TEXT: 1
  The MONSTER MANUAL® II emphasizes play at higher
  levels and serves up 200-odd creatures  suitable for
  challenging player characters (PCs) who have gotten a
  little too big for their britches. In this web enhance-
  ment, developer Skip Williams offers an expansion of
  the book’s half-golem template, featuring three all-new
  types not found in the book! For ease of reference, the
  template’s general statistics and descriptions are
  reprinted here.
  To use this web enhancement, you should already have
  the MONSTER MANUAL II by Ed Bonny, Jeff Grubb, Rich
  Redman, Skip Williams, and Steve Winter. This bonus
  material is brought to you by the official DUNGEONS &
  DRAGONS® website: <www.wizards.com/dnd>.
  Half-golems are the results of good-intentioned
  actions taken too far. While the application of a poul-
  tice infused with curative herbs or the casting of a spell
  can save the life of an injured or diseased person, only
  powerful magic can replace a missing limb. Such magic
  is often beyond the reach of the ordinary person work-
  ing in a quarry or a mill, or scything a field of grain,
  who suffers the loss of one or more limbs.
  Arcane artisans applied their knowledge of golem
  construction to come up with a way to restore such a
  person to wholeness. While the initial results seemed
  promising, there was a limit to the effectiveness of the
  technique—many people who received one or more
  new limbs through this process proved unable to with-
  stand the trauma of the transformation and became
  permanently evil as a result. Individuals of evil intent
  now exploit this limitation, purposely creating raven-
  ing, unholy crosses between living beings and golems.
  Dragonflesh Half-Golem
  Medium-Size Construct
  Hit Dice:
  1d10 (5 hp)
  Initiative:
  +0
  Speed:
  30 ft. (can’t run), fly 120 ft. (poor)
  AC:
  20 (+3 masterwork studded leather
  armor +7 natural), touch 10, 
  flat-footed 20
  Attacks:
  Battleaxe +7 melee, or 
  claw +6 melee
  Damage: 
  Battleaxe 1d8+7/x3, claw 1d4+7
  Special Attacks:
  Frightful presence
  Special Qualities: Blindsight 60 ft., construct traits,
  darkvision 60 ft., DR 10/+1, 
  magic immunity
  Saves: 
  Fort +4, Ref +0, Will +0
  Abilities: 
  Str 21, Dex 10, Con —, Int 1, 
  Wis 11, Cha 1
  Skills: 
  Climb +7, Jump +7
  Feats: 
  Power Attack, Weapon Focus 
  (battleaxe)
  A Monster Manual II Web Enhancement
  Credits
  Design:
  Skip Williams
  Editing and Typesetting:
  Sue Weinlein Cook
  Editorial Assistance:
  Penny Williams
  Web Production: 
  Julia Martin
  Web Development: 
  Mark Jindra
  Graphic Design:
  Sean Glenn, Cynthia Fliege
  Based on the original DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® game by E.
  Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson and on the new edition of the
  DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game designed by Jonathan Tweet,
  Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Rich Baker, and Peter Adkison.
  D&D, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, MONSTER MANUAL, DRAGON, FORGOTTEN REALMS,
  and DUNGEON MASTER are registered trademarks and the d20 System logo
  is a trademark owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc. All Wizards 
  characters, character names, and the distinctive likenesses thereof
  are trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
  This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of
  America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork
  contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission
  of Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
  This product is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual people,
  organizations, places, or events is purely coincidental.
  This Wizards of the Coast game product contains no Open Game Content.
  No portion of this work may be reproduced in any form without written per-
  mission. To learn more about the Open Gaming License and the d20 System
  License, please visit <www.wizards.com/d20>.
  ©2002 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
  All rights reserved. Made in
  the U.S.A.
  Visit our website at
  <www.wizards.com/dnd>
  More Half-Golems!
  
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  Climate/Terrain: Any land and underground
  Organization: Solitary, pair, or squad (5–20)
  Challenge Rating: 5 (brass), 3 (stained glass), 4 (drag-
  onflesh)
  Treasure: Standard (the sample creatures all have
  masterwork studded leather armor, and battleaxes; the
  brass half-golem also has a masterwork small steel
  shield)
  Alignment: Same as character (if all Will saves suc-
  ceed) or always neutral evil (if any Will save fails)
  Advancement: By character class (fighter)
  CONSTRUCTION
  There are two steps to making a half-golem. The first
  is constructing the limbs, and the second is attaching
  the limbs.
  Molding a limb from brass, preparing one made of
  dragonflesh, or shaping it from stained glass requires
  an appropriate skill (see the specific half-golem descrip-
  tions  that follow for details) and can be done by
  anyone. Infusing a formed limb with magic requires
  the Craft Wondrous Item and Craft Magic Arms and
  Armor feats. It takes one month to complete the magi-
  cal rituals. The creator must labor for at least eight
  hours each day in a specially prepared laboratory or
  workroom. The chamber resembles an alchemist’s labo-
  ratory and costs 500 gp to establish.
