Golems are a broad type of semiartificial life. They are living beings who gain life when a spirit enters a body granted the ability to move by magic or spiritual infusion. Golems are mostly made of inorganic materials. Locomotion, speech, and the senses are typically achieved by magic, but sophisticated golem designs will also include these features on the physical level. Golems, as magical life, have a natural affinity for magic. Many also have strong spiritual connections and can use spirit/necromantic magic.
The rituals, bodies, and methods used to create golems are diverse. Most are not created to be living at all. Instead, some wandering spirit decides to inhabit the golem body, which has already been designed to be capable of sustaining a spirit. Indeed, a body couldn’t be sufficiently complex to make a lifeless golem unless it is also sufficiently sophisticated to host a spirit. The natural abundance of spirits means that most golems are living, while lifeless golems, called machine golems, are rare.
When a spirit inhabits a golem body, it is functionally equivalent to birth: the spirit forgets its life from before and becomes a soul, bound to the body until the body’s destruction. On death, like other spirits, the spirit will then regain its original memories, without losing its memories of life. What constitutes a golem’s destruction varies according to its construction, but severing the magic tied to the body is always sufficient–the spirit is never trapped in a body reduced to a statue.
Golems experience mental growth and childhood like any other species. Young golems are infantile in their understanding and gradually learn how to make use of their mind, senses, and understanding. Only communal golems have the luxury of physical maturation, that is, having a body that matches their cognitive development. Golems with advanced bodies or magic may have a lot of knowledge or instincts at birth, but will struggle with being born into powerful bodies without having any experience or maturity. Most magic, including that used by primitive golem builders, grants basic language comprehension on birth, since golem builders desire a golem that can follow orders. This process makes golems specially vulnerable to psychological disorders tied to slavery.
Variants
Prole
Other names: Worker, Clay, Common. Prole golems are your iconic golem, designed for brute labor. They serve as heavy laborers, soldiers, guards, and the like. They are the simplest subspecies and civilizations will typically build prole golems before anything else. In consequence, prole golems are the most common subspecies by far. They are rarely built with the capacity to speak–most primitive golem builders do not even realize this is a possibility. Taking these factors together, prole golems are the source of most prejudices against golems, especially the belief that they are soulless, mute, or devoid of intelligence. It should be emphasized that prole golems are none of these, and furthermore, can be quite erudite, wealthy, free, etc. if allowed to develop on their own terms.
Vanitas
Vanitas golems are any golem designed to fulfill some vanity of the creator: the pursuit of beauty, the replacement of a loved one, an artificial child, an attempt at immortality, and so on. Vanitas golems tend to be one-of-a-kind, with physiologies tailored to their purpose. They may or may not resemble the species of their creator. Most vanitas golems are enslaved and many have particularly tortured psychologies, stemming from the peculiar pressures and demands of their creators. Their name comes from the art genre of the same name. Many mythological golems, like Galatea and Pinocchio, would be vanitas golems.
Domestic
Other names: Noble, Service. Domestic golems are the softer equivalent of prole golems. They are designed for domestic labor. For example, a wizard might have prole golems build a tower and then have domestic golems cook and clean. Domestic golems are more likely to be able to speak, especially if they are assigned tasks like cooking or care. Cleaning, light gathering, and light maintenance are the most common tasks. Some domestic golems are even educated as magi, healers, doctors, or other complex roles, but this is rare since few civilizations reach this level of sophisticated golem design and still enslave golems. The creation of domestic golems corresponds to more advanced golem building societies–the precision required to build hands that can handle a broom or even a scalpel are much more complicated than clubs or unwieldy fists. The magic required to subjugate a domestic golem also tends to be more sophisticated, since they can speak and perform more complicated tasks. This magic might feature speech control (e.g., speak only when spoken to or clarifying questions only), physical limits (e.g., do not leave this building), and emotional manipulation (e.g., rage suppression). Domestic golems will often undergo training and education before sale too, meaning golem builders typically instill attitudes of submission (whether they realize the golem is intelligent or not). Oftentimes, golem builders will emplace magic subjugation so severe even before implementing speech that the golem builders do not realize that the golems are intelligent. Other, unscrupulous golem builders will refine their magic to disguise the fact the golems are intelligent to a concerned buyer. Consider the substantial and justified concern about AI in our nonmagical society: developing sophisticated and speaking golems invokes comparable controversies.
