New Game: Going Golem

[mostlyawake]

Say you wanted to create a golem-you, then astrally project (in dnd terms-ish) yourself into said golem, and run around, leaving your new body safe-if unconscious- back at home base.  What would such a spell look like?  What would the limitations be? What type of thaumaturgy would you call it? (is it necromancy to put part of your own consciousness into another receptacle, a la dnd liches?)

And... go!

[devonapple]

Option 1: Go the Shapeshifting route: buy a bunch of re-themed powers (Beast Form, Hulking Size, Claws, Supernatural Strength/Toughness, etc.), plus Human Form (+1), and then work out with the GM some additional cost breaks reflecting your vulnerable body, and the or time investment required to change.

Option 2: a ritual capable of taking yourself out completely, plus enough Fate Points to temporarily buy whichever supernatural abilities you need in your Golem Form.

[Amelia Crane]

I don't know about spells, but powers can do this.
[-3] Spirit Form or [-3] Gaseous Form
[-2] Domination
[-3] Possession
And if I recall there was a thing about shapeshifting that let you temporarily swap out your refresh powers for others temporarily.  So maybe you could use that as a starting point.

[devonapple]

And if I recall there was a thing about shapeshifting that let you temporarily swap out your refresh powers for others temporarily.  So maybe you could use that as a starting point.

Modular Abilities: you allocate X Refresh worth of "form points" which you can change around as a full-round action. You pay an additional surcharge of 2 Refresh for the privilege. So 7 Refresh worth of abilities would cost you 9 Refresh.

If only Harry's "Little Chicago" item/ritual had been described - that would probably have been a good starting point.

[devonapple]

You could designate your unconscious body as a temporary Aspect which the GM could Invoke or Compel depending on the plot to "enrich" your life.

[devonapple]

The GM may also request that the character take the Item Aspect "Golem Body."

[devonapple]

[-2] Inhuman Strength
[-2] Inhuman Toughness
[-2] Inhuman Recovery
[-1] Fists (Weapon:2)
[-1] Beast Change (to shift your skills around in the Golem form)
[+1] the Catch: damage that targets your astral connection to the golem body
[+1] Human Form
[+1*] Body Left Behind: you gain supernatural powers by astrally projecting into a golem body. You must have an Aspect reflecting this item. You must take Human Form, as well as designate at least 6 points of Supernatural abilities (counting the 2 minimum needed for the Human Form discount) which are not available to you unless you are occupying your golem body. If you tie this ability to 9 points of Supernatural abilities, this ability is worth +2 Refresh. and if you tie this ability to 12 points of Supernatural abilities, it is worth +3. While you are projecting, your Golem Body aspect is replaced by the aspect Body Left Behind.

-5 Refresh total.

Note: this seems a little too cheap. May have to start out the Body Left Behind as +0 rather than +1. Even so, this is probably going to be the province of powerful spellcasters with a high Refresh rate.

Then again, if the GM accepts, you could simply buy Human Form at +2: Rare Change and take some of the suggestions from Body Left Behind. Depends on how much of a nuisance it is to do the maneuver.

[Belial666]

[-6] Gaseous Form + Possession
[-3] Thaumaturgy - summoning bonus or Ritual - summoning for 1 less refresh.


You make a Golem the same way you make a body for a summoned being from the Nevernever. So you cast a summoning ritual appropriate for the power of the "summoned" creature you'd want. However, instead of binding a spirit on the body to power it, get into Gaseous Form and possess it, powering it yourself. As a GM, I'd say you could only power a body with refresh equal to or lower than your own. You would not have your own powers while powering the thing but you'd have the golem's abilities.

[ralexs1991]

I like Belial's take on it though I do wish there was a refence for the little Chicago spell because that seems to fit best of all

[mostlyawake]

What if you didn't really want the golem to have any other powers than allow you to use your own skills and magic? (and see and speak and such).

Is a refresh-based power set the only way to do this? Will it cost the caster X fate points to activate?

[mostlyawake]

I've been toying with this, and I think it should be 3 spells:

Creating the construct: I'd say that this is a spell of around (your refresh level)+4, to make an ectoplasmic construct. You'd probably want to increase this for believability, probably into 5-10 more shifts of power.  I'd actually set the base difficulty to see through the guise as how many ever extra shifts over the base difficulty you add. This requires several token parts of yourself (fingernail clippings, hairs, blood, ect) - the more ties, the stronger the connection.

Warding your body:  This is nothing more than a block-type ward versus possession for your body. Given the relative ease of making circles to ward out spirits, this is the least complicated part.

Transfer your consciousness: This is probably the most difficult, and relies on grey-area necromantic principles. It requires [enough shifts to take yourself out, assuming no resistance]+4, and in game terms really just applies the aspect "In my Golem body" to you.

Effects:  In your golem body, you can act pretty much as you do in your normal body (your powers and skills are accounted for in the cost of the body). However, strong wards, running water, countermagic, ect can knock you out of your construct.  This is normally fine - your spirit will bounce right back into your body - but can be a serious problem if someone erects a ward around you before destroying your form, as your spirit can get stuck. Also, enough of "you" exists in the golem form that you can still be targeted with mental attacks, curses, and the like. Lastly, while your golem could use your focus items and such, it sucks if you lose those due to the golem's destruction.  Lastly, you are bound by wards like a spirit, rather than a mortal.
The advantage is, of course, people dealing physical damage to the construct can't really hurt you. However, any real physical damage to the construct is translated into mental damage on you, meaning that it is still worth conceding well before the golem is fully destroyed.

A fourth spell can be made (difficulty 4-8) that simply destroys the physical tokens of you that are embedded in the golem, once the golem is destroyed or abandoned.

Due to its power, the spell costs 1 fate point to activate, and lasts until broken, abandoned, or sunrise.
---
Any thoughts?  Should the spell really require a bucket of fate points (which the caster will not have on a regular basis, given that casters run at low adjusted refresh?)

[ralexs1991]

I'd through somemore shifts in there for duration so it doesn't get destroyed at sunrise

[sinker]

Of note if you're looking for catches thresholds would also be a huge issue.

[ralexs1991]

Of note if you're looking for catches thresholds would also be a huge issue.

yeah how would that work though would you disolve as you tried to go through it or would it just block you entrance like a glass wall sort of

[mostlyawake]

Given that demons can bat at your circle and not dissolve, i'd go with that.