mentalism companion 001-119

22 CONSTRUCT COMPANIONCONSTRUCT COMPANION

BHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHHB1.0 Introduction. ............................ .3

1.1 What’s in ConstructCompanion?. ....................... 3

1.2 Using Construct Companion. . 31.3 Author’s Note. .......................... 3

2.0 Artificial Entities and Automata inMyth, History and Fiction. ..... 4

2.1 Automata. ................................. 42.1.1 Ancient Automata. ................. 42.1.2 Arab and Medieval Automata ... 52.1.3 Renaissance and Enlightenment

Automata ................................... 52.1.4 Oriental Automata ................. 6

2.2 The Golem ................................ 72.2.1 Making a Golem. .................... 72.2.2 Controlling the Golem. .......... 82.2.3 Strengths and Weaknesses. .... 82.2.4 The Golem’s Role. .................. 82.2.5 Unmaking the Golem. ........... 9

2.3 The Homunculus. .................... 92.4 The Monsters of Doctors

Frankensteinand Moreau. ...................... 10

2.5 A Medley of Magic andMonstersfrom Fantasy Literature. ... 11

3.0 Definitions. .............................. 133.1 Animated Objects. ................. 133.2 Automata. ............................... 133.3 Golems. ................................... 133.4 Constructs. ............................. 143.5 Amalgams. .............................. 143.6 Simulacra. ............................... 143.7 Changelings. ........................... 15

4.0 The Creators. ........................... 164.1 Types of Creators and

Creation Magic. ................ 164.2 Availability of

Creation Magic. ................ 164.2.1 Restricted

(Alchemists Only). ................. 164.2.2 Controlled

(Training Packages). .............. 174.2.3 Unrestricted

(Additional Base Lists). ......... 174.3 New Training Packages. ......... 17

4.3.1 Adept (L). ............................ 174.3.2 Artificer (L). ........................ 184.3.3 Creator (L). ......................... 194.3.4 Dark Creator (L). ................ 204.3.5 Elemental Creator (L). ........ 214.3.6 Entity Hunter (L). ............... 214.3.7 Reanimator (L). ................... 224.3.8 Religious Creator (L). ......... 234.3.9 Transformer (L). ................. 24

5.0 Creating Automata. ................ 255.1 The Time of the Machine. ..... 255.2 The Forms of Power. ............. 26

5.2.1 Water Power. ....................... 265.2.2 Wind Power. ....................... 265.2.3 Clockwork Power. ............... 265.2.4 Steam Power. ....................... 265.2.5 Electricity. ............................ 27

5.3 Building Automata. ............... 285.3.1 The Creative Process. .......... 28

5.3.2 Enchantments andEmpowerments. ..................... 31

5.3.3 Materials, Money, and Time. .............................. 34

5.3.4 Malfunctions and Repairs. ... 355.4 Combining Automata with

Constructs and Amalgams. . 375.5 Specific Automata. ................. 37

5.5.1 Devices. ................................ 375.5.2 Machines. ............................ 385.5.3 Vehicles. ............................... 41

6.0 Creating Golemsand Constructs. ................... 45

6.1 The Creative Process. ............. 456.1.1 Designing a Golem or

Construct. .............................. 456.1.2 Initial Design Steps

for Golems. ............................. 456.1.3 Initial Design Steps for

Constructs. ............................. 466.1.4 Remaining Design Steps. .... 46

6.2 Making a basic Golem. .......... 476.2.1 Material. .............................. 476.2.2 Shape. ................................... 506.2.3 Size. ...................................... 51

6.3 Making a basic Construct. ..... 526.3.1 Shape. ................................... 526.3.2 Material. .............................. 536.3.3 Size. ...................................... 53

6.4 Modifications. ........................ 546.5 Mechanical Abilities

(Constructs only). ............. 596.6 Magical Abilities. .................... 616.7 Glyphs of Control. ................. 616.8 Building a Golem. .................. 626.9 Building a Construct. ............. 636.10 Magical Enhancements. ....... 646.11 Obedience and Intelligence

Enhancements. .................. 656.12 Time, Materials,

and Money. ....................... 656.12.1 Time Cost. .......................... 656.12.2 Materials and Money. ........ 66

6.13 Repairing Golems andConstructs. ........................ 68

6.14 A Bestiary of Golems andConstructs. ........................ 69

6.14.1 Golems. .............................. 696.14.2 Constructs. ........................ 706.14.3 The Colossus. .................... 71

7.0 Intelligent Entities. .................. 727.1 Thinking Creations. ............... 72

7.1.1 Advantages andDisadvantages. ....................... 72

7.1.2 The Ethics of ImbeddingIntelligence. ............................ 72

7.2 Endowing Sentience. .............. 737.2.1 Self Empowerment.. ............ 737.2.2 Spirit Empowerment.. ........ 737.2.3 Elemental Empowerment. .. 767.2.4 Demonic Empowerment. ... 787.2.5 Life Empowerment. ............ 817.2.6 Spontaneous

Empowerment. ...................... 827.3 Empowered Abilities. ............. 84

7.3.1 Demonic Powers. ................ 84

7.3.2 Elemental Powers. ............... 868.0 Creating Amalgams,

Simulacra & Changelings. .. 898.1 Amalgams. .............................. 89

8.1.1 The Assembly Process. ........ 898.1.2 The Spark of Life. ................ 908.1.3 Recalled to Life. ................... 918.1.4 Living Amalgams. ............... 928.1.5 Materials, Money,

and Time. ............................... 938.1.6 Amalgams and Healing. ...... 93

8.2 Simulacra. ............................... 938.2.1 Obtaining Matrices. ............ 938.2.2 Building the Vat. ................. 938.2.3 Growing the Matrix. ........... 948.2.4 Warping the Matrix. ........... 948.2.5 Special Simulacra. ............... 958.2.6 Materials, Money,

and Time. ............................... 978.2.7 Simulacra and Healing. ....... 97

8.3 Changelings. ........................... 978.3.1 Gathering the Patterns. ....... 988.3.2 Creating a Changeling. ....... 988.3.3 Creating an Abomination. .. 988.3.4 Biological Changes. ............. 988.3.5 Sample Changelings and

Abominations. ....................... 999.0 Campaigns. ............................. 100

