help me balance a good boss for a 20th level party

[King of Nowhere]

One of my players decided that when he will be of appropriate level, he will try to take on the most powerful organization in my campaign world. This organization is powerful enough that a single 20th level party cannot hope to make it, but since the party has good plans to enroll other powerful adventurers, nations and even some dragons, I decided that if they make it to that point, all their followers will be busy with all the other defences, and it will only leave them to the single most powerful opponent: the diamond golem.
I intend this foe to be exceedingly difficult; powerful enough that the fight could easily result in a tpk (after all, I don't want them to attack this organization, so I'm not going to go easy on them if they do), but potentially beatable with good preparation and strategy. I also came up with some concepts for the diamond golem; being diamond the hardest material, it can't be damaged without also damaging the tool used to scratch it. rather than being the unstoppable glacier that most golems are, this one will wield a katana (also made of diamond) with skill and grace. The aformentioned katana will basically be the sharpest thing in existence, capable of cutting through metal as if it were butter. The way it sparkles will make it difficult to see, and it will be able to concentrate light to shoot a laser beam at foes out of range. Tentatively, I came up with this statistics (sorry if the formatting is not perfect, I don't have much experience with that)

diamond golem
The diamond golem has the shape of a man made entirely of diamonds, wielding a katana also made of diamonds. The details are crafted exquisitely, but the face does not move; the katana is attached to the hand, and cannot be removed without destroying the golem first. When the construct does not shimmer, it is transparent to the point of being difficult to see; when it fully gleams, it is a shining, blinding beacon of light. Only one of those automatons has ever been created; according to the legend, the wizard Jarraed, the greatest golem-maker who ever lived, sunk his whole fortune to make this masterpiece, then he went depressed and crazy over the realization that he would never, ever be able to make something as beautiful. The tale may be fanciful, but what is certain is that even after centuries his creation is unmatched.
In combat, the golem wields its katana with superhuman strength and speed; but unlike other golems who rely solely on brute force, the diamond golem has the grace and skill of a master swordsman. Its main weakness is its incapability of flying, but it can concentrate its glittering light into deadly rays to fight opponents who keep afar.

hit dice: 30 d10 (165 hp)
initiative: +11 (+7 dex, +4 improved initiative)
speed: 21 meters per round
AC: 42 (+7 dex, +25 natural), touch 17, flat-footed 35
attacks: diamond katana +41/+36/+31/+26/+21 (critical 16-20 * 2), or 2 diamond slams +36
damages: katana 1d10+32 (+18 str(double handed), +5 weapon enhancement, +4 (greater) weapon specialization, +5 cutting (weapon bonus)), or slam 1d8+17
special attacks: sunbeam, sunburst, diamond blade, mutilate
special qualities: transparency, dazzle, hardest material, damage reduction 30/+5, arcane sight, true seeing, golem immunities,
saving throws: fort +9 dex +16 will +13
stats: STR 35 DEX 25 CON - INT - WIS 19 CHA 19
feats: weapon focus, greater weapon focus, weapon specialization, greater weapon specialization, improved critical strike (all applied to the katana), power attack, cleave, great cleave, dodge, mobility, combat finesse, whirlwind attack, combat reflexes, deflect arrows (can use the katana to deflect, and every deflection attempt counts as an attack of opportunity)

diamond blade: the diamond katana ignores the first 3 points of bonus CA caused by armor, shield, or natural (cumulative). It ignores the first 15 points of hardness when trying to damage an object. On a successful hit, it damages the armor or shield or natural armor (roll at random to determine which); an armor/shield damaged this way gives a CA bonus lowered by -2. If the total CA bonus of the object is brought to 0 that way, the object is broken. A force effect like a mage's armor is immune to being damaged this way, but it is still partially bypassed.

mutilate: on a confirmed critical strike by the diamond katana, the target has to make a saving throw (CD=damage taken) or lose a limb. For a humanoid shape, the lost limb can be determined by rolling a 6-sided dice (1, 2 a leg, 3, 4 an arm, 5 decapitation, 6 bisection (+10 to saving throw in that case)). Creatures immune to critical strikes could still be vulnerable to this effect if they have a recognizable morphology; for example, a zombie or a golem can still be decapitated or mutilated, though it would affect them differently from how it would affect a living creature. [this is my version of the vorpal ability, since I never liked how that one worked by raw]

sunbeam: as a standard action, the diamond golem can focus its glittering to shoot a single laser-like beam from its sword; upon a ranged touch attack, it deals 30 d6 magic damage (no saving throw). Use at will.

sunburst: the diamond golem can explode with inner light, an effect equivalent to an empowered sunburst cast by a wizard of 21th level and centered on the golem itself (saving throw CD 22).

transparency: when it turn off its glimmer, the diamond golem is so transparent it's difficult to see. When it is standing still, noticing it requires a spot check (CD 25, may be influenced by light conditions). When it is moving (as during a fight) the CD is lowered to 15. Furthermore, as it is still difficult to make out its features, the diamond golem has a concealment of 30% unless the attacker overshoots the spot check CD by 10 or more. The diamond golem also has +20 to hide checks when using this ability. This is not an invisibility effect; while magic is at work to prevent the light from being reflected and refracted normally, the resulting concealment is mundane, and is therefore not countered by dispel invisibility or true sight; darkvision, being based on sonar, works normally.

dazzle: as an alternative to being transparent, the diamond golem can shine powerfully to hurt the eyes of its enemies. The effect is similar to the 0th level spell flare, with the following differences: it affects all who are looking at the diamond golem, the saving throw CD is 20, and it gives a penalty of -2 to attacks on a successful saving throw, while a failed saving throw results in temporary blindness.

hardest material: the diamond golem is so hard that any weapon striking it is also damaged. Whenever the diamond golem is hit by a weapon, it only takes half the damage, while the other half is dealt to the weapon. If a natural weapon is used, that damage is dealt to the attacker. This damage ignore object hardness.

has arcane sight and true sight always active

golem immunities: the diamond golem is immune to all magic except for the following exceptions: disintegrate works, but deals one fourth of the damage it would deal normally. shatter works normally. It is also immune to cold, electricity and acid, and has damage reduction 50/- against fire.

loot: after the golem is destroyed, its shattered body is worth (2d6+13)*100000 gold pieces. The diamond katana can be recovered, and it is a +5 katana that deals +5 extra slicing damages, has +1 increased critical strike range (cumulative with improved critical strike) and retains the mutilate and diamond blade abilities; it cannot cast beams, though, as that was an ability of the whole golem.

