Customized Golem Creation House Rules

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Giant2005
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Customized Golem Creation House Rules

Unread post by Giant2005 »

I was recently reading over a bunch of my old Rifts stuff and came across these rules I wrote up a few years ago. After re-reading them, I thought they were pretty cool, and maybe someone out there might want to use them for something.




The base statistics of a Golem are determined as per the BoM page 148 (Invocation), or the BoM page 73 (Warlock spell). Note, the Warlock version includes all of the unwritten bonuses of the Invocation version, even when otherwise contradictory. Both versions gain the benefit of an additional two additional attacks for living, as per the RUE standard.

Flesh Golem: If both the spells Breath of Life and Stone to Flesh are cast during the creation of the Golem, the resulting Golem will be a flesh and blood creature with a complete anatomy identical to the creature it was designed to appear as. A talented artist can make the Golem appear to be a perfect imposter of any given individual of a chosen species (provided that the individual's Physical Beauty is 30 or less). In order to do so, a successful Art or Whittling & Sculpting skill roll is necessary with a penalty equal to twice the P.B. of the individual to be impersonated. Flesh Golems gain 1 action per melee round and have half the MDC of the stone version.

Body Variation: The default statistics of the Golem assume a humanoid shape, between 5'-13' tall. Apply the following modifiers for Golems of a different shape/size.
Small: Less than 5' tall. Small Golems have half the usual amount of M.D.C. Creating a Golem of this size requires the sacrifice of 2 Hit Points for the Warlock and 3 for other casters during the blood letting process of the Golem's creation.
Medium: Between 5' and 13'. Medium Golems have M.D.C. as per the spell listings. Creating a Golem of this size requires the sacrifice of 4 Hit Points for the Warlock and 6 for other casters during the blood letting process of the Golem's creation.
Large: Between 13' and 17'. Large Golems have triple the usual amount of M.D.C. Creating a Golem of this size requires the sacrifice of 12 Hit Points for the Warlock and 18 for other casters during the blood letting process of the Golem's creation.
Colossal: Between 17' and 20'. Colossal Golems have eight times the usual amount of M.D.C. Creating a Golem of this size requires the sacrifice of 32 Hit Points for the Warlock and 48 for other casters during the blood letting process of the Golem's creation.

Additional Limbs: Each Golem can have a maximum total of 12 limbs. An arm/leg/head count as a single limb for these purposes, while wings count as two, and tentacles cound as half of a limb. Each pair of additional limbs beyond 5, cost the caster 1 addiional hit point (or M.D.C. if a M.D.C. being) - rounded down in the case of tentacles; during the blood letting process at Golem creation. In addition, if a diamond core is in use, each additional limb beyond 5 increases the necessary value of the diamond by +50% (one limb costs 50% more, two limbs cost 100% more etc).
Arms: With a pair of arms, the Golem gains no bonuses nor penalties. With only a single arm, the Golem is -2 to Parry. For every odd numbered additional arm beyond the two, the Golem gains +1 to parry. For every even numbered additional arm beyond the two, the golem gains +1 action per melee and +1 to strike (A Golem with three arms gains +1 to pary, a Golem with four gains +1 to parry and strike, with an additional action per melee round; a Golem with five gains +2 to parry, +1 to strike, and an additional action per melee; a Golem with six gains +2 to parry and strike, with an additional two actions per melee round etc.).
Tentacles: A pair of tentacles (beyond two if the Golem does not possess Arms) adds +1 attack per melee, +1 to parry and disarm, and +3 to entangle to the Golem's overall combat skills and +10% to the Climbing skill (or gives a base climbing skill of 40% of the Golem does not possess that skill). Every additional pair of tentacles adds +1 to parry and +5% to Climbing skill, nothing else. The use of the tentacles comes with the following penalties: -2 to strike with melee weapons, -3 to strike with a gun, -1 P.B. (tentacles are creepy looking), and -20% to any skill that requires hands, except Acrobatics, Gymnastics and Climbing (no penalties apply to those). The tentacles are as long as the Golem is tall/long.
Legs: Each additional pair of legs (beyond two) increases the Golem's speed attribute by 5 or 10% (whichever is greater) and adds +1 to dodge. If the Golem has 6 or more legs, it is no longer susceptible to knock down attacks.
Heads: Each additional head (beyond one) gives the Golem a +2 bonus to perception and doubles the number of skills known. In addition, if three or more heads are possessed, the Golem becomes immune to surprise.
Wings: A pair of wings gives the Golem the ability to fly at a speed equal to its speed attribute. A second pair of wings doubles that speed, a third pair triples that speed, a fourth pair quadruples that speed, and a fifth pair quintuples that speed. Each wing much be of a certain length to function. If the Golem is made of flesh, those wings must be equal to its height, if the Golem is made of stone, those wings must be equal to twice its height, if the Golem is made of iron, those wings must be equal to three times its height.

