In-game description: Golems are animated chunks of stone, metal, or similar material, given the ability to move through magic. Exceptionally rare in the first place, taking great magical power to create, golems do not become self-aware until they have lived for at least several hundred years, long after their creators have passed away.
Average male height: 7'5"(225 cm)
Average male weight: ~540 lbs (~245 kg)
Notable traits: Golems have eyes that are a solid white, gray, or brown, with no visible pupil or iris. They are capable of seeing normally, but in areas lacking light, they can also sense heat signatures. As constructs, they lack any form of hair, as well as the ability to grow it. They have skin which is tough and rock-like when struck, but yields slightly when pressed slowly. Texturally, it ranges from smooth to rough. Golems are made from a single rock type each, usually sedimentary, such as marble, chalk, or sandstone. Most Golems - though not all - are generally crafted with sexual characteristics modeled after males, females, or both. All known Golems appear to be scaled-up humans, with the notable exception of those with male genitals, which (while similar in size to an ordinary human) are rather poorly endowed given their size. Further suggesting their use in sexual relationships is the fact that Golems do secrete a lubricating fluid from the mouth, anus, and sexual organs, and are also capable of ejaculation, although they do need to consume small amounts of fluid and organic material to do so. If a Golem distinctly based on other races, such as Trollkin or Dwarves, exists, it has yet to be discovered.
Physical traits: Proportionately, Golems are nearly identical to humans, albeit scaled up. While they seem to exhibit monumental strength in some cases, their very makeup suggests that much of this is used simply in movement. Although inorganic, Golems do consume rocks, which they somehow process into 'replacement' material for damaged or destroyed parts. As such, Golems can not only recover from injury, but (if sufficient stone is available), can do so much more quickly than organic creatures. The lifespan of a Golems is still under debate; there are documented specimens as young as 300 years old, and one identified case of a Golem as old as 2900 years old. No documented case of a Golem 'dying' of natural causes has been recorded, although on occasion they will leave or 'sleep' for several hundred years at a time. The most notable example of this is the Marble Colossus, a massive construct nearly nine feet tall that watches the main entrance of Doren. There are thousands of well-documented reports that the Colossus activated and strode into battle when the a large army of mercenaries, planning on sacking the city, laid siege to it more than two hundred years ago.
Society: Golems are exceptionally rare. There are only a handful known to exist, and roughly thirty cases with enough evidence to support a living Golem. There are, of course, myths and legends of hundreds of other cases, which range from hoaxes and cons, to almost religious worship. It is theorized by some that it's possible to tell the origin of a Golem my their construction, although there are not nearly enough recognized, documented accounts to form a clear pattern. What is known is that they are generally created as guardians, sometimes outlasting the person or structure they were set to guard. There are two theories as to how they gain sentience: the first is that it is the result of several hundred years of accumulated experience; while generally created with little directive beyond their initial task, after a long enough time of observation, Golems become sentient once they reach a certain 'threshhold' of information. The other is that the magic compelling Golems to their duty 'fades' over time while the magic that creates them does not, resulting in the Golems being released as the binding magic dissipates, but still remaining active. Golems are generally most active between 200 and 500 years of age, with their activity steadily declining and their actions becoming more and more divorced from a 'human' outlook as time continues.
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