This fourth book in the Encyclopaedia Arcane deals with the creation of constructs. Three subtypes of constructs are described: the golem, the automaton and the simulacra. Each subtype is inspired by a creature from the MM. While the golem is an old favorite, the automaton subtype is based on the Shield Guardian and the simulacrum subtype is based on the homunculus.
Golems are the most physically powerful and the most expensive constructs,
automatons can be more versatile thanks to the greater number of special abilities
available to them, and simulacra are generally less expensive but their most
sophisticated representatives can mimic life almost perfectly.
The book deals with the construction process in detail. A section deals on crafting the body, another deals on researching the necessary ritual for a specific construct's creation. Construct reparation and maintenance is also discussed.
The author based his calculations from the entries in the MM to generate the cost in gold and XPs for a number of constructs.
A golem's cost is a function of the material it is made of, its size, and
any supplemental abilities. Depending on the golem's material, it gets a number
of special ability slots that can be used to grant golems some powers without
extra cost. A golem has between 0 and 2 of such slots, depending on the material
from which it is made. Following this principle, an iron golem has 1 special
ability slot that is used for its breath weapon. This is a potentially bad
example, since unfortunately the author did not include the golems from the
MM on which he based his calculations. Any supplemental special ability adds
to the golem's cost in both gold and XPs. The material a golem is made out
of affects its physical power (HD, Str, Dex, damage), its cost and the particular
spells that'll slow or heal it. Otherwise, any golem can be created with any
special ability. Creation specs are given for golems made from the fallowing
materials, from the least to the most powerful: wood, bone, shell, obsidian,
quartz or crystal, diamond, shard (various metals), gold, steel, bronze, mithral
and adamantine.
The automata are based on packages that amalgamate certain materials together. Again, the cost of creating such a construct is based on material, size and supplemental abilities. Whereas golems are the most powerful of the constructs, automata have between 3 and 6 slots that can hold special abilities (such as breath weapons, fast healing, shield other, self-destruct, spell storing, they can be mounted with weapons, etc.). These special abilities are available to all constructs but are easier to include in automata.
Simulacra are crafted from "… flesh, blood and other unspeakable substances".
They are based on a creature type to which a specific simulacrum template
is applied. The more complex the base creature on which a simulacrum is modeled,
the most expensive and sophisticated it can be. The more sophisticated simulacra
are intelligent constructs. Simulacra can be based on vermin, ooze, plant,
animal/beast, humanoid, monstrous humanoid or aberration creatures. Some simulacrum
templates can only be applied on simulacra modeled on certain base creatures.
The templates, in order of sophistication, are:
- the homunculus (a simple creature using vermin or ooze as base creature),
- the mockery (a freakish creature, a poor copy of the base creature, a la Frankenstein's Monster),
- the perversion (very deformed, twisted perversion of the base creature that can be more dangerous than a mockery),
- the mimeo (a clone of the base creature without an individual will, often a humanoid creature),
- the eidolon (a superior, self-willed (but artificial) version of the base
creature).
Feats can be incorporated in a construct's makeup, for the appropriate cost.
The rules on this process are a bit muddled, and what constitutes pre-requisites
for the feats from the "core rulebooks" is not obvious. These little technicalities
can be worked around without too much trouble.
This book offers a lot of possibilities for the DM as well as players who
play spellcasters. The construction process is well detailed and the rules
pretty much provide a construction method and cost for about any kind of magical
construct. The potential for adventure ideas is enormous and offers some incentive
to pull from the sci-fi genre, as explained by the author: "… automata and
simulacra [lend] themselves perfectly to emulate robots and genetic engineering".
