Golem Wars- A world idea..

1. Golem Wars- A world idea..

   #1

   Posted for Erik
   
   Long ago there was a great war. A war were man pitched machine against machine in fierce massive battles. These machines were golems. The war was fought by a legion of evil and an alliance of good. On the side of evil there were that of dark elves, orks, goblins, and undead. On the side of good were men, high elves, and dwarves. The great evil wished to concoure to entire world but the good wanted to protect it. Each side built golems, from iron to adamantium, to use in battles for supremecy. Now these wars are over, but some of the Golems remain. A society called M.A.D. (magical artifact destruction) is seeking out the last of the golems and destroying them, for fear that they might fall into the wrong hands.

2. All righty then...

   #2

   Ah. Technomagical, mysticpunk, world background. Escoflone rocks, as does this background.
   
   MAD is a little silly, but very anime. Another name might be better.
   
   There is probably an elite profession of golem fighters and destroyers. It could be an archetype or class or an prestige class if your system handles such things.
   
   Each golem should have a "key", an item that activates and deactivates the golem (a safety device). Each adventure would follow this pattern, finding the key... following it to the golem (homing spell)... subduing the golem, inserting key... all the while dealing with the subplots heaped upon the players by the other players and GM. (A variation would be find a golem being a problem, fight it in an attempt to stop it, search for the key, retreive it, subdue golem, then insert key).
   
   If they Key gives you control over the golem (instead of it following its own needs/ demands/ dementia), then local bad guys are either using the golem or searching for the key as well.
   
   Or maybe the Golems have mystic powercells. You have to subdue the golem and remove its powercell (or make a spectacular aimed attack and break it).
   
   Or maybe you just have to heap damage upon the things to stop them.
   
   This is more of a world setting, campaign description rather than a single plot. You could not just drop this into a world, you would have to backweave the golem war, the ramifications of the golem war, and so on.

3. Tangents

   #3

   http://www.rpgcitadel.com/guild/index.php?topic=376.0
   
   Golems are fantasy robots...

4. Golem Wars- A world idea..

   #4

   I'm a good friend of Erik's, and, back in the RL, my character in Golem Wars discovered that all golems (Except for Solar Golems, which are solar-powered) are powered by a magical battery of sorts which contains a power fluid.

5. Golem Wars- A world idea..

   #5

   This reminds of an idea out of the Parlainth supplement to Earthdawn, but they never took the idea anywhere interesting.
   
   The horrors of Earthdawn found the hidden city and slaughter the inhabitants with ease, then discovered they were trapped in the hidden place and had nothing to do now. So they started commanding the golems and set them up in mock battles. Most of the straw and wax golems were destroyed, but stone, steel, and orchalium survived to the 'present'. Many were given life, a soul, or something resembling consiousness, to make them greater challenges. Now, they still fight on, warring over meaningless trophies of bones and sticks, without masters or reasons why.
   
   This golem idea is cool, and fighters designed specifically to hunt them cool too, but it begs the question: why?
   
   Are the golems a threat by themselves, or just in the wrong hands? Could the parts of the golem be valuable as highly enchanted material or works of art? Are they alive or in possesion of a type of soul and should they keep it?
   
   Any answer to these questions is good, but they set a different tone to the events surrounding the golems.
   
   Suppose an evil wizard finds the old texts on making a type of golem and does so, sacrificing someone in the process. The golem breaks free and slays the wizard in escaping, and now a confused soul is trapped in the body of a magical beast, trying to get back to the life and loved ones he knew.

6. Golems....

   #6

   CP: TY Reading the original post showed that it was much more than a one off scenario.
   
   I would think the golems are somewhat intelligent. Some might have their own agenda, while others are just following the last set of orders given to them, while others are being controlled by new masters.
   