I worry that it may be too tough. In melee, with judicious use of the power attack (diamond blade virtually adds +9 to its hit roll) it can probably kill the whole party in 2 rounds, while only taking moderate damage. On the other hand, its ranged skills are much lower; while 30d6 with no saving throw are a lot, they are well within the power of a cleric with heal. In fact, a wizard and a cleric, both with fly spells, the first having prepared nothing but (metamagic) disintegrate and the second nothing but heal, could easily kill it. I don't want it to be unbeatable, but I also don't want it to be beatable by a team of two people with a single spell. I also considered teaming it up with a platinum and/or iridium golem

Keep in mind that:
- there are no epics in my campaign world, at most a few people can reach level 22/23 with prestige classes; still, no epic items, no epic spells, no epic feats, the only exception being the availability of 10th level spell slots for metamagic.
- I am very generous with loot
- we are restricted mostly to core; we allow occasional extra stuff, but we have no desire to buy dozens of splatbooks and learn their every obscure secret.
- we are all casual gamers, and that's our level of optimization; ok, the barbarian hits really hard, the wizard has a very high int, but we don't know all the crazy combo-wombo stuff.
- custom researched spells are allowed, within reason; so the dazzle and transparency abilities should easily be countered by one
- I want to keep the general skill set for the golem.

[Endarire]

This golem seems weak for a CR20 creature - about as powerful as a Balor (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Balor) in many regards (attacks/damage/immunities/SR), but also weaker than the Balor (no death throes, no Vorpal weapon, weaker spell-like abilities).

This golem has all the major disadvantages of a melee type at high level:

-No teleportation.
-No Pounce.
-No Shadow Pounce.
-No 3D movement (flight, burrowing, swimming, etc.).
-No ability to guarantee going first in a fight. (+11 initiative is about equivalent to a creature with Improved Initiative, 18 starting DEX, and a +6 DEX item.)
-No relevant abilities aside from melee. A wall of force (or other wall spell) from a caster could stop it with a minimum amount of trouble.

This golem has ambiguous immunities in my opinion. Is it immune to grease? Web? Solid fog? Glitterdust? These are spells that ignore spell resistance and deal no HP damage on their own, but can, by RAW, seriously hamper even epic golems! Also, true seeing is hampered by fog. Just sayin'.

What are the stats of your party? You mentioned some basics. For example, what's the Wizard's contingency?

I learned from being a GM that super careful 'balance' didn't really matter: Players tended to enter 'secret agent mode' when faced with challenges and found interesting ways to solve them.

Also, will characters be at full power (full HP, spells, item uses, etc.) at the start if this fight? If not, how depleted do you expect them to be?

[flappeercraft]

To me this guy seems a bit weak for a 20th level party. On a campaign I'm running the BBEG has 4 guards. Probably the weaker one of the guards could beat this guy with ease, this guard is CR 20. There are 3 others and the BBEG who is literally more powerful than some intermediate gods (the ones without hand of death or life and death SDA). You should probably buff this guy, A LOT

I suggest the following changes if you want to make him a decent challenge.
1. Double his initiative bonus
2. Double or maybe Triple his HP
3. Add 5-10 Insight/Dodge bonus to his AC
4. Give him Fast healing 10 or Regeneration 5/Sonic
5. Make him immune to magic weapon properties and or enhancement bonuses

After that he should be a decently hard encounter but a well made character could singlehandedly take him down alone still. Also by the wording of his magic immunity Orb of X spells and other Instantaneous Conjurations would still affect him as they are created by magic but are no longer magical in nature. Due to that an Orber blaster even after the changes I suggested could kill him in a single round, so could an Ubercharged even with his magic immunity as he doesnt really care, etc.

[GreyBlack]

One of my players decided that when he will be of appropriate level, he will try to take on the most powerful organization in my campaign world. This organization is powerful enough that a single 20th level party cannot hope to make it, but since the party has good plans to enroll other powerful adventurers, nations and even some dragons, I decided that if they make it to that point, all their followers will be busy with all the other defences, and it will only leave them to the single most powerful opponent: the diamond golem.
I intend this foe to be exceedingly difficult; powerful enough that the fight could easily result in a tpk (after all, I don't want them to attack this organization, so I'm not going to go easy on them if they do), but potentially beatable with good preparation and strategy. I also came up with some concepts for the diamond golem; being diamond the hardest material, it can't be damaged without also damaging the tool used to scratch it. rather than being the unstoppable glacier that most golems are, this one will wield a katana (also made of diamond) with skill and grace. The aformentioned katana will basically be the sharpest thing in existence, capable of cutting through metal as if it were butter. The way it sparkles will make it difficult to see, and it will be able to concentrate light to shoot a laser beam at foes out of range. Tentatively, I came up with this statistics (sorry if the formatting is not perfect, I don't have much experience with that)

diamond golem
The diamond golem has the shape of a man made entirely of diamonds, wielding a katana also made of diamonds. The details are crafted exquisitely, but the face does not move; the katana is attached to the hand, and cannot be removed without destroying the golem first. When the construct does not shimmer, it is transparent to the point of being difficult to see; when it fully gleams, it is a shining, blinding beacon of light. Only one of those automatons has ever been created; according to the legend, the wizard Jarraed, the greatest golem-maker who ever lived, sunk his whole fortune to make this masterpiece, then he went depressed and crazy over the realization that he would never, ever be able to make something as beautiful. The tale may be fanciful, but what is certain is that even after centuries his creation is unmatched.
In combat, the golem wields its katana with superhuman strength and speed; but unlike other golems who rely solely on brute force, the diamond golem has the grace and skill of a master swordsman. Its main weakness is its incapability of flying, but it can concentrate its glittering light into deadly rays to fight opponents who keep afar.

hit dice: 30 d10 (165 hp)
initiative: +11 (+7 dex, +4 improved initiative)
speed: 21 meters per round
AC: 42 (+7 dex, +25 natural), touch 17, flat-footed 35
attacks: diamond katana +41/+36/+31/+26/+21 (critical 16-20 * 2), or 2 diamond slams +36
damages: katana 1d10+32 (+18 str(double handed), +5 weapon enhancement, +4 (greater) weapon specialization, +5 cutting (weapon bonus)), or slam 1d8+17
special attacks: sunbeam, sunburst, diamond blade, mutilate
special qualities: transparency, dazzle, hardest material, damage reduction 30/+5, arcane sight, true seeing, golem immunities,
saving throws: fort +9 dex +16 will +13
stats: STR 35 DEX 25 CON - INT - WIS 19 CHA 19
feats: weapon focus, greater weapon focus, weapon specialization, greater weapon specialization, improved critical strike (all applied to the katana), power attack, cleave, great cleave, dodge, mobility, combat finesse, whirlwind attack, combat reflexes, deflect arrows (can use the katana to deflect, and every deflection attempt counts as an attack of opportunity)

diamond blade: the diamond katana ignores the first 3 points of bonus CA caused by armor, shield, or natural (cumulative). It ignores the first 15 points of hardness when trying to damage an object. On a successful hit, it damages the armor or shield or natural armor (roll at random to determine which); an armor/shield damaged this way gives a CA bonus lowered by -2. If the total CA bonus of the object is brought to 0 that way, the object is broken. A force effect like a mage's armor is immune to being damaged this way, but it is still partially bypassed.