9.1 Creation Magic, ArtificialEntities, and theCampaign Setting. ........... 100

9.1.1 Which Types ofCreation Magic?. .................. 100

9.1.2 Creation Magic versusGood and Evil. ..................... 101

9.1.3 Creation Magicand Society. .......................... 101

9.2 Artificial Entities asPCs and NPCs. ................ 102

9.3 Adventure andCampaign Seeds. ............. 104

10.0 Spell Lists. ............................. 10610.1 Creation Lists ..................... 106

10.1.1 Amalgam Law. ................. 10610.1.2 Automata. ........................ 10710.1.3 Changeling Mastery ........ 10810.1.4 Construct Mastery. ......... 10910.1.5 Golem Mastery. ............... 11010.1.6 Simulacra. ........................ 111

10.2 Enhancement Lists. ............ 11210.2.1 Construct Magic. ............. 11210.2.2 Golem Magic. .................. 11310.2.3 Sentience. ......................... 114

10.3 Intelligence ImbeddingLists. ................................. 116

10.3.1 Demonic Empowerment. . 11610.3.2 Elemental Empowerment. . 11710.3.3 Life Empowerment. ........ 11910.3.4 Spirit Empowerment. ..... 120

10.4 Miscellaneous Lists. ........... 12110.4.1 Abomination Lore. ......... 12110.4.2 Entity Control. ................ 122

11.0 Bibliography. ....................... 12411.1 History, Myth, and Legend. .. 12411.2 Fiction. ................................ 124

Contents

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33CONSTRUCT COMPANIONCONSTRUCT COMPANION

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Introduction

“Artificial beings are unnatural creatures constructedby enchantments. Composed of virtually any ele-ment or substance, they have no inherent soul. In-stead, their spirit is a gift or a temporary lodger. Theirbodies would not ‘live’ but for the incantations thatunite them with a wandering soul or part of themaker’s own spirit.”

From arcane workshops issue forth hulking golems,roughly sculpted from stone, deadly humanoid con-structs, formed from myriad metal scales, and animatedmachines. In sorcerous laboratories, misshapen paro-dies and soulless simulacra of living beasts and men areshaped and molded. And in the secret places of theworld, the mightiest alchemists tamper with life itself tocreate terrifying new monsters and savage races – abomi-nations of the natural order, which will endanger the freepeoples for future millennia.

Your world may never be the same again.

1.1

WHAT’S IN

CONSTRUCT COMPANION?Construct Companion is a fantasy role-playing

sourcebook on artificial entities and magical machinesof every kind. It expands on the material available inCreatures & Monsters and Treasure Companion, andrepresents a total revision and unification of the frag-mented resources found in previous editions ofRolemaster.

The myths and fiction of our own Earth are populatedwith uncanny creatures, created by forgotten alchemyand lost magic. History is replete with instances of in-triguing machines and toys devised by ingenious artifi-cers or cunning tricksters to entertain the elite through-out the centuries. Construct Companion will delve intothis treasure trove to reveal the most interesting beastsand artifacts.

In addition to the perennial favorites of constructsand golems, Construct Companion will introduce fournew categories of artificial entities and unnatural life-forms, namely the automaton, the amalgam, thesimulacrum, and the changeling, and provide ready-made examples of each. Construct Companion willdetail the spells, rituals and processes needed to createartificial beings and automata of each type, and showhow the standard creations can be enhanced with me-chanical contraptions and magical abilities. With theserules, the boldest alchemists will be able to persuade orcompel eldritch beings to place shards of their soulswithin newly animated entities, granting them intelli-gence. Others will mimic or mock the divine by fashion-ing whole new hybrid species.

Construct Companion will reveal how members of theexisting Rolemaster professions can become masters ofcreative magics, and explore their motivations and meth-ods. From a handful of individual entities crafted byisolated sages to vast artificial armies produced by mageguilds, creators and created alike will have a proportion-ate impact on the setting – Construct Companion willhelp gamemasters (GMs) to meld them into their stories,as player-characters, as non-player-characters, and assources for adventure.

1.2

USING CONSTRUCT

COMPANIONConstruct Companion is wholly compatible with

Rolemaster Fantasy Role-Playing. Much of the materialin this book can also be used without modification withearlier editions of Rolemaster.

Construct Companion is also a modular sourcebook.Gamemasters may choose to use some or all of thematerial without fear of upsetting delicate game bal-ances. In some campaigns, only certain types of artificialbeings may be created – each is an individual masterworkof the art and the result of a lifetime (or more) ofdedicated magical research. In other worlds, creationmagic is black magic and the province of evil spell users;heroes battle golems, constructs and abominations andseek to rid the world of their blasphemous makers. In yetother settings, automata and artificial entities may becommonplace as non-human slaves, ever-vigilant guard-ians, and utterly loyal warriors – with a magical “Indus-trial Revolution” imminent in the most advanced societ-ies. Whether artificial beings are peripheral or central tothe setting, Construct Companion has all the answers.

1.3

AUTHOR’S NOTEThe author would like to thank Alison Mitchell for

undertaking much of the early research into historicalautomata and literary monsters. Her efforts assistedgreatly in the writing of this book. Any errors introducedinto the text are my fault.

Construct Companion has also benefited from thesuggestions and critiques of an elite and internationalcadre of playtesters – David Bate, Andrew Ferguson,Patrick Farley, Peter Mork, Marian Münch, and DavePrince. Many kudos to these heroes.

As always, thanks for keeping me sane in the face of theword count go to my veteran group of gamers – David“Demetrios” Bate, Quinton “Etain” Carroll, Andy “Sabas”Davies, Matt “Uther” Fitzgerald, Keith “Markus” Grainge,Sean “Bertran” Miller, Dave “Anna” Prince, and Stephen“Leon” Watts.

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Artificial Entities and

Automata in Myth, History and FictionLegend, literature and history are replete with ex-

amples of created and artificial entities. This chapter willlook at a sample of the most famous and interesting as aprelude to implementing similar creations in Rolemaster.

2.1

AUTOMATA

2.1.1 ANCIENT AUTOMATAAs early as 2000 B.C., the ancient Egyptians possessed

figurines with movable limbs while puppets dangling onstrings or operated by sticks from beneath were made bythe Greeks in the first millennium B.C. “Talking statues”(where a human priest hidden nearby spoke on the god’sbehalf) and “moving” idols (where the motion wasachieved by mechanical contrivances) have appeared inmany religions from antiquity onwards.

True automata, in the sense of mechanical objectswhich are relatively self-operating once set in motion,appeared in profusion in the third and second centuriesB.C. Sand, mercury, and especially water were used bythe later Egyptians and the classical Greeks as the motiveforces for their devices. Hero of Alexandria, living in thesecond century B.C., described the construction of appa-ratus employing water, falling weights, and steam. Asone of the leading mechanicians of the era, his discover-ies in hydraulic, pneumatic, and mechanical action helpedhim to construct a series of automata from singing birdsand moving tableaux to a fully automatic miniaturetheatre. Philo of Byzantium staged a full five-act play –“The Tale of Nauplius” – including ships being launched,“sailed”, and shipwrecked using one of these theatres.

