Cheliax, the Infernal Empire pg. 60
Acquired/Inherited Template Inherited
Simple Template No
Usable with Summons No
Although most golems are animated by the spirits of elementals, certain reckless or daring golem crafters instead bind evil outsiders such as daemons, demons, and devils to power golems. This fiend does not inhabit or control the golem in the usual manner of fiendish possession; instead, the outsider is subjugated within the golem to act as a mere engine. Although a fiend-infused golem has more self-awareness and cunning than a typical golem, it possesses only a brute, primitive intellect, lacking the animating fiend’s personality beyond a base desire to destroy goodness. The fiend’s rage at being imprisoned in such a manner manifests as ever-burning hellfire, which the fiend-infused golem uses as a weapon against its foes.
As with ordinary golems, fiend-infused golems primarily serve as guards or defenders. However, a fiend-infused golem’s marginally improved intellect means it can be given more complex instructions, such as evaluating an intruder’s intent, activating or deactivating traps, acting in disguise, or patrolling a convoluted territory. Although fiend-infused golems are obligated to follow their creators’ commands in the same manner as regular golems, they sometimes do so with sullenness or frustrated defiance.
The foremost golem crafters of antiquity served the Jistka Imperium many thousands of years ago, and that empire’s golem foundries at Rachikan experimented extensively with fiend-bound golems. Using evil outsiders as an animating force came with an inherent drawback that Rachikan’s golem crafters could never fully overcome: the fiend’s seething anger at serving within a golem increases the chance that the fiend-infused golem will break free of its command and run amok. Ultimately, the golem crafters of Rachikan succeeded only by increasing the size of their golems: Rachikan’s enormous behemoth golems (Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Lost Kingdoms 40) are the only fiendinfused golems that do not risk the bound fiend going berserk. Although the Jistka Imperium is long gone, fiend-infused golems still guard its ancient factories and treasure vaults, particularly in the ruins of Rachikan and in other hidden sites along the Chelish coast.
With renewed interest in the Jistka Imperium among such organizations as the Pathfinder Society and Egorian’s prestigious Athenaeum, ancient secrets of fiend-infused golems have leaked to several modern golem crafters. Some of these crafters had already developed their own techniques for creating fiend-infused golems, and use the unearthed Jistkan lore to confirm or supplement their own designs. The artificers of House Thrune are particularly interested in harnessing and improving upon the Jistkan methods, both because the golems promise to be very powerful additions to the Thrune arsenal and because they are always looking for new ways to bind the spirits of Hell.
A fiend-infused golem is the same size and weight as an ordinary golem of its type.
“Fiend-infused” is a template that can be added to any golem that is not vulnerable to fire (referred to hereafter as the base creature). The fiend-infused template must be applied when the golem is created; an existing golem can’t later acquire this template. A fiend-infused golem uses all of the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
CR: Base creature’s CR + 2.
Alignment: Always neutral evil.
Defensive Abilities: Fiend-infused golems gain fast healing 5 and immunity to fire. If the base creature already has damage reduction, it adds good to the qualities needed to bypass that reduction. If the base creature has the immunity to magic defensive ability, it adds susceptibility to banishment and dismissal (see the immunity to magic ability above).
Special Attacks: A fiend-infused golem gains the berserk liberation special attack described above and loses any berserk special attack of the base creature. The amount of damage dealt when the fiend-infused golem goes berserk is equal to 1d6 × its CR (Reflex half; DC = 10 + 1/2 the golem’s Hit Dice + the golem’s Constitution modifier). A fiend-infused golem also gains the hellfire touch special attack described above.
Abilities: A fiend-infused golem’s Intelligence score changes to 4 and its Charisma score changes to 10.
Feats: A fiend-infused golem has feats appropriate for its Hit Dice. The golem’s creator determines the golem’s feats as part of the process of creating the construct. Fiend-infused golems can be assigned any feats they are physically capable of using, although most feats are assigned from the following: Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Intimidating Prowess, Power Attack, Skill Focus (Intimidate), Toughness, and Weapon Focus.
Skills: A fiend-infused golem gains ranks in Intimidate equal to its Hit Dice.
Languages: A fiend-infused golem understands Abyssal and Infernal, but it cannot speak.
Construction: A fiend-infused golem’s base materials cost an additional 25,000 gp above the base creature’s cost to account for the materials that are needed to bind the fiend within the golem. Add the spells dimensional anchor, magic circle against evil, and either planar ally or planar binding to the base creature’s requirements.
The DC of the Craft check required to make the fiend-infused golem’s body is 4 higher than the base creature’s construct skill DC, and the creator must have a minimum caster level 4 higher than the base creature’s minimum required caster level. The increase to the DC of the Craft check and to the caster level are halved (to 2 higher) if the creator possesses at least 10 ranks in Knowledge (planes).
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