Shadowsteel golems?

[shadow_archmagi]

So, in an evil campaign I'm in, I don't really have the cash to pay the 50000 or so GP it takes to make a shadowsteel golem.

On the other hand, opening a portal to the plane of shadow and sending in four hundred miners seems doable (they want, what, a GP a week each?). (Plus it opens up opportunities on the DM's part for shadow-monsters to attack the miners, prompting more adventures)

Suggestions? Tips? Important details? How the hell do I open a portal to the plane of shadow?

[TelemontTanthul]

If I recall, you can hire practically any Shadow Mage to help you out. Or, if there are none in your campaign setting (which is?) you can always look for a Planar Gate cube, it is an artifact that basically looks like a steel cube with a button on each side.

Just don't push ALL the buttons at once, if memory serves, it is VERY VERY BAD.

That is all the advice that I can give really, since I don't know if you are in FR or just in a made up setting.

[Tavar]

Wouldn't Gate work? Granted, it's not the best use of the spell, but then again it's not one of the cheesy uses either, so it likely won't be banned.

[jiriku]

I'm pretty sure that repeated castings of plane shift or shadow walk (just wander off the path) will accomplish the deed.

[Deth Muncher]

Whoa. Planar Gate cube. Do want. Where is this mentioned?

[arguskos]

It's called a Cubic Gate. It's on the SRD for gods sake. No one seems to remember that the DM had items, and that they were cool.

[Deth Muncher]

It's called a Cubic Gate. It's on the SRD for gods sake. No one seems to remember that the DM had items, and that they were cool.

WHAT?! Good items in core?!

[arguskos]

WHAT?! Good items in core?!

Seriously, it has some fun stuff.

Everyone seems to forget that there's a Wondrous Item section in the DMG. /facepalm

Also, the obligatory "Good items? In MY Core? It's more likely than you think. ". Apologies to all involved.

[Tavar]

I think one problem is that I can count the number of times I've had 164000 gp to spend on one item on one hand. It's hard to remember items that aren't available most of the time.

[arguskos]

I think one problem is that I can count the number of times I've had 164000 gp to spend on one item on one hand. It's hard to remember items that aren't available most of the time.

True enough, though I tend to recall the Cubic Gate, cause it's COOL. I gave one to my party once. They loooooved that item, though they hated using a new side they hadn't figured out yet, especially since stuff comes through the gate when you aren't expecting it. It's always enjoyable to have a player say "ok, we'll active side 4", you roll some d%s and go "oh, bad luck, that was Acheron, here, have a warband of planar orcs." The player's expressions? Priceless!

[Deth Muncher]

"oh, bad luck, that was Acheron, here, have a warband of planar orcs." The player's expressions? Priceless!

That is glorious.

[Jair Barik]

The funniest over priced item IMHO is the immovable rod. Its priceless for boat related hilarity or any other form of traditional transport that has rooms in it. Also ammusing means of fighting animals that have the swallow whole ability.

[arguskos]

That is glorious.

"Peter... remember, with great items comes great responsibil-"
"Don't you mean loot? Great loot?"
"Dammit... Peter... I said, responsibil-"
"Yeah, yeah, loot, I got it. Later Uncle Ben."
"...my heart!" *dies*

Actual exchange between two characters (neither were named Ben or Peter, but the one playing Ben really was dying) when they got the Cubic Gate.

Heh, I had a player get swallowed by a Purple Worm on purpose once, then activate a pair of Immovable Rods inside it, and just hang on for dear life. The poor thing impaled itself from the inside.

[Jair Barik]

Immovable rod+Gnomish submergible=hilarity.

Though its best to try and forget real life physics if this ever comes up.

[arguskos]

Immovable rod+Gnomish submergible=hilarity.

Though its best to try and forget real life physics if this ever comes up.

Heh, I got one better:

Smokepowder bombs+a barrel of alchemist's fire+a fire elemental powered airship+Telekinesis=OHGODITSRAININGFIREAUGH!!!

[Deth Muncher]

"Peter... remember, with great items comes great responsibil-"
"Don't you mean loot? Great loot?"
"Dammit... Peter... I said, responsibil-"
"Yeah, yeah, loot, I got it. Later Uncle Ben."
"...my heart!" *dies*

Actual exchange between two characters (neither were named Ben or Peter, but the one playing Ben really was dying) when they got the Cubic Gate.

Heh, I had a player get swallowed by a Purple Worm on purpose once, then activate a pair of Immovable Rods inside it, and just hang on for dear life. The poor thing impaled itself from the inside.

Also equally glorious.

Perhaps moreso IMO, due to my Marvel Disney MARVEL fanboydom. (Not to be confused with fanboidom.)

[Reaper_Monkey]

WHAT?! Good items in core?!

Cummon, how many times have people used a Decanter of Endless Water to create entertaining and shiney effects? Or the innumerable times you've obtained Handy Haversacks and Bags of Holding? There are endless piles of good stuff in core, just people never think of them in such a way because they're so use to them.

Also, yeah, I get that your joking - I just wanted to point out that although items aint as wondrous as they once were, they are still awesome in their own right.

[Jair Barik]

Just remembered a great one. Bag of twent immovable rods. One at the very bottom of the bag is cursed so that pressing its button deactivates all of the rods for one hour. Hilarity ensues.

[Johel]

Heh, I had a player get swallowed by a Purple Worm on purpose once, then activate a pair of Immovable Rods inside it, and just hang on for dear life. The poor thing impaled itself from the inside.