Even in Greco-Roman legend, automata are present.Homer mentions Vulcan’s mobile tripods and the smithgod was assisted in his endeavors by a score of golden

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BHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHHBhandmaidens. Daedalus, before his aerial escape on waxedwings, was supposed to have fashioned moving statues,animating them with mercury.

2.1.2 ARAB AND MEDIEVAL

AUTOMATAThe King of Persia gave an elaborate water clock, or

clepsydra, to Charlemagne in 807 AD as a gift. On thestroke of each hour, one of twelve doors on its dial wouldopen and little balls (in number equal to the hour) wouldfall out onto a brass drum. At twelve o’clock, a troop ofminiature cavalrymen would ride out and moving roundthe dial shut all the doors!

From the ninth century onwards, beautiful automatagraced the courts of Islamic rulers – one caliph had agolden tree with silver leaves and mechanical singingbirds resting in its branches. In the early 13th century, IbnAl-Razzazz Al-Jazari compiled his own (and others’)designs for graceful constructs in the “Book of Knowl-edge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices”. His own spe-cialty was water-operated devices, such as moving andornate peacocks, some for ritual washing, others as royalcupbearers.

In Christian Europe, elementary decorative automataappeared in medieval churches. Hand-operated cruci-fixes oozed blood, Madonnas shed tears, and even up to1647, the celebration of the Assumption in Dieppe inFrance included artificial angels, which flapped theirwings and blew trumpets.

While such artifice to instruct and awe the ordinaryfolk was not discouraged by the Church, more conserva-tive churchmen could construe revolutionary ideas fromits own scholars as diabolical heresies. In the 13th century,Albertus Magnus (Saint Albert the Great or “DoctorUniversalis”), Dominican theologian and proto-scien-tist, was considered by some contemporaries and laterfabulists to be a master of magic. Albertus is creditedvariously with creating an iron man or a mechanicalbrass man able to move and speak. Supposedly hisdisciple, St Thomas Aquinas, destroyed the brass manbelieving it to be a work of the Devil.

Around the same time, Roger Bacon (“DoctorMirabilis”), the English Franciscan philosopher, studiedand conducted experiments in mathematics, astronomy,optics, and alchemy. He described spectacles, opticalphenomena such as reflection, refraction, and aberra-tion, and detailed the process for making gunpowder. Heenvisioned machines such that ships without rowersmight be both propelled and steered by a single indi-vidual, carriages needing no horses or other draughtanimals, and flying machines where a man seated in themiddle need only turn a device to make the wings flapand ascend into the air. His fame led to him beingassociated with prodigies and wonders – legends assertthat he constructed a talking head of bronze. It wassupposedly made so that he might discern the necessarymagic to create a wall of brass to surround and protectEngland. Sadly for Roger Bacon, his fellow friars suspected

his teachings of containing dangerous “novelties” and hespent his last decade imprisoned for heresy.

Less fanciful and more useful constructs were theJaquemarts or “clock jacks” which appeared on clocktowers and churches from the fourteenth century. Me-chanical figures would move on turntables, entering andexiting doors, and striking bells with the strokes of thehour. The mechanisms used extremely heavy leadenweights, laboriously raised each day by hand. Fashions insuch clock constructs became more ornate and complexover the next three centuries.

2.1.3 RENAISSANCE AND

ENLIGHTENMENT AUTOMATAWith the advent of the Renaissance, automata began

to enjoy a new reputation as ingenious products ofartifice rather than the creation of magic. Some inven-tors amused their overlords with flying birds, miniaturehorsemen, and musicians. In the early 16th century,Leonardo da Vinci fashioned an automatic lion, capableof moving some paces forward on its wheels and thenopening its chest to reveal heraldic symbols. Contempo-rary biographers reported that he made animals from awax paste – when inflated, these constructs flew throughthe air.

The cities of Augsburg and Nuremburg in southernGermany became the world centers for advances inclockwork. Formerly clocks used heavy weights revolv-ing around a barrel wound around with chain or rope todrive the wheels. Now coiled tempered-steel springscould be employed, making smaller and more portableclocks and watches practical. For noble banquets, clock-work nefs (coasters on wheels carrying wines and condi-ments) traversed long tables servicing and entertainingdiners in equal measure. Other “drinking clocks” wouldrace along the table with every guest required to down hisglass before they halted – one in the shape of a centaurfired small arrows at unlucky drinkers who were thenforced to pay a forfeit. Some constructs were capable ofproducing music by simulating keyboard and wind in-struments with plucked strings and bellows respectively.

During the 18th century, academicians in the FrenchAcademy of Sciences considered the whole spectrum ofmechanical invention from practical pumps, mills, andbridges to novel calculating machines, weapons, andautomata. Designs for the latter included chariots (movedby handles connected to cogs driving the back wheelsrather than horse-drawn), artificial swans and seahorses(using paddle feet for motion), a life-size paddle-oper-ated gondola, and even a cart and its mechanical horse.In 1779, their colleagues in St. Petersburg even organizeda competition for the best “speaking head” – the winningentry was able to utter a few words. Industrious inven-tors made mechanical and electric paddleboats, auto-matic carriages and walking animals as well as curiositiessuch as self-locking boxes, self-extinguishing lamps, andself-firing guns.

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BHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHHBWealthy merchants and minor princes bankrolled gad-

geteers to fill their sheltered gardens and specially con-structed grottos with intricate automata arranged in artis-tic poses or capturing rustic scenes. In one grotto atHellbrun near Salzburg, a mechanical theatre consistingof over 200 miniature figures was built in 1752. The 113automata, operated by a water turbine, and their staticcounterparts, simulate the life of an 18th-century town.Toscani, a Polish stage magician exhibited a more mobiletheatrum mundi (an automaton with many figures) from1744 to 1748. His figures were animated either by primi-tive electrics or magnetics rather than wires. Flockton’stheatre, displayed in 1800, had as many as 500 figures.

Among the masters of the art of automata during theEnlightenment were Jacques de Vaucanson, the Knaussbrothers (Ludwig and Friedrich), the Jaquet-Droz fam-ily (father (Pierre) and son (Henri-Louis)), and Wolfgangvon Kempelen.

