Golems

Golems are animated constructs made from nonliving material. Golems can do jobs that would be tedious or dangerous for a human to do. Their most important application, however, is military, as golems are highly resistant to damage.

A golem is created by inserting a control orb, or "brain," into a statue made of suitable material. A second inserted device, such as a force crystal, provides the energy needed for the golem to move around. Usually some additional enchantment must be placed on the base material to ensure that the control orb can recognize and manipulate it, but this plays a minor role in the golem's cost.

There are two main limitations to the use of golems. One is the cost of the control orb, which is generally the same whether the golem is large or small, and which greatly increases with the golem's intelligence. The second is that it can only accept motive power from non-rechargeable magical storage systems such as force crystals. The latter means that golems are by no means economical as a source of simple mechanical work.

Golems can be divided into three general categories: lesser, common, and greater. Lesser golems are much smaller than human size; they are mainly used to gather and process information. Common golems are roughly human size, and are used for manual labor. Greater golems are larger than human size, and are primarily for military use.

Lesser golems:

Scarab: These are insectoid metal golems used for reconnaisance and espionage. Significant caches of still-functional scarabs were left behind by the Gomla empire.
Scribe golem: These are devices for recording information in written form. They can be used to copy mundane script. Variants of these are also used to create drawings based on imager pictures.
Number seeress: These are information-processing golems used to do math quickly. Their operation is similar to a scribe golem, except that it manipulates rather than simply copies information. Input consists of showing it text containing the numbers to be manipulated, output consists of it writing down the answer. Many trading companies keep these around to help with their accounting. There are also legends of very powerful number seeresses being used to predict the weather.

Common golems:

Servitor golem: These were created to perform menial household chores. More intelligent servitor golems can be trained to repair and maintain vehicles or other mechanical devices.
Worker golem: These were created to replace people in dangerous jobs. They are most commonly used in mining and forestry, and are occasionally used in construction work.

Greater golems:

Slasher golems: These are typically 20'-30' tall, with a rough humanoid form. Their necks are short or absent, so that their single eye is often set in its upper chest. The main distinguishing feature of the slasher golem is that its arms terminate in massive scythes that reach to the ground. Slasher golems are designed for close combat, and their long reach allows them to attack troops equipped with melting swords before those troops can attack it. They are often equipped with retrofit crystplate to further increase their resistance to magical attack.
Turret golems: These are typically 30'-50' tall, with short bodies and long, gangly limbs that bear only token resemblance to a human form. Its arms reach nearly to the ground and end in large, paddle-like hands, and its feet have a similarly large surface area. The main distinguishing feature of the turret golem is that its body is hollow, allowing a crew to ride inside it. Its top is typically crenelated and covered by a conical steel cap, providing its occupants with protection against descending projectiles or spells. Turret golems are designed to carry heavy weapons, such as spellcannon, into battle. This provides durable ranged firepower, giving it a similar combat role to a terrestrial battle tank. Its arms are used as elevators to load and unload equipment, but can be used in battle as shields to provide its crew with extra cover in ranged combat, or as giant flyswatters in melee.
Cable golems: These are basically animated wire sculptures, and can assume a variety of forms. A particularly popular form of cable golem consists of five cables, each roughly and inch thick, extending from a central "head" containing the control orb. These cables wind around each other to form a body, and their extremities are coiled to form limbs. The normal configuration for this type of cable golem resembles an elephant, with four cables used as "legs" for support while the fifth forms the "trunk" for melee attack. Cable golems have two main forms of melee attack: they can unravel a limb and use it as a whip, or they can wrap their limb around a target and attempt to crush it. Cable golems are designed as mobile units, providing the "cavalry" of a golem army. They can carry howdahs, allowing them to be ridden by troops who provide ranged firepower. Their spring-like legs not only allow them to move quickly, but also allow them to leap large distances, making them valuable in assaulting fortresses. Another advantage they have is that they can be stored on spools when not in use, allowing them to be transported by hovership.