mutilate: on a confirmed critical strike by the diamond katana, the target has to make a saving throw (CD=damage taken) or lose a limb. For a humanoid shape, the lost limb can be determined by rolling a 6-sided dice (1, 2 a leg, 3, 4 an arm, 5 decapitation, 6 bisection (+10 to saving throw in that case)). Creatures immune to critical strikes could still be vulnerable to this effect if they have a recognizable morphology; for example, a zombie or a golem can still be decapitated or mutilated, though it would affect them differently from how it would affect a living creature. [this is my version of the vorpal ability, since I never liked how that one worked by raw]

sunbeam: as a standard action, the diamond golem can focus its glittering to shoot a single laser-like beam from its sword; upon a ranged touch attack, it deals 30 d6 magic damage (no saving throw). Use at will.

sunburst: the diamond golem can explode with inner light, an effect equivalent to an empowered sunburst cast by a wizard of 21th level and centered on the golem itself (saving throw CD 22).

transparency: when it turn off its glimmer, the diamond golem is so transparent it's difficult to see. When it is standing still, noticing it requires a spot check (CD 25, may be influenced by light conditions). When it is moving (as during a fight) the CD is lowered to 15. Furthermore, as it is still difficult to make out its features, the diamond golem has a concealment of 30% unless the attacker overshoots the spot check CD by 10 or more. The diamond golem also has +20 to hide checks when using this ability. This is not an invisibility effect; while magic is at work to prevent the light from being reflected and refracted normally, the resulting concealment is mundane, and is therefore not countered by dispel invisibility or true sight; darkvision, being based on sonar, works normally.

dazzle: as an alternative to being transparent, the diamond golem can shine powerfully to hurt the eyes of its enemies. The effect is similar to the 0th level spell flare, with the following differences: it affects all who are looking at the diamond golem, the saving throw CD is 20, and it gives a penalty of -2 to attacks on a successful saving throw, while a failed saving throw results in temporary blindness.

hardest material: the diamond golem is so hard that any weapon striking it is also damaged. Whenever the diamond golem is hit by a weapon, it only takes half the damage, while the other half is dealt to the weapon. If a natural weapon is used, that damage is dealt to the attacker. This damage ignore object hardness.

has arcane sight and true sight always active

golem immunities: the diamond golem is immune to all magic except for the following exceptions: disintegrate works, but deals one fourth of the damage it would deal normally. shatter works normally. It is also immune to cold, electricity and acid, and has damage reduction 50/- against fire.

loot: after the golem is destroyed, its shattered body is worth (2d6+13)*100000 gold pieces. The diamond katana can be recovered, and it is a +5 katana that deals +5 extra slicing damages, has +1 increased critical strike range (cumulative with improved critical strike) and retains the mutilate and diamond blade abilities; it cannot cast beams, though, as that was an ability of the whole golem.

I worry that it may be too tough. In melee, with judicious use of the power attack (diamond blade virtually adds +9 to its hit roll) it can probably kill the whole party in 2 rounds, while only taking moderate damage. On the other hand, its ranged skills are much lower; while 30d6 with no saving throw are a lot, they are well within the power of a cleric with heal. In fact, a wizard and a cleric, both with fly spells, the first having prepared nothing but (metamagic) disintegrate and the second nothing but heal, could easily kill it. I don't want it to be unbeatable, but I also don't want it to be beatable by a team of two people with a single spell. I also considered teaming it up with a platinum and/or iridium golem

Keep in mind that:
- there are no epics in my campaign world, at most a few people can reach level 22/23 with prestige classes; still, no epic items, no epic spells, no epic feats, the only exception being the availability of 10th level spell slots for metamagic.
- I am very generous with loot
- we are restricted mostly to core; we allow occasional extra stuff, but we have no desire to buy dozens of splatbooks and learn their every obscure secret.
- we are all casual gamers, and that's our level of optimization; ok, the barbarian hits really hard, the wizard has a very high int, but we don't know all the crazy combo-wombo stuff.
- custom researched spells are allowed, within reason; so the dazzle and transparency abilities should easily be countered by one
- I want to keep the general skill set for the golem.

Question. How far above their weight class have the party been punching? For example, if they've been consistently fighting bosses well above where they should be, then don't worry too much, and even kick it up a notch.

[Zancloufer]

So this is an, interesting, foe for sure. Few questions/points:

- Guessing CD = DC?
- DR /+5 is a 3.0 thing, it's updated to DR /Epic in 3.5
- 21 meters per round? So what 70 ft movement? That is, pretty fast. Though it has no way to deal with flying enemies.
- Saving throws are wrong. Should have +15 fort, +22 Ref and +19 Will. Also it probably could use a buff to those a little as they are not the best saving throws for a level 20 boss monster.
- Not enough HP. Your level 20 Front-liner will probably have 250+. Consider max HP/HD as this is suppose to be a "boss monster", and maybe even more than that dependent on how reliably the party can deal Sonic damage. 300HP is far from too much at level 20.
- A Second golem is a great idea. Even better is it could fly and have someway of pushing enemies into the other golem's reach (IE Improve Bull Rush). Action economy helps a lot.
- Should give him some counter to hard-magic stops. Maybe let him "cut spells in half" if he beats the spell caster in a Str check vs 10+CL of the spell he is trying to stop.

All things considered this is actually a pretty tough opponent. Pretty much immune to anything except sonic damage and Orbs of Force. I mean he doesn't have much that stops him from chasing enemies down (other than 70 movement speed) but on the flip side he is REALLY tough. That hardest material Ex ability makes for a nasty surprise if the beat-stick doesn't have a bucket of heavily enchanted weapons (Weapons CAP at 70 HP pre-epic, combine that with essentially DR 30/- there will be broken weapons everywhere).

[Thurbane]

I may be missing something, but how is ant Int "-" Golem getting feats?

[Calthropstu]

180 hit points, and disintegrate does 1/4 damage...

a 20th level mage...

So a maximized disintegrate deals 20 * 12 damage 240 /4 = 60.

With a rod of quicken, that is 2x so 120 in 1 round. And with a +9 fort save? No way in hell is he making that save if the caster is even remotely competent.

Your "unstoppable golem" is 2 rounds from being dust from JUST the mage.

Throw in a reasonably competent archer and it's down in 1 round. And if your mage HASN'T used enough divinations to figure that out he has failed as a high intelligence wizard.


