Golems

Golems are magical constructs created out of basic elements. They appear in Ultima VII, VIII and IX as well as in the Ultima Underworld series.

Description
Golems are mighty humanoids crafted out of basic materials such as earth, stone, ice or metal. Summoned to life by magicians and artificers, such creatures typically prove more than a match for even the most seasoned of warriors, and are exceedingly difficult to destroy.

Some golems are capable of speech and may be employed to perform rudimentary tasks for their creators, serving as guards, soldiers and workmen. On Anodunos, one such worker golem could be found guarding the remnants of the city-state's water system, even centuries after the kingdom had fallen, and on Pagan, necromancers frequently summoned such constructs to fight alongside them.

On the remote Isle of Fire, one could even find golems capable of empathy and love. Crafted by the sage Astelleron, these twin beings had been imbued with living hearts fashioned from the Stone of Castambre, and were able to learn, form friendships and grasp such concepts as compassion and self sacrifice.

Lore
''Whether these monsters are natural to this chasm, or whether they were created here by long-ago wizards experimenting with dark forces, our wisest men cannot say. What we do know is that the Golems attack us on sight, and that no single mortal warrior has yet been a match for their fearsome strength and resistance to damage. Each type of Golem appears to have been formed from a different element, and they also differ somewhat in mass. The Earth Golem, a brown-hued figure composed of solidified soil, is the smallest. Still, it is a formidable creature best tackled by well-armed opponents. Knight Galloway claims that he once escaped from such a Golem by entering a maze of passageways - he thinks these beasts track their foes by eyesight, and are probably hard of hearing. The Stone Golem is larger than the Earth Golem, and can be recognized by its gray color. As it can slay a man in as few as two blows, and since it would seem to take many sword strikes to slay it, our Knights only tackle this opponent in teams.''



Notable Examples

 * Golem of Valor: a creature native to the Stygian Abyss who served as a trial for those seeking the Shield of Valor in Ultima Underworld
 * Sentinel 868: an ice golem who guarded the dam controls to the city of Anodunos in Ultima Underworld II
 * Bollux and Adjhar: two brother golems created by Asterellon on the Isle of Fire; their struggle to save one another comprises the Test of Love in Forge of Virtue

Trivia

 * Golems have their origins in real world Jewish folklore. The most tale featuring a golem is that of Judah Loew ben Bezalel's Golem of Prague - a clay creature which was brought to life to defend the persecuted Jews of the city's ghetto before it became unmanageably violent and had to be destroyed.