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Golem (view source)

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In some versions the golem was animated by writing the Hebrew word for "truth" (אֱמֶת ''ʼĕméth'') on its forehead, and made inert again by erasing the first letter, converting it into the word for "dead" (מֵת ''mēth''). However, other versions included using a "[[Words Can Break My Bones|Shem]]", literally meaning a name and referring to one of the [[I Have Many Names|secret names of God]]. This could be put on its forehead or in the mouth.
 
The entry of the golem into popular culture as a fantasy monster is probably [[Dungeons and& Dragons]], which called the classic version a "clay golem", and included other types such as Stone, Iron, or the [[Frankenstein's Monster]]-like "Flesh Golem". Other fantasy worlds have expanded into substances such as Lead, [[Pinocchio|Wood]], [[Lava Adds Awesome|Lava]], [[Bloody Murder|Blood]], [[Mithril]], and even more unlikely substances, like [[Magic: The Gathering|Glass]], [[Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick|Paper, Wax, Junk and]] ''[[The Worm That Walks|Maggots.]]'' And don't even get me STARTED on the ones made of [[Adventure Quest|dirty laundry.]]
 
More loosely the term can be applied to any [[Ridiculously Human Robot|robot]] that is explicitly run on magic rather than technology. Talos, a mythical [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] giant made out of forged bronze is a good example.
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* ''[[Promethean: The Created]]'' has the Tammuz, nicknamed the Golems, who are based heavily on the stories of the golem. They're brought to life in the dirt, usually bear the word of life somewhere on their body, and were originally created for purposes of servitude.
** While the Tammuz are literally referred to as Golems, it's important to remember that basically all of the characters are a type of golem.
* Eldar Wraith-constructs in ''[[Warhammer 4000040,000]]'' are made of psychically-sensitive wraithbone and animated by the souls of the dead. The setting being what it is, of course, they are armed with one of the more horrible [[BFG]]'s ever devised.
** [[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]] had the Ushabti, living statues carved into the likeness of the gods the Tomb Kings used to worship.
*** Anything within the Tomb King's army labeled as a "construct" falls into this. While it's implied they did use the bones of long-dead creatures, they're still largely constructed out of wood and stone. The Sphinxes are the extremes, impossibly tall animated statues, some of which are capable ''of flying on stone wings''.
* In the ''[[GURPS]] Infinite Worlds'' RPG, one of the alternate worlds is code-named "Kaballah". It is currently in the 17th century and is undergoing an early Industrial Revolution powered by mass-produced Golems. Since only Rabbis can produce Golems, this has significantly altered the way Jews are treated in that world ...
* ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' numbers quite a few golems among its artifact creatures. (Which is a bit of [[retcon]] for some of the older ones since artifact creatures originally didn't ''have'' creature types of their own.) Possibly the most famous of them is [http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=9847 Karn], the pacifist silver golem who eventually became a planeswalker in his own right.
* In addition to the golems listed in the description, ''[[Dungeons and& Dragons]]'' had golem-like monsters such as the Stone Guardian and the Caryatid Column.
** Also the half-golem template, which is a fantasy version of [[Cybernetics Eat Your Soul]].
** The old Basic/Expert/etc rules had even more of these than AD&D, with "living statues" as low-level golem equivalents, and juggernauts or iron gargoyles for when regular golems just aren't a challenge anymore.
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== Video Games ==
* ''[[Nethack]]'' borrows the ''[[Dungeons and& Dragons]]'' versions. {{spoiler|[[Taken for Granite|Stoneing]] any other type of golem will turn it into a stone golem. Also, using a wand of cancellation on a clay golem erases the word of life on its forehead, destroying it}}. There's a gold golem which turns into a pile of gold coins when killed and a paper golem which turns into blank scrolls when killed. The ''Slash'EM'' variant additionally has a plastic golem which turns into credit cards when killed, a wax golem which turns into candles when killed, several gemstone golems which turn into their type of gem when killed, and a glass golem which turns into worthless fake gems when killed.
* ''[[Kingdom of Loathing]]'' plays with the idea of the golem, making them out of all sorts of unusual materials: candied yams, pencils, even one made out of a collapsed mineshaft.