So this is an, interesting, foe for sure. Few questions/points:

- Guessing CD = DC?
- DR /+5 is a 3.0 thing, it's updated to DR /Epic in 3.5
- 21 meters per round? So what 70 ft movement? That is, pretty fast. Though it has no way to deal with flying enemies.
- Saving throws are wrong. Should have +15 fort, +22 Ref and +19 Will. Also it probably could use a buff to those a little as they are not the best saving throws for a level 20 boss monster.
- Not enough HP. Your level 20 Front-liner will probably have 250+. Consider max HP/HD as this is suppose to be a "boss monster", and maybe even more than that dependent on how reliably the party can deal Sonic damage. 300HP is far from too much at level 20.
- A Second golem is a great idea. Even better is it could fly and have someway of pushing enemies into the other golem's reach (IE Improve Bull Rush). Action economy helps a lot.
- Should give him some counter to hard-magic stops. Maybe let him "cut spells in half" if he beats the spell caster in a Str check vs 10+CL of the spell he is trying to stop.

All things considered this is actually a pretty tough opponent. Pretty much immune to anything except sonic damage and Orbs of Force. I mean he doesn't have much that stops him from chasing enemies down (other than 70 movement speed) but on the flip side he is REALLY tough. That hardest material Ex ability makes for a nasty surprise if the beat-stick doesn't have a bucket of heavily enchanted weapons (Weapons CAP at 70 HP pre-epic, combine that with essentially DR 30/- there will be broken weapons everywhere).

This is a good start. Personally, I'd add hit points, throw his fort save through the roof (A balor, for example, has +30 fort save) add a few bits of equipment and a contingent quick escape method. If this organization is this powerful, its boss will have several contingencies ready for an occasion like this.

[Zancloufer]

So I realized now that my "corrected" saving throws are +5 too high.
Wait, level 20 threat, so +5 resistance bonus from something isn't unreasonable. Still works that way I guess.

Also there is NO WAY a "reasonably competent" archer would melt this golem. 50% Damage REFLECTION + what is effectively DR 30/- means you need to do 61 damage PER ATTACK to even hurt him. Only melee characters would reliably do that and their weapons would literally fall apart after 1-3 attacks.

Honestly remove his "vulnerability" to disintegration, buff them saving throws to at least what I mention, HP 300+ and give him a fly golem ally that really likes throwing enemies on the ground and you got a nasty boss monster with a few notable exploits.

[Calthropstu]

So I realized now that my "corrected" saving throws are +5 too high.
Wait, level 20 threat, so +5 resistance bonus from something isn't unreasonable. Still works that way I guess.

Also there is NO WAY a "reasonably competent" archer would melt this golem. 50% Damage REFLECTION + what is effectively DR 30/- means you need to do 61 damage PER ATTACK to even hurt him. Only melee characters would reliably do that and their weapons would literally fall apart after 1-3 attacks.

Honestly remove his "vulnerability" to disintegration, buff them saving throws to at least what I mention, HP 300+ and give him a fly golem ally that really likes throwing enemies on the ground and you got a nasty boss monster with a few notable exploits.

Does 3.5 not have the equivalent of pathfinder's clustered shot?

If they do, that 61 damage becomes child's play to a 20th level ranged combatant, who can easily work in a 150+ in a single round.

If not, you are correct: I was working on the assumption that it did exist, but then I realized I was thinking pathfinder.

[DarkSoul]

Does 3.5 not have the equivalent of pathfinder's clustered shot?

If they do, that 61 damage becomes child's play to a 20th level ranged combatant, who can easily work in a 150+ in a single round.No, Clustered Shots is not a thing in 3.5.

[Calthropstu]

I see; then I retract the statement. With it immune to criticals, then the disintegrate is the way to go. It still stands as a 2 round annihilation by the mage unaltered, who can have party members, summons or hirelings stand between it and him.

Also: Summon monster 6 beats this thing HARDCORE. With a touch AC of 17, 1d4+1 lantern archons being blasted out each round by a wizard WILL destroy this thing. And it literally has almost no defense. This is probably the tactic I would personally use.

[AlanBruce]

I sent this guy against a 15th level party. They managed to hurt it, but only because they got lucky and had a natural flier and ample room to run away from it after a few rounds.

At any rate, it is a homebrewed creature, so take its CR and abilities at face value, but if your party is 20th level, you can advance its HD or lower its abilities as appropriate.

The Dead Iron Golem (https://dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Dead_Iron_Golem_(3.5e_Monster))

If you want to keep the diamond fluff, just have it be made of diamonds.

[King of Nowhere]

So this is an, interesting, foe for sure. Few questions/points:

That hardest material Ex ability makes for a nasty surprise if the beat-stick doesn't have a bucket of heavily enchanted weapons (Weapons CAP at 70 HP pre-epic, combine that with essentially DR 30/- there will be broken weapons everywhere).

Unfortunately, the most powerful organizatiion in my campaign world is the merchant union, who capitalized on the fact of being the only ones to have an extradimensional caveau that even the most powerful adventurers couldn't rob (probably I'll ask in the future to figure out exactly what kind of abjuration they have; though they include a wish spell to prevent other wish spells to be used to teleport in) to monopolize all trade of magic items (except minor ones) for three centuries; also, they sell and buy with everyone equally and do not engage in politics, so no other powerful organization ever tried to take them down a notch. their bunker is bound to contain around 50 +5 weapons, so grabbing a replacement is ultimately just a loss of an action.


I suggest the following changes if you want to make him a decent challenge.
1. Double his initiative bonus
2. Double or maybe Triple his HP
3. Add 5-10 Insight/Dodge bonus to his AC
4. Give him Fast healing 10 or Regeneration 5/Sonic
5. Make him immune to magic weapon properties and or enhancement bonuses

1, 3; insignth bonus could justify both higher AC and higher initiative, and it would also fit with a supernaturally fast construct. I want an AC that a 20th level fighter type can expect to pass with a 10 on his first attack (not power attacking) but making a bit of number crunching I see that the party barbarian will have a STR around 40 when raging, and with weapon bonus and maybe some buff spells a +45 to hit is easily achievable; I agree the golem should have a CA raised around 50-55. furthermore, an insight CA bonus would help against touch attacks, which are this golem's main weaknesses.
2 I would, but without a CON score it would require raising its hit dice, and I feel 5 attacks per round are already enough. Of course, as a DM I could easily fix that, either by ignoring the stuff about hit dices altogether, or by giving it an additional ability like "extra hardness; grants 5 extra hp per hit dice", which would basically be a CON bonus by another name. Still, I am a bit fond of the idea of a foe with relatively limited hp, but extremely hard to damage, so I'd rather increase the defences otherwise but leave the 160 hp. Also, hardest material means it will take half damage from any physical attack.
4 fast healing definitely fits; even some sonic resistance, though it makes sense that a crystalline creature would be vulnerable to sonic above all else. So maybe something like damage reduction 10 against sonic?
5 I don't like much straight out immunities.


