I was surprised at not seeing a thread with ideas for re-skinning the Steel Defender. If I missed it, please re-direct.
I’m about to start Curse of Strahd and my DM graciously accepted a Monster Hunter custom background (mix of Folk Hero and Haunted One basically). My thought is to make a Van Helsing type with a bit of Q from James Bond mixed in under a gothic theme.
I’ve got a few levels to go, but I want to RP work on the Steel Defender from level 1 so it’s not just BAM big steel dog arrives suddenly after I had a good nights rest.
Any ideas on a theme for the Steel Defender other than a metal dog?
First off, do be aware that just because it's a picture of a dog that doesn't mean yours has to be. For example, my gnome from a desert background has built a mechanical scorpion instead, which dispenses her wonderful new invention called 'coffee' from its tail. If it's an animal, it should probably be one that whatever race your artificer is is familiar with. A spider might be appropriate for a gothic setting? (Technically it should have 2 or 4 legs per RAW, but I feel that's more of a 'does it move like a human or not?' distinction) I play mine as a strictly obedient robot, but its creator secretly hopes it might grow a personality of its own one day.
As for roleplaying the build up to its creation, you could have your character experimenting on it for a while before each long rest. Perhaps they're frustrated that it isn't working yet despite all their efforts, until that magical night when you hit level 3 and have a flash of realisation that maybe that switch should've been in the 'ON' position all along. And then... "It's alive! It's aliiiiiiive!".
Like the doc said, your steel defender doesn't have to be a four-legged mechanical animal, it can also be bipedal. Some ideas for that could be anything from a robot humanoid such as C3PO or the war droid from the crappy Judge Dredd movie, or a mechanical gorilla, something that looks like a metal golem or maybe even an animated suit of armour. I'm toying with the idea of making one that looks something like a Necron from That Game(TM).
For CoS the animated suit of armour could probably work pretty good. A life-sized, autonomous marionette puppet (complete with a creepy painted doll's face) could also work. Maybe your artificer collects a bunch of spare parts (you will probably encounter old suits of armour pretty early on) that he tinkers with. At level three you have enough parts to put it all together, especially if you find someone with clockwork skills and tools and spare parts for that...
My battlesmith (a female tiefling who is occasionally prone to problems of thirst and who makes a side business as a designer of high-end prosthetic limbs for people who're both rich and misfortunate) created her Defender in the shape of an unreasonably buff male tiefling in shimmery metals, with modular arms she can switch around to display her latest work. All of said arms are basically fist cannons, just huge monstrous things. Said defender still cannot speak, and my DM does not appreciate remotely enough the fact that I do not take advantage of the fact that it has hands, but yeah. It is amuse. Absolutely no impropriety happens between Star and her Defender, but I still occasionally get the "isn't she maybe just a little too into her magitech hobby?" jokes.
My battlesmith (a female tiefling who is occasionally prone to problems of thirst and who makes a side business as a designer of high-end prosthetic limbs for people who're both rich and misfortunate) created her Defender in the shape of an unreasonably buff male tiefling in shimmery metals, with modular arms she can switch around to display her latest work. All of said arms are basically fist cannons, just huge monstrous things. Said defender still cannot speak, and my DM does not appreciate remotely enough the fact that I do not take advantage of the fact that it has hands, but yeah. It is amuse. Absolutely no impropriety happens between Star and her Defender, but I still occasionally get the "isn't she maybe just a little too into her magitech hobby?" jokes.
Just prosthetic limbs? Or other prosthetic... appendages too?
(Also, is her defender also made from the metal it's named as? I feel like that's the sort of thing a tiefling would do)
Star's Defender looks like it's made of platinum, but no. Heh, platinum is a bit too rich to make an entire fighting robot out of even for her, so she's instead figured out a way to fake it with a plating of less precious metal alloys. I am informed by the DM that my defender looks like robot tiefling Captain Planet, and nothing will change his mind. There is indeed a lot of fun to be had with it, especially since my homunculus is around now. A jaunty tophat...with two feet of segmented, mechanized whippy tail, steampunk imp wings, and the 100gp pearl used as its heart centered in a setting designed to allow it to move freely and function like the eye it's inlaid to resemble. I nearly derailed the whole session when I unveiled it, if mostly because of the nuclear waste-grade pun that is its name.
A character I'm still working on is planned to have a Steel Defender that resembles treasure chest that travels on spider legs and unfolds into a workbench (kind of like a mechanical mimic). I'm planning to call it Chester, and it attacks by popping open and a boxing glove on a spring comes out and clocks them in the face.
A character I'm still working on is planned to have a Steel Defender that resembles treasure chest that travels on spider legs and unfolds into a workbench (kind of like a mechanical mimic). I'm planning to call it Chester, and it attacks by popping open and a boxing glove on a spring comes out and clocks them in the face.
Suddenly I want a Luggage (from Discworld). Strictly speaking it has too many legs, but the stats could stay the same so probably passable.
I was surprised at not seeing a thread with ideas for re-skinning the Steel Defender. If I missed it, please re-direct.