Increased Attributes: All attributes can be increased above the baseline by sacrificing 1 additional hit point (or M.D.C. if a M.D.C. being) during the blood letting process of the Golem's creation for every point of I.Q., P.S., and P.P.; or 3 points of Speed. Attribute limits and bonuses associated with those attributes are as follows:
I.Q.: For every 2 additional points of I.Q. given to a Golem, it is capable of being given a skill possessed by its creator at the level which the creator possessed during the Golem's creation. The maximum I.Q. of a Golem is 28.
P.S.: Bestows no benefits other than those commonly associated with Supernatural P.S. Golems smaller than 5' have a maximum P.S. of 30, Golems between 5' and 10' have a maximum P.S. of 40, Golems larger than 10' have a maximum P.S. of 50.
P.P.: Bestows no benefits other than those commonly associated with exceptional P.P. Golems smaller than 5' have a maximum P.P. of 20, Golems between 5' and 10' have a maximum P.P. of 26, Golems larger than 10' have a maximum P.P. of 24.
Speed: Bestows no benefits other than those commonly associated with exceptional Speed. The maximum Speed of a humanoid Golem is 220, the maximum for any other Golem is 423.

Cosmetic Enhancements: The artist/sculptor can make the Golem look like anything s/he desires. When it comes to sheer beauty, a Golem starts with a P.B. of 11, minus 2 points for every natural weapon and every limb beyond 5. The Golem's designer can choose to increase the Golem's P.B. by 1 point for every 5 points of proficiency s/he has in Art or Whittling & Sculpting.

Natural Weapons: Natural Weapons can be built into the Golem with little more than a successful Art or Whittling & Sculpting roll. For every 30% of skill proficiency the artist/sculptor has, a natural weapon can inflict 1d6 damage in addition to regular punch damage. Natural weapons can be claws, fangs, forearm blades or anything else the artist/sculptor can imagine, but the weapons are never retractable.

Fire Breath: By building a Deep Red Ruby in the throat or mouth of the Golem, the Golem gains the ability to breathe a stream of fire once per melee round. The fire stream is 6' wide and ranges up to 60' in length. It inflicts 1d6 M.D. per carat of Deep Red Ruby used, up to a limit of the creator's level at the time of Golem creation. Each die of damage requires the sacrifice of 1 additional hit point (or M.D.C. if a M.D.C. being) during the blood letting process of the Golem's creation.

Eye Enhancements: By substituting gems other than Onyx for the eyes, the Golem receives additional ocular abilities. If the gems are not a matching pair, the Golem's P.B. is lowered by 2 points.
Eagle Vision: By using an Alexandrite worth no less than 30,000 credits, the eye can read a sign up to 1000' away. If both eyes are Alexandrites worth no less than 30,000 credits, the range is increased to 2000' Each eye made using an Alexandrite requires the sacrifice of 1 additional hit point (or M.D.C. if a M.D.C. being) during the blood letting process of the Golem's creation.
Nightvision: By using a Black Sapphire worth no less than 200,000 credits, the eye can see in total darkness up to 800'. If both eyes are Black Sapphires worth no less than 200,000 credits, the range is increased to 2000' Each eye made using a Black Sapphire requires the sacrifice of 1 additional hit point (or M.D.C. if a M.D.C. being) during the blood letting process of the Golem's creation.
See the Invisible: By using a Tiger Eye Stone worth no less than 30,000 credits, the eye can See the Invisible up to 800' away. If both eyes are Tiger Eyes worth no less than 30,000 credits, the range is increased to 2000' Each eye made using a Tiger Eye Stone requires the sacrifice of 3 additional hit points (or M.D.C. if a M.D.C. being) during the blood letting process of the Golem's creation.
Laser Beam Eyes: By using a Red Zircon worth no less than 20,000 credits, the eye can fire a laser beam with +1 to strike that inflicts 3d6 M.D. up to 2000' away. If both eyes are Red Zircons worth no less than 20,000 credits, the damage is increased to 6d6 M.D. Each eye made using a Red Zircon requires the sacrifice of 2 additional hit points (or M.D.C. if a M.D.C. being) during the blood letting process of the Golem's creation.