So this is an, interesting, foe for sure. Few questions/points:


1 Also it probably could use a buff to saving throws a little as they are not the best saving throws for a level 20 boss monster.
2 A Second golem is a great idea. Even better is it could fly and have someway of pushing enemies into the other golem's reach (IE Improve Bull Rush). Action economy helps a lot.
3 Should give him some counter to hard-magic stops. Maybe let him "cut spells in half" if he beats the spell caster in a Str check vs 10+CL of the spell he is trying to stop.



1 I'd gladly buff its saving throws (to about +30), but I can't find any legitimate way to do so without raising its hit dices a lot. I could add some extraordinary ability, but I'd want it to be themed with the rest of its skills. Maybe I just need to find the right name for it :)
2 I considered adding more golems; I know Jarraed made several other "limited edition" golems that nobody after him managed to replicate, and the merchant union managed to hoarde most of those for their defences. There will be gold golems, platinum golems, iridium golems, osmium golems, though I still haven't decided what all of those will do. though one golem will cast spells like a 20th level cleric and another like a 20th level sorceror, both with high durability and no need for concentration checks (as golems feel no pain). Certainly a sorceror golem casting disjunction on any flying opponent will complement nicely with the guy who hits at +50 in melee. But I'd like to have the diamond golem as single boss, if I manage it.
3 good idea. some way to dissolve spells with an attack.



This golem has ambiguous immunities in my opinion. Is it immune to grease? Web? Solid fog? Glitterdust? These are spells that ignore spell resistance and deal no HP damage on their own, but can, by RAW, seriously hamper even epic golems! Also, true seeing is hampered by fog. Just sayin'.


Ideally, those things should slow it down a bit, but not too much. probably they would slow it much better than I intend, though. Any suggestion to reduce vulnerability to those effect that is not a straight-out immunity?



What are the stats of your party? You mentioned some basics. For example, what's the Wizard's contingency?

I learned from being a GM that super careful 'balance' didn't really matter: Players tended to enter 'secret agent mode' when faced with challenges and found interesting ways to solve them.

Also, will characters be at full power (full HP, spells, item uses, etc.) at the start if this fight? If not, how depleted do you expect them to be?
they just reached level 8, so it's a bit early to say, but they have good stats (rerolled until everyone had roughly the equivalent of a 32 point buy, some a bit more) and plemnty of loot (roughly twice to three times the one suggested by the manual) and they've routinely trounced opponents which I intended as though fights. Though a couple times they had their asses handed out to them by foes that I expected to be routine. But keep in mind that none of us is particularly skilled in optimization. Anyway, if they find interesting ways to face this challenge it would be good, as long as the challenge still look badass in retrospect.


I may be missing something, but how is ant Int "-" Golem getting feats?
I just imagined that it was programmed really, really well; just in the same way that a computer can only follow instructions, but with sufficiently good instructions it can play chess or recognize faces.



50% Damage REFLECTION + what is effectively DR 30/-
no, it is not DR 30/-. I am using a mix of 3.0 and 3.5, and I'm using 3.0 here, so +5 weapons can bypass the damage reduction, though they are still affected by the damage reflection.


180 hit points, and disintegrate does 1/4 damage...

a 20th level mage...

So a maximized disintegrate deals 20 * 12 damage 240 /4 = 60.

With a rod of quicken, that is 2x so 120 in 1 round. And with a +9 fort save? No way in hell is he making that save if the caster is even remotely competent.

Your "unstoppable golem" is 2 rounds from being dust from JUST the mage.


Good point, it's too vulnerable to disintegrate. though if I give it a +10 insight CA it can also be expected to dodge some rays. Well, unless the wizard packs high in quickened true strike scrolls. Yeah, vulnerability to disintegrate and shatter has to be curtailed. Maybe takes 1/10 damage from disintegrate and 1/3 from shatter.



If this organization is this powerful, its boss will have several contingencies ready for an occasion like this.

Actually, they do, though they are mostly indirect.
1) nobody knows a way to break into their extradimensional fortress without their consent,
1b) if somebody finds out a way, they offer a big reward for showing it to them and an even bigger reward for finding a way to patch it, which is much safer than trying an attack and risking everything
2) they don't keep all their eggs in a basket: they loaned money to other powerful people and just hid stuff underground in remote areas to ensure that in any case they'd have some funds left, which would allow them to retaliate by putting a bounty of several millions gp on the trapped soul of the offenders; which they did, once. the souls, trapped in gems, are the centerpieces of the big chandelier hanging over the corridor where customers are brough to conduct business.
but they are also greatly safeguarded by
3) they offer a useful service for everyone; without them, adventurers would be unable to buy and sell weapons better than +2 because nobody would have the resources to defend them; nations and powerful individuals rely on their banking services, knowing they are extremely reliable. Nations could give them their treasure for safekeeping, and so high level adventurers stopped overthrowing kings for the loot; this brough increased stability and peace for everyone. Even if the merchant union is strictly neutral, it makes the world better and the vast majority of people would rather fight for it than against.
4) even if you managed to rob them, what would you do with all that gold? it's far more than you can spend, especially considering they are the only ones selling the really expensive stuff. And now that you are so much incredibly above the wbl guidelines, and you made plenty of people angry, pretty much every other high level adventurer on the planet will gang up on you.

So in the end most contingencies and safeguards are political. Really, the only people who would consider attacking them are a bunch of players who don't like the idea of someone in the campaign world more powerful than they are :)


Ok, thanks for all the input. Right now I have no time left, but I will post an updated version within a few days.
By the way, just curious since someone mentioned: how would an archer melt someone who can deflect arrows 7 times per round?

[JNAProductions]

Transparency seems really odd. I mean, it's clear, sure, but 30% miss chance seems excessive for that. You can pretty easily tell where a window is, for instance. I'm not saying it's unbalanced by any means-but it's weird.

Also, a Katana? Really? :P

Immune to acid... But not Sonic. At 15th level, an orb of Sound deals 15d4 (37.5) damage, for only 5 casts to kill it (assuming no misses, but with Touch AC 17, misses aren't likely).

It's not immune to being Forcecaged, and that'll last 30 hours.

Does Glitterdust negate its Transparency?

Combine Forcecage with Haboob and it'll die over about 14 rounds.

[Bucky]

I'd suggest giving it a 1/minute Dimension Door SLA for good measure. Or the ability to destroy Force effects.

[Thurbane]

I just imagined that it was programmed really, really well; just in the same way that a computer can only follow instructions, but with sufficiently good instructions it can play chess or recognize faces.

Fair enough. By RAW a non-intelligent being can't have feats unless they are bonus feats (like Toughness for a Zombie), but since it's a home-brew monster, it really doesn't matter much either way.

[Dragonexx]

An end game boss should be something that would make a memorable encounter. Something with mechanics that don't heavily restrict what the PC's can do, or instead provide incentives for fighting in the way you want them to fight.

