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[King Zultan]

B

+1

Absolutely this. We're gonna make war golems, so let's show off some war golems!

+1

+1

[Stirk]

With that in mind, it is time to create your war golem design/s.

You have the same resources as before, Reflex and Animal cores, Golem Mesh, and high-quality mundane materials provided by your supplier. The only difference in this design is you're going to have to fit the bill and resell it for more than you bought it for.

[Horizon]

Heavy duty bodies, we're making war machines. Let's make em' Juggernauts. Thick metal body with big fists capped with rivets to puncture.

[Superdorf]

We're making artificial showmen more than we are proper war machines. Let's lean into that: moderately built golems in bronze panoply, adorned with bright colors (one blue, one gold,) and equipped with the kind of duelling weapons traditional among the aristocracy. Their animal cores are guarded by a facsimile cuirass, with a repoussé image of a human heart worked into the breastplate. Their face is a bronze mask, embossed with vaguely human features.

We'll provide three sets of orders to the animal cores: Duel, Wrestle, and Guard. Duel is a traditional fight to the Vital Touch: if a golem is struck with the duelling weapon in the heart or the head, it stops in position for a moment, then takes a knee. Wrestle is as it sounds: the golems lay their weapons aside and attempt to pin their rival, in a flashy display intended to entertain the masses. Guard, finally, repurposes the golem as a bodyguard, which accompanies and defends its master according to certain command words. The golem interprets "Pin" and "Slay" orders as non-lethal and lethal violence respectively.

[Horizon]

No, we need to choose function over form. Paint is a waste of resources. Why not compromise? Why not a more intimidating design, bronze plating on the chest, legs and arms of a moderately sized body. Designed like a traditional gladiator,  armed with bolas and net crafted with the strongest rope we can find. Head is shaped like the bronze helmets the ancient roman gladiators wore. It's can be made both strong and fierce looking. Using the same Vital touch as the one mentioned above.

[Superdorf]

Form is, to at least some extent, the function here. We're putting on a show!

I'd be fine building the body out a little bit though, and working in more bronze. We want something that can perform a good wrestling display as well as a genteel fencing match. I've edited my suggestion accordingly.

[Horizon]

Form is, to at least some extent, the function here. We're putting on a show!

I'd be fine building the body out a little bit though, and working in more bronze. We want something that can perform a good wrestling display as well as a genteel fencing match. I've edited my suggestion accordingly.

That's a very good point, you have my vote +1

[King Zultan]

+1 To Superdorf's thing.

[Stirk]

We're making artificial showmen more than we are proper war machines. Let's lean into that: moderately built golems in bronze panoply, adorned with bright colors (one blue, one gold,) and equipped with the kind of duelling weapons traditional among the aristocracy. Their animal cores are guarded by a facsimile cuirass, with a repoussé image of a human heart worked into the breastplate. Their face is a bronze mask, embossed with vaguely human features.

We'll provide three sets of orders to the animal cores: Duel, Wrestle, and Guard. Duel is a traditional fight to the Vital Touch: if a golem is struck with the duelling weapon in the heart or the head, it stops in position for a moment, then takes a knee. Wrestle is as it sounds: the golems lay their weapons aside and attempt to pin their rival, in a flashy display intended to entertain the masses. Guard, finally, repurposes the golem as a bodyguard, which accompanies and defends its master according to certain command words. The golem interprets "Pin" and "Slay" orders as non-lethal and lethal violence respectively.

Looking at your budget, you decide you can likely make both golems but won't be able to make anything aside from basic equipment until at least one is sold. Continue with your creation?

[King Zultan]

Yes

[Superdorf]

...yes.

How do we feel about our ability to work a crowd? We want someone, either ourself or one of our buddies, to really try and play up these combatants. They should have names, distinguishing characteristics, like wrestlers in a show ring. The more we play up the fight, the better our chances of resale.

The duelling weapons should be light enough to avoid damaging the golems unduly. We want to limit after-show repairs to scratches and dents, if we can.

[Stirk]

We're making artificial showmen more than we are proper war machines. Let's lean into that: moderately built golems in bronze panoply, adorned with bright colors (one blue, one gold,) and equipped with the kind of duelling weapons traditional among the aristocracy. Their animal cores are guarded by a facsimile cuirass, with a repoussé image of a human heart worked into the breastplate. Their face is a bronze mask, embossed with vaguely human features.