  When not working on the rituals, the creator must
  rest and can perform no other activities, just as if he or
  she were creating a golem. As with a golem, if the cre-
  ator is personally constructing the limbs, he or she can
  perform the building and the rituals together.
  Once created, the limbs are treated as spell comple-
  tion items. Any character capable of casting the appro-
  priate level of spell (see specific descriptions) can
  attach a limb. All that’s left to do is perform the final
  gestures and speak the words needed to imbue the limb
  with magic. All the limbs to be attached to a particular
  body must be of the same type—it’s not possible, for
  instance, to attach a limb made of brass to a half-golem
  that already has a new limb made of dragonflesh. Any
  such attempt automatically fails, leaving the second
  type of limb unattached.
  The Danger
  Each time a limb is attached to his or her body, the
  character makes a Will save. The DC of the save varies
  according to the number of new limbs the character
  has received:
  Save DC
  Required Result
  First new limb
  15
  Second new limb
  19
  Third new limb
  25
  Fourth new limb
  33
  Fifth new limb
  43
  Sixth new limb
  55
  If the character succeeds at all the required saves, he or
  she takes on the attributes of a half-golem as described
  below—except that the character retains his or her
  alignment, gains a +4 bonus to his or her Constitution
  score, and does not gain construct traits. As soon as the
  character fails one of these required saves, he or she
  Stained Glass Half-Golem
  Brass Half-Golem
  Medium-Size Construct
  Medium-Size Construct
  Hit Dice: 
  1d10 (5 hp)
  1d10 (5 hp)
  Initiative:
  +0
  +0
  Speed:
  30 ft. (can’t run)
  30 ft. (can’t run)
  AC:
  15 (+2 natural, +3 masterwork studded 
  25 (+11 natural, +3 masterwork
  studded leather armor), touch 10, flat-footed 15
  studded leather armor, +1 masterwork
  small steel shield), touch 10, flat-footed 25
  Attacks: 
  Battleaxe +5 melee, or claw +4 melee
  Battleaxe +10 melee
  Damage: 
  Battleaxe 1d8+4/x3,claw 1d4+4/19–20
  Battleaxe 1d8+8/x3
  Special Attacks: 
  Maze
  Special Qualities: Construct traits, darkvision 60 ft., fast healing 2,
  Construct traits, darkvision 60 ft., 
  keen, magic immunity
  DR 25/+2, magic immunity, scent
  Saves: 
  Fort +4, Ref +0, Will +0
  Fort +4, Ref +0, Will +0
  Abilities:
  Str 17, Dex 10, Con —, Int 1, Wis 11, Cha 1
  Str 27, Dex 10, Con —, Int 1, Wis 11, Cha 1
  Skills:
  Climb +5, Hide +0*, Jump +5
  Climb +10, Jump +10, Wilderness Lore +0*
  Feats:
  Power Attack, Weapon Focus (battleaxe)
  Power Attack, Weapon Focus (battleaxe)
  
  3
  becomes a half-golem of neutral evil alignment. A neu-
  tral evil half-golem retains the memories and knowl-
  edge of its former life, but its personality becomes mur-
  derous and cruel. It demonstrates the hatred of flesh
  creatures common to elementals, and it seeks methods
  appropriate to its class to slaughter as many flesh crea-
  tures as possible. Upon failing the Will save, the charac-
  ter has no Constitution score and gains construct traits.
  CREATING A HALF-GOLEM
  “Half-golem” is a template you can add to any animal,
  beast, giant, humanoid creature, magical beast, or mon-
  strous humanoid (referred to hereafter as “the character”).
  There is no minimum level or Hit Dice requirement to
  become a half-golem. The character’s type changes to
  construct. Each half-golem takes on the characteristics of
  a particular type of golem (dragonflesh, stained glass, or
  brass) as described later in this enhancement. 
  A half-golem’s abilities are primarily those of the
  character, with the following exceptions.
  Hit Dice: Same as character.
  Initiative: Same as character –1, to account for the
  half-golem’s reduced Dexterity (see Abilities, below).
  Speed: Same as character, but a half-golem cannot
  run.
  AC: A half-golem replaces any natural armor bonus it
  may have had with a new natural armor bonus that
  varies according to its type (see the table above). The
  change to Dexterity (see Abilities, below) also affects
  the half-golem’s Armor Class.
  Attacks: Same as character.
  Damage: Same as character.
  Face/Reach: Same as character.
  Special Attacks: Same as character (and see the
  table above).
  Special Qualities: Same as character; plus construct
  traits (with a failed Will save), damage resistance (see
  table above), and others by type (see table above).