Tiamat
Alternative Names: Queen of the Evil Dragons, Dragon of Many Colors and of None, Takhisis, Tamex the False Metal, Her Dark Majesty,
Symbol: 5 Headed Dragon, Black Crescent
Portfolio: Evil Dragons, Conquest, Tyrants, Fear, Wealth
Domains: Conquest (https://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Conquest_%283.5e_Cleric_Domain%29), Destruction (https://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Destruction,_Variant_%283.5e_Cleric_Domain%29), Dragon (https://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Dragon_%283.5e_Cleric_Domain%29), Evil (https://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Evil_%283.5e_Cleric_Domain%29), Fright (https://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Fright_%283.5e_Cleric_Domain%29), Greed (https://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Greed_%283.5e_Cleric_Domain%29), Law (https://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Law_%283.5e_Cleric_Domain%29), Pride (https://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Pride_%283.5e_Cleric_Domain%29), Tyranny (https://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Tyranny_%283.5e_Cleric_Domain%29), Want (https://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Want_%283.5e_Cleric_Domain%29)
https://s26.postimg.org/rvmvi6zkp/xg_DCs_Sl.jpg
Welcome to the final boss battle.
Size/Type: Titanic (https://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Expanded_Size_Categories_%283.5e_Variant_Rule%29) Outsider (Draconic (https://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Draconic_%283.5e_Subtype%29), Evil, Lawful)
Hit Dice: 24dX (1000hp)
Initiative: +10
Speed: 60ft. Fly: 200ft. (Poor) 500ft (Clumsy)
Armor Class: 50
Base Attack/Grapple: +24/+74
Attack: Bite +46 (10d6+38+effect) or Tail +46 (10d6+38+poison)
Full Attack: see below
Space/Reach: 100ft./150ft.
Special Attacks: See below
Special Qualities: See below
Saves: Fort +37 Reflex +26 Will +37
Abilities: Str 70 Dex 18 Con 40 Int 40 Wis 40 Cha 40
Skills:
Feats:
Environment: Nine Hells of Baator
Organization: Self plus any creatures the DM feels fitting.
Challenge Rating: 24
Treasure: You win D&D.
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Advancement: -
Level Adjustment: -


**** Hit Dice: I don't feel like doing a bunch of complicated math for this and trying to balance Hit Die and Con, so **** it, Tiamat just has a default of 1000 hit points. Deal.

**** Immunities: Tiamat may choose to ignore all energy resistance or immunity. Creatures with immunity instead take half damage. Against effects requiring saving throws (but not saves to reduce damage), Tiamat ignores any resistance or immunity, though creatures with immunity receive a +3 bonus to their save (that can't be ignored).

**** Your Fortifications (Ex): Tiamat if she chooses ignores all forms of hardness and damage reduction, bypasses any regeneration, and deals full maximized triple damage to objects. Whenever Tiamat moves on the ground, for every 5 feet she moves she may opt to cause an Earthquake with triple the area. Tiamat any any creature she chooses are immune to it's effects.

**** the Action Economy: Tiamat has 5 heads. Each head can take it's own standard actions and swift actions. When rolling initiative, roll once for each head, each time subtracting two from the initiative amount. Should Tiamat suffer an effect which denies her actions (such as stunning or dazing, only one of her heads is affected [attackers choice]). For every 200 points of HP tiamat loses, she loses one head (if by damage, then the attacker decides which head is lost, if by sacrificing hit points, she decides which head is lost). Should Tiamat rise above this threshold, she may regain one head of her choice.
Each head of tiamat has its own abilities. Any immunities apply to Tiamat as a whole as long as the head remains.
Breath Weapon: Each head has a breath weapon in either a 500ft cone, a 1000 foot line, or a 200ft burst out to 1 mile. Once it breathes a head cannot use it's breath weapon in the next round. Individual effects are listed in the head's entry. Save DC's are 37 (cha based)
Bite: Each head has a bite attack dealing 10d6+38 damage plus an effect listed in it's entry.
Heads
Red: Breath weapon deals 150 fire damage (reflex half). Any creature which fails it's saving throw catches fire, taking 30 points of damage per round until it takes a total of 30 points of cold damage, is immersed in water or some other fire retardant substance, is exposed to an airless environment, or makes a reflex save on it's turns. Bite attack adds 10d6 points of fire damage. Is immune to fire and miss chances. Locate Object, Find the Path, Suggestion, and Discern Location usable at will as spell-like abilities.
Blue: Breath weapon deals 150 points of electricity damage (reflex half). Any creature which fails it's saving throw is Numbed (https://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Numbed_%283.5e_Condition%29) for 1 minute. Bite deals an additional 10d6 electricity damage. Immune to electricity and the stunned condition. May create or despoil up to 240 gallons of water (also ruining potions unless a will save is made). May mimic any voice or sound Tiamat has heard (will save reveals the trick). May use Hallucinatory Terrain, Ventriloquism, and Mirage Arcana as spell-like abilities at will.
Green: Breath weapon deals 3d6 points of damage to an ability score of it's choice, and then causes the victim to suffer an additional point of damage to that score every round for 1 minute (fort negates). The victim is also permanently blinded, is nauseated for 1 round, and fatigued. This is a [Poison] effect. Bite causes the victim to suffer 2d6 points of damage to an ability score of the heads choice (fort negates). This is also a [Poison] effect. Is immune to poison. May act freely underwater, having a swim speed of 150 feet (this applies to Tiamat as a whole as long as the green head remains). May use Plant Growth, Dominate Monster, Suggestion, and Plant Growth at will as spell-like abilities.
Black: Breath weapon deals 150 acid damage (reflex half), creatures who fail are nauseated for 5 rounds. Bite attack deals an additional 10d6 acid damage. Is immune to acid and the nauseated and sickened conditions. May corrupt up to 1000 cubic feet of water, like a black dragon. May at will charm up to 24 reptilian creatures within line of sight (will negates). May act freely underwater and has a 150 ft swim speed (this applies to Tiamat as a whole as long as the black head remains). May use Blacklight, Insect Plague, and Plant Growth at will as spell-like abilities.
White: Breath weapon deals 150 points of cold damage (reflex half). Creatures who fail are frozen solid, becoming helpless for 3 rounds. Bite attack deals an additional 10d6 cold damage. Immune to cold and any effect which would restrict movement. Movement and sight is not impeded by snowfall, and may cling to icy surfaces like spider climb. May use Freezing Fog, Fog Cloud, Wall of Ice, Gust of Wind and Control Weather at will as spell-like abilities.

I'm a ****-Mothering Goddess!: Tiamat is a goddess and as a result has several innate powers. She is immune to antimagic effects, death effects, effects that would change her form against her will, harmful planar effects and any non-magical form of harm. She is immune to mind-affecting effects, and any creature attempting to use one on her must instead make a will save (DC37) or become permanently insane. If any creature attempts to use a divination effect within 1 mile of her, she becomes aware of the effect, and may cause the creature to become dazed (will negates) and instantly move to within close range of that creature (regardless of plane). She is aware of everything that happens within 10 miles of her worshipers, holy sites, or any other objects or locales sacred to her. She is aware of everything that happens within 1 mile of anywhere one of her names is spoken or an event related to her portfolio occurs, and for 1 hour afterwards.