Vaucanson was expelled from a Jesuit training collegefor making automata in the form of flying angels. Duringthe 1730s and 1740s, he fashioned a series of celebratedmodels variously exhibited in France (and by others else-where in Europe.) His creations included a grocer’s stallwith a mechanical shopkeeper able to rise, open and shutthe stall’s doors, and hand over items to the audience, life-size flute-players (with repertoires of ten or more tunes),and a life-size brass duck with realistic looking plumage,mobile head and wings, and the ability to “eat” from thecontents of a bowl, “digest”, and “excrete” the “food”. Inhis later life, Vaucanson used his ingenuity to design andmanufacture machines to weave brocade.

The Knauss brothers are most famous for their splen-did automata clocks of the 1740s and 1750s, such as theRitterspieluhr (Knight’s Clock), which depicts a tourneywith two armies of knights on horseback who joust as theclock strikes the hour, and the Maria-Theresian Uhr,depicting a symbolic procession to celebrate the corona-tion of Empress Maria Theresa. Friedrich Knauss alsoattempted to make “writing hands” and “speaking heads”– his experiments with the former led to a device capableof tracing cursive script on paper in response to signalsfrom a keyboard operator.

The Swiss Jaquet-Droz inventors fashioned three trulyexquisite automata among a series of lesser creations.The first is a Writer (completed in1760), in form and sizea curly-headed four-year-old seated at a small desk,holding a goose quill in his right hand and able to writeany preset phrase of up to 40 letters. Interchangeablepegs placed on a disc form the phrase while an intricateseries of clockwork mechanisms and internal cams trans-mit and translate the phrase into writing movements.The second was a Draughtsman (1773), which was simi-lar to the Writer in form but able to draw one of fourpictures. The final automaton, a Musician, took the formof a young woman playing a piano. Jean Leschot, amechanic who assisted Pierre Jaquet-Droz, became fa-mous for making articulated prosthetics for amputees.

The chess-playing Turk first exhibited by Wolfgangvon Kempelen in 1770 is perhaps the most famousautomaton of all. In shape, it was a cabinet on wheelsbehind which a life-size figure dressed in Turkish cloth-ing and turban was seated. Atop the cabinet was a chess-board and chess pieces, which could be moved by the“Turk”. The cabinet doors could be opened to revealdrawers and a complex arrangement of mechanical partswith unknown purposes. In 1809, Napoleon played agame with the “Turk” and lost! Unknown at the time, the“Turk” was not a real automaton – a skilled humanplayer was actually concealed within the equipment.

Interest in automata slowly declined in the 19th cen-tury as rich patrons and skilled craftsmen dwindled.

2.1.4 ORIENTAL AUTOMATAIn China, the earliest mentions of automata are from

the 3rd century BC when a mechanical orchestra wasconstructed for the then-Emperor. Automata were wide-spread by the 6th century AD, and remained popular withthe ruling classes of the empire for a further five hundredyears. Histories record flying birds, animals and human-oid automata. The tradition of construct building de-clined in the mid-fourteenth century. When the Jesuitsled their missions to China in the early 1600s, theydiscovered and exploited the Chinese fascination withclockwork – later missionaries brought machinery andautomata with them as gifts to placate and entertain therulers. Some of the priests were skilled inventors in theirown right, designing walking men and richly decoratedclocks for the Emperors. Europeans, however, were re-quired to maintain the machines.

Tipu Sultan, the fiercely independent 18th-centuryruler of Mysore and enemy of the British in India, gaveform to his hatred of European invaders with a clock-work tiger mauling a prostrate foreigner. Equipped withan organ, suitable bellows, and an air reservoir, thedevice is operated by a mechanical keyboard and handle.When wound up, the man’s left arm flails ineffectually,the man screams, and the tiger roars.

The Japanese developed a tradition of automata,known as “karakuri”, from the mid-17th century. TakedaOmi, originally a maker of “sand clocks” (elaboratehourglasses), diverged into the design and manufactureof clockwork and mechanical toys based loosely onEuropean techniques. Granted permission to establish apublic theatre to exhibit his inventions, Takeda Omi andhis descendants (by blood and adoption) were at theforefront of automata creation for more than a hundredyears. Karakuri became respectable additions to playswith human actors and karakuri-only performances werevery popular. While karakuri entertained audiences,laborsaving devices were also created based on this tech-nology – one rich and secretive miller had his millequipped with three treadmills, each connected to threemillstones. Each millstone normally required six work-ers or fifty-four in total. The treadmills’ design only

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BHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHHBrequired one man per treadmill. The karakuri indus-try declined in the mid-18th century, perhaps becauseworkmanship had deteriorated or automata had be-come unfashionable, and the last karakuri theatreclosed in 1772.

2.2

THE GOLEMThe golem is an artificial creature, made from clay,

described in Jewish folklore and mystical traditions.Wise rabbis brought the golem to life by means of acombination of letters forming one of the sacrednames of God. According to most golem stories, theletters were written onto a piece of parchment, whichwas then placed either in the creature’s mouth oraffixed to its head. Altering or removing the lettersdeactivated the golem.

The creation of golems (more properly “golemim”)was not an uncommon process in Jewish legends, withthe earliest references being to the golems fashionedby Enosh and Ben Sira in Biblical eras. Ben Sira wascommanded to destroy his golem lest its seemingvitality delude the gullible into believing in the exist-ence of false gods. Other sages, such as Rava (in the 4thcentury AD), Ibn Gabirol (11th century), and IbnEzra (12th century), were credited with making golems.They were not only created in human form – tworabbis regularly fashioned and animated a calf everyFriday according to one account. The most famousgolem of all was the masterwork of the 16th-cen-tury rabbi Judah Löw ben Bezulel, whose creationprotected the Jews of the Prague ghettos from thepersecutions of anti-Semitic Christians.

2.2.1 MAKING A GOLEMThe Kabbalah were and are the mystical and

magical traditions of Judaism. According to itsdoctrines, divine power is inherent in the veryletters of the sacred names of God. Texts such asthe “Sefer Yetzirah” (“Book of Formation”) specifydiverse formulations of letters, with different permu-tations for different supernatural activities. Thus ascholar who has mastered this knowledge couldpotentially use the Kabbalah to obtain a dreamvision or even create a golem. Knowledge is, how-ever, insufficient. A true cabbalistic master willonly invoke these magical energies after seekingthe permission of God through prayer. To performmagic without divine sanction is black sorcery,which taps into the diabolical powers.

The tale of Rabbi Löw’s golem creation is perhapsthe most complete. In 1580, anxious to protect hispeople from persecution, Löw used his kabbalisticwisdom to seek divine guidance through a dreamquest, placing a blank piece of paper under hispillow. On waking, the paper was inscribed with tenHebraic words, the first letter of each wordcorresponding to the first ten letters of the Hebrew

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BHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHHBalphabet. (Loosely translated, the answer was “Ah, ByClay Destroy Evil Forces, Golem, Help Israel, justice”).The rabbi interpreted this as the necessary authority tomake a golem and instructed two of his confidants toprepare themselves by a weeklong program of ritualpurification.

