User:MentalMouse42/Thaumcraft pages/Golems

../Golems are small utility mobs that the player can create. They are composed of a "golem body", an "animation core", and optionally various upgrades and accessories. To use golems effectively, the player needs an additional tool, the "Golemancer's Bell".

Golem Bodies
All golem bodies are produced in the Crucible (or Thaumatorium), from a block of material and equal amounts (either 4 or 8 points apiece) of the aspects Humanus, Spiritus, and Motus. The different bodies provide very different levels of durability, carrying capacity, speed, and healing. All of these capacities can be increased with upgrades (see below).

Starred bodies require 8 points essentia per aspect, and can accept a second elemental upgrade. In 4.2, the Flesh body is considered forbidden knowledge.

Golem Cores
Besides a body, a functional golem requires an Animation Core, which gives it one of several specific functions. There can be up to three stages to produce a golem core:
 * A blank core is produced in the crafting table from 4 bricks and Nitor.
 * The basic cores are produced with crucible recipes (or in the Thaumatorium), by combining a blank core with 5 points apiece of two aspects of essentia, with the particular aspects determining their function.
 * The advanced cores are produced from basic cores by arcane infusion.
 * In 4.2, the Butcher core is considered "forbidden knowledge". It is also produced from the Guard core, but in the crucible rather than by infusion.

Golem Upgrades
There are six "elemental" upgrades, of which any given golem type can only have one or two attached. There are also another eight "accessory" upgrades which do not count toward this limit, each adding new capabilities or enhancements. Many of the accessories apply primarily to combat golems.) There is also an "Advanced Golem" infusion (forbidden knowledge in 4.2), applied to any golem body, which provides multiple enhancements, including an extra slot for elemental upgrades.

Golem Control
Unlike most mobs, golems can open doors and fence gates (they also shut them behind themselves). Also, golems can always see any items or mobs they would work on, regardless of barriers or line-of-sight, and may target them hopelessly (spinning in place or staring through a fence) even if there are "jobs" closer to hand. This can make managing them somewhat difficult. There are a number of ways to control golem activity:
 * Golems cannot walk over a Paving Stone of Warding, though like other mobs they can be pushed over one.
 * There is a special "Golem Fetter" block, which, when powered with redstone, will deactivate any golem, freezing it in place until the power is turned off (or the golem is pushed off the fetter).
 * Many golems have "item slots", limiting their activity to particular items. You need to double-click on the box (it's a bit tricky) with one of the item in question, but you keep the item.  (You may need to double-click again to get it back in your inventory.)
 * Most golem cores come with six item slots, but the Fire upgrade can increase the number. If any item slots are used, any items not appearing in a slot will be ignored.
 * The "entropy" upgrade can make this more general, allowing you to ignore damage to tools, or NBT values (such as enchantments or names).
 * For items such as wool or mana beans which come in multiple colors, click on the border of the the box to choose "any color" -- when hovering there, you will see a message to that effect. (This is for 4.11; in 4.0 the Entropy upgrade automatically chose any color.)
 * The Order upgrade can connect different items to differently-colored marks, for example telling an Empty golem to put wheat and seeds in one chest, but carrots and potatoes in another. The color of the item box is selected with a tiny scroll-bar above the box.

Travelling Trunk
The research tree for golems leads early on to creation of the Travelling Trunk, a chest that follows you around, carrying its contents. It can teleport after you similarly to dogs and cats, but with the same limitation: It will only teleport to solid ground or shallow water, and if you are flying or boating, it can get left behind and stranded in an unloaded chunk. Unlike the pets, the Trunk can even follow you between dimensions. If its following you around becomes inconvenient, its GUI includes a button that orders it to stay where it is. Alternatively, it can be picked up with the Golemancer's Bell like other golems, but (with one exception, below) when picked up, it drops its contents. The trunks are quite sturdy, but they can be damaged and even destroyed by attacks, lava or other hazards, notably suffocation. If damaged, they can heal on their own, or be healed more quickly by feeding them any sort of food (including rotten meat).

Each Trunk can accept one of the elemental upgrades used for golems, with each element giving a different enhancement:
 * Air: Moves faster.
 * Earth: More item slots.
 * Fire: Attacks hostile mobs, setting them on fire.
 * Water: Nearly invulnerable, and (in SMP) can only be opened or picked up by the player who placed it.
 * Entropy: Sucks in loose items nearby (if it has room for them).
 * Order: Can be picked up with its contents.  While the trunk's item form does not allow getting at the contents, it can be stored in any inventory, and such trunks can even be nested.