred that golems that seem to basically be artificial lifeforms (such as Flesh Golems) to be able to heal their wounds. Besides, I don't recall any clear statement in official AD&D sources that Flesh Golems don't heal like living flesh and blood.

The Nyraala Golem appears to be made of living fungus rather than flesh-and-blood, so I would live it to have some autohealing ability.

What about the notion that it heals at the same rate as a living creature (1 hit per HD per day) when in Fungus Form?

 

[freyar]

I still don't like it, but I'll let Shade decide. I don't see any reason in the original text to treat them any differently than a standard golem with respect to healing.

 

[Shade]

Yeah, I'd rather not break precedent. If brain golems could do it, I'd be more likely to agree. Feel free to do it with the "Cleon Special Edition".

Constructs are clearly prevented from healing naturally and benefiting from healing spells:

Cannot heal damage on their own, but often can be repaired by exposing them to a certain kind of effect (see the creature’s description for details) or through the use of the Craft Construct feat. A construct with the fast healing special quality still benefits from that quality.

When laying your hand upon a living creature...

 

[Cleon]

Yeah, I'd rather not break precedent. If brain golems could do it, I'd be more likely to agree. Feel free to do it with the "Cleon Special Edition".

Well you know I'd do that anyway.

So for the non-C version shall we just combine the first paragraph and the first sentence of the second from Fungal Form?

Fungal Form (Su): A nyraala golem can take the shape of a 30-foot-diameter film of strange-looking fungus that covers floor, walls, and ceiling. In fungal form, the golem can take no actions, but it can sense its surroundings normally. It takes a full round for a nyraala golem to change into its fungal form, but it can transform from its fungal form into its normal form as a swift action, allowing the golem to move and/or attack in the same round.

Do we want to add the Camouflage write-up to Fungal Form, or keep it separate?

Constructs are clearly prevented from healing naturally and benefiting from healing spells:

No need to quote the SRD, I have glanced through it once or twice...

What else do we have to decide on this critter anyway? Just DR, CR and flava by the looks of it.

I'm not sure it needs a Construction write-up if it's a secret Mind Flayer golem, but if we do give it one I'm thinking we could include a "Psionic Variant" for the Construction.

 

[freyar]

Definitely add Camouflage to Fungal Form, I think.

You know, I think we have some commentary paragraph attached to the end of the tentacle parry that we might not want there in the end.

Shouldn't it have 2 slam attacks?

DR 10 seem reasonable here?

 

[Shade]

Updated.

CR 7? They are very comparable to a gold golem.

The brain golem has construction, so we might as well give 'em construction as well.

A brain golem's body is formed from the brains of intelligent creatures and topped off with a bud from a mind flayer community's elder brain to form the creature's "head". Its skin is a membrane secreted by the elder brain bud.

The golem costs 55,000 gp to create, which includes 1,000 gp for the construction of the body. Assembling the body requires a Heal check (DC 15).

The creator must be 16th level and able to cast arcane spells. Completing the ritual drains 1,200 XP from the creator and requires bull's strength, feeblemind, geas/quest, limited wish, mage armor, and polymorph any object.

CL 16th; Craft Construct, bull’s strength, feeblemind, geas/quest, limited wish, mage armor (or, if a psion, Inertial Armor feat, animal affinity, astral construct VII, domination, matter manipulation, mind blast); Price 45,000 gp; Cost 23,500 gp + 1,760 XP.

Also, here's the brain golem's psionic variant:

Brain Golems and the Psionics Handbook
If you are using the Psionics Handbook in your campaign, rather than being an arcane spellcaster, the creator of a brain golem can be a psion of 16th level or higher with access to the Inertial Armor feat, animal affinity, astral construct VII, domination, matter manipulation, and mind blast.

 

[freyar]

CR 7 is fine.

As for construction: they're made of slightly different stuff and lower CR, so reduce CL and cost a bit? Can probably drop feeblemind and polymorph as well. The psionic variant is fine, too.

 

[Cleon]

Updated.

There's a holdover "necromantic golem" after "flavor text".

CR 7? They are very comparable to a gold golem.

Challenge Rating 7's what I was thinking of too, although I was using the CR7 Flesh Golem for a comparison.

Before I start talking about Construction, they're missing a weight.

A Flesh Golem is 8 foot and 500 pounds. Scale it up to 10 foot like a Nyraala Golem and it weighs about 1000 pounds. That'd suits me.

 

[Cleon]

CR 7 is fine.

As for construction: they're made of slightly different stuff and lower CR, so reduce CL and cost a bit? Can probably drop feeblemind and polymorph as well. The psionic variant is fine, too.

OK, the original text has the following relevant passages:

"Nyraala golems are a melding of humanoid flesh, psionically active illithid mucous; and a special form of Underdark fungus that can be harvested only once every ten years."

"They do, however, provide a measure of status to their illithid owners as the cost in resources to create them is usually quite high and must be provided to a member the Creative Creed by their potential owner."

The bit about melding humanoid flesh makes me think we should swipe some of the Flesh Golem's construction text:

The pieces of a flesh golem must come from normal human corpses that have not decayed significantly. Assembly requires a minimum of six different bodies—one for each limb, the torso (including head), and the brain. In some cases, more bodies may be necessary. Special unguents and bindings worth 500 gp are also required. Note that creating a flesh golem requires casting a spell with the evil descriptor.

Assembling the body requires a DC 13 Craft (leatherworking) check or a DC 13 Heal check.

CL 8th; Craft Construct, animate dead, bull's strength, geas/quest, limited wish, caster must be at least 8th level; Price 20,000 gp; Cost 10,500 gp + 780 XP.

So how about something like the following as a basis. It's a bit tougher than a Flesh Golem in melee, so I'll up the price by 5,000 gp:

A nyraala golem is created by melding together humanoid flesh, psionically active illithid mucous; and a special form of Underdark fungus. Assembly requires a minimum of X (six?) humanoid corpses that have not decayed significantly. In some cases, more bodies may be necessary.

The golem costs Y [25000?] gp to create, which includes [1,000?] gp for rare unguents and the special Underdark fungus. Assembling the body requires a Heal check (DC Z [13?]).

The creator must be 8th level and able to cast arcane spells. Completing the ritual drains ? XP from the creator and requires bull's strength, geas/quest, limited wish, and some other spells [animate dead for the "giving life to corpse flesh", alter self for the Fungal Form?].
​

 

[Cleon]

Also, here's the brain golem's psionic variant:Brain Golems and the Psionics Handbook

If you are using the Psionics Handbook in your campaign, rather than being an arcane spellcaster, the creator of a brain golem can be a psion of 16th level or higher with access to the Inertial Armor feat, animal affinity, astral construct VII, domination, matter manipulation, and mind blast.

As for the psionic variant, matter manipulation seems too high level, could we change it to metamorphosis? An astral construct seem an appropriate power, I'd keep it astral construct VII to match the level of the limited wish in the arcane version, but we could make it astral construct IV to match a Flesh Golem's 8th level caster requirement.

I think we'd best drop domination and mind blast but keep animal affinity., which suggests another power or two should be added - maybe psychofeedback and restore extremity? (for Str-boosting and assembling the limb & body)

The only feat requirement I fancy is Craft Psionic Construct.