After this period of preparation, Löw and his twodisciples went at night to a nearby forest. Here Löw drewa human figure in the mud with his cane. His first disciplethen walked around the figure seven times, starting at thefeet and walking rightwards to its head and thence roundthe left side to its feet, chanting the proper formulation ofthe Divine Names. The figure now glowed with an innerfire, having been imbued by the disciple with the elemen-tal essence of fire to add to its earth essence derived fromits clay material. The second disciple followed the sameprocedure, but intoning a different incantation to imbuethe figure with the essence of water, enabling it to separateitself from the ground. Löw then repeated the procedure,again with a different sequence of sacred words, drawingthe essence of air into the golem and calling the demonicspirit of Yossef Sheida into its body. The three then reciteda verse from the Biblical Book of Genesis, and the golemopened its eyes.

Löw ordered the golem to rise, had his colleagues dressit in normal clothing, and then explained to the golem,now called Yossef, its duties as the protector of the Jewishpeople. He also firmly demanded total obedience fromYossef in all matters. Then the four returned to Prague,where Löw claimed to his family and others that Yossefwas a mute who had offered to become his servant.

2.2.2 CONTROLLING THE GOLEMOther golem tales stress the importance of the sacred

words in both making and controlling the entities. Tra-ditionally the word “shem” meaning “name” was writ-ten on the parchment placed in the golem’s mouth togive it life. On the forehead, the word “emeth” (meaning“truth”) was inscribed to activate the golem. By remov-ing the first letter, this inscription could be altered to“meth” (meaning “death”), temporarily deactivatingthe creature. In some accounts, the rabbis regularlydeanimated their golems prior to the Sabbath lest theyrun amok on the holy day, restoring them on the nextweekday.

According to Löw’s explanations to his followers, twodemonic spirits had appeared when he sought to draw aspirit into the golem. The spirits were named YossefSheida and Yonnassan Sheida. (The word “sheida” meansdemon.) The latter was unknown to Löw, whereas Yossefhad a history of assisting Jewish scholars and so waschosen to inhabit the golem. Fear of being returned toincorporeality, to non-existence, rather than any goodor evil inclination, was the principal motivation for thegolem’s total obedience. For Judaic demons, incarnationinto such forms to assist the Jewish people offered thema hope of eventual purification and rebirth after theadvent of the Messiah.

2.2.3 STRENGTHS AND

WEAKNESSESSize and strength were the obvious powers of the

humanoid golem. They were fashioned as tall, large men,and had superhuman strength by virtue of their elemen-tal essence. The Prague golem was claimed to be unstop-pable and able to perform any task within fifteen feetabove and below the ground. It was also invulnerable toinjury or death from any weapon (magical or mundane),from fire and from drowning. Immune to disease, golemswere also totally incapable of reproduction and lackedany sexual urges.

Through its inhabiting spirit and its created nature,golems possessed unerring time sense. It could alsoperceive other spiritual entities such as demons, spirits,and ghosts – in one story, the Prague golem evenshepherded one erring ghost to its master. Golems couldalso be channels for divine communication, being able toreorder Kabbalistic letters to reveal the answers to arabbi’s questions, or even give voice to messages fromangelic powers.

Unless possessed by a divine messenger, golems wereunable to speak. Their creators were limited to impartingvitality and movement to these entities. They could notcreate an actual soul as this was forever beyond humanability, and so golems were always mute. All humanoidgolems could communicate by gestures and some wereable to respond to their masters occasionally by writingdown their answers.

The intelligence of a golem in terms of its understand-ing was in direct proportion to the power of the imbed-ded spirit. More powerful spirits were better able tocomprehend orders and missions. Even they could bedangerously literal in their interpretation of commandsas golems were unable to reason independently fromtheir instructions. A casually given command such as tofill barrels from a well could easily result in the golemfilling the barrels to overflowing and continuing to do sowhile the whole area flooded. The wise creator gave exactinstructions and supervised his golem.

2.2.4 THE GOLEM’S ROLEThe golem’s role in Jewish legends changed down the

centuries. In the earliest tales, the golem was employed asa perfect servant to cut wood and haul water, with its onlyfault being an overly literal or mechanical fulfillment ofits master’s orders.

In the medieval period, golems were made by sages todemonstrate their knowledge of the Kabbalah. As such,golems were considered as little higher than dumb ani-mals, and returned to their natural elements at theircreator’s or another’s whim. They could be fashioned ordestroyed with impunity because they were not human,merely an intermediate stage of matter. Such casualdisplays of power hinted at arrogance and scholarlyconceits that mortals could compete with God increation.

In the 16th century, the golem took on a newcharacter, that of defender of the Jews from religious

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BHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHHBpersecution. They were not to be used as slaves. Insteadthey were to be reserved for sacred purposes. The golemYossef was created specifically to protect the Jews ofPrague from the “blood libels.” These monstrous accu-sations alleged that the Jews kidnapped and slaughteredChristian children, draining them of blood, and thenused this blood in Passover rituals. Enemies of promi-nent Jews would plant a corpse near a Jewish residence,arrange for its “discovery”, and then watch the mobexecute their revenge. Löw sent Yossef on nightly patrolsto prevent attacks on Jews and the desecration of gravesas well as on missions to rescue kidnap victims andmissing persons. The implacable Yossef was able to foilall the persecutors.

As belligerent protector, the golem could also be quitefrightening. By the 17th century in German retellings ofthe legends, the golem was seen as a terror threateningsociety, which had to be destroyed for the commongood.

2.2.5 UNMAKING THE GOLEMAs made creations, golems are not killed, rather they are

unmade with their body returning to lifeless clay. Some-times golems are unmade because they have gone berserk.Eliyahu of Chelm reputedly created a golem in the 16th

century, which grew larger every day. Fearful that it mightbecome uncontrollable, Eliyahu ripped the parchmentfrom the golem’s forehead. The mass of now inanimateclay collapsed upon the hapless scholar killing him.

The Prague golem was destroyed because it had fulfilledits task. To unmake their golem, Löw and his disciplesreversed the rituals of creation and buried the body in anattic, banning anyone from ever entering the room.

2.3

THE HOMUNCULUSIn medieval and Renaissance Europe, the proper study

of alchemists was to undertake a life-long quest to createor rediscover the Philosopher’s Stone. With thePhilosopher’s Stone in its solid form (tincture), an alche-mist could transmute base metals such as lead and ironinto gold. In its elixir (liquid) form, an alchemist couldbrew a universal panacea, capable of curing any disease,or an elixir vitae, bestowing great longevity, even im-mortality, on the imbiber of the potion. Similarly thesewonder-workers claimed to be able to create life itself,usually in the form of a homunculus – a “little man”.