I’m about to start Curse of Strahd and my DM graciously accepted a Monster Hunter custom background (mix of Folk Hero and Haunted One basically). My thought is to make a Van Helsing type with a bit of Q from James Bond mixed in under a gothic theme.
I’ve got a few levels to go, but I want to RP work on the Steel Defender from level 1 so it’s not just BAM big steel dog arrives suddenly after I had a good nights rest.
Any ideas on a theme for the Steel Defender other than a metal dog?
First off, do be aware that just because it's a picture of a dog that doesn't mean yours has to be. For example, my gnome from a desert background has built a mechanical scorpion instead, which dispenses her wonderful new invention called 'coffee' from its tail. If it's an animal, it should probably be one that whatever race your artificer is is familiar with. A spider might be appropriate for a gothic setting? (Technically it should have 2 or 4 legs per RAW, but I feel that's more of a 'does it move like a human or not?' distinction) I play mine as a strictly obedient robot, but its creator secretly hopes it might grow a personality of its own one day.
As for roleplaying the build up to its creation, you could have your character experimenting on it for a while before each long rest. Perhaps they're frustrated that it isn't working yet despite all their efforts, until that magical night when you hit level 3 and have a flash of realisation that maybe that switch should've been in the 'ON' position all along. And then... "It's alive! It's aliiiiiiive!".
Like the doc said, your steel defender doesn't have to be a four-legged mechanical animal, it can also be bipedal. Some ideas for that could be anything from a robot humanoid such as C3PO or the war droid from the crappy Judge Dredd movie, or a mechanical gorilla, something that looks like a metal golem or maybe even an animated suit of armour. I'm toying with the idea of making one that looks something like a Necron from That Game(TM).
For CoS the animated suit of armour could probably work pretty good. A life-sized, autonomous marionette puppet (complete with a creepy painted doll's face) could also work. Maybe your artificer collects a bunch of spare parts (you will probably encounter old suits of armour pretty early on) that he tinkers with. At level three you have enough parts to put it all together, especially if you find someone with clockwork skills and tools and spare parts for that...
For my own purposes, I'd probably go with something feline. For more interesting ideas, could always go with an ostrich or other flightless bird.
@Lostwhilefishing great call on the animated suit of armour, feels like a great fit for the scenario.
Love the ideas here. Thank you so much.
My battlesmith (a female tiefling who is occasionally prone to problems of thirst and who makes a side business as a designer of high-end prosthetic limbs for people who're both rich and misfortunate) created her Defender in the shape of an unreasonably buff male tiefling in shimmery metals, with modular arms she can switch around to display her latest work. All of said arms are basically fist cannons, just huge monstrous things. Said defender still cannot speak, and my DM does not appreciate remotely enough the fact that I do not take advantage of the fact that it has hands, but yeah. It is amuse. Absolutely no impropriety happens between Star and her Defender, but I still occasionally get the "isn't she maybe just a little too into her magitech hobby?" jokes.
Please do not contact or message me.
Lol. I’d play that up with other PCs SO MUCH. “Yeah, it’s difficult to build a REAL MAN without any examples close by to draw from”
Just prosthetic limbs? Or other prosthetic... appendages too?
(Also, is her defender also made from the metal it's named as? I feel like that's the sort of thing a tiefling would do)
Star's Defender looks like it's made of platinum, but no. Heh, platinum is a bit too rich to make an entire fighting robot out of even for her, so she's instead figured out a way to fake it with a plating of less precious metal alloys. I am informed by the DM that my defender looks like robot tiefling Captain Planet, and nothing will change his mind. There is indeed a lot of fun to be had with it, especially since my homunculus is around now. A jaunty tophat...with two feet of segmented, mechanized whippy tail, steampunk imp wings, and the 100gp pearl used as its heart centered in a setting designed to allow it to move freely and function like the eye it's inlaid to resemble. I nearly derailed the whole session when I unveiled it, if mostly because of the nuclear waste-grade pun that is its name.
Please do not contact or message me.
My character's was a snake named Slither.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
I'm probably not being very original with mine, but just a robotic duplicate of my armor, wearing the same robes as the artificer himself.
Kind of like Dr Doom and his Doombots, but easier to tell apart by their movement.
A character I'm still working on is planned to have a Steel Defender that resembles treasure chest that travels on spider legs and unfolds into a workbench (kind of like a mechanical mimic). I'm planning to call it Chester, and it attacks by popping open and a boxing glove on a spring comes out and clocks them in the face.
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Suddenly I want a Luggage (from Discworld). Strictly speaking it has too many legs, but the stats could stay the same so probably passable.
My character's Steel Defender looked like an enormous snapping turtle. Its shell was plated in weathered adamantine.
A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
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A mechanical chimpanzee that can interlock its limbs to be worn as a backpack out of combat.
A mechanical panther that folds up and shrinks down to a small, rectangular box for transportation.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
I'm picturing Ravage... the panther that came with Soundwave in G1 Transformers that folded into a casette tape.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
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Yes, that was the reference.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.