This information is intended for use with the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.
At a Glance
A construct.
The caryatid column is described in the 3e Fiend Folio. Basically, it’s a stone golem with some special abilities. The point of this post is to outline how big it is and how much it weighs.
As noted in the FF, the caryatid column is crafted from marble. I assume that it’s shaped to be proportional to a human woman; most giants are also proportional to humans but you could make variant columns which resemble dwarves or orcs or skeletons if you wanted to… that would change these numbers.
Height
Using the blackstone gigant as a precedent, I suggest making caryatid column height equal to HD. This means that the caryatid column’s range of 6-18 HD translates to a range of 6 ft to 18 ft height.
Weight
Solid marble has a density/weight of about 2563 kg per cubic meter (that’s 160 lbs per cubic foot). A human woman, standing 6 feet tall, has a volume of about 0.067 cubic meters (2.4 cubic ft) which means a marble woman weighs 378 lbs. A 6 ft tall woman made of uh, womanstuff, on the other hand, should be somewhere around 147 lbs, which supports our knowledge that marble statues are heavier than people.
Column
As described in the FF, a caryatid column can shapechange into a simple, featureless, stone column. The dimensions of this column logically should depend on the volume of the stone lady.
Note that this column assumes that the caryatid column is carved in the image of a nude woman. If the column is carved to include a skirt or dress, it will have significantly more volume (and weight), and the column form will have a larger diameter.
Quarried
Finally, the FF also notes that the column must be carved out of a single block of marble. It might not be relevant to most adventurers but it could be a fun bit of trivia to know the size of the block needed to create these magnificent women.
So here’s how the numbers work out.
| Ht (ft) |
Wt (lbs) |
Column |
Quarried |
| 6 |
378 |
8 inches diameter, 6 ft tall |
2 ft W x 1 ft D x 6 ft H: 12 cu ft (1920 lbs) |
| 7 |
514 |
9 inches diameter, 7 ft tall |
3 ft W x 2 ft D x 7 ft H: 42 cu ft (6720 lbs) |
| 8 |
672 |
10 inches diameter, 8 ft tall |
3 ft W x 2 ft D x 8 ft H: 48 cu ft (7680 lbs) |
| 9 |
850 |
10 inches diameter, 9 ft tall |
3 ft W x 2 ft D x 9 ft H: 54 cu ft (8640 lbs) |
| 10 |
1050 |
11 inches diameter, 10 ft tall |
4 ft W x 2 ft D x 10 ft H: 80 cu ft (12800 lbs) |
| 11 |
1270 |
12 inches diameter, 11 ft tall |
4 ft W x 2 ft D x 11 ft H: 88 cu ft (14080 lbs) |
| 12 |
1512 |
12 inches diameter, 12 ft tall |
4 ft W x 2 ft D x 12 ft H: 96 cu ft (15360 lbs) |
| 13 |
1774 |
13 inches diameter, 13 ft tall |
5 ft W x 3 ft D x 13 ft H: 195 cu ft (31200 lbs) |
| 14 |
2058 |
13 inches diameter, 14 ft tall |
5 ft W x 3 ft D x 14 ft H: 210 cu ft (33600 lbs) |
| 15 |
2362 |
13 inches diameter, 15 ft tall |
5 ft W x 3 ft D x 15 ft H: 225 cu ft (36000 lbs) |
| 16 |
2688 |
14 inches diameter, 16 ft tall |
6 ft W x 3 ft D x 16 ft H: 288 cu ft (46080 lbs) |
| 17 |
3034 |
14 inches diameter, 17 ft tall |
6 ft W x 3 ft D x 17 ft H: 306 cu ft (48960 lbs) |
| 18 |
3402 |
15 inches diameter, 18 ft tall |
6 ft W x 3 ft D x 18 ft H: 324 cu ft (51840 lbs) |
Of course the height range is only a guideline. There could be smaller and larger columns.
| Ht (ft) |
Wt (lbs) |
Column |
Quarried |
| 1 |
10 |
3 inches diameter, 1 ft tall |
1 ft W x 1 ft D x 1 ft H: 1 cu ft (160 lbs) |
| 2 |
42 |
5 inches diameter, 2 ft tall |
1 ft W x 1 ft D x 2 ft H: 2 cu ft (320 lbs) |
| 3 |
94 |
6 inches diameter, 3 ft tall |
1 ft W x 1 ft D x 3 ft H: 3 cu ft (480 lbs) |
| 4 |
168 |
7 inches diameter, 4 ft tall |
2 ft W x 1 ft D x 4 ft H: 8 cu ft (1280 lbs) |
| 5 |
262 |
8 inches diameter, 5 ft tall |
2 ft W x 1 ft D x 5 ft H: 10 cu ft (1600 lbs) |
| 32 |
10751 |
20 inches diameter, 32 ft tall |
11 ft W x 6 ft D x 32 ft H: 2112 cu ft (337,920 lbs) |
| 64 |
43003 |
28 inches diameter, 64 ft tall |
22 ft W x 11 ft D x 64 ft H: 15488 cu ft (2,478,080 lbs) |
| 96 |
96758 |
34 inches diameter, 96 ft tall |
32 ft W x 16 ft D x 96 ft H: 49152 cu ft (7,864,320 lbs) |
Sources
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