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Building and Modifying Constructs

Source Ultimate Magic pg. 111
The Craft Construct feat allows a spellcaster to create all manner of permanent constructs in a process much like magic item creation. Each construct has a purchase price and a crafting cost, along with a list of requirements and the skills used to create them. Some require special materials in addition to the cost for basic crafting supplies, generally for the construct’s body. Special material costs increase both the purchase price and the crafting cost of the construct. The DC to craft a construct is 5 + the default caster level of the construct, just like for a magic item. Like when crafting magic items, a creator with a sufficiently high skill bonus may ignore these requirements. Each missing requirement increases the Craft DC by 5. Regardless, the creator must meet all item creation feats and minimum caster level requirements. Crafting a construct takes 1 day per 1,000 gp in the item’s base price, excluding any special material costs. This process is identical to the process for crafting a magic item, including the rules for accelerating creation and handling interruptions.

Animated Objects

Source Ultimate Magic pg. 111
Not all constructs are built with the Craft Construct feat. Spells like animate objects allow a caster to temporarily animate an existing object. These constructs are in many ways weaker than manufactured constructs, as they are susceptible to dispelling and antimagic.

A caster can use the animate objects spell to instantly create a temporary construct. A permanency spell cast upon an animated object makes the construct permanent; however, it can still be dispelled or suppressed by antimagic. Craft Construct creates permanent animated objects not susceptible to dispelling and antimagic. The CR of a potential animated object depends on its size and abilities, as explained in the animated object monster entry.

New Animated Object Abilities

Source Ultimate Magic pg. 111
The following are new abilities that can be applied to animated objects, whether created by the animate objects spell or with the Craft Constructs feat. Adding to these abilities requires the expenditure of Construction Points (CP), as described in the Animated Object monster entry.

Augmented Critical (Ex, 1 CP): Increase the threat range for the animated object’s melee attacks by 1 or the threat multiplier by 1. This cannot combine with itself or with the piercing attack or slashing attack object abilities.

Exceptional Reach (Ex, 1 CP): The object gains +5 feet of reach with one melee attack. Increase reach on all attacks for an additional +1 CP.

Improved Attack (Ex, 1 CP): All the animated object’s melee or ranged attacks do damage as though it were one size category larger. A crafter must purchase Improved Attack separately for melee and ranged attacks.

Piercing Attack (Ex, 1 CP): Replace one melee attack with an attack that does the same amount of piercing damage and has a ×3 multiplier. Replace all melee attacks for an additional +1 CP. Object abilities that specify slam attacks do not work on piercing attacks.

Ranged Attack (Ex, 2 CP): Replace one slam attack with a ranged attack. It does the same amount of damage, and has a range of 20 feet. Replace all attacks for an additional +2 CP. Object abilities that specify slam attacks do not work on ranged attacks.

Slashing Attack (Ex, 1 CP): Replace one slam attack with an attack that does slashing damage and has either a 19–20 threat range (for blade-like attacks) or a ×3 threat multiplier (for axe- or scythelike attacks). Replace all melee attacks for an additional +1 CP. Object abilities that specify slam attacks do not work on slashing attacks.

Trip (Ex, 2 CP): The object gains the trip special ability with one of its slam attacks.

Building New Constructs

Source Ultimate Magic pg. 111
Constructs typically have no Intelligence score, an average Wisdom score, and a Charisma of 1. Their dexterity is usually poor to average, though exceptionally nimble constructs do exist. Nearly all constructs of size Medium or larger have high Strength scores; constructs never have a Constitution score.

The monster creation rules in the Bestiary serve as your best guide for designing a new construct. New constructs should stick fairly close to the Monster Statistics by CR table found on page 291 of the Bestiary or the expanded table on page 293 of Bestiary 2. As they are usually mindless combat brutes, most use the “high attack” column, with damage falling in between the High and Low average damage columns. Note that all the construct’s saving throws are likely to be poor, and they have no favored saves. Lacking a Constitution score, a construct’s hit points also tend to be low in comparison to creatures with similar CRs. Consider giving any construct that doesn’t have either damage reduction or hardness a higher AC to compensate.

Repairing Constructs

Source Ultimate Magic pg. 113
Even with the best of care, most constructs will eventually become damaged. Unless a construct suffers some sort of structural damage that radically alters its physical form, the construct continues to function at its full efficiency, and only falls apart once reduced to 0 hit points. Ideally, however, a construct should see some repair before it reaches that point. The make whole or rapid repair spells provide the easiest way to keep a construct in good condition. Both spells repair damaged constructs, even magic-immune ones like golems.

Failing that, a crafter can repair a construct with the Craft Construct feat. When repairing a construct, its master spends 100 gp per Hit Die of the construct, and then makes a skill check as if he were crafting the construct with a DC of 5 less than the DC for crafting that construct. With a success, the construct regains 1d6 hit points per Hit Die of the construct. Completing a repair takes 1 day per 1,000 gp spent on the repair (minimum of 1 day). Repair in this way can only be performed while the construct is inanimate or nonfunctioning. At any time, a construct’s creator can deactivate a construct under his control with a touch and a standard action.

A construct that has been completely destroyed cannot be repaired, though at the GM’s option some of the materials may be usable in the construction of a new construct. Additionally, some constructs have special means of repair, usually involving spells related to the golem’s nature (such as the use of acid damage to heal a clay golem.)

Construct Modifications

Source Ultimate Magic pg. 113
Standard constructs can be modified to enhance their base abilities, alter their appearance or function, or perform a variety of tasks beyond the intentions of their basic designs. Performing a modification provides a construct's creator with a simple way to create a unique construct. A modification can only be performed while the construct is inanimate or nonfunctioning.

Performing modifications on one's own construct requires the Craft Construct feat, and the creator must pay any additional crafting requirements and/or costs associated with the modification. Completing a modification requires 1 day per 1,000 gp of the modification's base price (minimum 1 day).

A list of all construct modifications can be found here.