   However, they are not human in intelligence or in drive/ motivations. They do not get hungry, physically tired, or need to reproduce, so they don't have any of the basic motivations that humans have. What is left? Duty, Honor, Pride, Glory, Rank/ Social position in the structure of things, (all things associated with military folks), Self Preservation, and Escape are all things I could see motivating military golems. They might once again start hunting down all humans/ sentients because once they are all gone, the golems might be safe again.
   
   Has anyone read the Bolo books? Sometimes ultimate weapons are more hassle than they are worth.

7. Golem Wars- A world idea..

   #7

   Ooooohhhh! What a great idea! Bolo = golem! CASTLE GOLEM! Yes! An animated castle wadeing across the lands, moved by some dark force on his quest for domination. Whoo Hoo! Not only do the players have to sneak into the bad guy's castle to kick his butt, he's headed towards their home town. Mwha ha ha ha!

8. Golem Wars- A world idea..

   #8

   Reminds me of Alexander, the giant holy cathedral robot from the Final Fantasies.

9. Golem Wars- A world idea..

   #9

   If you read the D&D SBG (Stronghold Builder's Guide for the people who don't routinely spend $100+ on books), you would see a variant on golems that would be the perfect counter for a castle golem. The siege golem. It has a massive crossbow/ballista type thing mounted on its back, and, if I recall correctly, it has a large club for close in work.
   
   And yes, Captain, I know, non system. That's why it is general terms. :D :roll:

10. Golem Wars- A world idea..

    #10

    How cool would a battering ram golem be? Or Trebuche? And troops riding in seige tower golems. Take golems onto a whole new scale! Yheaaa...

11. Golem Wars- A world idea..

    #11

    So now we have giant mecha golems... hmmm. I need to work on my Titan's world background again.

12. Golem Wars- A world idea..

    #12

    Out of curiosity, are golems ever manned?

13. Golem Wars- A world idea..

    #13

    Now there's an idea. A gigantic golem, armed with a club/sword/axe/whatever, with a gondola on the back, potentially a pilot/mahout/whatever, and men armed with crossbows. Turn what is effectively a huge anti-fortification weapon into an even bigger anti-fortification weapon with effective anti-personnel capability.

14. Golem Wars- A world idea..

    #14

    Reminds me of those elephant things from the LOTR third movie. Huge, with anti-calvary abiliy, though in this case I guess its anti-fortification, and then adding a pilot and a small squad of archers or crossbow men allows them to defend the golem and take out other personal. I likes it.

15. Golem Wars- A world idea..

    #15

    Of course, then there're the golems designed in odd ways... Like the ones shaped after a preying mantis, only made out of a heavy metal. They make a great anti-cavalry force, with those huge bladed forelimbs...
    
    And if we're contemplating mobile golem-castles, why not an entire town living on the back of an animate chunk of land?

16. Golem Wars- A world idea..

    #16

    AKA Genius locus. Genius locus is a concept for an area that is intelligent. Usually benign according to mythology, it would have a person who was it's symbiote. Imagine a huge genius locus, animated, moved by massive golems, commanded by a warlord who had built his castle on the back of the intelligent land. His right hand man is the locus' symbiote, and the locus commands the golems. A little farfetched, but this is fantasy, after all.

17. Golem Wars- A world idea..

    #17

    Planet Eater
    
    ... That's no small moon ... - Obi wan Ken obi
    
    A golem planetoid. Devouring world to sustain itself.
    
    
    --- Alright, now it's gettign downright silly.
    
    As for strange shapes, how about Snails or Snakes, Natauloids or Starfish. How about a Skunk golem or Porqupine? There a plenty of cool and strange shapes in nature.
    
    I remember an old cartoon on Nickelodian called "The cities of Gold" or something like that that had a huge golden eagle to carry them around in.

18. Golem Wars- A world idea..

    #18

    Imagine if the golem makers of old were half as creative as you bunch. Imagine what wonderous self animated weapons of destruction they could create. Now we know why things got out of hand and why when peace broke out, everyone rushed around to destroy these things.
    
