Building a Better Monster

Thoughts on Flesh Golems

Hello, boys and ghouls (there really needs to be an undead or monster to turn the word boys into but I can’t think of one offhand) it’s time to continue our month-long Halloween extravaganza here on the CRB. We’ve touched on some of the iconic horror monsters so far, including undead ofall stripes and the bestial creatures known as lycanthropes. This week we’re going to tackle another classic monster (and its relatives): the flesh golem.

The flesh golem in D&D has always been analogous to the Frankenstein’s Monster. Although not quite identical to the seminal construct from Mary Shelley’s book it does have enough similarities to fit our bill. Like “The Monster,” the flesh golem is a hulking hideous amalgam of body parts from various corpses, stitched together to make a grotesque whole. Brought to life by some forces humans find hard to control, science and magic both, it takes on a bizarre mockery of life. Although the monster in the book seems to retain some shred of intelligence and flesh golems do not, they both might fly into a rage when attacked.

One of the things I find interesting about flesh golems – and that a lot of people overlook – is the fact it requires casting animate dead to construct one of these behemoths. There is a saying that goes something like, "knowledge is knowing Frankenstein is not the monster. Wisdom is knowing Frankenstein is a monster." Since casting any type of raise undead spells is an evil act, any person who creates a flesh golem is most likely leaning toward being evil.

Just throwing a flesh golem at your players doesn’t really evoke the kind of horror I’m looking for when I’m running a horror game. Sure, they are powerful creatures, but power isn’t the only terrible thing. One of the ways I’ve used these monsters to terrify my players is by making some of their parts recognizable. There is nothing more likely to break a character’s morale than noticing the tattoo on the arm of the flesh golem belongs to one of their dead siblings. Or imagine staring into the face of your mother as the roiling mound of skin attacking you.

Admittedly a house rule of mine, seeing as Flesh Golems are created using the animate dead spell, I’ve occasionally attached a soul to them. I reason that the spell allows the soul to get sucked in along with the elemental that is the usual driving force behind such a monster.  When confronted with a golem that shows some occasional spark of humanity – albeit tortured – that can throw the players for a loop.

As a low-level adventure you could have the party hunting down a mad arcanist who is trying construct one of the creatures. The caster trying to build the thing is looking for very specific corpses to create his monstrosity and the players face off against his minions who are gathering the pieces. Whether he gets the exact dead bits he needs or has to stitch together his second choices, the players will face the doctor, his creation, and maybe even a right-hand man named Igor.

There are plenty of other constructs to use. Their usual immunities to a lot of magic, damage reduction, and spell resistance mean that they often require more than the tactics as usual. Scarecrows can be interesting at mid-lower levels, as can caryatid columns. The shatter weapon ability of the latter has led to some interesting times with my players.

Have you used flesh golems in your games? What interesting twists have you used to make the more horrific? Have you added any special house rules to your flesh golems? What other constructs have you used in your game, beyond the normal stone and iron types?

Much like creating a flesh golem the CRB hopes to stitch together some new and fun ways to do things. If we’ve helped you build on your existing campaign, please consider becoming a contributor to the CRB. Monthly donations of as little as one dollar can be made to my Patreon. A one-time donation can easily be made to my Patreon. A one-time donation can easily be made to my Paypal. Every bit helps me keep the lights on so I can concentrate on bringing you the content you deserve.

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