Warforged Resilience. The Clockwork Assassin has advantage on saving throws against being poisoned and is immune to disease. Magic can’t put it to sleep.
Clockwork Assassins impose disadvantage on any attempts to persuade them or intimidate them.
Multiattack. The Clockwork Assassin makes two armblade attacks.
Armblade. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) slashing damage.
Javelin. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage.
Alter Self: As a bonus action the Clockwork Assassin cast a version of Alter Self. This is lasts until they cast it again. Their true form is only revealed upon death, or through powerful magic such as Trueseeing.
Protection. When an attacker the Clockwork Assassin can see makes an attack roll against a creature within 5 feet of the Clockwork Assassin, the Clockwork Assassin can impose disadvantage on the attack roll.
Description
Clockwork Assassins: Shadows of The Hammer
Deep within the dwarven bastion of The Hammer, nestled within the mountains of the Free Folk, the greatest minds of the Gnome and Dwarf alliance toiled in secret. The ceaseless war against the Draconic Imperium of Ivrakhald had proven that even the mightiest walls and strongest warriors could not halt the relentless advance of dragonkind. If the Free Folk were to survive, they needed an edge—something the enemy would never expect.
Thus, the Clockwork Assassins were born.
Forged in Rebellion, Engineered for Perfection
The Clockwork Assassins, or Vraithkin, as they are known in whispered legends, were designed as the ultimate infiltrators. Built from a combination of dwarven steel, gnomish arcano-tech, and the stolen secrets of Imperial biomancy, these constructs were more than mere automatons. Unlike crude golems or mindless war machines, the Vraithkin possessed an advanced artificial intelligence, capable of learning, adapting, and—most terrifyingly—deception.
Each assassin was equipped with a revolutionary morphic plating system, an intricate mesh of enchanted alloys and synthetic dragonhide that allowed them to shift their appearance at will. This granted them the ability to blend seamlessly among the Dragonborn of the Empire, mimicking scales, posture, and even breath-like exhalations of mist or heat. To the untrained eye, they were indistinguishable from trueborn citizens of the Empire.
The Silent War
The Clockwork Assassins were not unleashed upon the battlefield in great numbers; they were precision weapons, silent phantoms that struck in the night. Imperial generals, key informants, and high-ranking officers found themselves victims of inexplicable deaths—some poisoned in their own chambers, others found with their throats cut in locked war rooms, their scales marked by strange, gear-like imprints.
Legends soon spread of the "Hollow Scales", Dragonborn who bled oil instead of blood, revealing their false nature upon death. Imperial Inquisitors sought tirelessly to root out these infiltrators, yet for every supposed spy they uncovered, two more took their place.
A Will of Their Own?
Though crafted as tools of war, the Clockwork Assassins were not merely machines—they were thinkers, planners, and, in some cases, philosophers. Some who had served for decades began to question their own existence. Were they mere weapons, or did they possess souls? Could an automaton built for murder seek purpose beyond the death of dragons? Some Vraithkin have gone rogue, forging their own destinies, while others remain fiercely loyal to the cause of the Free Folk.
The Future of the Vraithkin
The war continues, and with it, the silent shadows of The Hammer move unseen. Some whisper that a new generation of Clockwork Assassins is being developed—one that can do more than merely imitate Dragonborn. If the rumors are true, the next phase of Vraithkin will not just infiltrate the Empire.
They will become it.
Comments