Golem, Tin
- Armor Class
- 1 [18] (m)
- Hit Dice
- 7
- Attacks
- Attack (special)
- Special
- magic weapons to hit, golem immunities
- Move
- 9
- HDE/XP
- 8/800
Description
A Tin Golem is a man-shaped golem made for heavy labor. It is typically about 8 feet tall, stocky, and as strong as a hill giant. When encountered, a tin golem will generally be operating a heavy work tool such as a sawmill, mangle, or forge press.
It is normally passive, but when malfunctioning will tend to see intruders as work-pieces or raw materials. In this case the tin golem will attempt to (for example) saw unfamiliar characters into planks. If the tin golem rolls a 20 on a d20 with a hand attack in melee, it will place its target into the heavy work tool, inflicting 3d6 damage if it succeeds. Very strong characters can make a saving throw (with STR bonus) to resist being forced into the tool.
Golems
Golems are constructs created from non-living matter and animated by magic. They are mindless and immune to sleep, charm, hold, mind reading, telepathy, and other mind-affecting magic.
Golems cannot be harmed by non-magical weapons unless an individual entry says otherwise. A golem may also have material-specific spell interactions, vulnerabilities, or immunities, as described in its entry.
A golem must be given explicit verbal instructions, and the controller must be within 60 feet to command it. If not actively commanded, it follows the last instructions it was given; if attacked, it defends itself but usually does not pursue fleeing attackers. A controller can delegate command, but the creator's commands take precedence.
Once a golem attacks in combat, there is a cumulative 1% chance each round that it becomes berserk. A berserk golem attacks any creature in range, choosing randomly if there are several, and continues seeking new victims if current targets are killed or driven away. The chance resets to 0% only after the golem spends a full round inactive, neither attacking nor being attacked.
The creator may try to calm a berserk golem by spending one round speaking firmly to it and succeeding on a saving throw against magic. If the attempt fails, the golem turns on its creator. If a berserk golem cannot attack anyone for 5 rounds, it becomes inactive again, unless it is pursuing its creator.
Use each individual entry as the source of truth for weapon requirements, spell interactions, material vulnerabilities, breath weapons, grapples, and other exceptions.
See Also
Other creatures in the Golem category: Golem, Amber, Golem, Bone, Golem, Bronze, Golem, Chain, Golem, Clay, Golem, Crystal, Golem, Flesh, Golem, Glass, Golem, Gold, Golem, Hay, Golem, Household, Golem, Iron, Golem, Lead, Golem, Purifier, Golem, Rope, Golem, Stone, Golem, Straw, Golem, Web, Golem, Wood.
Source note: This creature is converted from The Basic Fantasy Field Guide of Creatures Malevolent and Benign – Omnibus Edition, 1st Edition Release 4, © 2010–2025 Chris Gonnerman, R. Kevin Smoot, James Lemon, Matt Sluis, and Contributors. The Basic Fantasy Field Guide textual material is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International; this page adapts that creature to White Box.