    Golems are not manned. They are self animated. The Golems might of rebelled once they found out they were going to be "decommissioned" at the end of the conflict.
    
    Hmmmmmm.
    Imagine giant statues that knights/ warriors merge into, animating them. You get all the advantages of a person controlling these things AND all the power of a giant golem (with cool techical adds). Fantasy Mecha. Anime? a bit. But they would be powerful tools. I have called them Titans in a game I am working on.

19. Golem Wars- A world idea..

    #19

    ...A golem with a quirk of being unable to kill innocents would be interesting...
    
    Suppose the process of making golems was unstable, and tended to add "personality quirks"?

20. Golem Wars- A world idea..

    #20

    Self-aware golems? If golems are fantasy robots, that would be fantasy androids.

21. Golem Wars- A world idea..

    #21

    Magical "bugs" in the golem's "programming". Not self aware, but with some very odd tendencies. Imagine a golem that was unable to walk at a normal speed and instead had to run....

22. Golem Wars- A world idea..

    #22

    I would not think that a golem was self aware. I would consider it like a computer program, perhaps even a complex one... like an artificial agent (Eliza, Fred, an expert system). This gives you a tool with a very rigid thought pattern. Give one of these systems bad data or the wrong idea, and thinks could get interesting.
    
    Imagine if towards the end of the wars, they made self aware golems... in an attempt to make better soldiers. Eventually, they might of wanted "rights" and had the power to try and take them.... This could be why the wars ended... All the Golems revolted and the people had to stop them...

23. Golem Wars- A world idea..

    #23

    Hey, I liked the idea, and for some time I've been molding it into something of my own make, I was just wondering if it would be alright to use the idea on another forum or as a game in itself?
    I'll put it up when I'm done if anyone wants to see what I've made it into, not completely the same but not real different either.
    
    ~Thanks

24. Hello

    #24

    That is why we post them up here, so people can use them. So post a link here so we can find the game (OR post a link at the game back to here).
    
    If the material is copyrighted, it should not be posted up here.
    
    Note: Kerren will eventually be copyrighted, but until that time consider it open content, under an ogl of mutual respect.

25. Golem Wars- A world idea..

    #25

    Another great background which has Golems as a major part.
    http://www.privateerpress.com/IRONKINGDOMS/index.php
    
    Iron Kingdom is full metal fantasy, where a technical/ steampunk revolution has begun. It is not your father's fantasy world.
    
    This is a great world... we should work on it more...
    Sigh... like the 6 other projects I have running.

26. Golem Wars- A world idea..

    #26

    So lets Summarize
    
    1) A generation or so ago, The Great Golem War raged. Alchemists on all five sides created Golems as weapons of war. These monsters rampaged across the battlefields.
    Golems are controlled by Keys. One Key per Golem. Only those with Keys can give orders to a Golem or turn the Golem off.
    Golems are empowered by an Alchemical mix, Etheroil. This provides their "spark of life" the "heat" to move the golem.
    Golems came in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and specializations. Some were smart, some were dumb, some were strong, some were fast, some flew, others were stationary. They were created for specific purposes.
    
    2) Eventually the war collapsed. While there was no official peace, nobody was actively waging war. The economy and populations had been so damaged that they were unable to support warfare with anything more than hatred.
    The Golems were being made "smart" towards the end. Some of them wanted a "say" in their assignments, or wanted the same rights as any other soldier. This caused defections of the Golems from the battles.
    
    3) This left a lot of Golems following "scripts" (orders/ programs) that were no longer useful. Many rampaged, others stood idle, others went to follow their own limited initiatives. Some of the Golems who were smart enough did not want to be "decomissioned", so took steps to remain free. Without a controller, a golem was considered wild.
    
    4) An order of "knights" emerged from the lands. Each land had its own order, but they wisely merged into one uber order. These knights are tasked to stoping the wild golems. These knights hunt keys, investigate the actions of golems, and occasionally fight dangerous wild golems.

