Homebrew Augmented Species Details

This material belongs to Antonio Demico (@antodemico on twitter), also known as Pointy Hat on Youtube. If I could link here I would, but I can't so just check them out their stuff is amazing.

 

Those who choose to become augmented are anything but a monolith. Most augmented become so after losing a limb or the capability to hear, see, walk, even speak. Faced with the challenges that naturally come from their situation, they reach out to master crafters: artificers specializing in the making and installing of wondrous magical prosthetics to a living, humanoid body.

These artificers take incredible pride in their work, and each add a unique, personal touch to their craft. As a result, no two augmentations look or work the same. They are personally made for the person augmented with them.

Most of the time, a lost arm is replaced with an artificial limb, meant to work exactly like an arm would, but artificers are inventive by nature, and so many augmented are given secondary characteristics to their augmentations, not just allowing them to replace their lost limb or sense but also giving them new capabilities that their original limb did not have.

Some augmented outfit their augmentations with combat capabilities, incorporating finely-tuned weapons into them. Some are given incredibly powerful legs or fast seats that allow them to move through the battlefield even faster than before, and some add tools to their augmentations, opening up a myriad of possibilities from integrated musical instruments to perfectly concealed thieves’ tools.

There are also some who decide to become augmented not after the loss of a sense or limb, but because of the incredible capabilities that their augmentations would grant them. There are assassin clans that augment their members, making them even deadlier at their sinister craft. There are racers who choose to undergo augmentation to participate in the fastest ever races involving living people. There are even whispers of truly heinous master craftsmen, artificers who force their unethical augmentations on unwilling subjects. Regardless of why and how someone becomes augmented, they all share in common one thing: their augmentations are all as different and unique as the people attached to them.

Creating Your Character

At 1st level, you choose whether your character is a member of the human race or of a fantastical race. If you select a fantastical race, follow these additional rules during character creation.

Ability Score Increases

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

Your class’s “Quick Build” section offers suggestions on which scores to increase. You’re free to follow those suggestions or to ignore them. Whichever scores you decide to increase, none of the scores can be raised above 20.

If you are replacing your race with the augmented, replace any Ability Score Increase you previously had with these.

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.

If you are replacing your race with the augmented, you retain any languages you had and gain no new languages. 

Augmented Traits

As an Augmented, you have the following traits.

Creature Type

You are a Humanoid.

Size

Your size is Medium or Small. You choose the size when you gain this lineage.

Speed

Your walking speed is 30 feet.

Starting Point

You can choose to keep certain elements of another race when picking augmented as the race of your character: any skill proficiencies given to you with that race, and any climbing, flying, or swimming speed.

If you instead choose to not keep those elements, you gain proficiency in two skills of your choice.

Tinkerer

The routine upkeep of your augmentation has made you particularly proficient in the usage of the necessary tools required to maintain your magical prosthetic. You have expertise (your proficiency bonus is doubled when making checks) with tinker’s tools.

Patching Up

Your augmentation is magically connected to your own body, and therefore your life force. As an action, you can make an ability check using your tinker’s tools on your augmentation. The DC is equal to 15 if your current HP is above half of your hit point maximum (rounding down), or 18 if your current HP is below half of your hit point maximum. On a success, you regain an amount of hit points equal to 1d4 + your proficiency bonus. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus.

Augmentation

Your body has been outfitted with a magical artificial augmentation that you can use in a variety of ways depending on the specific augmentation. Choose one of the following augmentations when choosing this race:

Utility Augmentation:

This magical augmentation grants you utility capabilities that far surpass the ones granted to you by the original body part you have replaced.

You gain one expertise in one skill and one tool (doubling your proficiency bonus on any ability checks made with them). The tool chosen is inlaid into your augmentation and cannot be dropped unless you are somehow parted with your augmentation.

Enhanced Augmentation: At 10th level, provided you have access to a master craftsman specializing in magical augmentations and 500 gold pieces to pay for their services, you can choose an additional skill and tool to gain expertise with. It takes 1d4 days for the master craftsman to outfit your augmentation with its new capabilities, during which you do not gain the advantages that your augmentation grants you.

Examples of this augmentation include:

  • An artificial eye that grants you expertise with navigator tools and the Perception skill.
  • A set of magically-enhanced mechanical hands that grant you expertise with thieves’ tools and the Sleight of Hand skill.
  • A clockwork voice box that grants you expertise with one musical instrument and the Performance skill.

 

Combat Augmentation:

This magical augmentation grants you combat capabilities that allow you to use your augmentation as a weapon.

Your AC increases by 1, and a weapon with which you are proficient with is fitted into your augmentation. Attacks made with this weapon count as magical for the purposes of overcoming resistances, and the weapon cannot be dropped. You can change this weapon by spending 1 hour fitting it to your augmentation and 30 gold in new parts.

Enhanced Augmentation: At 10th level, provided you have access to a master craftsman specializing in magical augmentations and 500 gold pieces to pay for their services, you can fit your augmentation with an additional weapon you are proficient with. Your AC increases by 1 again, to a total of +2, and you are able to stow one weapon into your augmentation and draw the other weapon for free during your turn. This new weapon has the same capabilities as the first weapon attached to your augmentation.

Examples of this augmentation include:

  • A mechanical arm outfitted with a blade that comes out between the knuckles of your hand augmentation
  • A crossbow inlaid into your forearm
  • Your artificial hand is attached to your arm by a chain, allowing you to use it as a flail.

 

Movement Augmentation:

This magical augmentation enhances your movement, allowing you to move faster, even through hard to navigate terrain.

Your walking speed increases by 5 feet. Additionally, moving through non-magical difficult terrain does not cost you extra movement.

Enhanced Augmentation: At 10th level, provided you have access to a master craftsman specializing in magical augmentations and 500 gold pieces to pay for their services, you can enhance your augmentation to grant you even faster movement and additional traversal abilities. Your walking speed increases by 5 feet, bringing the total increase to 10 feet. Additionally, you gain the ability to move along vertical surfaces without falling during the move.

Examples of this augmentation include:

  • A set of mechanical hydraulic-powered legs.
  • A seat that hovers 5 inches above the ground.
  • A set of artificial calves with magically-powered jets of energy.

Languages

Your character can speak, read, and write Common and one other language.
Antilitos

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