Thread: Glass Golem, need helps with stats new to BRP

Originally Posted by ORtrail

Or he comes back as a smaller and smaller version due to the loss of mass? So he slowly shrinks down as the campaign goes on and he is put back together after damage?

Well, maybe he can be recast with additional silicon to compensate for the lost shards, but when he gets shattered he runs the risk to lose the shard where his mind/soul is located (every time he's recast his soul changes location). So he cannot properly be killed, but might end up spending his eternal life as a grain of sand.

Originally Posted by ORtrail

I really like the idea of resisting damage or shattering. What if you assume his glass body tempature is high, so he can be flexible? Hmm, the melting point of common glass seems to be around 1500 degrees C, so I guess he could double as a portable oven/blast furnace. Okay, maybe just assume his body temperature is much lower?

I'd say lets chalk that up to magic. Otherwise the heat will flash fry everyone around him, prevent him from using weapons or other gear, and leave him sticking the the ground whenever he stops.

You could make a strong case for weapon damage type to matter a lot though. An arrow hit versus a mace? Sword versus slingstone? Somehow, I expect the character to die in a fall. Or at least some adventures where he is trying to get body parts back from enemies, after getting shattered? Or he comes back as a smaller and smaller version due to the loss of mass? So he slowly shrinks down as the campaign goes on and he is put back together after damage?

THat is where it gets tricky. Galss has a low tensile strength, but a high compressive strength. So it would be very tough against certain types of damage, especially uniform crushing attacks, such as pressure. Arrows and other piecing attacks could be quite effective as they try to separate the bonds holding the glass together. And the quality of the glass makes a bit difference.

I would suspect that any mage who wanted to put somebody into a glass body and didn't want to break it right away, would probably put some sort of armoring and strengthening enchantments on it so that it wouldn't fall apart the first time the guy trips on a stone floor.



Speaking of the mage, something like this is pretty heavy magic in BRP,and would take time, skill, a lots of magic points, not to mention the probability of some permanent POW. A mage would need to have a really good reason to go through all the trouble. Or be completely bonkers.

At first glance, a 'glass golem' seems ridiculously dumb and the PC has a short life expectency...especially if he likes opera! However, there are plenty of examples of 'magic' glass. In ICE's Shadow World, there is a volcanic magic glass called 'laan'. In our world, there is 'tempered glass' that is pretty strong, too, and by analogy could be very strong in a world were magic influences the glass' strength. Of course, there would have to be some drawbacks.

You all certainly gave the GM (and probably the player) some things to think about.

Merry Christmas!

Originally Posted by Atgxtg

Speaking of the mage, something like this is pretty heavy magic in BRP,and would take time, skill, a lots of magic points, not to mention the probability of some permanent POW. A mage would need to have a really good reason to go through all the trouble. Or be completely bonkers.

Since the culprit is probably an NPC villain, I'd hand-wave the game mechanics, assuming the bad guy is heavy duty enough to pull it off and still be a threat.

Also, there's the possibility that if the glass golem character does need to be re-cast for some reason, his old nemesis could arrange for him to be molded into something other than human form: an animal, a coffee table, a full-length mirror, a fancy decanter and goblet set, a shelf full of ashtrays at the local market. The young noble would still be sentient, still be mobile, but the effort to get his assorted components to work together could provide both challenge and humor to the campaign. For example, the villain confronts the other characters only to be assaulted by a virtual squadron of flying ashtrays, hurling themselves off the display counter.

Thanks everyone for your replies.

I will have the Glass Golem magically heal naturally, so no need for repair. And I'm using hit locations in the game, so I will be using the hit locations for the golem to. I like the idea of it either shattering or doing nothing.

Oh, and the player wanting this character is a women.
This is her back story " character was a noble from an important family a century or a few centuries earlier in a civilization that since disappeared/ moved from the area because of invasion, natural disaster, whateva. she was beautiful, rich, flighty, and desired, a spoilt brat basically
she attracted the eye of many suitors, and had many secret lovers, though she had been engaged at a young age. One such lover, obsessed and jealous, devised a way to keep her captured forever after the official announcement of the engagement and subsequent marriage was made public. so he kidnapped her, killed her, and placed her soul in a glass sculpture made exactly in her likeness, sustained by a magical flame which gives her movement"

Probably have her introduced by the other characters finding her in a form of stasis.

[QUOTE=seneschal;47828]Since the culprit is probably an NPC villain, I'd hand-wave the game mechanics, assuming the bad guy is heavy duty enough to pull it off and still be a threat. [/qupte]

I wasn't worried about the mechanics, just noting that it was a major investiure and that the mage would need a good reason for going to all the time trouble, and effort. It's not a parlor trick.

Originally Posted by clawingwolf

Thanks everyone for your replies.

I will have the Glass Golem magically heal naturally, so no need for repair. And I'm using hit locations in the game, so I will be using the hit locations for the golem to. I like the idea of it either shattering or doing nothing.

If a location get's shattered does it still heal?

Originally Posted by clawingwolf

Any Ideas? are there stats for normal stone golems in the game somewhere??

Merrie England has stats for Stone Golems, but I don't have them to hand.

All my ideas regarding glass golems have already been covered, though.

Here's her theme song ...

Blondie - Heart Of Glass - YouTube

Originally Posted by Atgxtg

Originally Posted by seneschal

Since the culprit is probably an NPC villain, I'd hand-wave the game mechanics, assuming the bad guy is heavy duty enough to pull it off and still be a threat.

I wasn't worried about the mechanics, just noting that it was a major investiture and that the mage would need a good reason for going to all the time trouble, and effort. It's not a parlor trick.

An obsessed suitor in a jealous rage? Works for me.