Brass Golem

Brass golems are exceptional constructs.  At CR 14, they are more powerful than all but the rarest golems (e.g. those made of adamantine, mithral, or cannons).  And brass golems are likely rare as well, as “elemental fire and extraplanar brass” are required in their construction. 

This means that the creator of a brass golem is likely a force to be reckoned with in his or her own right—someone powerful enough to walk the planes and iron-willed enough to negotiate with azers, elder elementals, or the efreet.  And a patron wealthy enough to commission a brass golem will likely have possessions worth protecting.  (The Bestiary 3 mentions “palaces, treasuries, and harems,” which paints a rather clear picture of said patron.)

With its fiery nature, the brass golem also recalls “basic” D&D’s bronze golem, which had fiery “blood.”  And that in turn brings to mind Talos, the bronze giant that circled Crete three times a day to guard its shores (and its queen Europa).  Instead of bronze, a brass automaton could serve just as well…and again, there’s that disturbing hint of a golem being used to guard a female prize…

Fleeing the wrath of an efreeti malik, adventurers seek sanctuary in the palace of a noble marid.  When the malik’s guards come to claim them anyway, the shahzada expresses shock that word of their presence leaked…but regretfully admits his hands are tied.  As the adventurers languish under house arrest while the genies wrangle over their fates, they may find a clue that the noble marid is not as innocent as he claims.  A room filled with boiling steam hides a rich gift: two glistening new brass golems that could only have come from an efreeti crafter…but that bear the shahzada’s personal crest.

A powerful rakshasa abducts exotic women from across the planes for his harem—among them an axiomite, a weretiger, drow from several worlds, a lillend, and a petrified penanggalen disguised as a bit of decoration  All long for escape (and several long for revenge against their fellows for petty slights and appalling betrayals accrued over the years), but the burns and beatings they have received from the rakshasa’s brass golem harem guard have left them cowed.

The Serene Gynarchy of Meridor sits on an island at the mouth of Tulong Bay, guarded by a watch of brass golems eternally on patrol.  Those women who take the title and the white robes of a magistra may discover—sometimes to their horror—that in addition to protecting the gynarchy’s borders, the golems are also charged to never let a magistra leave the island…but for what reason the Magistra Majora will not say.

—Pathfinder Bestiary 3 134

3.0/3.5 fans can find another take on the brass golem in the Monster Manual II.

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