Homebrew Automaton Species Details

The origins of the first Automatons are shrouded in mystery. Presumably, they were built to fight in the Succession Wars before The Sundering. The first rediscovered Automatons were mindless killing machines without remorse or feeling, they were used to fight the nightmares of unleashed by The Sundering. Automatons in the Age of Innovation are powered by Prismatic Cores or Soul Cages and are fully sentient and sapient. Automatons are made from wood, metal, and stone but they can feel pain and emotion. Even though they were built as weapons of total war, they must now find a purpose in peace time. Some people still view Automatons as mindless killers, but more people are starting to understand them as a new people.

Living Steel, finding their Purpose

Automatons are formed from a blend of organic and inorganic materials. Thick copper wires wrapped in leather or rubber cords infused with an hydraulic fluid similar to dark oil, serve as their flesh, muscle, and blood, all wrapped around a framework of metal containing their power source. Articulated armored plates are wrapped around their synthetic flesh like a type of skin. Automaton do not share a common facial design but instead have unique faces and fully articulated facial motions.

The typical Automaton has a either has more masculine or feminine body shape or fully androgynous. Some Automatons ignore the concept of gender entirely, while others adopt a gender identity that they feel suits them. Automatons are plagued by hazy memories of a forgotten past, often seeing themselves as a humanoid, flesh and all. These periods of revery can drive the Automatons to understand where they truly come from. They all share a memory of a cold, sterile place called The Crucible, where they only have distant recollections of being "born."

Although they were manufactured, Automaton are living humanoids. Resting, healing magic, and the Medicine skill all provide the same benefits to Automatons that they do to other humanoids.

Age

The maximum Automaton lifespan remains a mystery; so far, automatons have shown no signs of deterioration due to age. You are immune to magical aging effects.

Quirks

Automaton often display an odd personality trait or two, given how new they are to the world. The Automaton Quirks table contains example quirks.

Automaton Quirks

Automaton Names

Most Automaton were assigned numerical designations for use in service. Many of them adopted nicknames, often given to them by their comrades. As independent individuals, some have chosen new names as a way to express their path in life. A few take on human names, often the name of a fallen friend or mentor.

Creating Your Character

If you create an Automaton character, follow these additional rules during character creation.

Ability Score Increases

When determining your character’s ability scores, increase one of those scores by 2 and increase a different score by 1, or increase three different scores by 1. Follow this rule regardless of the method you use to determine the scores, such as rolling or point buy.

Languages

Your character can speak, read, and write Common and one other language that you and your DM agree is appropriate for the character. The Player’s Handbook offers a list of widespread languages to choose from. The DM is free to add or remove languages from that list for a particular campaign.

Creature Type

Every creature in D&D, including every player character, has a special tag in the rules that identifies the type of creature they are. Most player characters, including Automaton, are of the Humanoid type. Creature types don’t have rules themselves, but some rules in the game affect creatures of certain types in different ways. For example, the text of the cure wounds spell specifies that the spell doesn’t work on a creature that has the Construct type.

Height and Weight

Player characters, including Automatons, typically fall into the same ranges of height and weight that humans have in our world. If you’d like to determine your character’s height or weight randomly, consult the Random Height and Weight table in the Player’s Handbook, and choose the row in the table that best represents the build you imagine for your character.

Automaton Traits

Your Automaton character has the following traits.

Creature Type

Even though Automatons are constructed, they are still living Humanoids.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Size

Your size is Medium.

Steely Fortitude

You were created to have remarkable fortitude, represented by the following benefits:

• You have advantage on saving throws against being poisoned, and you have resistance to poison damage.
• You don’t need to eat, drink, or breathe, but you might feel the urge so as not to disassociate
• You are immune to disease.
• You don’t need to sleep, and magic can’t put you to sleep.

Automaton’s Revery

When you take a long rest, you must spend at least six hours in an inactive, motionless state, rather than sleeping. In this state, you appear inert, but it doesn’t render you unconscious, and you can see and hear as normal. You might experience hazy memories that you can't quite put your finger on.

Battle-ready Integration

Your body can integrate any proficient armor, creating a second skin:

• You gain a +1 bonus to Armor Class.
• You can don only armor with which you have proficiency. To don armor other than a shield, you must integrate it into your body over the course of 1 hour, during which you remain in contact with the armor. To doff armor, you must spend 1 hour removing it. You can rest while donning or doffing armor in this way.
• While you live, the armor integrated into your body can’t be removed against your will.

Inherited Memories

You gain one skill proficiency and one tool proficiency of your choice. Does this come from your reveries?

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice.