Healing Golems

[durza120]

Is there any way to "heal" a golem? Would you just have to fix the iron golem with more metal to replace lost hp?

I know that you can heal the stone golem with a mud to rock spell, is there anything like this for the iron golem? Or should you just carry a smith around with you?

 

[dagger]

Repair Damage spells in Spell Compendium.

 

[SteelDraco]

Arcane spellcasters and artificers can do it with their spells (the Repair Damage spells from Complete Arcane, or the artificer's infusions of the same name from the core Eberron book). I haven't yet found any way for a divine caster to heal a construct, though. I was looking for one, since I was thinking about playing a maug cleric at one point.

In addition, the Craft Construct feat allows someone to repair a construct.

A creature with this feat can repair constructs that have taken damage. In one day of work, the creature can repair up to 20 points of damage by expending 50 gp per point of damage repaired.

Seems awfully expensive to me, but that's the only core method I can find for healing a construct.

 

[Rackhir]

Is there any way to "heal" a golem? Would you just have to fix the iron golem with more metal to replace lost hp?

I know that you can heal the stone golem with a mud to rock spell, is there anything like this for the iron golem? Or should you just carry a smith around with you?

Iron Golems heal 1pt for every 3 pts of fire damage. Just fireball it a couple of times. That's why Red Dragons like Iron Golems.

 

[boolean]

For an Iron Golem in particular:

A magical attack that deals fire damage breaks any slow effect on the golem and heals 1 point of damage for each 3 points of damage the attack would otherwise deal. If the amount of healing would cause the golem to exceed its full normal hit points, it gains any excess as temporary hit points. For example, an iron golem hit by a fireball gains back 6 hit points if the damage total is 18 points. An iron golem gets no saving throw against fire effects.

 

[Arkhandus]

......Don't forget that golems are immune to most magic. With the exclusive exceptions of spells the golem's own description mentions, other magic just does not work on them. No Repair Serious Damage spell for your golem, nossir. You gotta fix it with plain ol' manpower, using the Craft Construct feat. And that is as it should be, IMHO.

Other constructs, of course, can generally be healed by the Repair Damage spells, because other constructs don't typically have Magic Immunity or the like.

 

[Jack Simth]

Of the core golems:
Clay: Acid Damage heals, at a rate of 1/3 (and can grant temporary HP)
Flesh: Electricity Damage heals, at a rate of 1/3 (and can grant temporary HP)
Iron: Fire damage heals, at a rate of 1/3 (and can grant temporary HP)
Stone: Transmute Mud to Rock heals completely

And tossing in the Shield Guardian: Fast Healing 5; long as it's not fully destroyed, it's good to go in a few minutes.

Now, without non-core spells (such as the Repair line), a Homonculous is a money sink... but why would you make one anyway? You can't make the thing until at least 6th (Craft Construct requires Craft Wondrous and Craft Magic Arms and Armor - and Craft Magic Arms and Armor requires Caster Level 5; so a Wizard can take Craft Wondrous at 3rd, Craft Magic Arms and Armor at 5th, then Craft Construct at 7th for Arcane Eye (well, 6th, if you can get Arcane Eye from a wand/scroll) - Core, that's the earliest), it has almost no HP, hurts you when it dies, and is kinda weak. Okay, it can spy... but it's got a fairly poor hide / Move Silently score - and it's very expensive.

 

[TYPO5478]

......Don't forget that golems are immune to most magic. With the exclusive exceptions of spells the golem's own description mentions, other magic just does not work on them. No Repair Serious Damage spell for your golem, nossir. You gotta fix it with plain ol' manpower, using the Craft Construct feat. And that is as it should be, IMHO.

Actually, they're only immune to spells that allow spell resistance. What I don't remember (no books with me at the moment) is whether the Repair XX Damage series falls into that category. But I don't think it does.

 

[Pyrex]

Actually, they're only immune to spells that allow spell resistance. What I don't remember (no books with me at the moment) is whether the Repair XX Damage series falls into that category. But I don't think it does.

The Repair nnn Damage series of spells do not have an SR check, which means there is nothing in the rules preventing them from working on Golems with the Magic Immunity quality.

 

[TYPO5478]

Thanks for confirming, Pyrex!