In 1846 D.R., Netheril was just entering the height of its glory, and magic was the lifeblood of the empire. Wizards spent years perfecting the magical items and spells that would inspire future legends and fill apprentices' spellbooks for generations to come. In that year, a new breed of magical automaton was born in the workshops of the brotherhood of arcane craftsmen known simply as Mystra's Anvil. These constructs were made from at least two different materials, such as stone and iron, and they served their masters in a variety of ways, from carrying heavy loads to murdering a rival. The master controlled his arcane servant with the aid of a talisman. Thus, the creatures became known as talisman servants.
The talisman servants had one distinct advantage over true golems: they could be made from anything, from old wagons to minor magical items, saving both time and money in construction. At one point, talisman servants outnumbered golems in several regions of the Arcane Empire.
Talisman servants had three disadvantages, however—flaws that eventually doomed them. Their masters soon discovered, often at the risk of their lives, that the talisman and the servant could not be separated by more than a mile. If that happened, or if the talisman was lost or destroyed, the servant would not respond to commands. Also, the talisman servant possessed a degree of sentience not normally seen in automatons. Some servants were so aware of their environments that they self activated and ran amok until their masters could regain control. But the most unnerving danger was that certain aspects of a master's personality would be imprinted on the servant. For example, if a mage had a strong dislike of water, his servant would balk at every river crossing. Such personal quirks quickly earned the talisman servants notoriety.
When Netheril collapsed in -290 D.R., many wizards reluctantly destroyed or hid their creations to prevent their enemies from turning their magic against them. To this day, bards tell of rogue automatons, while mages search for elusive texts on the construction of the talisman servants.
Here are three of the talisman servants of lost Netheril. (caravan, gladiator, mystran)
DM Notes
If a talisman is destroyed, use the following table to determine its fate:
| Roll 1d100 | |
|---|---|
| 01-50 | Servant collapses into useless junk, never to rise again. |
| 51-00 | Servant freezes in position. It cannot be revived until a new talisman is made. When a servant is destroyed, a talisman disintegrates into useless powder. |
Like other constructed beings, talisman servants are subject to wild magic effects (as detailed in Code of the Harpers, pp. 96-99). If this accessory is not handy, a DM can substitute magical items to a servants design instead of assigning wild powers. The table below then applies.
| Roll 1d100 | |
|---|---|
| 01-50 | The servant can use the magical item as any character would (e.g., a cloak of flying allows a servant to fly). |
| 51-00 | Every magical item added to the servant's body confers an extra 5% magic resistance on the servant to a total of 90%. If the servant is "killed,"" the magical items are also destroyed. |