Comments on: Merciless Monsters 8: The Gourd Golem

By: LS

LS — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 07:09:17 +0000

I love the idea of a game where the players are low level bad guys on the road to becoming super villains.

One of these days I would like to run the original ravenloft module around Halloween time. I think that would be an immense amount of fun.

By: Jeff H.

Jeff H. — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 03:47:04 +0000

I think that’s why around Halloween I try to run a themed one-off with premade characters like the We Be Goblins crew. One for each PC. Last year’s was a “You are the monsters!” sort of adventure at low levels. The PCs were playing dungeon monsters who were under orders from the ‘boss’ monster to only hinder the ‘hero’ types, not kill them, as it was sacrilige for a ‘random battle’ to kill off the heroes.

Cue the PC monsters, random monsters with ambitions of becoming bosses! They ran their own little dungeon complex that attracted better and better heroes to its depths (ultimately their ends at their cruel hands) until they had become Boss Monsters and had little minions of their own. All in all it was a very campy little one-off, but the players loved the cheesiness of it and did their best to be terrifyingly hilarious. Hilarifying?

By: LS

LS — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 17:41:55 +0000

That’s a good point about animated items. I hadn’t considered it. Makes sense, though, since “Animate Item” is a required spell for the lowest level golems. (Replaced by Geas/Quest for the higher level ones.)

Campy Halloween goofiness is at least as important as terrifying and grotesque Halloween adventures. I’m glad you like these lil’ guys!

By: Jeff H.

Jeff H. — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 16:33:27 +0000

On your earlier question about low level golems vs. low level demons, I think it goes with the mindset that your average lowbie golem isn’t much more than an animated item.

This is a very cool take on it though (I also remember a Calzone Golem from an old WotC thing that was neat. Interesting Story Time: there was a gnome wizard in the party at the time who cast Endure Elements on himself and dove -into- the golem. Seriously, like.. Men in Black, that whole “EAT ME!!” thing. Yeah. Once inside the molten cheese and tomato sauce core of the Calzone Golem he cast Enlarge Person while using a hero point to take another action to begin eating his way out.)

I love Halloweenesque monsters and this one fits the bill as exactly what I’d be looking for to have an over the top but not entirely grim/deadly Halloween adventure. Maybe the four (now six because of you) goblins from We Be Goblins can reprise their roles in something of an odd adventure where this thing features as the boss of a patch of animated pumpkins/jack-o-lanterns.

Cheers!

By: LS

LS — Sun, 21 Oct 2012 22:58:03 +0000

Zalekios has not faced a beast of such ferocity since, it is sure.

By: LS

LS — Sun, 21 Oct 2012 22:57:07 +0000

It may deal damage *and* tangle, if it so chooses.

I’ve never really understood why golems were unique to difficult creatures either. There are low level demons, why not low level golems?

By: Kol

Kol — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 18:23:17 +0000

Very cool LS. I think this rivals a dragon that Zalekios faced once, in the Marsh of Madness, for the most fantastic monster of all time.

By: Victor Von Dave

Victor Von Dave — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 17:51:03 +0000

Awesome! I like the idea of having golems that can fight the party at many challenge ratings (or that PC wizards can try and construct themselves). Back in Dragon 341 there was an article with lesser golems in it (paper and tin I think) I was a big fan of and I think the gourd golem makes a great addition to that lineup.

The other thing I think is cool about this is that it’s one of those creatures that on paper, seems a little bit silly, but in the game would be absolutely terrifying (a line D&D walks constantly). The entangling is also a great image.

I only have 1 question. When it hits with its slam attack it can either do damage *or* grapple yes?