Tiamat has a +8 enhancement bonus to her attack and damage rolls, a +8 resistance bonus to her saving throws and a +6 bonus to initiative. She may take 20 without any additional time on any non-opposed skill check, and does not automatically fail rolls on a natural 1. She may use Miracle once per minute as a standard action supernatural ability. All of her abilities have deific origins.

If Tiamat is ever subject to a condition she does not wish to be (excluding hit point damage, disabled, dying and death) she may immediately cure herself of that condition as a free action usable outside of turn (even if she could not normally take the action) by dealing 100 points of untyped damage to herself (this cannot be resisted, reduced or negated by any means short of plot).

Tiamat is under a permanent, extraordinary, Shapechange, Foresight (https://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Foresight_%283.5e_Spell%29)

Tiamat's very presence is a blight on the surrounding area. The area within 20 miles of her is subject to a desecrate effect, with the innermost mile also subject to an unhallow effect. The specifics of this spell may be changed as a free action.

Dragonfear (Su): All non-draconic creatures within 1 mile of Tiamat must make a will save (DC37) or become panicked for 1 hour. Creatures with line of sight to Tiamat instead cower until line of sight is broken where upon they become panicked for 1 hour. Success grants immunity (that can't be ignored) to this effect for 1 hour.

Queen of Dragons (Su): All non-good draconic creatures within 1 mile of Tiamat must make a will save (DC37) or have their disposition towards her become fanatic for as long as they are within range. All good draconic creatures must make a will save (DC37) or suffer a greater bestow curse of Tiamat's choice for as long as they are within range. Success confers immunity (that can't be ignored) to these effects for 1 hour.

Beware My Stinger Tail (Ex): Once per round as a free action, Tiamat can strike with her tail, dealing damage and causing a creature to suffer 1 point of damage per round for one minute to an ability score of her choice.

Perfect Dragon (Ex): Tiamat is the ultimate dragon. She is immune to Paralysis and Sleep, has Blindsense and Tremorsense out to 1000 feet, and is capable of judging the worth and value of anything she can perceive. On objects, this functions as if she automatically succeeded on an appraise check, automatically knowing it's value in any currency and what it would be worth buying or selling at any vendor she knows of. On creatures this translates into her knowing anything about their statistics that she wishes. She may also use an extraordinary Analyze Dweomer at will as a free action.

Spell-Like Abilities: All spells and abilities of her domains at will save for the 8th level spells usable 2/day and the 9th level spells 1/day. Plus At will: Greater Teleport, Greater Plane Shift, Telekinesis 1/day: Dark Reckoning (https://dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Dark_Reckoning_%283.5e_Spell%29)

Spells: Tiamat casts spells as a 20th level sorcerer save that she may also learn spells from the cleric list of equal level. She may ignore all components of the spell. No matter how many heads she has, she may only cast one spell per round.
Spells Known: 9/5/5/4/4/4/3/3/3/3
Spells Per Day: 6/10/10/10/9/9/9/9/8/8
0: Cure Minor Wounds, Prestidigitation, Detect Magic, Read Magic, Mending, Inflict Minor Wounds
1: Blood Wind, Power Word Pain, Greater Mage Hand, Grease, Unseen Servant
2: Fog Cloud, Web, Hideous Laughter, Mirror Image, Essence of the Dragon, Scent,
3: Major Image, Displacement, Fly, Venomfire
4: Minor Wish (https://dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Minor_Wish_%283.5e_Spell%29), Black Tentacles, Orb of Fire, Greater Invisibility,
5: Freezing Fog, Cloudkill, Wall of Stone, Divine Retribution
6: Heal, Antimagic Field, Greater Dispel Magic,
7: Limited Wish, Forcecage, Lesser Miracle (https://dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Lesser_Miracle_%283.5e_Spell%29)
8: Apocalypse (https://dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Apocalypse_%283.5e_Spell%29), Delilah's Dispersal Current (https://dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Delilah%27s_Dispersal_Current_%283.5e_Spell%29), Maze
9: Wish, Gate, Time Stop

[King of Nowhere]

An end game boss should be something that would make a memorable encounter. Something with mechanics that don't heavily restrict what the PC's can do, or instead provide incentives for fighting in the way you want them to fight.

eh, I fully agree with that, but it is more easily said than done. In my case I want this golem to be equally (very slightly) vulnerable to both melee and magic, so that both engaging in melee or blasting it from afar are roughly equally viable options. If I balanced it right, it is much more deadly in melee, but also much easier to damage than it would be from afar, after the fixes I made

So, I have made a revised version. I gave it an insight bonus to initiative, AC and reflexes. Not to attack roll because I think the diamond blade armor-bypassing effect makes it lethal enough in melee as it is. I increased the saving throws to something more appropriate by giving it some fancy-named skills. I added the ability to dispel magic with melee attacks; I added a magic shield that requires casting disjunction every round or two before its other weaknesses can be targeted; and I added a resistance to nonmagical sound damage to take care of those sonic orbs that otherwise would so conveniently bypass everything.
I left the small amount of hit points, because now it is much harder to damage. And I left the vulnerability to disintegrate, because between improved touch AC, improved fortitude, and greater spell shield, I think I pathed that hole well enough.
Things that I added or modified are in bold

diamond golem (revised)

The diamond golem has the shape of a man made entirely of diamonds, wielding a katana also made of diamonds. The details are crafted exquisitely, but the face does not move; the katana is attached to the hand, and cannot be removed without destroying the golem first. When the construct does not shimmer, it is transparent to the point of being difficult to see; when it fully gleams, it is a shining, blinding beacon of light. Only one of those automatons has ever been created; according to the legend, the wizard Jarraed, the greatest golem-maker who ever lived, sunk his whole fortune to make this masterpiece, then he went depressed and crazy over the realization that he would never, ever be able to make something as beautiful. The tale may be fanciful, but what is certain is that even after centuries his creation is unmatched.
In combat, the golem wields its katana with superhuman strength and speed; but unlike other golems who rely solely on brute force, the diamond golem has the grace and skill of a master swordsman. Its main weakness is its incapability of flying, but it can concentrate its glittering light into deadly rays to fight opponents who keep afar.

