Caryatid columns were a type of golem created to serve as both defense and architectural feature.[4][2]
Creation[]
They were created the same way that stone golems were but required more time and effort because of the stonework required. Unlike stone golems, caryatid columns were usually equipped with a sword.[4]
Description[]
Identical to the architectural feature of the same name, caryatid columns were statues with a human appearance approximately 7 feet (2.1 meters) tall. Appearing as nothing more than decorative stonework, perhaps with a mirrored counterpart, a careful inspection would reveal that the weapon it wielded was actually quite sharp. When activated, the caryatid column shrunk to the height of an average human female and its stony body became flesh-like. The sword and clothes turned from stone into steel and cloth.[4]
Behavior[]
As soon the conditions for its activation were met, the caryatid column would animate and execute its creator's specific instructions. Caryatid columns were non-intelligent but could carry out complex tasks and judge the current situation. If its creator's instructions were to guard a treasure, the creature might attempt to divert the intruders away. If successful and its task complete, it would return to its column and turn back to stone.[4]
They were considered more primitive than general golems, being more like magical automatons.[5]
Abilities[]
Even in their smaller form, caryatid columns partly resisted damage from normal weapons. Defending oneself from this creature could be dangerous because striking one could cause the weapon to snap. For a non-magical weapon, this happened in 1 in 4 attacks, while a +1 weapon will snap 1 in 5 times.[4]
Usage[]
They were mainly placed as defenses for treasure and as magical traps against trespassers.[5] In Ravens Bluff, the Hall of Wonders, the guildhall of the Fellowship of Jewelers, Goldsmiths, and Whitesmiths, had caryatid columns flanking its doors circa 1370 DR.[6]
History[]
Circa 1367 DR, the sadistic mage Keilier Twistbeard kept his former mistress Nallana prisoner in a building in Blue Alley in Waterdeep, where she was guarded by a caryatid with her likeness to traumatize her.[3]
Appendix[]
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References[]
- ↑ Robert J. Schwalb (June 2013). “The Last Slave Lord”. Dungeon #215 (Wizards of the Coast) (215)., p. 50.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Eric Cagle, Jesse Decker, James Jacobs, Erik Mona, Matthew Sernett, Chris Thomasson, and James Wyatt (April 2003). Fiend Folio. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 30–31. ISBN 0-7869-2780-1.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Ed Greenwood and Steven E. Schend (July 1994). “Campaign Guide”. City of Splendors (TSR, Inc), p. 115. ISBN 0-5607-6868-1.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Don Turnbull (1981). Fiend Folio. (TSR Hobbies), p. 18. ISBN 0-9356-9621-0.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ed Greenwood, et al (1989). Hall of Heroes. (TSR, Inc), p. 8. ISBN 0-88038-711-4.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood (October 1998). The City of Ravens Bluff. Edited by John D. Rateliff. (TSR, Inc.), p. 84. ISBN 0-7869-1195-6.