Homebrew Bugforged Species Details

“Pierce was built by design, while you were built by accident,” Lakashtai said. “The soul is what matters, not the shape of the vessel.”

“What makes you think he has a soul?” Gerrion said.

“What makes you think you do?”

— Keith Baker, The Shattered Land

 

Bugforged are similar to warforged externally, but, where a warforged is hollow, a Bugforged is filled with a beehive, and is primarily made of wood.

History

The first Bugforged was a warforged in a party with Beleth Aes'tir, a mad tiefling. While traveling, Beleth came across a beehive. He tore it down, opened the warforged, and crammed the hive into its chest cavity. The warforged began to commune with the bees, and they soon became a part of each other.

Society

Most Bugforged are welcomed as much as warforged, although some people tend to keep their distance for obvious reasons.

Warforged Personality

The typical warforged shows little emotion. Many warforged embrace a concrete purpose — protecting allies, completing a contract, or other pursuits — and devote themselves to this task as they once did to war. However, there are warforged who delight in exploring their feelings and their freedom. Most warforged have no interest in religion, but some embrace faith and mysticism, seeking higher purpose and deeper meaning.

Quirks

Whether due to some flaw in their creation or simple ignorance of how other creatures operate, warforged often acquire an odd personality trait or two. A warforged player can choose to roll or select a trait from the Warforged Quirks table.

1d10	Quirk
1	You analyze (out loud) the potential threat posed by every creature you meet.
2	You don’t understand emotions and often misread emotional cues.
3	You are fiercely protective of anyone you consider a friend.
4	You often say the things you are thinking aloud without realizing it.
5	You try to apply wartime tactics and discipline to every situation.
6	You don’t know how to filter your feelings and are prone to dramatic emotional outbursts.
7	You don’t understand clothing beyond its utility and assume that what a creature wears denotes its job and status.
8	You are obsessed with your appearance, and constantly polish and buff your armor.
9	You are deeply concerned with following proper procedures and protocols.
10	War is the only thing that makes sense to you, and you’re always looking for a fight.

Bugforged Names

They tend to take a name from the race of their creator (like Koronis, the first beeforged), or a nickname from their friends.

Bugforged Names: Anchor, Banner, Bastion, Blade, Blue, Bow, Church, Crunch, Crystal, Dagger, Dent, Five, Glaive, Hammer, Iron, Lucky, Mace, Pants, Pierce, Red, Rusty, Scout, Seven, J'erri, Jef'f, B'ob

 

Bugforged Traits

Your warforged character has the following traits.

Ability Score Increase

Your Constitution score increases by 1.

Age

A typical Bugforged is between two and thirty years old. The maximum lifespan of the Bugforged remains a mystery; so far, Bugforged have shown no signs of deterioration due to age.

Alignment

Most Bugforged take comfort in order and discipline, tending toward law and neutrality. But some have absorbed the morality — or lack thereof — of the beings with which they served.

Size

Your size is Medium. Most warforged stand between 5 and 6 1/2 feet tall. Weight and build are affected by subrace.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Warforged Resilience

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 are immune to disease.
• You don’t need to sleep and don’t suffer the effects of exhaustion due to lack of rest.

Sentry's Rest

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.

Infestation

Subraces are based on the insect living inside, there are Wasps, Honey Bees, and Hornet.

Subraces		Effect
Wasp		Your Dexterity is increased by 1. Wasp Strength. Wasp Nest.
Honeybee		Your Charisma is increased by 1. Honey Maker. Deceptive Smell.
Hornet		Your Strength is increased by 1. Hornet's Intimidation. Swarming Frenzy.

Mostly Bugs

Your body is a construct's husk with an entire swarm animating it. This makes you vulnerable to fire damage and gives you disadvantage to  Fire Damage and Stealth checks. Due to your body's low, constant buzzing, you automatically alert creatures within 5 feet of you, that can hear, to your presence if you are conscious.

Hive's Wrath

As an action, you can telepathically order a single wasp/bee/hornet to fly out of you, or your swarm, and attack a creature within 40 ft, dealing 1 piercing damage.

Swarm Form.

Because you are comprised of multiple tiny creatures, it is easier for you to escape being grappled. Using your action, you can dissipate the swarms inside you and escape a grapple or navigate difficult terrain. However, any armor or objects are left behind, and you cannot attack or interact with objects in your Swarm Form. A Bugforged may remain in swarm form a number of rounds equal to its Constitution modifier. Every round thereafter, you take 1d4 damage until you return to your humanoid form.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common.