Vastonia's Monster Gallery!

GOLEM, DRUTHER (By WebWarlock)

Appearance: Druthers can appear in any form. Usually they are biped and always made of wood. The wood can be carved or a collection of sticks tied together. The appendages need to be attached separately if the druther is to move at all. They can be precisely carved to appear as anything the witch wants, but they typically look like walking bunches of sticks. Legend has it that a warlock had such beautifully carved druthers that they were often mistaken for wood nymphs.

Combat: A Druther is mindless in combat. It strikes with its wood fists with almost no regard to what else is going on. The druther can only be hit by magical weapons, +1 or better. Arrows or other piercing items, such as spears or thrust daggers, only do 1 point of damage per hit. Water base attacks have no effect on the druther whatsoever. Fire based attacks always do double damage. Cold based attacks do no damage. A druther is immune to Sleep, Hold, Charm and Fear spells.

Habitat/Society: A Druther is a type of wood golem that can only be created by a witch. It is weaker than most golems. The name comes from an old piece of doggerel often muttered by witches:

If I really had my druthers,
I'd have my wooden druthers too.

A “Wooden Druther” is a corrupt form of “wouldn't I'd rathers”, or something the witch doesn't want. So the Wooden Druther performs tasks that the witch would rather not do herself. The druther can understand simple command phrases of about 15 words each. Typically druthers are used for menial labor or to perform a task that the witch can not do or wont do herself, like killing or scaring an enemy. Often a witch will have a few druthers protecting her home while disguised as trees.

A druther cannot communicate at all. Some witches have used woody reeds in the construction of their druthers. When the wind blows across the druther it sounds like a deep bassoon. Other witches have used the spell Magical Mouth to add communication to their work.

Ecology: Druthers are not natural creatures and have no place in the natural ecology of the world. Conversely, because they neither consume nor waste, they have no effects on the local economy. Treants, dryads, and wood nymphs view a druther in the same manner a human views the undead. Most will attempt to destroy them when they can. Some witches and wizards value the wood from an inanimate druther to use to make magical fires.

Creation: If the witch has access to a Manual of Druthers, then she can create a Druther from that work. A witch may also opt to create one from scratch. The witch will need at least 200 pounds of wood, either as sticks, planks or individually carved pieces. The witch will need her consecrated witch tools and fine incense, which will cost the witch about 2,000 GP. After creating the body for the druther, the witch will have to cast Reincarnate, Air Walk, Call Woodland Beings, Bless Growth, and Major Rite of Enchantment. The ashes from the burned incense is then sprinkled on the wood.

Variants:

Drudges: Sometimes druthers are referred to as “Drudges”, mostly due to their ability to menial work, usually around the home. While a druther may be used to do the witch's dirty work, a drudge will do the witch's dirty laundry. Adventurers have reported of a witch with intricately carved wood drudges as her household staff. A drudge butler was so well made that they could not tell it was a magical construct at all.

Rogue Druthers: The druther has a great tie to its animating elemental force. Thus there is only a 35% (-1% per level of the witch) chance that the druther will break free. Sometimes the druther will break free of the witch's control, but not of its wooden body. These druthers are known as rogues and take out their frustration the only way know, to throw themselves into any combative situation it can.