In the early sixteenth century, the physician, divinerand alleged black magician Philipus AureolusTheophrastus Bombastus Paracelsus von Hohenheimpublished a formula to create an omnculus. A quantity ofhuman sperm is first placed in a hermetically sealed glasscontainer, and the jar buried in horse manure for someforty days. During this period, the area is appropriately“magnetized”. The being takes shape as a tiny transparentand insubstantial human being. The creature must be fedwith “arcanum sanguinis hominis” (magically enchantedhuman blood – possibly the mage’s own blood?) for fortyweeks – remaining within the container and buried in thedung, which must be maintained at an even temperature.

At the end of this maturation period, the entity will be afully formed but tiny child, who may be raised and edu-cated like any normal child. Paracelsus claimed that thecreature would know secrets hidden from ordinary menand triumph over its enemies.

Several decades later, David Christianus published hismethod for creating a homunculus which involved re-placing a tiny portion of the white of an egg from a blackchicken with human sperm. The opening in the egg wasthen to be sealed with a piece of moist clean parchmentand the egg placed in dung on the first day of the newmoon in March. After thirty days, a tiny entity (in humanshape) would leave the egg. This homunculus could thenbe fed on a diet of earthworms and lavender while it grewto a larger size. According to Christianus, its creatorwould enjoy happiness in all matters while it remainedalive.

Even as late as the early nineteenth century, the man-dragora (or mandrake) plant was considered an essentialingredient in creating artificial humans, as the mandrake’sroot resembled humanoid form in miniature. Magicalpractitioners believed that mandrake grew from thesperm of innocent men who had died by hanging. Oncegrown, the root had to be harvested by a black dog beforedawn on a Friday. The root was then washed and nour-ished with milk, honey and (according to some authori-ties) blood. This process slowly transformed and ma-tured the homunculus. Thereafter it could protect itsmaster from harm.

Some practitioners were not satisfied with a singlecreature, but instead fashioned a series of entities in their“test tubes” – reputedly some of these entities werefemale, and some were designed to excel in certain crafts,trades, or professions from mining to architecture. Such “histories” and legends played their part in theartificial creations of literature.Sa

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2.4

THE MONSTERS OF

DOCTORS FRANKENSTEIN

AND MOREAUWritten in 1818, Mary Shelley’s novel, Franken-

stein, draws upon the magical traditions of the alche-mists and the scientific theories of the eighteenth andearly nineteenth centuries. Benjamin Franklin hadshown with his kite experiments that lightning waselectricity. Luigi Galvani had revealed the ability ofelectricity to stimulate muscles, provoking convulsivemovements, and theorized the existence of an innateforce, dubbed “animal electricity”. He conjecturedthat the brain secreted the “electric fluid” which flowedvia the nerves and stimulated the muscles. Othersexperimented with electricity to stimulate paralyzedmuscles.

There was a belief in the eighteenth-century in somemedical and scientific circles that death was reversibleand that the body was an essentially inert substanceanimated by a spirit which could depart, transferringitself and the life impulse to another – electricity waspostulated as this spark of life and as a possible meansof revivifying corpses.

In the eighteenth century, theories concerning thespontaneous generation of life from inanimate matterand the regeneration of animate matter were popular.John Needham believed that rotting matter, particu-larly if infused with animal or vegetable material,would generate microorganisms (“animalcules”), andconducted experiments to prove his theories. RenéAntoine Réaumur studied the ability of crustaceanssuch as crayfish to regenerate lost body parts. AbrahamTrembley experimented with freshwater hydra, show-ing that a divided hydra could regenerate completeindividuals from each part, and conversely that twoindividual polyps grafted together would form a singleindividual.

In Frankenstein, Doctor Victor Frankenstein createshis monster using a combination of esoteric knowledgeand zealous experimentation. His monster is builtfrom the body parts of corpses, reassembled into apatchwork whole by surgery, and somehow, animated.(Film versions of the novel have assumed electricity asthe life-giving principle, taking their cue from Shelley’sspeculations in her prefaces to the book.) The resultingcreature is eight feet tall and able to move faster thanany normal human. Its face has watery dull yellow eyes,wrinkled yellow skin barely concealing the blood ves-sels, black lips, white teeth and long black hair. Al-though the monster seeks affection and understandingfrom its creator and others, its horrifying appearanceengenders only loathing and it is abandoned by itsmaster to fend for itself. It is driven through bitternessto violence against everyone it meets, especially Fran-kenstein and his family.

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BHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHHBIn HG Wells’ 1896 novel, The Island of Dr Moreau,

the scientist Moreau goes beyond Frankenstein’s pre-sumption by attempting to create new races ratherthan a single individual. Moreau’s experiments aim tofashion new humanoids (or humanized animals) fromanimal species through vivisection and terrifying sur-gery. Despite Moreau’s surgical procedures and hishypnotic methods of instilling a moral sense into thehybrids, the innate animal natures of the creaturesslowly and gradually reassert themselves. Eventuallythey degenerate into mere animals in twisted bodies.“The Master” of Brian Aldiss’ thematic sequel, Moreau’sOther Island, builds upon the original experimentsusing drugs during pregnancy to alter the bodies andminds of animals and humans.

2.5

A MEDLEY OF MAGIC AND

MONSTERS FROM FANTASY

LITERATUREIn JRR Tolkien’s Middle-Earth, the evil races and

monstrous creatures are the results of the “breedingpits”. Morgoth tortures and perverts captured Elves toform the cruel Orcs, mocks Ents with his brutishTrolls, and challenges the Giant Eagles with his fellbeasts and Dragons. Sauron continues the experi-ments in turn producing Orcs and Trolls unharmed bysunlight, while the renegade wizard Saruman breedsOrcs with Men to create his own armies. On a smallerscale, the Woses (Druedain) have a magical traditionof shamans creating fierce-looking carvings of woodand stone, which animate at need to defend the hiddenhomesteads from Orcs and other invaders. If one ofthese statues suffers harm in protecting a Wose settle-ment, its creator suffers a similar but much less severeinjury.

In Jack Vance’s Dying Earth novels, magicians striveto create humans and other entities, growing theirbodies from a single cell. The beings mature in vats ofclear nutrient fluid bathed in an eldritch green light.When the magician judges the process complete, theliquid is drained off and the being roused to conscious-ness with an injection of a suitable drug. Failures aremany – Turjan’s unsuccessful experiments includedan entity composed solely of eyes, a boneless being,and inside-out creatures, Mazirian’s creatures are fullyhuman in form but without intelligence, and evenPandelume’s beautiful woman T’sais sees beauty asugliness owing to a warp in her brain.

