What is a construct? [3.5]

[Scarey Nerd]

I have never been entirely sure how a construct is made, and how it has the, admittedly only an imitation, of life. I understand that arcana is used to build it, but I'm not clear on how it works.

[Volthawk]

IIRC, golems, at least, have an Earth elemental bound to them.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Depends on the construct. Generally, magic is used to bind an animating spirit to a body--nature spirit for a bogun, elemental spirit for a golem, shadow spirit for an automaton, etc. So a construct is alive in the same way a living creature would be if their soul were a separate entity.

[Ryuuk]

So its something akin to an elemental's memory being cleaned and being placed into the body as a blank slate.

Hmm, they could also be some kind of long arcane programming, detailing all sorts of if->then statements. I don't think its ever been specifically explained like this, but it makes sense, constructs are fantasy robots.

[Ravens_cry]

So its something akin to an elemental's memory being cleaned and being placed into the body as a blank slate.

Hmm, they could also be some kind of long arcane programming, detailing all sorts of if->then statements. I don't think its ever been specifically explained like this, but it makes sense, constructs are fantasy robots.

Heckles cakes, most robots of science fiction can be considered fantasy robots.

[Yuki Akuma]

So its something akin to an elemental's memory being cleaned and being placed into the body as a blank slate.

Except... no. Nothing happens to the elemental's mind, because it's not in control of the construct.

[Ryuuk]

Except... no. Nothing happens to the elemental's mind, because it's not in control of the construct.

Well, one has to wonder what exactly happens to the elemental then. They've got Int/Wis/Cha, so they have sentience. It would suck for them to just be stuck as some kind of power source, fully aware of what's going on.

[Yuki Akuma]

Well, one has to wonder what exactly happens to the elemental then. They've got Int/Wis/Cha, so they have sentience. It would suck for them to just be stuck as some kind of power source, fully aware of what's going on.

Ever looked at the Eberron campaign setting? Happens all the time there.

[Eldan]

Yup. Including scientific debates a la:
"Elementals are intelligent! We can't just imprison them!"
"They aren't sentient, they are forces of nature."
"But we went to their home plane and talked to them..."
"Bah. Just look at what they do when they get free. They just burn everything down."
"That's because they are angry."
"You can't prove that. A storm isn't angry, and neither is a wildfire."
"You are compromised! You accepted credit letters from the Dragonmarked houses and several Zilargo binding corporations!"
...

[awa]

clay and flesh golems their is a chance that the elemental driven insane by its imprisonment break free and takes control of the golem

[Crafty Cultist]

I'd say the spirit bound to a contruct is more of a power source than a controller

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Well, one has to wonder what exactly happens to the elemental then. They've got Int/Wis/Cha, so they have sentience. It would suck for them to just be stuck as some kind of power source, fully aware of what's going on.

Not quite. They aren't Elementals, capital 'e', the Monster Manual creature; they're elementals, lowercase 'e', just barely-sentient spirits from the elemental planes. While it's possible for fully sapient elementals to be bound, as they are in Eberron, that's not what golems are; elemental spirits : Elementals :: animals : humanoids, basically.

[Prime32]

clay and flesh golems their is a chance that the elemental driven insane by its imprisonment break free and takes control of the golem

Basically, this.

[AslanCross]

I'd say the spirit bound to a contruct is more of a power source than a controller

This is pretty much what I thought too.

Note that there are other constructs that are powered by different things, but most of these are just conjecture:

1. Inevitables are likely powered by concepts of law, which is why they tend to specialize in certain aspects of law and order.
2. Golems are powered by elementals.
3. Animated objects are powered by raw arcane energy.
4. Warforged are powered by PEOPLE! WARFORGED ARE MADE OF PEOPLE! no one really knows. I'd say they're also powered by raw arcane energy, but are made in such a way that they achieve sentience.

[krossbow]

What is a Golem? Nothing but a miserable little pile of secrets! But enough talk, have at you!

[Scarey Nerd]

OK then, in regards to a Techsmith's Gondsman, how is that sapient? I know that it has self-awareness, a personality, and can understand things like a humanoid can, but it is not specifically created via arcana, nor is the spirit of an elemental or some such bound to the internal mainframe.

[Ravens_cry]

What is a Golem? Nothing but a miserable little pile of secrets! But enough talk, have at you!

Well, we are made made of meat.

[hamishspence]

Some constructs have more intelligence than others. Nimblewrights from MM, for example, are made using an elemental- but have intelligence, which golems do not.

There are Int 2 elemental swarms in Planar Handbook- maybe those are the basis for standard golems, being of only animal intelligence?

[Zen Master]

Well, one has to wonder what exactly happens to the elemental then. They've got Int/Wis/Cha, so they have sentience. It would suck for them to just be stuck as some kind of power source, fully aware of what's going on.

Indeed. Actually, once a golem is destroyed, I'd say it was only fair if the bound elemental got a chance to break free and vent some anger at that.

[Chrono22]

Some constructs, such as intelligent magic items, have no animating spirit- they merely have a consciousness.

[Thurbane]

So where do Incarnate Constructs fit into this debate? Or Awakened Constructs? Is it the elemental spirit given free will?

[Yuki Akuma]

Well, Incarnate Constructs actually have souls. They're Living Constructs. So maybe the elemental spirit isn't needed anymore?

[Optimystik]

Or the elemental is converted into a soul through the incarnation process.

There are methods (like Incarnum) that let you convert souls into elemental energy, so the reverse should be possible as well.

[Devils_Advocate]

OK then, in regards to a Techsmith's Gondsman, how is that sapient?

It's a class feature, like Evasion. It works that way because the rules say that it does. Within the context of the game world, there are, presumably, principles that make it work, but these are left unspecified. Perhaps someone who really wanted to could write up a comprehensive 200-page treatise explaining all of the fictional phenomena that account for a construct's functioning, but D&D doesn't deal with things in anything like that level of detail. The character goes through an elaborate series of gestures and incantations, but the player just says "My wizard prepares fireball". The player is insulated from such minutia through a heavy layer of abstraction.

Occasionally, one may see a bit of nerdwankery that will almost certainly never come up in play. E.g., we might be told that dragons' breath weapons are produced by a special organ that also plays a role in digestion. This sort of thing can be interesting to read. But it would be impossible to answer every possible question. Indeed, traditionally certain questions were pointedly left unanswered so as to evoke a sense of mystery and so on.

I don't think that there's a lot of official information about how constructs work. They're basically magic items whose special magical properties are that they see and hear and walk around and stuff. If you really want more fluff for them, I'm sure that there are people who'd be happy to make some up (or already have), but I don't think that there's a lot of official construct fluff.

[Prime32]

Well, Incarnate Constructs actually have souls. They're Living Constructs. So maybe the elemental spirit isn't needed anymore?

The description in the Soulfused Construct template says that the golem develops a soul in addition to the elemental spirit.

Incarnate Constructs lose things like the Berserk quality, so I'd say the elemental becomes their soul.