** Don't forget that in the theoretically endless area (Fernswarthy's Basement?) one can encounter N Bottles of Beer on a Golem, which is [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|about what it sounds like]].
* Despite its name, the [[Pokémon]] Golem doesn't really count, as it is a rock monster that is formed naturally. The four Regis, however, do. The original trio were made of stone (Regirock), ice (Regice), and metal (Registeel) and possibly represent the three ages of humanity (Stone Age, Ice Age, and Iron/Metal/Modern Age). The jury's still out on what Regigigas is supposed to be.
** ''[[Pokémon Black and White]]'' introduces Golett and its evolution Golurk, which are clay golems ''possessed by a ghost''. And they look more like [[Humongous Mecha]] than a golem (especially Golurk).
* The Golems from ''[[Wild ArmsARMs]]'', particular 1/Alter Code F and 3. Most turn against their creators.
* ''[[Warcraft]] 3'' had a range of golems much like ''[[Dungeons and& Dragons]]''. Mud Golems could slow enemies, while the other versions tend to be tougher and can throw rocks to damage and stun.
** Golems also appear in ''[[World of Warcraft]]''. They often appear in Titan ruins or alongside Dark Iron dwarfs (who have a large factory dedicated to creating golems in their capital). Blood Elfs use arcane golems, which are a [[Magitech]] version.
** the [[Legions of Hell|Burning Legion]] has Infernals, which are golems made out of rocks held in a humanoid shape by green [[Hellfire]]. They usually are deployed into battle in the form of flaming meteors. Warlocks can also summon Infernals when they gain enough levels.
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* One boss from Sonic&Knuckles is a golem (it appears at the end of an Ancient Egyptian-themed level, but whatever). You can't actually destroy it - it just rebuilds itself - and instead have to lure it into quicksand.
** The Egg Golem boss from ''[[Sonic Adventure 2]]'', a gigantic mecha covered with stone whose only vulnerable point (in the Hero Story) is a control device on its head. In the Dark Story, Sonic scrambles the control device and the Egg Golem turns on Dr. Eggman, who's forced to blow off its rocky armor and destroy its power cores to stop it.
* Being based on [[Dungeons and& Dragons]], it is no surprise that these show up in ''[[Baldur's Gate]]''. The first game had [[Frankenstein's Monster|flesh golems]] which hit hard and required +2 weapons to defeat, of which there are only a handful in the game. The second game upped it with clay-, stone-, bone- and adamantite golems, which could be [[Demonic Spiders]] depending on your level and equipment.
* ''[[Echo Bazaar]]'' has the Clay Men. They are never ''called'' golems, but otherwise fit the description. The in-game art even shows that they have writing on their foreheads.
* [[Ancient Domains of Mystery]] features many golem types, including: flesh golems, clay golems, stone golems, stone statues, crystal statues, diamond statues, steel golems, steel zombies, steel horrors, iron golems, and [[Infinity+1 Sword|eternium]] golems. Many of these also breathe fire. Oddly enough, most of them can be pickpocketed, even though fictional golems often don't wear clothes.
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* ''[[Wapsi Square]]'' has the Golem Girls, drunken co-eds created from clay; their backstory gradually reveals that {{spoiler|they were once human, their remains reanimated into immortal [[Artificial Human]] forms using an ancient [[Sufficiently Advanced Alien|technology resembling magic]] from [[Atlantis]]. [[Physical God]] Tepoztecal was also created by this method.}}
* Gwynn from ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' creates a golem out of [http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=080121 all the clutter in the apartment]. She dubs the creation "Clutter Monster."
** That sounds eerily similar to ''Klutter'', a living pile of clothes and mess who featured in a segment of [[Eek! theThe Cat]].
* In [[1/0]] the "Golem" ability is one of the precious few non-natural abilities Tailsteak grants his creation. This allows them to reproduce by building bodies out of whatever they can find and then bringing them to life by speaking their "true name". The Golems aren't traditional Golems though, they speak and react in exactly the same way the "naturally" created characters do. As something of a possible nod to the original myth, the first golem to be created is given a name from the Old Testament (Zadok) and at times identifies himself as a "pseudo-Jew"
* [http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/ HERO]: The comic is about a golem, though he is something of a [[Our Monsters Are Different]].
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[[Category:Index of Fictional Creatures]]
[[Category:A Nice Jewish Index]]
[[Category:Golem{{PAGENAME}}]]
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