Category:Flesh Golem

This section contains canon info from officially published sources

The flesh golem is a large magically animated construct and as such lacks the dread golem template.

The flesh golem, as opposed to the dread flesh golem, is a mindless automaton that obeys in the most straightforward way possible the orders of its maker, drawing no conclusions and taking no initiative. The creature will not resort spontaneously to special actions such as tripping or disarming, but it may either be given a specific instruction to make one such attack or may be directed as necessary by a maker who is immediately at hand. When issuing instructions to the animate thing, its maker is wise to error on the side of simplicity.

The creature is lent the shape of a humanoid and even when inactive is readily identifiable as something very much out of the ordinary. It is pieced together from a half dozen or more or cadavers. The degree to which these pieces fits poorly together and the degree to which the resultant creature is mishapen varies with the talent and the effort of the maker. The creature tends to have a lumbering gait, but is not only capable of running but of running tirelessly.

Flesh golems in the Land of Mists are created principally by powerful wizards who are prepared to desecrate the remains of the dead and to dabble in evil necromatic magic. The resulting creature tends to be used to guard the way to a strategic location. A flesh golem is hardly an ideal bodyguard, even far from the public eye. For the the creature is prone in combat to succumbing to bouts of beserk rage with all present, its maker included, sharing the risk of being beaten to death.

Canon Information

This section contains canon info from officially published sources

Flesh golems can be encountered in the domain of Lamordia^[1][2], Necropolis^[3]

Errata Denizens of Darkness/Denizens of Dread

The flesh golem as presented in Denizens of Darkness and Denizens of Dread has many problem, many of which derive from the confounding of two very different creatures: a mindless golem animated purely with magic and an intelligent golem animated by dark desire as a "gift" from the Dark Powers.

Official Errata

Hit points are listed as 12d10 (49 hp). However, with the average hit points (5.5/level x 12), it should be 66. But in addition, from the monster manual Core Book, constructs gain bonus hit points according to size. As large creatures, Dread Flesh Golems should have +30. So the entry should read: Hit Dice: 12d10+30 (96 hp). (Error spotted by fan, easily corrected).

Unofficial Errata

This section contains Homebrew non-canon info, created by fans

The base flesh golem in the Land of Mists is animated by spells, without the assistance of the Dark Powers. It differs from the SRD flesh golem in three respects: it may be recovered from its berserk state; it has a minimal form of the regeneration extraordinary ability; and the conditions of its animation have been revised to be more gothic.

Statistics

Flesh Golem

9d10+30 (79 hp)

Initiative: -1

Speed: 30ft

AC 18 (-1 size, -1 Dex, +10 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 18

Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+15

Attack: Slam +10 (2d8+5)

Full Attack: 2 Slam: +10 (2d8+5)

Space/Reach 10 ft./ 10 ft.

Special Attacks: beserk

Special Qualities: Construct traits, low-light vision, darkvision 60 ft, damage reduction 5/adamantine, regeneration, immunity to magic.

Fort +3 / Ref +2 / Will +3

Str 21, Dex 9, Con Ø, Int Ø, Wis 11, Cha 1

OR: 7

Skills: none

Note that a flesh golem suffers a -4 penalty on Hide checks due to size.

As a mindless creature, a flesh golem rarely, if ever, makes untrained use of skills impacted by its outcast rating.

Feats: none

Challenge Rating: 7

Alignment: Neutral

Combat

Berserk (Ex): see Denizens of Darkness/Denizens of Dread

Magical Immunity (Ex): see System Reference Document (SRD)

Regeneration (Ex): The creature regenerates all types of damage but at the very slow rate of 1 hit point per hour. The creature cannot regrow a lost body part, but it can reattach one by holding it in place for at least an hour. Should the creature be damaged to the point of having a negative number of hit points, it is reduced to a state of inanimacy and ceases to regenerate. Its repair remains possible by an individual with the craft construct feat, at a cost of 50 gp per hit point of damage repaired and at a rate of 20 hit points of damage repaired per day. Once it has not less than 0 hit poits, a jolt of electricity with the strength to do at least 48 points of damage reanimates it and it begins once more to regenerate any damage that it has suffered.

Creation

Minimum of six donor bodies, each furnishing one of the following: brain, torso (including head), limb (4).

Either subzero conditions, or the gentle repose spell, or some other means of preserving body parts.

Craft Construct feat

DC 13 Craft (leatherworking) check, or DC 13 Heal, or DC 13 Anatomy check for the assemblage of the body.

10,750 gp of which 500 gp is for fitting out a workshop with appropriate tools and 500 gp is for electrical equipment. The workshop, tools, and electrical equipment may be reused and reduce the cost of making subsequent flesh by 1000 gp. The cost of the electrical equipment is waved given access to a spell that can apply directly to the body electricity in the required strength (see below). The construction of the body itself consumes 200 gp. The market price for the creature would be 20,000 gp.

CL 8th

Spells: bull's strength, bone seizure, soul anchor

XP 800

A jolt of electricity with the strength to do at least 48 points of damage.

John W. Mangrum's Flesh Golem Lore^[4]

This section contains Potential-canon info, revealed by the creators from never-published sources

Monster Manual (under Golem)

Characters with ranks in Knowledge (arcana) can learn more about flesh golems. When a character makes a successful skill check, the following lore is revealed, including the information from lower DCs.

DC 19: This hideous, humanoid composite of crudely stitched-together body parts is a flesh golem. This result reveals all construct traits. This result also reveals the procedure for creating flesh golems.

DC 24: A flesh golem is immune to almost all forms of magic, and its unnatural flesh deflects most minor attacks. However, adamantine weapons can prove effective, and magical cold and fire slow the creature for several moments.

DC 29: A flesh golem flails at foes with its powerful fists. Rather than dealing damage, magical electricity actually repairs a flesh golem and breaks any slow effect currently affecting it.

DC 34: The elemental spirit animating a flesh golem is only tenuously controlled by its master. The longer a flesh golem fights, the greater the chance that it will fly into a berserk frenzy, attacking all that stands before it — even its master. However, its master can forcefully talk the golem back into submission.

References

Data from the Ravenloft Catalogue

		Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium I Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium III Van Richten's Guide to The Created
		Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium I - p243 Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium III - p47 Adam's Wrath - p63 Van Richten's Guide to The Created - cover, p1,24,34,41,43,46,59,70,90,96
		Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium I - pp205-206, 216-237, 251, 288 Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium III - p47 Adam's Wrath - p63 Van Richten's Guide to The Created - p16-17,26-47,61,96 Chilling Tales - p 37-39 (Emil Bollenbach's special golems)
		Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium I - Section, the Third: The Created Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium III - p47 Adam's Wrath - p63 Van Richten's Guide to The Created - throughout
		Golem, Flesh