I think I may be missing something. From what I read, construct armor just means the armor/golem acts as a hit point buffer of sorts. Is that correct?
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
As I wrote in this thread, there is some wiggle room:
Note that some of this is my interpretation and not 100% RAW, even though I feel it's RAI.
* The construct has to be of your size...Clockwork soldiers work fairly well for Medium sized characters.
* Only the construct's creator can benefit from it...The Bestiary golem rules state that any golem can be made as a shield guardian version:
Shield guardians are designed to serve as bodyguards. When created, a shield guardian is keyed to a magical amulet that is constructed at the same time as (and as part of the cost of) the guardian. Henceforth, it regards the wearer of that amulet as its master, protecting and following that individual everywhere (unless specifically commanded not to do so). If a shield guardian's amulet is destroyed, the guardian ceases to function until a new one is created. If the wearer dies but the amulet is intact, the shield guardian carries out the last command it was given.
A shield guardian obeys its master's verbal commands to the best of its ability, although it is not good for much beyond combat, protection, and simple manual labor. It can also be keyed to perform specific tasks at specific times or when certain conditions are met. The wearer of the amulet can call the shield guardian from any distance, and it will come as long as it is on the same plane.
IMO, a shield guardian golem would treat the wearer of its controlling amulet as its "creator" for the Construct Armor modification.
* The construct armor offers protection similar to a breastplate...Note that you can enhance the golem with:
Armor Modification: This modification adds an enhancement bonus to the construct's natural armor bonus or adds a magic armor property. The cost for magical enhancements equals the cost for creating magic armor as described under Creating Magic Armor.IMO, the enhancement bonus and magic armor properties also count as part of the "breastplate" when a golem with the Construct Armor modification is "worn."
This pushes a bit beyond even RAI, but IMO, you can include mithral plates on the construct (additional cost as mithral full plate), so that when worn as construct armor it acts as a mithral breastplate.
* The construct armor doesn't grant its creator some of its resistances or even immunities.Rules balance considerations. Also, even though the golem is being "worn," the golem and the wearer remain two separate creatures, unlike a synthesist summoner.
Now, my interpretation of the phrase "the construct performs no independent actions," does not prevent the construct wearer from gaining the benefits of the golem's Str score, with the golem acting like a powered exoskeleton as well as a breastplate. The wearer only gains the golem's Str if it is higher than their own effective Str score (no, the bonuses don't stack) and any modifications to the wearer's Str do not increase the golem's (there aren't a lot of ways to boost the Str of a construct, so this is a limiting factor). No other abilities are affected (that's my take on the word "independent").
[On construct limbs]
For a construct limb, it has to be appropriately sized to fit over a single limb. The rules are not designed for "construct grafts" or replacing a limb with one from a golem.See above for the shield guardian and armor modification rules.
* The construct limb doesn't grant its natural attack to the creator.The Construct Limb modification specifically states:
The construct limb retains any melee attacks that the construct has, and the creator can use special attacks as if she were the construct (using the construct's attack statistics and effects), but treat the creator as the creature making attacks for the purpose of determining attacks of opportunity and other actions that could be triggered by an attack made by the creator.The wearer doesn't gain additional attacks, but can definitely use the construct limb's "melee... [or] special attacks."
Some of it requires interpretation by the GM, but construct armor can be more than just "extra hit points."