  Saves: Half-golems gain a +2 racial bonus on Forti-
  tude saves; otherwise same as character.
  Abilities: Half-golems have –2 Dex, +4 Con (or Con
  — with a failed Will save), –6 Int, +0 Wis, and –6 Cha.
  Except for Constitution, all ability scores have a mini-
  mum of 1, regardless of penalties. Strength varies by
  type (see the table above). The number of limbs
  attached does not alter a half-golem’s Strength score.
  Skills: Same as character, modified by new Intelli-
  gence score.
  Feats: Same as character.
  Climate/Terrain: Same as character.
  Organization: Solitary, pair, or squad (5–20).
  Challenge Rating:
  Stained Glass: As character +2.
  Brass: As character +4.
  Dragonflesh: As character +3.
  Treasure: Standard.
  Alignment: Same as character (if all Will saves suc-
  ceed) or always neutral evil (if any Will save fails).
  Advancement: By character class.
  COMBAT
  A half-golem fights as the character from which it is
  created. Straightforward, unsubtle combatants, half-
  golems usually rely on their great strength to win the
  day. They rarely use teamwork or cooperation, even
  when banded together.
  All half golems have magic immunity, and one that
  has failed a Will save also has construct traits.
  Construct Traits: A half-golem is immune to mind-
  affecting effects, poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning, dis-
  ease, death effects, necromantic effects, and any effect
  that requires a Fortitude save unless it also works on
  objects. The creature is not subject to critical hits, subd-
  ual damage, ability damage, ability drain, energy drain,
  or death from massive damage. It cannot heal itself but
  can be healed through repair. It cannot be raised or res-
  urrected. A half-golem has darkvision (60-foot range).
  Magic Immunity (Ex): Half-golems completely
  resist most magical and supernatural effects, except as
  noted in the individual half-golem descriptions below.
  HALF-GOLEM
  CHARACTERS
  Half-golem characters are shunned by society, so they
  either seek revenge against the world around them or
  retreat from it. Those who seek revenge generally
  become fighters or rogues. Those who retreat from it
  Additional Half-Golems
  Stained Glass
  Brass
  Dragonflesh
  Natural Armor
  +2
  +11
  +7
  Special Attacks
  —
  Maze
  Frightful Presence
  Damage Reduction
  —
  25/+2
  10/+1
  Special Qualities
  Fast Healing 2,
  Scent
  Blindsight
  keen
  Strength
  +2
  +12
  +6
  Challenge Rating
  Character +2
  Character +4
  Character +3
  
  4
  become barbarians, rangers, or druids. A rare few
  become, or remain, evil clerics.
  A half-golem looks like a bizarre and horrifying
  melding of a golem and the character it once was. The
  materials of its golem limbs twine and crawl across its
  flesh, like ivy growing across a building or tree. In
  many cases, a half-golem’s flesh is horribly scarred and
  has the pale gray color of death. Half-golems speak
  whatever languages they spoke before their transfor-
  mation, but their voices sound harsh and strangled.
  Each of the three half-golems presented here uses a
  1st-level half-orc fighter who has failed a Will save as
  the character.
  Stained Glass Half-Golem
  Stained glass half-golems seem weirdly attractive.
  They have flattened, varicolored limbs with razor-sharp
  edges that gleam and sparkle when light strikes them.
  A stained glass half-golem gains one claw attack for
  each glass arm it has. Claw damage varies by size, as
  follows:
  Size
  Claw Damage
  Fine
  —
  Diminutive
  1
  Tiny
  1d2
  Small
  1d3
  Medium-size
  1d4
  Large
  1d6
  Huge
  2d8
  Gargantuan
  2d6
  Colossal
  2d8
  Keen (Su): A stained glass half-golem’s claw attack
  threatens a critical hit on a natural attack roll of 19–20.
  Magic Immunity (Ex): A stained glass half-golem is
  immune to all spells, spell-like abilities, and supernatu-
  ral effects, except as follows: A shatter spell affects it nor-
  mally; a mending spell heals 2d6 points of damage the
  golem has taken; and sonic attacks affect it normally.
  Skills: *A stained glass half-golem receives a +10
  competence bonus on Hide checks when standing
  motionless in a window frame.
  Construction
  A stained glass limb must be fashioned from 10 lb. of
  glass shards and lead. Assembling the body requires a
  successful Craft (glassmaking) check (DC 25). The ritu-
  als cost 2,000 gp and 40 XP, and require animate objects
  and geas/quest. Attaching the limb requires the ability to
  cast 6th-level divine spells.
  Brass Half-Golem
  The limbs of a brass half-golem appear bolted or riv-
  eted to the flesh. Irregular and haphazard brass
  plates join flesh and metal limbs. The limbs can be
  fashioned in any manner, just like those of a stone or
  iron half-golem, although they usually appear
  armored. 