27. Golem Wars- A world idea..

    #27

    I'm currently working on an idea for a roleplay, but I'm stuck on some ideas.
    I'm running a game that has a heavy influence of golems. I wanted to ask for some ideas for non-traditional golems, crazy wierd ideas for golems. No matter what it is, even if it's really crazy, it might help me out.
    Also, I'm trying to think of a way for golems to communicate. Since I don't want most of them to be able to talk, I was thinking of a morris code type of language, since all of them can hit something, they can pound and use it as a language. What do you think?
    Here are some of the traditional ones, just add to the list or make a new one.
    Iron
    Stone
    Flesh
    Clay
    Doll
    Glass
    Gargoyle
    Bone
    ScareCrow
    Juggarnaut(Like a vehicle of sorts, to carry troups.)
    I like the animal type golems like the Mantis idea to cut through calvary.
    What can you think of?

28. Grand Titan

    #28

    This golem was modeled after the indigenous species of elephant, probably brought to extinction during the golem war. Rather than being the normal four to five tons and elephant sized, the Grand Titan was a true monster, standing a towering twenty-two feet tall. Each of its feet was large enough to crush a horse and rider to pulp. The large feet were essential to keep the Titan from becoming a liability by sinking in less than stone hard earth. Most of the Grand Titans are 'smart' enough to avoid wet terrain when possible.
    
    The back of the GT is flattened, and has a four foot tall retaining wall around it the size of an average front porch, or ten foot by 18 foot area. Archers could take cover and fire at enemies from the invulnerable mobile fortress, or spellcasters could use it as a mobile strongpoint in casting spells. GTs are docile in behavior, but if pressed in close combat by golems, it can lash out with a stone trunk the size of a tree which it can use to lift and throw things, mainly other golems.
    
    Few, if any of these survived the wars as they were primary targets and saw heavy usage.

29. Golem Wars- A world idea..

    #29

    That sounds awesome, thanks for your help!
    
    Would a government run by Golems be communist? I mean, most golems seem to be made for specific reasons, they could even be created for specific professions. How would a society run by golems look like?
    
    How would they communicate? I mean, they can't depend on other beings, but because they are different in form, they couldn't exactly have one specific written language since some can't see.

30. Golem Wars- A world idea..

    #30

    Generally, golems just 'percieve' - they have a sphere of awareness, with the sensory input becoming less accurate the farther it is from the golem.
    Many golems can speak, and all can hear. Those who cannot speak could use a morse code of sorts - CLANG clunk CLANG-CLANK thump...

31. Golem Wars- A world idea..

    #31

    It is a natural function of living organisms to organize themselves and create pecking orders. Golems, being animated objects, would not form societies, no more than cars would if they could drive themselves. Now, the sentient golems might create their own bases of power, using other golems and humans for their own ends, but that would be emulation of their creators, on whom their own intellect would be likely based.
    
    I think the social structure would be anarchy.

32. Golem Wars- A world idea..

    #32

    Actually their basic structure would be that of the military command. That was their first set of experiences. Sure they want to "be free", but they understand this military structure... so they could come up with something like it.
    
    One Golem is in charge of a small group that seems to live near each other. Each Sgt would report to its Captain, who is in charge of golems over a region. There may be a Major, a Captain over the Captains. (The names are insignificant and should be changed to fit the world). There might be more than a major, but really between communication and travel speeds... it probably breaks down to below that.
    
    So the sgts would keep thing organized locally, making sure people followed any rules that had been set up (usually rules to keep the golems safe - like don't attack the city of XXX) and helping provide resources to each individual golem under their command.
    
    Certain Golems would be AWOL from Golem society. The society may try to get anarchist golems to join and conform, because they are a threat to the rest of them (getting Humans riled up and hunting down rogues) or subverting the unit.
    
