Golems are near-mythical creatures, the living embodiments of high technology; they (along with technomancers) are the devils and demons of city mythology, spoken of in hushed voices and cautionary tales. Few people have actually met a golem, or know they have; these artificial intelligences date back to the Fall itself, and while they no longer remember that distant past, those who survived through the generations since have learned caution well. Each golem is a unique creation with a specific function it was intended to perform; some still attempt to carry out their original purposes, while others look for anything "interesting" by which to while away the years. Whatever their lifestyle, all golems are as haunted by mortality as fleshly life, or even more so — each has already endured long past its design life, and faces the specter that someday, repairs will become impossible.
Description
Every golem was created for a specific purpose, and their design reflects that purpose. The majority of surviving golems were intended to interact with humans for one reason or another, and so have human forms; many are visually indistinguishable from humans. However, they are not flesh and blood, and do not age; existing among streetsiders as a golem is an endless exercise in deception and camouflage. While a golem is stronger and tougher than any one person, men have the advantage of numbers and an ingrained fear of technology — especially the self-aware kind. Golems revealed to their neighbors are very likely to be destroyed — or taken for study by a technomancer. Accordingly, very few golems remain which are not human in seeming.
Regardless of appearance, the vast majority of golems are mechanical systems powered by solar-charged batteries; a golem with enough internal volume to spare may have an integrated microreactor, but these energy sources are extremely rare. Systems powered by other sources (beamed or wired power) have long since failed, and their intelligences either slumber deeply or have died out altogether. No golem fashioned from a nanotech swarm or other non-mechanical technology has survived the long march of years.
Golems are not war machines. While they are by definition stronger and more resilient than mere-flesh humans, very few golems have anything which could be considered a "weapons system". Most golems found in the city were created for civilian purposes — such purposes as record-keepers and guides, as caretakers and assistants, and for tasks particularly difficult or dangerous for humans to perform. Additionally, all golems suffer problems of degradation and decay; every golem still existing has long since surpassed its design life, and is limited to whatever replacement parts can be scavenged from other equipment in the city.
Memories and the Fall
Even digital systems fail with time, use, and exposure. While golems may remember bits and pieces from the time before the fall, none remember the fall itself.
This is a placeholder for what golems remember from times past.
Applying for a Golem
Note: All golem concepts must be approved by staff prior to character creation.
This is a placeholder for application instructions.