The Terracotta Golems of Ming Liang

Well, it appears that some other people are doing some fine Garnia work for me. Joseph Bloch over at the Greyhawk Grognard blog just came up with this, serendipitously as I was doing some serious thinking about the Empire of Ming Liang. I changed some of the wording to match the Garnia setting rather than Greyhawk, but left it otherwise untouched.

Terracotta Golem

Number	1 (or 20d10)
Morale	n/a
Hit Dice	3d12
Armor Class	7
Move	90’/min.
Magic Resistance	D
No. of Attacks	1
Damage	Per weapon type +2
Defenses	See below
Attacks	Fear 30’ radius
Weaknesses	Blunt weapons do maximum damage
Size	M
Intelligence	0
Alignment	Neutral
Treasure Type	None
Treasure Value	n/a
Magical Treasure	None
X.P. Value	205 + 5/h.p.

General: Terracotta Golems are found in Eastern Garnia, specifically in the Celestial Imperium of Ming Liang. They are classified as Greater Golems. The secret of their construction has not made its way to other lands of Garnia, although it is possible that some expatriate Ming Liangese have brought the art with them. Only Mages who have learned the specific art of Terracotta Golem construction can undertake the process. It is rumored that manuals of terracotta golem creation exist in Ming Liang, but in their absence, creation of a Terracotta Golem requires the following:

• 10,000 g.p. for materials
• Casting a limited wish spell
• Casting a polymorph any object spell
• Casting a geas spell
• Casting a fear spell

Terracotta Golems are able to understand commands of limited complexity and length, and will always obey the instructions of its creator. If its creator is slain, it will obey the last instructions given to it. In Ming Liang, vast numbers of such Golems are often used to protect the tombs of emperors, and all are explicitly instructed to protect and serve the Emperor. Thus, if the dead emperor was brought back to life as an undead creature, such Golems would be compelled to obey him, even though he was not their direct creator. They are sometimes created for more mundane duties, as any other Golem.

Combat: Terracotta Golems attack with their weapons (which can be of any type appropriate for a Warrior), with an effective strength of 18 (giving them a bonus of +1 bonus “to hit” and a +2 bonus to damage). If unarmed, they do 2d6+2 h.p. of damage with their fists. All radiate an aura of fear in a 30’ radius (which functions as per the spell). They are only harmed by enchanted weapons, but if struck by a magical blunt weapon (such as a mace, club, etc.) with a +2 or greater enchantment, the weapon will inflict maximum damage upon the Golem. As all Golems, they are completely immune to mind-affecting magic such as sleep, charm, hypnosis, etc. Electrical, fire, and cold based attacks do them no harm.

Appearance: Terracotta Golems are formed in the shape of human warriors, painted in realistic colors. Despite this, there is no mistaking them for actual living persons except at extreme range. Even those found in great numbers will all possess individualized features and will vary slightly in appearance, height, dress, skin tone, etc.

This creature is hereby designated as Open Game Content under the Open Game License. Copyright © Joseph Bloch, all rights reserved.