In Jack Vance’s Lyonesse trilogy, the magicians cre-ate “alter egos” of themselves (often widely different intemperament and appearance) so that they may morediscreetly interact with the mortal and faerie folk of theElder Isles. These “scions” in time develop their own

personalities and goals in addition to supporting theirmasters. The witch Desmëi sundered herself intothree bodies – converting herself into a fluid “plasm”,she distilled herself by deft tricks of time and magicinto three forms – a beautiful woman (Melancthe), aman (Faude Carfilhiot), and a “demented squeakingcreature” (which encapsulated all her undesirableattributes). The last, she slew, burning it in a furnace,although both of her scions inhaled some of its vapor.

In the Elder Isles, magic also allows the creation ofhybrid entities. Murgen creates an agent to rescue agirl from the hostile plane of Tanjecterly. The processis complex – Murgen acquires the “constructive prin-ciples” (magical matrices embodying the form, per-sonality, and mind of creatures) of a syaspic feroceand a near-human known as Kul the Killer. The twomatrices reside in separate magical cabinets. To createthe hybrid, Murgen joins the two cabinets togetherand lays a sheet of paper (cut into patterns) ontoanother similar sheet. After various magical work-ings, Murgen then opens the cabinet to reveal a newcreature, which is a blend of the original beings. Thefusion is then brought to full life by a transfusion ofblood from the hero Aillas. This also instills loyaltyand Aillas’ human virtues into the creature, nownamed Kul. Although successful in its mission, Kuldies from the blood loss of accumulated wounds –once Aillas’ blood is all spent, its life departs.

In the long-running Xanth series by Piers Anthony,love springs are responsible for the vast variety ofhumanoid and hybrid species in that kingdom. Anycreature that drinks from such a spring immediately“falls in love” with the next creature of the oppositesex it sees, with the progeny of such matings taking oncharacteristics from both parents. The Xanth novelsalso feature the tiny loudmouthed golem, Grundy,enchanted such that he can communicate with anyliving plant or animal.

More traditional golems appear in Terry Pratchett’sFeet of Clay. The Discworld golems are fired-clay red-eyed statues with a holy text written on a parchment“chem” and placed inside their heads (which havehinged tops). The golems are obedient but unable toharm or kill a living being. Mute, they communicateby writing, so carry some chalk and slates with them.Highly resistant to damage, they are tireless and needneither air nor nourishment. While the head is intact,a Discworld golem can be repaired, even by othergolems. In Feet of Clay, the golems of Ankh-Morporkcreate a new golem from their own clay, but the golembecomes insane, as multiple “chems” have been givento him. Only one golem, Dorfl, has achieved free willand independence from the chem so far – by virtue ofreceiving a chem, that stated that Dorfl was his ownmaster.

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BHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHHBIn Terry Pratchett’s more recent Discworld novels

such as Carpe Jugulum, the “Igors” of Überwald are theDiscworld twist on Frankenstein’s monster. Henchmento the mad rulers of that gothic kingdom, the “Igors” arehighly proficient surgeons and medical practitioners,expert in weird transplant surgery. “Igors” themselvesare “patchworks” with organs and limbs reused fromtheir relatives.

In Guy Gavriel Kay’s historical fantasy duology, TheSarantine Mosiac, based loosely on Earth’s ByzantineEmpire, the alchemist Zoticus has learned how to makeinanimate objects think, speak, and retain souls. Hefashioned nine birds from metal and leather, rangingfrom sparrows to falcons in form. Performing a “defin-ing ceremony” by the grave of a magistrate, Zoticusimbued the birds with the ability to speak – in thecultured tones of the dead patrician. Into the birds,Zoticus then imbedded the souls of nine maidens, whohad been sacrificed in a pagan ritual to Ludan, an ancientforest god. His opinionated birds can speak, see, and hear– and can communicate telepathically with some people.Fearing persecution by the orthodox clergy and exploi-tation by secular rulers, Zoticus keeps his creations se-cret, giving one (Danis) to his daughter and another(Linon) to the mosaicist Crispin. En route to Sarantium,Linon is reclaimed by an avatar of Ludan, and Zoticussenses that he too must return the seven birds in hispossession. In a forest grove, Ludan slays Zoticus and thegirls’ souls are freed.

In The Heritage of Shannara quartet by Terry Brooks,the faerie lord Uhl Belk and the Federation have access tothe fearsome Creepers, fusions of metal and organicmaterial, created to hunt and kill. Magical practitionershave harnessed earth magic and developed the ability toextract the essence from natural creatures and growthese essences with magic to create superior animalbreeds and to combine them to form magical hybridssuch as the Splinterscat (a porcupine / cat amalgam).Many of these beasts can think and speak as well ashumans. The most daring used human blood and flesh intheir creations, incorporating even emotions and memo-ries, to create new people to serve as guardians. Flaws inthe rituals and the tendency of magic to evolve transformthe erstwhile guardians into “demons”, living off earthmagic and seeking to destroy their makers. In The Voyageof the Jerle Shannara trilogy, the malevolent entity Antraxcreates “wronks” by melding captured humans withartificial mechanisms. The “wronks” can remember theirformer lives and experience unending anguish as theyare compelled to use their skills at Antrax’s biddingagainst former comrades.

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Definitions

3.3

GOLEMSA Golem is composed of a single piece of a particular

substance, which can be wood, clay, stone, crystal ormetal. This piece is shaped, carved, or sculpted as nec-essary into a humanoid or beast form. The degree ofresemblance varies according to the skill of the creator– although beast Golems are better imitations of theiroriginals than their humanoid counterparts. Golemscan be created in any size but materials cost discouragesthe use of precious substances for the larger entities.

Through potent magic (more powerful than thatemployed with animated objects or automata), Golemsmay be imbued with animation and purpose. Varyingdegrees of intelligence can be instilled from diversesources. These enchantments may require regular re-newal or involve the permanent imbedding of an(un)willing spirit or a shard of some extra-planar entitysuch as an elemental or a demon.

Due to the strength of their forms and their potentialfor self-awareness, Golems can perform simple tasksrequiring brute force with ease. They may find tasksinvolving manual dexterity or agility problematic, asmost beast Golems lack hands. Their substance usuallyendows them with high natural armor and resistance todamage, making them robust warriors. As they need nosleep, they can also be ever-vigilant sentries.

