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Golem are imprisoned Djinn



Golem are Djinn bound to vehicles of ash, clay, ceramic etc. to serve a prescribed purpose for a pre-determined amount of time.

This Stone Golem is bound to guard the tomb of Lord Alghabhari-Zad for 9,999 days 

This Porcelain Golem is bound to invigilate the archives of the Order of Rings for 1,000 years, 100 days, 10 hours and 1 minute 

This legion of Ash Golem are bound to hold the palace of Zhang ibn-Qing aloft until the 7th generation of the dynasty is dead

This binding is often done by sorcerers, it is never done with the consent of the djinn, who considers it an absolute O U T R A G E

This is semi-ironic, as it is the fire of their outrage which powers the golem. The chimenea-like nature of golem heads are vents for their unbridled literally-burning indignation, which were it not so-vented, would cause the golem to explode. This would free the djinn, which would be very bad news for anyone who was responsible for its entombment.

Pictured: patio furniture, or the war-machine shell containing the angriest magical creature that ever existed?

The more instructions, terms, conditions, and rules which are laid upon a djinn in its vehicle, the more splutteringly angry they are, and accordingly the larger their form must be to house their raging inferno and the more vents must be installed to let it escape.

Viewed from another perspective: the more powerful, giant, hulking and siege-weapon-like you want your golem, the more you have to piss off the djinn inside. A regularly-bound djinn is angry but not angry enough to power the movements of a 50' tall solid iron war machine.

Therefore the more vents, and the more distended and disproportionate a golem, the angrier, more powerful, and more dangerous* the djinn within

(*all djinn are mortally dangerous. The difference is being blown up by 1 ton of TNT and 100 tons of TNT i.e. collateral) 

Djinn want very much to have their forms broken so that they can escape, or else find some loophole or means to escape their sentence of internment.

E.G. a golem tasked with climbing the 777 steps of the Tower of Ringpo every day to re-light all the braziers would, when the tower was knocked over by an angry Hill Giant in 1255 YE, be freed by virtue of there being no steps or braziers to attend to.

Unless they are bound not to speak, golem/djinn will attempt to barter for or demand their freedom whilst attempting to pummel interlopers into oblivion.
FREE ME FROM THIS WRETCHED FORM - obliterates the section of wall you were standing in front of mere moments before 
Of course any wise traveler would know that a djinn has no empathy, no sense of honour, and is the trickiest and most fiendish of any being that ever existed. Therefore, whilst they may promise one the moon, a kingdom of their own, wealth for their family for 100 generations, it is only once you have hammered out a sworn contract binding the djinn to fulfil its end of the bargain that one should consider freeing them. If you free them before this point, you will be lucky if they merely fly away yelling "PSYCH, THX LOSER"

Memo: you are negotiating this ironclad contract with an ephemeral being of raw magic fire whilst it pilots a stone mecha that is trying to pop your head like a tomato.



Some djinn are entombed as penance for crimes. Each vent represents a particular crime they are atoning for.

The forms of golem are myriad, but most common are

  1. Ash
  2. Clay
  3. Ceramic
  4. Stone
  5. Brass
  6. Iron
  There are legendarily big golem out there. Probably built by ancient dwarves. The terms of their imprisonment were so byzantine, so airtight and complex, and so-designed to infuriate the djinn, that they have a) multiple heads b) one big head with compartmentalized vents. These heads/compartments each represent one section of its duties and prohibitions, and must be destroyed (or their terms voided) each in turn before the golem can be stopped or the djinn freed.


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