Elemental Spirit in Material Form
The construction of a golem begins with the building of its body, requiring great command of the craft of sculpting, stonecutting, ironworking, or surgery. Sometimes a goIem's creator is the master of the art, but often the individual who desires a golem must enlist master artisans to do the work. After constructing the body from clay, flesh, iron, or stone, the golem's creator infuses it with a spirit from the Elemental Plane of Earth. This tiny spark of life has no memory, personality, or history. It is simply the impetus to move and obey. This process binds the spirit to the artificial body and subjects it to the will of the golem's creator.   Ageless Guardians
Golems can guard sacred sites, tombs, and treasure vaults long after the deaths of their creators, carrying out their appointed tasks for all eternity while brushing off physical damage and ignoring all but the most potent spells. A golems can be created with a special amulet or other item that allows the possessor of the item to control the golem. Golems whose creators are long dead can thus be harnessed to serve a new master.   Freed Slaves
However, while most bound golems last until the golem is destroyed, some golems are created with free will, or the magic used to create it was not powerful enough to keep it enslaved for all of its existence. These golems become free, and most, due to their lives existing almost exclusively of violence, become adventurers, mercenaries, and other similar jobs. Some of them still possess mannerisms of obedience, while others prefer to forget all about their previous lives and become chaotic by choice.   Golem Names
Golems are almost never named by their masters, so when they are freed, names are a strange concept to them. Most of them base their names on jobs that they had, either for their previous master or that they currently hold, while some may choose to take their master's name on as their own.