Wandering Automata
A DnD 5E Race
by Aile the Alien
You are a wandering automata, finding your own purpose in life after waking up in a tinkerer's care. Were you stolen from a wizard? Abandoned when their workshop was invaded by marauders? They helped you scavenge armor scraps, gears, leather and magical gems to repair your body, and apprenticed you in the ways of repair and tinkering...
Overview
- Size: medium
- Movement Speed: 30 feet
- Artificial Life:
- you do not sleep, and are immune to most diseases
- you are vulnerable to one of acid (mostly clockwork), fire (mostly wood and straw), blunt (mostly ceramics)
- you are powered by a heat engine, not normal food
- resistant to poison (it can still gum up your works)
- vulnerable to cold
- drink pure distilled alcohol, or
- per day: 3 pounds, 13 gp
- if you're feelin' fancy
- drink cooking oil
- per day: 1 pound, 1 sp
- when you're in the gutter
- always stable on zero HP, but cannot gain HP by normal means
- +2 to two ability scores
- start with smith/tinker tools, and are proficient
- Meditation and Repairs:
- you are awake, but meditative while restoring spells and repairing your body
- your long rest is quicker: 3 hours of repairs and meditation, and 1 hour of chatting or similar
- Slap-Patch:
- as a bonus action, you gain PB hit-dice temporary HP, up to your normal maximum
- you can do this PB times per long rest
- an ally may use one if you are downed
- Mending Magiks:
- if you or an ally know the mending cantrip, you may be healed by it
- you heal for 1d4 + the spell-caster's ability modifier
- this increases by 1d4 for each higher spell-level used
- if cast as a cantrip (no slot used), you may only be healed by iths PB times per long rest, before the amateur magic starts gumming up your cogs and crystals
Augmentations
You get one augmentation at level 4, 8 and 12. They take time and materials to craft, consultation with craftsmen and wizards, and before they're attuned to your body you do not benefit from their abilities. (They take 1d6 days to craft, 10 gp per day, and 1d8 hours to attune to your body.)
Built-In Tool
One of the tools with which you are proficient is integrated into your body - you get an additional +1 to the skill and it cannot be dropped or lost.
Built-In Weapon
One of the weapons with which you are proficient is secured to your frame. It cannot be dropped or lost, you deal an additional 1 damage, and it may be drawn or stowed for free on your turn.
Communications Module
You learn another language, and may cast the Message cantrip as a bonus action without any verbal, material, or somatic requirements.
Convenient Compartments
You've added two hatches to extradimensional spaces to your frame. They each hold 20 pounds or 2 cubic feet. Withdrawing an item from them in combat costs an action, but the item you want is always on top!
Encyclopedic Memory
You learn another skill (become proficient), and gain the ability to record up to two pages of text or thirty seconds of a person's appearance and speech, which can be replayed later to courier messages.
Night-Vision Lenses
You've upgraded your sensor lenses, and now have night-vision to 60 feet.
Nimble Legs
You've replaced your normal legs with four slender spider-like legs. You gain 5 feet of movement speed, and +1 to avoid being knocked prone or set off traps.
Thievery Kit
You've added a grappling hook and winch to your body, to break into buildings. (Range 50 feet.) A tiny compartment in your body opens to a small extra-dimensional space, to hide away valuables. (Hide up to 1 pound or one-eighth cubic foot with DC 25 to discover or force open. Approximately the size and weight of a baseball or apple.)
Spy Orb
You've added a detachable, semi-autonomous construct sensor-orb - if you detach it, you can see and hear through it at -2 perception. It has a 10 foot speed and can be thrown 60 feet.