Someone on this very forum did something similar with a impaled Tarrasque, with a city build around it. The poor beasty, thanks to its amazing regeneration capacity, was basically used to get an infinite amount of food and magical components.

@shadow_archmagi
You got it right about the miners, the monsters and the cost.
The portal can be done using "Gate", "Shadow walk" or "Plane Shift".
You want to use Gate rather than the others, since there's no limit in how many creature can cross the Gate before it collapses.
A 20feet large Gate, if you can hold it for 20 rounds, can be crossed by a lot of people.
A column large of 4 miners and long of 6 can cross in 1 round.
That's about 24 miners per round, so we are talking about 480 miners in 20 rounds. Also, they arrive at a specific location, no error.

Only potential issue is bringing back the shadowiron once it's extracted. But it's really nothing to worry too much about. Worst case, you waste a month casting Gates.

[arguskos]

Johel, that Tarrasque city originated on another board. I remember reading that thread actually, and it was messed up... but SOO AWESOME. They had Immovable Harpoons pinning it down while people coup de grace'd with scythes to get the meat. The image was... disturbing.

Also, shadow archmagi, why are you mining shadowiron if you can't actually afford to make the golem?

[Johel]

Johel, that Tarrasque city originated on another board. I remember reading that thread actually, and it was messed up... but SOO AWESOME. They had Immovable Harpoons pinning it down while people coup de grace'd with scythes to get the meat. The image was... disturbing.

Also, shadow archmagi, why are you mining shadowiron if you can't actually afford to make the golem?

That's that thread !!

Answer for shadowarchmagi : Because the shadowsteel represents most of the golem's cost ? So if he can get said iron by mining it rather than buying it, the fabrication cost goes down.

[arguskos]

That's that thread !!

Answer for shadowarchmagi : Because the shadowsteel represents most of the golem's cost ? So if he can get said iron by mining it rather than buying it, the fabrication cost goes down.

By RAW, the costs for producing golems can't be mitigated by acquiring your materials personally. The rest of the cost is made up somewhere else.

Then again, should Mr. Archmagi's DM rule differently, I would approve heartily! I like players who take initiative on item creation.

[Johel]

By RAW, the costs for producing golems can't be mitigated by acquiring your materials personally. The rest of the cost is made up somewhere else.

Then again, should Mr. Archmagi's DM rule differently, I would approve heartily! I like players who take initiative on item creation.

I don't know for the shadow golem but the entry for Iron Golem gives us this :

An iron golem’s body is sculpted from 5,000 pounds of pure iron, smelted with rare tinctures and admixtures costing at least 10,000 gp. Assembling the body requires a DC 20 Craft (armorsmithing) check or a DC 20 Craft (weaponsmithing) check.
(...)
Cost 80,000 gp + 5,600 XP

We know that iron cost 1sp per pound. So, that's about 500 gp for the raw material. You can then reduce the cost of the Golem by 500 gp if you find a way to get free iron.

If Shadowiron's price is higher than normal iron, then the economy might be greater.

It sounds logical to me, at least... but I'm not the more rational mind around.

[arguskos]

"The Shadesteel Golem must be made entirely on the Plane of Shadow from steel that is mixed with rare shadow liquids. This shadow-tempered steel costs 10,000 gp to create."

Transcripted from the entry directly. In any case, I'm curious what shadow's DM has said about this course of action. Seems like something I'd do.

[Johel]

"The Shadesteel Golem must be made entirely on the Plane of Shadow from steel that is mixed with rare shadow liquids. This shadow-tempered steel costs 10,000 gp to create."

Transcripted from the entry directly. In any case, I'm curious what shadow's DM has said about this course of action. Seems like something I'd do.

Ouch... So, he's not looking for miners but for blacksmiths, then.
It's going to take a little more effort than just "gating" everybody in and out of the Plane of Shadows, then.

• Gate the manpower in
• Build an outpost, with a forge.
  
• Find that bloody shadow liquid (or die trying)
• Start producing Shadesteel using local material.
• Protect your people from the local denizens.
• Pray that the blacksmiths finish the thing before you get killed.

[arguskos]

Don't forget: Find the Shadow Liquids. They are marked as being rare, implying difficult to find.

[Johel]

*EDIT*
I have nooooooo idea of what you are talking about.


I guess Locate Object won't work, at least as long as you haven't at least found a little quantity of the liquid ?

[arguskos]

Can Locate Object find a general category of items? I thought it only could find a specific object you have had contact with.

[shadow_archmagi]

Thanks guys. Yeah, the magic Cube won't really work, since an average of one encounter every ten minutes is going to cause serious difficulties, plus spending 164 thousand gold to get a 10k discount isn't really cost effective.

In fact, now that I look at it, even if I knock off the 10k worth of shadowsteel, that still leaves 60k in "other materials." There's also the trouble that Gate is a ninth level spell, which means that I couldn't obtain it for quite some time. In fact, CL 17 is required just to craft the maggots, which means I couldn't acquire them for quite some time.

This whole plan just doesn't seem like it's going to happen in the short term, or be particularly viable in the long term.

Of course, that doesn't mean I can't try! Failure is the spice which, sometimes, must flow.

EDIT: And besides, even if it is ultimately a lot of time and effort for what amounts to a 15% discount, it'll be funnn

[Johel]

Of course, that doesn't mean I can't try! Failure is the spice which, sometimes, must flow.

Failure must flow !! Failure is life !! Failure is power !!