How dumb are golems?

sdt

First Post
I my adventure the other day the party ran up against a Stone Golem. I thought it would be a challenge for them, but it was easy. A simple grease spell and some summoned monsters (meat shields) was all that was needed to neutralize the golem for several rounds while the fighter, with an adamanite battle axe, beat it down. Should I have played the golem “smart” and had it use all its attacks against the only guy doing damage to it?
 

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Any monster should strike back against an enemy doing damage to it, as best it can. Otherwise it turns into a non-encounter just like you experienced.
 

As a PC, I've always found golems to be sub-optimal opponents. Summoned monsters are a great way of keeping them tied down (as are quite a few arcane no-SR spells), while the fighter-types beat on them with missile weapons.

And really: everyone should be carrying around a handful of adamantine arrows (as well as cold iron and silver). They're cheap!

The only golem which might give my fellow PCs and I a head-ache are the Shadesteel golems (from MMIII). ...But so far we haven't had the pleasure.....
 

According to the SRD on Golems "They follow instructions explicitly and are incapable of any strategy or tactics." This is how I played the golem, it was too easy. I guess I will chage this and have future mindless creatures attack the character that's doing the damage in preference to others.
 

dcollins said:
Any monster should strike back against an enemy doing damage to it, as best it can. Otherwise it turns into a non-encounter just like you experienced.

under golem. it only says it will return an attack to anything that attacks it. it doesn't explicitly state damage as a prerequisite.

they have no tactics. they only do what they are told. they have Int --

so unless the creator/owner gives it good instructions or is around to change the instructions, they are what they are.
 

Nail said:
As a PC, I've always found golems to be sub-optimal opponents. Summoned monsters are a great way of keeping them tied down (as are quite a few arcane no-SR spells), while the fighter-types beat on them with missile weapons.

And really: everyone should be carrying around a handful of adamantine arrows (as well as cold iron and silver). They're cheap!

The only golem which might give my fellow PCs and I a head-ache are the Shadesteel golems (from MMIII). ...But so far we haven't had the pleasure.....

A golem will if instructed so attack the person who attack him. To attack someone means doing damage to an opponent.
If the summoned monster are only for distraction and do no damage to the golem, the golem will go for fighting the fighter who wounds the golem.
Not all figther-types are good at ranged combat. A fighter with high strength did not neccessary have a high dexterity, so he loose bonus in the ranged combat.
For shooting in a melee combat golem vs. summoned monster a person needs certain feats without hurting the summoned monsters. No good character without this feats will shoot in a melee combat if he can injure his friends even if they are only summoned monsters.

A handful :) (up to five :) ) of adamantite arrows normally are not enough to slay a stone golem. :)
 

diaglo said:
under golem. it only says it will return an attack to anything that attacks it. it doesn't explicitly state damage as a prerequisite.
An attack means an successful hit of an opponent. If the summoned monster will hit the golem but doing no damage the golem will attack them.

The creator can instruct a golem to attack only the person who attacks the goplem and does damage to the golem:)
 

yennico said:
An attack means an successful hit of an opponent. If the summoned monster will hit the golem but doing no damage the golem will attack them.

The creator can instruct a golem to attack only the person who attacks the goplem and does damage to the golem:)

Right! And if someone is smart enough to make a golem, they are smart enough to give directions like that.

rv
 

yennico said:
An attack means an successful hit of an opponent. If the summoned monster will hit the golem but doing no damage the golem will attack them.

The creator can instruct a golem to attack only the person who attacks the goplem and does damage to the golem:)

right. that is exactly what i said. :D

just like an attack which causes invisibility to vanish.


[SRD]An attack roll represents your attempt to strike your opponent on your turn in a round. When you make an attack roll, you roll a d20 and add your attack bonus. (Other modifiers may also apply to this roll.) If your result equals or beats the target's Armor Class, you hit and deal damage.[/SRD]

but in this case no damage is caused b/c of DR/adamantine
 

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