The major disadvantage of Golems is the difficulty incontrolling them. If the bonds of obedience between aGolem and its maker (or a later controller) are broken,the Golem will frequently turn upon its oppressor andattempt to kill him and everyone else nearby. Intelligent

Golems who go rogue may main-tain a fiction of obedience whilethey wait for a better opportunityto destroy their hated master.

It is not possible to enhanceGolems with mechani-cal contrivances (suchas built-in dartthrowers) as the beingmust be fashioned froma single piece of mate-rial. By dint of potentspells, Golems can beendowed with magicalabilities.

Gargoyles represent aspecific type of stoneGolem. “Flesh Golems”are not in fact Golemsas they are not com-posed of a single pieceof material. Instead“flesh golems” areAmalgams (see below).

3.1

ANIMATED OBJECTSBy using relatively minor spells, a wizard can tempo-

rarily animate an object, such as a weapon, and whilstconcentrating cause the object to move. Adept magi-cians can even wield a sword simply by the power of themind. Once the wizard ceases to concentrate, however,the object loses its motive force and becomes whollyinanimate again, usually dropping to the floor.

Compared to the creations of the masters, such ani-mated objects are mere fripperies appropriate only to anapprentice or a street conjuror. Animated objects aresimply pre-existing items temporarily ensorcelled –genuine artificial beings are created according to exact-ing and esoteric formulae specifically to receive lastingenchantments of autonomy and awareness.

3.2

AUTOMATAAn Automaton (plural: automata or automatons) is

the most basic of all autonomous permanent creations.In essence, an Automaton is a magical machine de-signed to accomplish one or more specific tasks. Likethe machines fashioned by mundane engineers andcraftsmen, an Automaton usually consists of dozens oreven hundreds of small metal and wooden parts as-sembled into an intricate whole. Automata can be ofany size or shape conceivable. Unlike ordinary ma-chines, which rely on clockwork, water, or perhaps evensteam to power their motion, Automata are powered bymagic. Thus, unless the Automaton is commanded byits maker to stop or its enchantments are dispelled ormalfunction, it can potentially function forever.

In addition to this permanency, automata have afurther advantage over animated objects in that they donot require their maker (or their operator) to concen-trate (in the Rolemaster senseof requiring 50% activity) todirect them in the execution oftheir tasks.

Automata, as a class, havethree significant disadvantages.Firstly, they can only performthe specific tasks for which theywere designed. Secondly, it isnot possible to deliberatelyimbue an Automaton with anymeasure of sentience – thesemagical machines can never beintelligent. Thirdly, Automatacan malfunction, requiring re-pair, or exhaust their fuel orother consumables, requiringreplenishment.

BHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHH 3.0

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BHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHHBand the spell-casting abilities of both. Worse, the ani-mating intelligence of an Amalgam is essentially ran-dom, as it may be a wandering spirit, a Ghost, or even asoul fragment from one of the body donors. Compulsionspells are the only way of ensuring an Amalgam’sobedience.

3.6

SIMULACRAA Simulacrum (plural: simulacra) is an artificial be-

ing, fashioned and/or grown from a combination ofinorganic and organic substances. As the entity takesshape, the creator gives it life by infusing its matter withgenerous libations of blood. If the creator uses his ownflesh and blood, the final entity will possess some char-acteristics of its maker’s personality, and will be eternallyobedient. If instead the creator uses blood from others,their personalities will seep into the entity and compul-sion spells may be required to command the Simulacrum.The greatest limitation is that the creator must havepreviously magically stored the Simulacrum’s intendedform or be prepared to spend many additional weeks inthe creation process “warping a matrix” into the desiredshape.

Simulacra may be created as mocking parodies ofbeasts and humanoids or as perfect duplicates of theliving. Others are the nightmarish spawn of twisted evilimaginations, thankfully unique to a single creator.Among the better-known types of Simulacra are ho-munculi, eye entities, shards, solaars, and viles.

Homunculi are a special type of Simulacra, grownfrom the flesh and blood of a living being. A homunculusis an exact physical duplicate of the original being. Ini-tially it will have a personality identical to that of its blooddonor. Over time, this personality will become an indi-vidual through its life experiences. It is also possible tocopy the mind and transfer the soul of the original beinginto the homunculus. Some mages have used this methodto achieve a kind of immortality.

While Simulacra may emulate the living, they areessentially soul-less creations and are incapable of repro-duction. They are made, not born.

3.4

CONSTRUCTSConstructs are artificial creatures, whose bodies con-

sist of numerous separate, interlocking parts and slidingpieces, giving them an exterior appearance reminiscentof a suit of plate armor. Constructs are almost whollymade of metal, with the exception of their eyes, which areusually enchanted gems. A Construct has a metal frame-work covered with metal plates – their insides are mostlyhollow cavities. Constructs can be of any size or shapewith humanoid and magical beast forms predominating.Beast Constructs mimic their living models in appear-ance closely, but are almost always stronger, faster, andmore dangerous than their organic models. HumanoidConstructs look like walking suits of plate mail, bristlingwith weapons. To support their frequent task as warriorsand guardians, Constructs are designed with weaponsbuilt into their bodies – automatic loading crossbowsmounted in chest cavities, wrist-mounted dart-throwers,blade-tipped fingers, spiked elbows and toes, arms ter-minating in weapons rather than hands, and so forth.Ammunition is stored in the body cavities.

Like Golems, Constructs may be magically enchantedto have animation, purpose, and intelligence. The pro-cess for instilling intelligence may require regular spellcastings or involve the permanent imbedding of an(un)willing spirit or a shard of some extra-planar entitysuch as an elemental or a demon.

Their high armor type (from their metallic construc-tion), their inherent weaponry, and their potential self-awareness makes them as fearsome as Golems in combat.Magical abilities can also be more easily incorporatedinto Constructs than Golems. However, the piecemealnature and hollow nature of constructs makes themmuch less resilient to damage.

As with Golems, the key problem with Constructs iscontrolling them. Once the bonds of obedience areshattered, Constructs will turn on their masters sooneror later.

3.5

AMALGAMSAn Amalgam is created by assembling body parts from

multiple corpses into a whole body. Electrical charges areused to revivify the nerves and grant the Amalgam asemblance of life. These Amalgams are sometimes erro-neously called Flesh Golems.

More terrifying than Flesh Golems are the “LivingAmalgams.” These unfortunate individuals have hadportions of their body removed and replaced with or-ganic or metal transplants. The surgeon-mage can thencontrol the Living Amalgam via their transplants.

Amalgams are much cheaper and faster to fashionthan either Golems or Constructs, but lack the durabilityof the former, the mechanical contrivances of the latter,

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