  Maze (Sp): Once per day, a brass half-golem can
  target a maze effect (caster level 15th) against a single
  quarry. The half-golem is immune to the effects of its
  own maze ability and that of others of its kind (includ-
  ing those of brass golems and vice versa), and it can
  freely enter its own maze to track a target.
  Magic Immunity (Ex): A brass half-golem is
  immune to all spells, spell-like abilities, and supernat-
  ural effects, except as follows: An electricity effect
  slows it (as the slow spell) for 3 rounds, with no saving
  throw; and a fire effect breaks any slow effect on the
  golem and cures 1 point of damage for each 3 points
  of damage it would otherwise deal. (For example, a
  brass half-golem hit by a fireball cast by a 5th-level
  wizard gains back 6 hit points if the damage total is
  18.) The half-golem does not get a saving throw
  against fire effects.
  Skills: *A brass half-golem is a relentless tracker. It
  gains a +5 competence bonus on Wilderness Lore
  checks for the purpose of tracking when tracking by
  scent.
  Construction 
  A brass limb is sculpted from 100 lb. of brass. The
  sculpting requires a successful Craft (armor smithing)
  or Craft (weapon smithing) check (DC 20). The rituals
  cost 20,000 gp and 400 XP and require maze and
  geas/quest. Attaching the limb requires the ability to cast
  6th-level arcane spells.
  Dragonflesh Half-Golem
  A dragonflesh half-golem is a tortured soul whose
  replacement limbs were stolen from dead dragons.
  Dragonflesh golems’ scaly replacement limbs are either
  rudely stitched to their bodies or joined by haphazard
  scales, or both. 
  If a dragonflesh half-golem has two wings, it can fly
  with a speed of 120 ft. (poor).
  A dragonflesh half-golem gains one claw attack for
  each dragon arm it has. Claw damage varies by size, as
  follows:
  
  5
  Size
  Claw Damage
  Fine
  —
  Diminutive
  1
  Tiny
  1d2
  Small
  1d3
  Medium-size
  1d4
  Large
  1d6
  Huge
  2d8
  Gargantuan
  2d6
  Colossal
  2d8
  Frightful Presence (Ex): When a dragonflesh half-
  golem charges, attacks, or flies overhead, it inspires
  terror in all creatures within 30 feet that have fewer
  Hit Dice or levels than it has. Each potentially
  affected opponent must succeed at a Will save (DC 10
  + half the half-golem’s Hit Dice + the half-golem’s
  Charisma bonus, if any) or the opponent becomes
  shaken for 5d6 rounds. A successful save leaves that
  opponent immune to that half-golem’s frightful pres-
  ence for 24 hours.
  Blindsight (Ex): A dragonflesh half-golem can ascer-
  tain its surroundings by nonvisual means (mostly hear-
  ing and scent, but vibrations and other environmental
  clues). This ability enables it to discern objects and crea-
  tures within 60 feet. The dragonflesh half-golem usually
  does not need to make Spot or Listen checks to notice
  creatures within range of its blindsight.
  Magic Immunity (Ex): A dragonflesh half-golem
  is immune to all spells, spell-like abilities, and super-
  natural effects, except as follows: Fire- and cold-based
  effects slow the monster (as the slow spell) for 2d6
  rounds, with no saving throw; and an electricity effect
  breaks any slow effect on the half-golem and cures 1
  point of damage for each 3 points of damage it would
  otherwise deal. (For example, a dragonflesh half-
  golem hit by a lightning bolt cast by a 5th-level wizard
  gains back 6 hit points if the damage total is 18.) The
  half-golem does not get a saving throw against elec-
  tricity effects.
  Construction 
  The pieces of a dragonflesh half-golem must come
  from corpses of the same size as the recipient (for
  instance, a Medium-size humanoid character cannot
  use Large dragon limbs). The limbs must not have
  decayed significantly. “Construction” of the limb
  requires a successful Craft (leatherworking) or Heal
  check (DC 20). The rituals cost 2,000 gp and 40 XP and
  require bull’s strength and geas/quest. Attaching the limb
  requires the ability to cast 6th-level arcane spells.
  ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  A senior roleplaying game designer at Wizards of the
  Coast, Skip Williams is a game industry veteran who
  started behind the cash register at TSR’s Dungeon
  Hobby Shop in 1976. He was part of the team that cre-
  ated the newest edition of the D&D game, was the pri-
  mary author of the new MONSTER MANUAL, coauthor of
  the new FORGOTTEN REALMS® Campaign Setting, and is
  DRAGON® Magazine’s Sage. Skip is fond of old movies,
  old airplanes, and old books, but not necessarily in that
  order. He lives with his wife Penny in the Puget Sound
  area with their Siamese cat and several birds.
  
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