Golems

Golems (also known as Homunculus, Automatons, Shabti, Animunculi, Robots, Constructs) are autonomous constructs made from non-living materials that are created though a highly complex ritual. A golem usually has no free will of its own, as its sole purpose for existence is to serve its creator's wishes. In the region of Eclipse's Influence, the creation and use of golems has become strictly regulated due to an incident involving a "rogue abomination" created by a brilliant, but insane Kitsune Thaumaturge from 'Trinity Reach. '

Appearance
Golems vary in size and appearance due to the personal preferences of their creators and their intended purpose. A majority of golems are made with the intended purpose of helping with household tasks, so they are usually diminutive bipedals with hands and a basic frame that is vaguely similar to a Taur or a Human. However, it is possible to make much larger golems that can be used for a wide number of greater uses, ranging from cheap manual labor to being used as nigh-invincible guardians.

Though it's impossible to give a golem the ability to fly or use magic, many golems are capable of reassembling themselves should they ever experience heavy damage. Like Dragons, golems need to take in errant ley in order to continue functioning, and some golems are even capable of absorbing the energy of all but the most powerful of magical attacks in order to "refuel" and repair themselves.

Golems are traditionally made with several "imperfect" features. These intentional deformities usually include only a single gemstone eye; missing facial features, most notably the mouth; relatively thick bulky limbs; virtually non-existent necks or tails; and misshapened feet. According to superstition, this tradition is meant to make the golem look like an incomplete being, which supposedly prevents it from gaining an identity, and thus its own independent life, and possibly rebelling against its master.

Creation
The exact details of the ritual used to make a golem is a closely guarded and regulated secret to those who are well-versed in the craft of Thaumaturgy. It is also known that the ritual itself involves drawing Lay Energy into the golem figure and using a specially crafted "guiding crystal" as the artificial creature's power source and brain. During the creation ritual, the creator usually programs a specific "shutdown code" into the golem's processing crystal, in the event that they wish to safely destroy it for whatever reason.

It is also known that golems take a long time to prepare, at least a month, some say even longer. This is because the ritual requires quite a large amount of errant ley to be absorbed and just as much precision and accuracy in crafting the crystal brain to make sure everything works properly. Trying to make a golem is not recomended for amateur spell-casters. Though golems are commonly used in Ostain Confederation and some other parts of the Eastern Kingdoms, their creation and use has been strictly forbidden within the Eclipse Influence in recent history.

Trivia

 * It is said that the legendary being, Prometheus, was a Homunculus, or Flesh Golem, although the means to make one have been lost to time.
 * The bio-mechanical abominations protecting the lower levels of the Dire Labyrinths are believed to be some variety of modified golems.
 * Some particularly skilled mages can create a small number of "temporary golems" from dirt or snow. Since these temporary golems are powered only by the mage's own concentration and magic, they only last for a relatively short amount of time compared to "proper golems" (several minutes to an hour or two) and they will immediately crumble when hit with a very powerful magical attack.

Inspiration

 * The Golem of Prague
 * Frankenstein
 * Ancient Egyptian Shabti Dolls