    Of course... the golems could go the other way... Athenian Democracy...

33. Golem Wars- A world idea..

    #33

    I am afraid I have to disagree with you Moon. The golems may be self animated, and a few of them may be self aware, but once the human factor is gone, there is nothing to hold a golem society together. THey dont need anything other than etheroil, and I dont imagine too many were programed to refuel themselves. It would create a serious problem if the golems followed their own resupply schedules when supplies were not completely constant. If a golem was denied fule it thought it deserved, it would take the fuel, and cause quite alot of destruction in the process.
    
    People are not generally stupid. In the realm of science fiction humans make some collosal screw-ups, but such screw-ups are often essential to the progression of the story. We have seen enough movies and books about self aware computers taking over the world, we arent going to create a world dominating super computer just because. There are going to be a long line of golems leading up to the time of the golem wars, and the mistakes of construction and creation should be well worked out by then. Self replicating, socially active golems would be the fantasy equivalent of robots, and there would be a similar golem version of technophobia.
    
    This in mind, once the human element, the controlling element was gone, the golems would kick around for a while but several things would come to pass.
    
    1. No new golems would be made, with a finite number, attrition will reduce the numbers, quicker if the golems are violently active.
    
    2. Golems that are active will run out of fuel, unless someone is refueling them, thus further reducing the number.
    
    3. Entropy always wins.
    
    But on the other hand, this is like the definition of dragons, a purely fantastic venture in which no one can be assured of what is correct or what is not, as the subject matter doesnt exist.

34. Golem Wars- A world idea..

    #34

    Note:
    The D20 setting Eberron has something extremely similar (in fact, near identical) to the sentient golems we speak of here.
    Check it out. It's one of the only D20 settings worth the money.

35. Golem Wars- A world idea..

    #35

    From earlier in the thread....
    

    So lets Summarize (edited)
    1) A generation or so ago, The Great Golem War raged. .....
    2) Eventually the war collapsed....
    ....The Golems were being made "smart" towards the end. Some of them wanted a "say" in their assignments, or wanted the same rights as any other soldier. This caused defections of the Golems from the battles.
    3) This left a lot of Golems following "scripts" (orders/ programs) that were no longer useful. Many rampaged, others stood idle, others went to follow their own limited initiatives. Some of the Golems who were smart enough did not want to be "decomissioned", so took steps to remain free. Without a controller, a golem was considered wild.
    4) An order of "knights" emerged from the lands.......to destroy golems....
    

    
    
    Scars, early on we had set that they were "smart"....
    
    The human element is what would make for a golem society (pushing them together for self preservation). While many of them would be "indie" others would be working together... as well as they could.... to keep the humans from decomissioning them.
    
    Golems don't need to be refuled... thus eliminating the great control that many science fiction creatures have.
    
    People also have both hubris and desperation... they didn't stop and think about this... they did not have generations of predictive litiature warning them of robots going amok (amok...amok... amok... whack . ow!). They thought they could control them (hubris). They needed more good soldiers and smarter soldiers are better than stupider soldiers (as long as the smart ones will follow orders).
    
    And it would seem that these things require some learning and experience before they start asking questions or going rogue. As they developed intellectually, they suprised their army leaders. These guys didn't know what to really expect from these things, not what special treatment they would need. They just used them. And they got smarter. I could easily see a mage saying, "What did you do to them? They didn't do that in the lab!" when told of defecting golems.
    
    Eventually the left overs of the Golem wars would be decomissioned... eventually... And this is what the campaign is about... (or part of it anyways).

36. Re: Golem Wars- A world idea..

    #36

    Another great one lost... and now found.. 

37. Re: Golem Wars- A world idea..

    #37

    Can you believe that was in 2005? This site is an old one! And what does that say about us I wonder? :)

38. Re: Golem Wars- A world idea..

    #38

    We are all old, pretty boring, and need to get it together and do more.  :)

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