Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Jonathan Strange 03-23-05, 06:27 AM	I want to throw my high level guys a loop and have them encounter "living" constructs. The only way to do this is with that Awaken Construct Spell correct? I think it's a 9th level arcane spell, correct? I want to say its in Savage Species but I'm not sure. I wish Etools had a template to apply to constructs but I guess you can't have everything.
Dauntless 03-23-05, 12:22 PM	If you're the DM, whats the problem? Just say thats the way it is. You don't need to justifty it.
calypso 03-23-05, 01:03 PM	The BBEG from my recent campaign was a Greater Iron Golem (basically copied and modified the Greater Stone Golem) that was possessed by its creator, an evil wizard. As Dauntless said, if you're the DM, you don't need to justify. Be as creative as you want. Calypso
NinjaPenguin 03-23-05, 01:55 PM	Just to be contrary, i'd like to put my two cents in. First, to answer the original question: There are two spells. Awaken Construct and Incarnate Construct. Both are in the Savage Species. To address the issue of not having to justify it. On the one hand, yes that is very true. However, anything NPCs can do, PCs can do if they meet the same prereqs. Your plaers trust you to treat NPCs by the same rules that they are treated, and if, for example, the party's Wizard wants to have his mind possess a construct, there should be a way to do so that the NPC Wizard used, that a PC could, in theeory, also use. Personally I have found that being creative with no justification creates problems with creative players. There is at least one DM that i no longer trust to run a game in which i play due to the fact that NPCs did not have to follow the same restrictions and prerequisites as PCs. That is not to say you have to TELL the PCs how to do what they guy did. There just has to BE a way. If the PCs want to know, they will make the effort to find out how, and I at least would reward that kind of initiative from PCs. If they look at it, say WTF?!, kill the thing and think nothing of it ever again, you need never tell them about the things they are missing :)
Jonathan Strange 03-24-05, 01:21 AM	I agree dude. I always come up with a justification as to why something is the way it is in my campaign. I follow the rules set down, I expect my players to do the same. I also believe they have every right to ask why something was the way it was. I've played under some massively lame DMs who can't come up with a reason as to why something was the way it was if they feel something is unfair. "Because I said so" is a cop out and the cry of the truly uncreative. They've been playing these guys for 3 years, and now we're getting ready to move into Epic Levels. If these powerful golems wipe them out, I'd like to be able to reference the rules should they look for answers. Of course, if the rules don't exactly fit, I'll bend them but only to help the campaign or story, never against the PCs. Creatively using the info created in D&D and FR is what I enjoy in creating a campaign. I have Savage Species, I'll look up what that spell can do and create some surprise constructs to help the Big Bad Evil Guys. Of course, my PCs are evil guys too... Thanks guys
NinjaPenguin 03-24-05, 02:03 AM	No sweat, and never be afraid to say 'It works that way, do you know why? No? Would your characters? No? Well then!' At least until after the game, then you can show them what was behind the curtain if you feel like it ;) If you reliably have it in place, then pretty soon, they will easily trust you enough to not have to ask 'WTF?!' every time you pull something odd :) Good luck with the epic battle, there! :D