Forced to become a facsimile of their lives, those that choose to sacrifice their flesh for metal are on a path not many could dream of. While death can be the end for many creatures, some souls can be forced into specialised suits of armour meant to contain the soul and allow it to keep existing. Not many would doom themselves in this way willingly, but many are not given a choice in the matter. Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2. Age. As a being of metal, Steel-Bound don't age in the same way that other races do. When their armour deteriorates from neglect or time, it can provide the illusion of age, but you cannot die from the passage of time. You are immune to magical aging effects. Artificial Nature. You don't need to eat, drink or breathe, have advantage on saves against being poisoned, and have resistance to poison damage. You are comprised of metal, and therefore immune to disease and do not need to sleep, and cannot be put to sleep by magic. When you take a long rest, you must spend at least six hours in an inactive, motionless state, rather than sleeping. Armoured Self. Your body is a defensive force for your soul. When you don armour, you transfer your soul into it, removing your presence from the previous armour. You become unable to wear armour you are not proficient with. While worn in this way, armour can't be removed against your will, and you gain no downside to sleeping in armour. If you lose a limb, donning a new set of armour will replace it. In addition, you gain proficiency with light armour, and begin with a set of padded armour if you have no other sets upon finishing character creation. Size. As many Steel-Bound were made to resemble humans, their heights and builds are often made to reflect that of their makers, although their weights depend of what armour they're comprised of. Your size is Medium. Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. Languages. You can speak, read and write Common and one other language of your choice. Subrace. Steel-Bound are as varied as the blacksmithing techniques refined over the centuries, and the armour they wear are only vessels for personalities contained within. While some reject their new lives, many embrace it, albeit in various ways. Those that cannot cope with their new existence can become deranged and dangerous. Referred to as the Jagged, these shells deny their new forms and still attempt to wear armour, usually made from other steel-bound. Ability Score Increase. Your Strength or Constitution score increases by 1. Aggressive Assault. Your serrated armour is a natural weapon which deals slashing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier (a minimum of 1) on a hit. Creatures that grapple you take this damage at the start of their turn. Artificial Cannibalism. If you are within 5 feet of the corpse of a construct for 1 hour, you can rip it apart and add plating onto yourself, gaining temporary hit points equal to your level. While you have these temporary hit points, your AC increases by +1. This can be done during a short or long rest. Forgeminds have used the benefits of becoming less human to consume more information and spend more hours honing their minds. Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence or your Charisma score increases by 1. Transmuted Propulsion. As a bonus action you can gain a magical flying speed equal to half your speed until the end of your turn. You must end your turn on the ground, or you fall. You can use this ability a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, regaining all expended uses upon finishing a long rest. Arcane Library. You know one cantrip from the wizard spell list and gain proficiency in Intelligence (Arcana) checks.Steel-Bound
Steel-Bound Traits
Jagged
Forgemind
Ironsoul
Ironsouls have decide to use their new bodies to become better warriors, pushing their new forms to the limit.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength or Dexterity score increases by 1.
Mechanical Perseverance Your walking speed increases by 5 feet.
Protector's Canopy. You have a pool of d4s equal to your proficiency bonus. When a creature within your weapon's reach is hit by an attack, you can use your reaction to draw from this pool, and reduce the attack's damage by an amount equal to the roll's total. You have to be holding either a simple or martial melee weapon or a shield to use this ability.
You regain all expended d4s after finishing a long rest.
Becoming Steel-Bound
When a human is on the verge of bleeding out or when they need to enter a place uninhabitable by organic beings, the person's soul can be transferred to create a new Steel-Bound.
The ritual to make a Steel-Bound takes 1 hour (which can be done in a long rest but not a short rest) and requires 4 participants (three to perform the ritual, plus the human actually being transformed), as well as a suit of armour for the soul to move to. The participant cannot move, the armour must be engraved with sigils to conserve the soul, and the subject must be either willing or unconscious for the ritual to be successful.
The sigils only need to be carved for the transformation; donning armour doesn't require this, although the same sigils are scorched on any armour that a Steel-Bound dons after their transformation.
During the ritual, the three performing it must trace the helm of the armour onto the subject's body with ink and then channel magic into it, beginning the transfer process. Once one hour has passed, the subject awakens as a Steel-Bound, and must modify its ability scores and abilities as such.
History
Davorus performed this ritual en masse when preparing for a siege, as metal soldiers are immune to pain, and therefore cowardice. Luckily, his army was almost entirely made of soldiers, rather then spellcasters, as the original incarnation of Steel-Bound were faced with a difficult choice if they were able to use magic.
Because the armour is not the original vessel for the subject's soul, it cannot properly contain the power inside, causing it to leak out and slowly kill any Steel-Bound that was not sealed during their transformation. This sealing also cut off magical ability, as the soul and body were disconnected. And so they were either left unsealed, giving a slow and agonising demise that was accelerated by using magic, or were left defenceless and forced to learn a new form of combat.
Luckily, this is no longer an issue, as symbols have been created that better integrate the soul and metal. Some of the older ones may exist, though they are unlikely to be in a chatty mood. Referred to as "Coffins", these almost-deranged remnants are pitied and loathed by any that know their history.
Art Credit
"Color Knight" by Jeff Chen
"Character Set" by Josh Corpuz
Note
Unless otherwise specified, a race is considered to be of the 'humanoid' type, even if their flavour says otherwise (see Warforged for an example). Therefore, Steel-Bound are also humanoid.
The soul inside the body is just as important as the body itself.