Van Richten's Monster Hunter's.pdf - Askadesign.com

e magical to puncture or lacerate this
tissue. A nonmaaical - blade or cudgel
pushes into the yet-resilient flesh, but
refuses to penetrate or draw blood. For
instance, I once observed a tighter
thrusting his sword directly into a
golem‘s neck, but when the sword
withdrew, the creature’s skin was
unmarred!
Moreover, to “draw blood” from a
golem is at best a euphemistic notion.
Flesh golems do not truly bleed. When
the tissue such a creature is pierced, it
oozes a watery, odoriferous liquid
similar in appearance to plasma,
though the smell is closer to that of
rancid meat or a gangrenous wound.
It is interesting to note that
nonrnagical weapons do not always
fail to harm the Created. Apparently,
enraged mobs of peasants armed with
mere pitchforks and firebrands have
brought down a golem on several
occasions. Nonetheless, if you ever
plan on facing one of these
monstrosities, 1 strongly recommend
procuring as many magical weapons
as possible. It may well mean the
difference between suffering only a few
losses and losing your entire party.
Bwic RsgmMw
Power; like a desolating pestilence,
Pollutes whate’er if touches; and
obedience,
Bane of all genius, virtue, freedom,
truth, Makes slaves of men, and, of
the human frame,
A mechanical automaton.
-Percy Bysshe Shelley, Queen Mab, 111
One of the most horrific and yet
fascinating aspects of the flesh golem’s
tissue is its capacity to repair itself at
an extremely rapid pace. In a matter of
hours, a golem can heal completely
from a wound that would impair a
stalwart warrior for days.
Even more incredible is the
sensitivity and adaptability of the flesh
golem’s system. In recent years, I
&
have
begun to believe that the Created have
some unique form of regenerative
capabilities, which are highly
specialized. These powers of
regeneration come into use when the
golem is mortally injured. I can think
of no other reasonable explanation for
the uncanny ability of the Created to
fully recover from horrendous wounds
which had felled the creature only
minutes before.
I have witnessed this phenomenon
several times firsthand, but the first is
yet the most vivid. I cannot begin to
describe the depths of horror I felt on
that fateful night. My battle-worn
companions and I were celebrating the
demise of our foe-when the very
creature rose up in apparently perfect
health! Alas, two more of our number
perished before the golem fell again to
our weapons and spells. Only my
compatriot Nikita and I remained. This
time neither she nor I rested until we
had burned every piece of the golem’s
body to ash.
To this day Nikita refuses to hunt
another golem, and in truth I cannot
blame her. The wiry thief still claims
the golem attempted to grab her hand
and drag her with it onto its funeral
pyre. Although I did not witness the
event, being on the other side of the
rather large fire, I do not doubt that
the aolem’s great evil and tremendous
will enabled such a final attempt.