Spellcasting: The Golem gains the ability to cast a single spell known by its creator. This requires its heart being made from iron with a gemstone at its center that corresponds to the spell as per the Gem TW Reference list starting on page 133 of the RUE. Unless that gemstone happens to be a Diamond, it is mutually exclusive with the option of having a Diamond at the core (and doubling the Golem's M.D.C.). The spell is cast at a level equal to the number of carats of the gemstone with a limit equal to the level of the Golem's creator. The spell can be used once per 24 hour period, but that number can be increased by multiplying the number of carats by the number of castings per day. Them Golem's creator must sacrifice 1 additional hit point (or M.D.C. if a M.D.C. being) during the blood letting process at Golem creation for every 100 credits worth of value of the gemstone used (rounded up).



Note on Transferral of Essence & Intellect: A spellcaster that transfers their essence into a Golem retains all of their abilities with the exception of any that are primarily physical in nature. They gain all of the Golem's abilities except that the imperviousness to Psionic Attacks, Charms, Sleeps, Fear, Illusions, Possession, and Horror Factor is instead replaced with a +2 bonus to save against those effects. The spellcaster with a Golem body requires only 2 hours of sleep per 24 hour period. If the Golem has multiple heads, the additional heads have Golem minds but no control over the Golem's body unless control is temporarily relinquished by the spellcaster.
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Mack
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Re: Customized Golem Creation House Rules

Unread post by Mack »

Nifty! I like the opportunity to customize a Golem.
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Axelmania
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Re: Customized Golem Creation House Rules

Unread post by Axelmania »

I could see a crafty mage handing out "Scroll of Create Golem" (I can't see anything preventing putting rituals onto scrolls, unlike Talismans which explicitly forbid putting rituals onto them) so the permanent SDC loss happens to a mage's minions, and then using various means to control those minions and the commands they give to their golems.

Maybe even somehow enchanting a golem to be able to read scrolls (cast Eyes of Thoth on it?) and having that golem sacrifice SDC to create it's own golems, and then you just order the "Golem General" to give commands to the other golems. The problem being you can't give those orders directly (just like you can't tell a golem "obey orders my allies give you"), so there's a point of failure with those general-golem nodes.

Normally you couldn't do that because creating a golem requires placing a drop of blood on it's forehead (golems normally lack blood) but using your "flesh golem" idea, it becomes a feasible arrangement.
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drewkitty ~..~
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Re: Customized Golem Creation House Rules

Unread post by drewkitty ~..~ »

Rifter 84 pages 44-60
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Giant2005
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Re: Customized Golem Creation House Rules

Unread post by Giant2005 »

drewkitty ~..~ wrote:Rifter 84 pages 44-60

I haven't read that one. Is it the same sort of thing?
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drewkitty ~..~
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Re: Customized Golem Creation House Rules

Unread post by drewkitty ~..~ »

yep, same idea.
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taalismn
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Re: Customized Golem Creation House Rules

Unread post by taalismn »

Still, it's fun to see parallel development. In keeping in character/RPGing, not all mages create spells and magic with the ultimate goal of sharing it with everybody, so I imagine a lot of wizards come out of their deep studies convinced they have a world-changing new magic at their fingertips...only to discover three or four other rivals have come up the same idea, if different ways to achieve it.
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