We'll provide three sets of orders to the animal cores: Duel, Wrestle, and Guard. Duel is a traditional fight to the Vital Touch: if a golem is struck with the duelling weapon in the heart or the head, it stops in position for a moment, then takes a knee. Wrestle is as it sounds: the golems lay their weapons aside and attempt to pin their rival, in a flashy display intended to entertain the masses. Guard, finally, repurposes the golem as a bodyguard, which accompanies and defends its master according to certain command words. The golem interprets "Pin" and "Slay" orders as non-lethal and lethal violence respectively.

The cheapest way to make an armored golem is to integrate the golem mesh with the armor and leave it mostly hollow. This allows the golem to be somewhat swifter than models like your Master, in return for being somewhat less sturdy and packing less mass when they need to hit something. It is even easier when the medium you are using is bronze, as you simply add the mesh to the cast you are using without the need for complex hammer work. After making the cast and preparing the molten bronze, you pour the bronze into the cast and let it harden then smooth out the detail work. This allows for some very detailed shapes compared to forged steel, as it will fit whatever shape you made your mold out of. As a result you could easily make a detailed bust of a human face if you desired it, to the point it would be recognizable as a specific person as long as they pose for the mold. Of course the downside of the material is that it is weaker than forged steel. There are some alchemical metals that are cast and generally considered better than forged steel, but you don't have access to those as of this moment.

Your animal core is placed in a cage in the breastplate roughly where the human kidneys are. Generally golems meant for long term use have a way for the user to access the cores, as they will need maintenance and refueling over time. Not to mention you need to access them to change loyalty when the golems are sold - they usually have their creator's access removed for safety purposes. The cage protects the core from anything that manages to bypass the armor to at least some extent. If you decide to fill the armor completely it would be better protected, but the extra mass will slow down the golem in return (and you will need an alternative method of accessing the core). A dull glow shines out through the gaps in the shining bronze armor.

Traditional dueling weapons depend heavily on the nation - most dueling codes allow the challenged to pick their weapon meaning everything from pistols to steak knives has drawn blue blood. Most common traditionally among the local Crown is a type of forward-curved utility knife, as many nobles had it on them for their every day tasks and self-defense. You make a mold for two of the blades and attach them to the golems' grieves with a set of pins. They arn't quite capable of disarming themselves, but this way you should be capable of disarming and rearming them without much effort. Giving a few test swings they are capable of what you would consider acceptable movement, their swings are clumsy and mechanical but you wouldn't want to get in the way of their blades. They follow the given orders without issue - but naturally repeated blows to the head or torso are going to leave a mark and even wrestling scratches up your immaculate creation something fierce. You switch out the pins for shear pins that are meant to break when applying force above a certain threshold to keep the damage to a minimum, but long-term metal on metal clashing means they won't stay pretty in the long run whatever you do.

Do you want to make any modifications to your golems?

...yes.

How do we feel about our ability to work a crowd? We want someone, either ourself or one of our buddies, to really try and play up these combatants. They should have names, distinguishing characteristics, like wrestlers in a show ring. The more we play up the fight, the better our chances of resale.

The duelling weapons should be light enough to avoid damaging the golems unduly. We want to limit after-show repairs to scratches and dents, if we can.

How would I know how you feel? As part of running a workshop your Master taught you basic salesmanship, but his tactics are more about stating facts about a piece rather than over the top showmanship. His straight forward honesty is respected by his regulars, though there are others in your village who prefer talking up their weapons especially when it comes to Adventurers hoping for weapons that can slay the strongest monsters the quickest. Would you like to call a friend for assistance?

[Superdorf]

Do you want to make any modifications to your golems?

Can the two be distinguished clearly in a fight? We want the audience to know which is which.

Other than that, this should be fine for the exhibition match. We might consider reinforcing our initial workmanship later, with steel bars inside the armor.

As part of running a workshop your Master taught you basic salesmanship, but his tactics are more about stating facts about a piece rather than over the top showmanship. His straight forward honesty is respected by his regulars, though there are others in your village who prefer talking up their weapons especially when it comes to Adventurers hoping for weapons that can slay the strongest monsters the quickest. Would you like to call a friend for assistance?

...well, honesty is a solid policy. We'll advertise the match ourself, at least for the initial duel.
When we turn things over to the wrestling, we'll want to up the tempo a bit. The golems should have names, and we'll want someone (either ourself or an excitable buddy) to provide good, loud commentary.

[Stirk]

Can the two be distinguished clearly in a fight? We want the audience to know which is which.

As per the order, one is adorned in blue with the other in gold. So long as your audience has eyes they should be able to tell which is which.

[King Zultan]

...well, honesty is a solid policy. We'll advertise the match ourself, at least for the initial duel.
When we turn things over to the wrestling, we'll want to up the tempo a bit. The golems should have names, and we'll want someone (either ourself or an excitable buddy) to provide good, loud commentary.

+1