Golems 201 -- A Historical Reference Part One:
The Great Feuer By Mark A.
Jindra

Part
One
Hello, young ones. My
name is Professor Hollison D’Erbauer, but you can call me Hollis.
Before I became a teacher here at the academy, I spent many years
researching and constructing golems. I am sure you are all wondering
who this extremely tall and menacing fellow standing behind me is.
His name is Tod; he is a iron golem and was among the first golems
that I created nearly 70 years ago. He will be assisting me with the
class.
You
learned the basics of golem creation in 101, and I hear that the
rituals have begun on your class project. Over the next several
months I will give the entire class a research project; each of you
is required to research the subject and prepare a paper on your
findings. We will review each research project after the papers have
been turned in.
To
start, I thought I would review an excellent paper written by a
young sorceress a few years ago. The subject was a golem named
Feuer.
The Great
Feuer
Fifty-four years ago, a blacksmith named Robert Raymond lost
his wife and only son, Ebon, to illness. As Ebon was his apprentice
and he believed himself too old to start another family, he used his
entire life’s savings to hire a local mage to help him construct an
iron golem that could aid him in his business. Not much is known
about this mage except that he specialized in creating golems and
lived in nearby keep. To the people of this town he was known as
"The Constructor."
While
purchasing the raw materials for the golem, Raymond was approached
by a man selling rare gems. One of the gems, a fire opal, caught his
eye. Not knowing that the gem had magical properties, Raymond
bartered with the man. The peddler accepted an enchanted silver
dagger in trade.
Raymond began constructing his new assistant. He took great
care in building the golem, working late into the nights for several
months. He adorned it with ornate metalwork and intricate designs,
and added a finely crafted blacksmith’s hammer in place of the short
sword normally carried by iron golems. As the finishing touch,
Raymond set the fire opal in the center of the golem’s breastplate.
Because Raymond was not the golem’s animator, the mage would
command the golem upon its creation to obey the wearer of a special
ring. Legend has it that Raymond fashioned the ring from the same
iron as the golem and adorned it with a small fire opal. Some even
say that the ring was placed inside the golem before the animation
ritual to further bind the golem to the ring.
The
mage agreed with Raymond that the golem did not need the cloud of
poisonous gas common for iron golems, and said he would modify the
spells appropriately. He then gathered the required items and began
the lengthy ritual. To my disappointment, I could find no notes on
the spells used or how the mage might have altered the ritual to
accomplish his goals.
Shortly after the golem’s creation, the fire opal in its
breastplate began periodically to emit heat, and small amounts of
smoke would wisp from the iron plates of the golem’s body.
Occasionally, the heat would increase for short periods but it
always subsided. The golem served as a fine assistant to the
blacksmith for many years.
Raymond went on to craft several more golems for the mage
over the next eight years. Then the illness that killed his wife and
son returned to the town, claiming many more lives including his
own. On his deathbed, he returned the ring and the golem to the
mage.
Some
rumors say that the mage may have sold the golem to the king of a
nearby land as a guardian for his father’s tomb; others tell of a
great flaming iron golem that guards the gates to an underground
city of untold riches. No one really knows for sure what became of
the mage or the golem known as Feuer.
|
Iron Golem |
Feuer |
- |
Large Construct |
Large Construct |
Hit
Dice: |
18d10 (99 hp) |
24d10 (132 hp) |
Initiative: |
-1 (Dex) |
-1 (Dex) |
Speed: |
20 ft. (can’t run) |
20 ft. (can’t run) |
AC: |
30 (-1 size, -1 Dex, +22 natural) |
30 (-1 size, -1 Dex, +22 natural) |
Attacks: |
2 slams +23 melee |
Slam +28 melee, bludgeon +33 melee |
Damage: |
Slam 2d10+11 |
Slam 2d10+11, bludgeon 1d8+16 |
Face/Reach: |
5 ft. by 5 ft./10 ft. |
5 ft. by 5 ft./10 ft. |
Special
Attacks: |
Breath weapon (poison gas) |
Breath weapon (cone of fire) |
Special
Qualities: |
Construct, magic immunity, damage reduction 50/+3, rust
vulnerability |
Construct, magic immunity, damage reduction 50/+3,
fiery aura, rust vulnerability |
Saves: |
Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +6 |
Fort +8, Ref +7, Will +7 |
Abilities: |
Str 33, Dex 9, Con --, Int --, Wis 11, Cha
1 |
Str 33, Dex 9, Con --, Int --, Wis 11, Cha
1 |
Climate/Terrain: |
Any land |
Any land |
Organization: |
Solitary or gang (2-4) |
Unique (1) |
Challenge Rating: |
13 |
14 |
Treasure: |
None |
Fire Opal (4,500 gp) |
Alignment: |
Always neutral |
Neutral |
Advancement: |
19-24 HD (Large); 25-54 HD (Huge) |
- |
Combat
Iron
golems are mighty combatants. They strike with deadly accuracy and
incredible force. Their bodies are nearly invulnerable but can be
reduced to piles of rubbish by rust monsters.
Feuer
carries a warhammer with a +5 enhancement bonus and the special
ability Fiery Burst (see page 186 in the
Dungeon Master’s Guide).
Breath Weapon (Su): First or second round of combat --
Cone of Fire, 30 feet emanating from fire opal; damage 6d10; Reflex
save (DC 19) halves damage. Once per day.
Fiery Aura (Ex): Anyone within 10 feet must succeed at
a Fortitude save (DC 11) or suffer 1d6 points of heat damage from
the intense heat. Treat this effect as an emanation (see Aiming a
Spell, page 148 in the Player’s
Handbook). On the second or third round of combat this aura intensifies
to add the effects of a fire shield spell (protecting from
cold attacks) as if cast by a 15th-level mage.
Magic Immunity (Ex): Feuer is immune to all spells,
spell-like abilities, and supernatural effects. A fire effect cures
1 point of damage for each 3 points of damage it would otherwise
deal. For example, a iron golem hit by a fireball cast by a
5th-level wizard gains back 6 hit points if the damage total is 18.
The golem rolls no saving throw against fire effects. Because of its
fiery aura, Feuer automatically regenerates 1d4 hit points per round
and suffers no effects from electrical attacks.
Rust Vulnerability (Ex): An iron golem is affected
normally by rust attacks, such as that of a rust monster or a
rusting grasp spell.

|