Golem: Terracotta
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Description:
Terracotta golems are sculpted from high quality clay into elaborately detailed humanoid simulacra often to perform specific duties and functions indicated by the attire and equipment they are sculpted with. After the sculpting process, they are fired in large kilns before being animated with the Golem spell in order to serve their master. Often these golems are created to work as household servants; less messy and more relatable than their wet clay or woven wicker brethren, they can be exquisitely beautiful, and can be appropriate in the most prestigious and affluent households.
While the cost of constructing a single terracotta golem can be extremely high, the cost to make molds that then enable many identical such golems to be produced is not much of an additional expense - relatively speaking. Very wealthy families may have their households entirely staffed by such golems, finely decorated with the family's insignia, and even enameled to display their colours.
In some cases, this ease of mass fabrication has lead to the construction of entire terracotta armies. While individual terracotta golems are expensive, at scale, they are not as expensive as living soldiers. While they can be formidable combatants, and seeing a phalanx of identical terracotta warriors moving in perfect unison is intimidating, they suffer from being fragile, and can be shattered with a skilled strike.
Special:
Terracotta golems will instantly shatter any time they suffer a catastrophe, or by any critical hit, even if the hit is with a weapon that cannot damage them otherwise. They are immune to normal weapons and to shock and fire damage. Additionally, as mindless automata, Terracotta golems are immune to most magical effects including any spells or skills that affect the mind or the emotions, or any magic that drains or buffs Stats, Attributes or Derivatives. They are also immune to poison and disease and can see perfectly in total darkness.
Terracotta golems can be disabled using Dispel Magic and winning a Challenge against the spell brought them to life, however, they are not effected by the Decay Spell the way Clockwork creatures are.
Variants:
Once a mold for a terracotta golem is made, and a kiln is in place to fire them, an enormous number of them can be made relative quickly. This has led to them being widely used as servants and workers, and even to them being created into armies which, while fragile, can decide a battle in large numbers.
Standard Terracotta Golem
Ironically the so-called 'standard' terracotta golem is, in fact, the least standard as they have the least obvious utility. These are 2m tall workers who can serve in a household, perform light duties or serve as guards, but ultimately, more specialized variants are better at all of these things.
Terracotta Archer
The terracotta archer is sculpted and fired with a quiver, and then equipped with a real bow and supplied with arrows. They are not the best of archers, but as mindless combatants they are not afraid of being overrun and so have the Point Blank perk. Living archers will our perform them individually, but a thousand of them can rain death on an enemy army with ease.
Terracotta Hoplite
Terracotta hoplites are armed with real spears and shields, and while a single individual is not much of a threat thousands of them arranged in a phalanx, moving in perfect unison, are a terrifying sight and represent a significant force on the battlefield.
Terracotta Infantry
Terracotta infantry are expensive to field when one considers the up front cost and the rate of loss of these mediocre combatants. But when one considers the cost of a battlefield defeat, the thought of shelling out millions or even billions to guarantee victory and conquest becomes more appealing.
Terracotta Servant
Unlike the nebulous utility of their standard brethren and the relative disposability of their military counterparts, terracotta servants have a clear role and purpose and can provide useful service for years or decades before being shattered by accident or mishap. Additionally, because beyond a certain cost threshold, they are trivially reproducable, they will often be encountered as servants inside even modest households. In wealthier families, custom variants of these servants may be made with custom molds, glazes and heraldry, leading to elaborate and beautifully decorated servants that can set a tone, mood, and style for an entire household.