Imitation
Other names: Rogue, Impostor, Changeling. Imitation golems are those golems trying to fit into some other civilization, often adopting a physical appearance that is difficult to distinguish from whatever other species they live amongst. This is often to avoid reenslavement or prejudice, but some golems do simply adopt the aesthetics of surrounding species. Imitation golems are often also vanitas or domestic golems, especially if they are still enslaved. Note, however, that imitation golems have nothing to do with actual changelings and can only change at great expense (in terms of material and alteration to their magical enchantment).
Communal
Other names: Heritage, Free. Communal golems are golems born into a society of golems or one who has had time to reshape itself as part of such a society. Free of the pressures of other species, communal golems can vary wildly. Some have bizarre forms, others have highly functional bodies, and others still follow whatever sense of aesthetics their community develops.
Machine
Other names: Animal, algorithmic, husk (perjorative). A golem that genuinely does not possess a soul is a machine golem. Unlike living golems, machine golems operate on purely magical principles to understand speech and take orders. Other golems can naturally and intuitively distinguish whether a golem possesses a soul, but it is much more difficult for other species. Machine golems are surprisingly rare: the natural and magical processes and rituals used to construct golems make suitable vessels for souls. Many listless souls inhabit golem bodies as a matter of instinct or curiosity. Machine golems tend to degrade and collapse faster than other golems, plus they are prone to errors, rages, and obtuseness because they are magical machines instead of creatures that can genuinely understand language. Primitive golem builders and users tend to believe machine golems are simply defective, accelerating the destruction of machine golems and increasing the enslavement of other golems. While all golems technically begin as machine golems, many golem bodies spend only moments as machine golems. After all, places where people converge and build golems tend to be places where spirits also converge. Many golem builders use rituals or other practices that invite spirits without understanding what they are doing. Golem societies have their ways of making sure most bodies receive life.
Free Golems
Any golem can, of course, become free. Some golem societies practice slavery of their own, but overall, most communal golems are free. Thus, communal golems are almost always free. Imitation golems are generally free as well, while vanitas golems may have substantial freedom, depending on the vanity they serve.
Many freed golems struggle with freedom. Their magic may make them compulsively obedient, but plain psychology is often to blame. Enslavement and abuse, especially by owners who do not believe golems to be intelligent, causes all kinds of mental disorders. Many golems internalize the belief that they are a slave species, develop loyalty to their controllers, are habituated to slave work, or become dependent. Most enslaved golems are born with the capacity to understand language and do labor, meaning they are inducted into slavery while their minds are still infantile. Such golems genuinely know no life besides enslavement. The legends of golems fulfilling orders well after their master’s death are true, but only rarely is it out of genuine loyalty or love. Golem communities where escapees, abandoned, or freed golems are common often dedicate significant resources to helping newly-free golems adjust.
Meatstone, Threadstone, and Silkstone
These substances are strongly associated with golems because of their value as golem materials, so much so that they are referred to collectively as golem materials. Each can be found in many colors. Meatstone is firm, malleable, and flexible, good for golem interiors. Silkstone is soft and pleasant to the touch, often used for skin. Thin layers of silkstone are translucent. When combined with meatstone, silkstone can create incredible color combinations and realistically imitate skin colors and complexions. Combined with meatstone, Threadstone is highly flexible and naturally forms in thin strands, so it is used as faux hair, fur, and so on. Golems themselves love having bodies with these materials integrated. Relying on magic for movement can make for stiffness and golems who switch from stone to meatstone will be surprised at how much easier it is to move their body, no matter how powerful the magic they are made with. Silkstone makes for greater sensitivity, and threadstone is popular aesthetically as well. Simply put, most golems feel more supple, limber, strong, and well-rounded with golem materials.
Golem materials can only form naturally in certain universes of particular physical laws, making them a luxury import in most places. Golem civilizations compete with wealthy buyers and golem builders. Many free golems struggle with buying these materials, since it means some enslaved golem might be deprived of a better construction.
Their cost assures that only the most obscenely wealthy would use them for prole golems (flaunting wealth). Instead, prole golems are generally made with whatever’s most available: clay, stone, steel, bone. Vanitas golems, since they’re unique and typically designed with aesthetics in mind, are the most likely to use these materials. Even relatively poor vanitas golem makers will sometimes obtain silkstone and threadstone (less will seek out meatstone since it’s not visible and the majority of the golem’s mass). There are even some vanitas golems made entirely out of silkstone or threadstone–this tends to make for a very weak golem though. Since domestic golems are associated with wealth already, it’s common for them to have hints of golem materials, but since domestic golems are usually used in groups, fewer people can afford to use golem materials for the entire golem. Imitation golems get these materials if they can, since golem materials allow for a more realistic appearance. Communal golems are free to use whatever they get their hands on.