hit dice: 30 d10 (165 hp)
initiative: +21 (+7 dex, +4 improved initiative, +10 insight)
speed: 21 meters per round
AC: 52 (+7 dex, +25 natural, +10 insight), touch 27, flat-footed 35
attacks: diamond katana +41/+36/+31/+26/+21 (critical 16-20 * 2), or 2 diamond slams +36
damages: katana 1d10+32 (+18 str(double handed), +5 weapon enhancement, +4 (greater) weapon specialization, +5 cutting (weapon bonus)), or slam 1d8+17
special attacks: sunbeam, sunburst, diamond blade, mutilate, cut the weave
special qualities: transparency, dazzle, hardest material, damage reduction 30/+5, arcane sight, true seeing, golem immunities, greater magic shield, greater cohesion, unbreakable programming, danger precognition
saving throws: fort +34 ref +26 will +33
stats: STR 35 DEX 25 CON - INT - WIS 19 CHA 19
feats: weapon focus, greater weapon focus, weapon specialization, greater weapon specialization, improved critical strike (all applied to the katana), power attack, cleave, great cleave, dodge, mobility, combat finesse, whirlwind attack, combat reflexes, improved initiative, deflect arrows (can use the katana to deflect, and every deflection attempt counts as an attack of opportunity)

diamond blade: the diamond katana ignores the first 3 points of bonus AC caused by armor, shield, or natural (cumulative). It ignores the first 15 points of hardness when trying to damage an object. On a successful hit, it damages the armor or shield or natural armor (roll at random to determine which); an armor/shield damaged this way gives a AC bonus lowered by -2. If the total AC bonus of the object is brought to 0 that way, the object is broken. A force effect like a mage's armor is immune to being damaged this way, but it is still partially bypassed.
mutilate: on a confirmed critical strike by the diamond katana, the target has to make a saving throw (DC=damage taken) or lose a limb. For a humanoid shape, the lost limb can be determined by rolling a 6-sided dice (1, 2 a leg, 3, 4 an arm, 5 decapitation, 6 bisection (+10 to saving throw in that case)). Creatures immune to critical strikes could still be vulnerable to this effect if they have a recognizable morphology; for example, a zombie or a golem can still be decapitated or mutilated, though it would affect them differently from how it would affect a living creature. [this is my version of the vorpal ability, since I never liked how that one worked by raw]
cut the weave: the diamond golem can attune its diamond katana to the weave and cut the very threads of magic that make up a spell. With a melee attack, it can dissolve any spell effect as if it had been dismissed by its caster. On permanent enchantments or enchanted items, this suppresses the enchantment for 2d4 rounds. Dissolving a spell like a wall of force or a zone of silence requires no attack roll, while disenchanting an item in the possession of a creature would require an attack roll to hit said item.
sunbeam: as a standard action, the diamond golem can focus its glittering to shoot a single laser-like beam from its sword; upon a ranged touch attack, it deals 30 d6 magic damage (no saving throw). Use at will once per round.
sunburst: the diamond golem can explode with inner light, an effect equivalent to an empowered sunburst cast by a wizard of 21th level and centered on the golem itself (saving throw CD 22).
transparency: when it turn off its glimmer, the diamond golem is so transparent it's difficult to see. When it is standing still, noticing it requires a spot check (CD 25, may be influenced by light conditions). When it is moving (as during a fight) the CD is lowered to 15. Furthermore, as it is still difficult to make out its features, the diamond golem has a concealment of 30% unless the attacker overshoots the spot check CD by 10 or more. The diamond golem also has +20 to hide checks when using this ability. This is not an invisibility effect; while magic is at work to prevent the light from being reflected and refracted normally, the resulting concealment is mundane, and is therefore not countered by dispel invisibility or true sight; darkvision, being based on sonar, works normally.
dazzle: as an alternative to being transparent, the diamond golem can shine powerfully to hurt the eyes of its enemies. The effect is similar to the 0th level spell flare, with the following differences: it affects all who are looking at the diamond golem, the saving throw CD is 20, and it gives a penalty of -2 to attacks on a successful saving throw, while a failed saving throw results in temporary blindness.
hardest material: the diamond golem is so hard that any weapon striking it is also damaged. Whenever the diamond golem is hit by a weapon, it only takes half the damage, while the other half is dealt to the weapon. If a natural weapon is used, that damage is dealt to the attacker. This damage ignore object hardness. When targeted by a vorpal or mutilate or any other slicing effect that could remove parts of its anatomy, the diamond golem is allowed a saving throw even if it normally wouldn't (FORT, DC=damage taken if the effect does not specify otherwise); on a successful saving throw, the golem resisted being sliced and the blade become dulled, receiving a -2 to hit and damage until repaired.
has arcane sight and true sight always active
golem immunities: the diamond golem is immune to all magic except for the following exceptions: disintegrate works, but deals one fourth of the damage it would deal normally. shatter works normally. Still, those effect are also blocked by greater magic shield (see below). It is also immune to cold, electricity and acid, and has damage reduction 50/- against fire and 10/- against sonic; additionally, it has a further resistance of 50/magic against sonic [this is intended to stop those pesky conjuration orbs that "are not magic per se, were magically created but they are now an absolutely natural ball of fire/acid/whatever". Well, if so, they bypass the magic resistances, but they can at least face a damage reduction of 50].
greater magic shield: the diamond golem is protected against all forms of magic by what is in effect an antimagic field starting a few centimeters from it. Every spell or supernatural ability directed at the diamond golem fizzles as if it entered an antimagic field. In order to affect the golem with any spell or spell-like ability, this shield must be temporarily disabled; casting disjunction disables this effect for 1d2 rounds. Wish or miracle disable it for 2d4 rounds. In both cases, dispelling the greater magic shield causes a recoil of dispelling; the caster must make a check with his spellcasting stat (int for wizards, wis for clerics and druids, etc.) (DC 22) or he will also be treated as the target of disjunction. [my idea is that now a wizard keeping a distance with flight has to face a small chance to lose his flight spell every time it lowers the magical defences; thus keeping at range and blasting is no longer a 100% safe strategy]
greater cohesion: the diamond golem has extraordinary resistance to effects threatening its structural integrity; it receives a +25 to fortitude saving throws against effects that would break it or damage it [which, unless my wording is wrong, does include disintegrate and any effect that works on an inanimate object]
unbreakable programming: the diamond golem is animated by spells that are much harder to subvert compared to a normal golem. It receives a +20 to will saves, and it is not subject to a chance to go berserk like lesser golems.
danger precognition: the diamond golem has a measure of preception to feel dangers before they arrive. It gains a +10 insight bonus to initiative, AC and REF saving throws. It can perceive any creature hostile to it or its master within 100 meters, unless they are protected with mind blank or a similar spell.
loot: after the golem is destroyed, its shattered body is worth (2d6+13)*100000 gold pieces. The diamond katana can be recovered, and it is a +5 katana that deals +5 extra slicing damages, has +1 increased critical strike range (cumulative with improved critical strike) and retains the mutilate and diamond blade abilities; it cannot cast cut the weave or sunbeams, though, as those were abilities of the whole golem.