Kinder-Golems

The children sat in the dark room, on stiff wooden chairs. There was a fine layer of dust covering everything.  Warily, Brother Mide stepped into the room.  As he did, the children raised their heads and turned their faces to him. For the first time, Brother Mide noticed the children’s telltale scars and mismatched eyes.
One stood and smiled at Brother Mide.  Its smile was heartbreaking and ghastly at the same time.  Lifting its arms toward the priest, the kinder-golem spoke in a voice that would have made an angel weep.
“Play with us.”

The first kinder-golem was created by necro-pedophiles in the city of Sybas. They wanted playthings that were genuinely responsive in a way that flesh golems and undead were not. They wanted creatures capable of independent thought and imagination, but that wouldn’t be too difficult to destroy. And, finally, they wanted creatures capable of genuine suffering.  It took time, and some horrific false starts, but the necro-peds eventually achieved their goal.

Kinder-golems are stitched together from the corpses of young children. Once the physical vessel has been crafted to the creator’s satisfaction, the necromancer performs a dark ritual. Calling on primordial powers, they reach beyond the veil, into Limbo, and pluck the soul of a forgotten child out of that place.  The spirit is then bound to the flesh-body which becomes animate.  The act of reincarnation erases any lingering memories the soul might have once possessed, and the kinder-golem rises as a blank slate to be used in any manner its creator desires.

Creating a kinder-golem has become something of a rite of passage for more experienced necromancers. It takes true skill, as well as freedom from societal and moral restraints, to reanimate a child’s body stitched together from the corpses of other children.  Many necromancers host elaborate coming-out parties for their kinder-golem creations.  Of course, once they’ve paraded their creation before their peers, proving their skill, they usually shove the kinder-golem aside and move on to other pursuits.

Kinder-golems are often baffled and upset by their creator’s dismissal of them. Despite the monstrous method of their creation, at their core, all kinder-golems are children. They want to love and be loved.  If they don’t find that from their creator, most kinder-golems will go looking for it elsewhere.  Most fall victim to mob-violence, or end up in the clutches of necro-pedophiles. Some end their existence. Some crawl back to their creators. Too many wind up working as child-prostitutes on the streets of Sybas.

However, some kinder-golems do manage to carve out a life for themselves.  They find
succor in the Houses of the Dead. Others find loving families among the Childless Barrens.  A handful find love and support among their own kind, forming close-knit groups of kinder-golems.  A group of such kinder-golems is referred to as a school.

Abandoned kinder-golem

Kinder-Golem Traits
Ability Score Changes. Because kinder-golems are child-like creatures, their stats reflect this. Strength is -2, Dexterity is -5, Constitution is -1, Intelligence is -3, Wisdom is -1 and Charisma is -3.

Hit Dice. 6d6

Age. Trying to figure out the age of a kinder-golem can be a puzzle, since they are constructed from multiple ‘donors.’  Most are in the same age-range, between 4 and 6 years.  Aging itself is not something kinder-golems need to worry about; they get older, but their bodies do not physically mature.

Alignment. A kinder-golem generally shares the alignment of their creator. However, most would be considered neutral.

Size. All kinder-golems are Small.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.

Darkvision. You have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Languages.  Kinder-golems speak the language of their creator.

Damage Immunities: Poison

Damage Resistances: Bludgeoning, piercing and slashing from nonmagical weapons

Condition Immunities: Charmed, Exhausted, Frightened, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned

Aversion to Fire. If the kinder-golem takes fire damage, it has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks until the end of its next turn.

Immutable Form. The kinder-golem is immune to any spell or effect that would alter its form.

Magic Resistance. The kinder-golem has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.