Golem, Wood

Wood Golem Creature6

Uncommon N Medium Construct Golem Mindless

Senses Perception +12; darkvision

Skills Athletics +17

Str +5, Dex +4, Con +3, Int -5, Wis +0, Cha -5

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AC 23; Fort +15, Ref +16, Will +12

HP 95; Immunities bleed, death effects, disease, doomed, drained, fatigued, healing, magic (see Golem Antimagic below), mental, necromancy, nonlethal attacks, paralyzed, poison, sickened, unconscious; Resistances physical 5 (except adamantine)

Golem Antimagic harmed by fire (4d8, 2d6 from areas or persistent damage); healed by plant (area 2d6 HP); slowed by earth

Vulnerable to Shape Wood A wood golem targeted by shape wood takes 2d8 damage per spell level, with a basic Fortitude save against the caster’s spell DC. On a critical failure, the golem is also immobilized for 1d4 rounds.

Splinter [reaction] (arcane, transmutation) Trigger The wood golem takes physical damage; Effect A jagged, sizable splinter of wood lances out at the golem’s attacker. The golem makes a splinter Strike against an adjacent creature without triggering reactions.

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Speed 25 feet

Melee [one-action] fist +17 (magical), Damage 2d8+8 bludgeoning

Ranged [one-action] splinter +16 (magical, range increment 30 feet), Damage 2d4+8 piercing

Splinter Volley [two-actions] (arcane, evocation) The wood golem makes up to four splinter Strikes, each against a different target. These attacks count toward the wood golem’s multiple attack penalty, but the multiple attack penalty doesn’t increase until after the wood golem makes all of its attacks.

About

Wood golems are often given vaguely humanoid shapes, almost as if cobbled together from scraps of firewood and discarded burls. It’s less common for wood golems to have artistic embellishments such as engraved patterns, or to be carved in the shapes of different types of creatures to meet the tastes of their owners. While wealthy patrons have been known to commission wood golems to be painstakingly carved to resemble themselves or their ancestors, to serve dual purposes of protection and ego bolstering, most wood golem crafters don’t bother. Druids and creatures who protect woodlands, such as arboreals, typically see wood golems as an affront or an abomination, akin to the horror humanoids often feel when facing a carrion or flesh golem. As a result, it is rare to see such creatures serving as guardians for fey or druidic holy sites, despite the thematic match between the wood golem’s appearance and such locations.

Unless they are badly damaged by magical fire, the rare woods and exquisitely carved blocks used to craft a wood golem retain much of their value after the golem’s destruction. Carpenters, sculptors, and even some merchants will pay a fair price for the remains of a defeated wood golem. However, if the golem belonged to a rich and powerful person and its fragments are thus recognizable, it may be more difficult to find willing buyers.