Homebrew Apparat Species Details

Children of Raw Magic

Apparats are unusual constructs - they were not given a semblance of life by a creator, the way a wizard might create a shield guardian or servant construct. The Apparats are born of raw, wild magic energies concentrating and combining in inanimate objects. In the past, these energies might have animated the pebbles in a riverbed, or the driftwood on a beach, but were always limited by their forms. These energies are now drawn to the creations of humanoids. Tools and simple machines are perfect homes for the animating energy that creates an Apparat, offering a mobile and resilient core for these creatures to grow from. Apparats are combinations of these items, and might include such things as a cartwheel, bellows, rope, or a pair of shears. Apparats especially love gears and clockwork, which can be combined with other items to give them true mobility and animation. Among their own, Apparats use and switch between many different body plans, but when working and living among humanoids, they find that it is easiest to adopt the humanoid form. Apparats constantly collect items to upgrade and replace components of their bodies as they grow, but their original core item can never be replaced - this is the home of their energy and their soul. 

Hungry for Energy

Apparats are animated by raw magic, and it runs throughout their bodies. Apparats replenish this energy by absorbing certain sources of energy in their environment. The heat of a fire, the crackle of nearby lightning, or the searing of strong acid can all be (carefully) absorbed by an Apparat to reinvigorate themselves. These energies are like food and drink to an Apparat, and they require regular meals. 

A Certain Reputation

Apparats have poor reputations in many societies - they are seen as natural thieves, constantly pilfering the workshops of artisans for new additions to their bodies. In truth, few Apparats resort to thievery to acquire new components. They are much more likely to purchase or barter for such things. Still, they are dogged by this stigma in many places, and often form enclave communities within larger cities for mutual support and acceptance. Apparats are also known for their excellent skills as artisans and crafters themselves, and have an instinctual understanding of how many tools function. They are also possessed of a natural curiosity for the world - a need to understand how everything in the world works. Wheels might be used instead of legs, or if legs are employed, it is as common to have a dozen as it is to have two. Even basic commonalities to organic life such as bilateral symmetry is not a given for Apparats among their own. And Apparats never make heads among their own kind; any head like structure on an Apparat is there to make interfacing with humanoids easier. 

Risky Reproduction

While the first Apparats were born directly of raw magic manifesting in inanimate objects, the vast majority of Apparats in the world are born of other Apparats. The process of spawning new Apparats is a dangerous endeavor for an adult Apparat, however. Most attempts fail, but the real danger lies in a successful spawning. When a new Apparat is born, the energy of the parent or parents is split and recombined - a process that carries the risk of dissipation and death for a parent. This risk is low but significant - sadly, roughly one out of ten spawnings result in the death of a parent. Most Apparat societies mitigate the risks associated with spawning dissipation by joining together to spawn in large groups. If and when a parent dies during the process, their offspring are raised by the other parents instead of coming into the world parentless. 

Apparat Traits

Your Animat has the following traits.

Animating Energy

Your metabolism is powered by the direct absorption of certain energies.

• Instead of needing food and water, you require a source of intense heat such as a campfire, a mild electric shock of such as that from an electric eel, or an ounce of acid every day to sustain yourself.
• When you are damaged by a spell of first or higher level, you can use your reaction to roll a constitution saving throw equal to 10 + the level of the spell. If you succeed, you gain one hit die per level of the spell. You cannot exceed your normal hit dice maximum using this feature. 

Lifespan

Apparats have brief but energetic lives, maturing after one year and living to as old as thirty-five years of age. 

Upgrades

During a long rest, you can consume a set of artisan's tools (such as carpenter's tools or jeweler's tools) to alter or augment your form, gaining one of the following benefits:

• +2 to an ability score of your choice
• Increase your walking speed by 5
• Gain a swimming speed equal to your walking speed
• Gain a climbing speed equal to your walking speed
• Gain a unarmored AC of 12 + your constitution modifier

When you use this feature again, you lose the effect of the previous use of this feature. 

Ability Score Increase

Three ability scores of your choice increase by 1.

Reinvigorate

Your animating energies can be refocused to heal you. As a bonus action , you can spend a number of hit dice up to half your character level (minimum of 1), rolling the spent dice and adding the combined result to your HP.

When you are badly hurt, other creatures can attempt to revive you by manually recombining your form and animating energies. While you are at 0 HP, a creature can touch you and use their action to reassemble your damaged form and revive you. If you have at least one hit die, you gain 1 HP and lose 1 hit die. If you have no hit dice, this action has no effect. 

Creature Type

You are a construct.

• Note that some spells and powers have no effect on constructs - notably a number of common healing spells. The text of many healing spells, such as healing word and cure wounds, specifies that they have no effect on constructs. Other healing spells such as heal do not have that restriction. Other commonly used spells such as hold person only affect humanoids, which you are not.

Tool Affinity

You gain proficiency with two tools of your choice.