Homebrew Warcarved Species Details

“Nogrund was a fool.” Emperor Vulpius said. “He couldn't see the limitations of his own ugly designs.”

“The specimen that we examined did seem rather elegant - What makes own our adaptations so extraordinary?” I asked.

“Our's can be grown.”

—Andex Kesimi, 'Nature's Soldiers'

The warcarved were developed to improve the military capabilities of the Pajanese Empire to aid in the new Emperor's plans for rapid expansion. While the Samurai of the Empire are unmatched on a battlefield, they take too long to train and cannot be put to battle in large numbers. When, some twenty years ago, the Empire came into possession of a seemingly unique automaton created by an addled and unusual professor of Redemption Academy, it was clear that there was a potential to develop their own adaptations which would lend them the numbers for real military change. The unwieldy metals and intricate mechanisms of the original design were discarded and replaced with druidic magics and natural materials, allowing for a design which did not require as much expertise as the original to manufacture. The Warcarved are faster and nimbler than their Warforged progenitor, but lack the strength of mind and body that were unique to the original stolen design.

Living Wood and Gemstone

The professor's original designs were formed from a blend of inorganic materials. Root-like cords infused with alchemical fluids serve as muscles, wrapped around a framework of steel or bronze. These unwieldy metals and intricate mechanisms of the original design were discarded and replaced with druidic magics and natural materials, allowing for a design which did not require as much expertise as the original to manufacture. The Warcarved are faster and nimbler than their Warforged progenitor, but lack the strength of mind and body that were unique to the original stolen design. Warcarved share a common facial design, with a hinged jaw and crystal eyes embedded beneath a brow of wood or vine.

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

Warcarved Personality

The warcarved were developed to serve and to fight. They lack the hard-minded intelligence to question and disobey quite as freely as their Warforged progenitor, but they remain sentient and possess a natural dexterity and wisdom which may be unfamiliar to the original designer.

The typical warcarved shows little emotion. Many warcarved embrace a simple purpose — such as protecting allies, attacking a target, or exploring a land — and embrace this task as if they came up with it themselves. However, there are rare warcarved who delight in exploring their feelings, their freedom, and their relationships with others. Most warcarved have no interest in religion, but some embrace faith and mysticism, seeking higher purpose and deeper meaning.

The typical warcarved has a lean and sexless body shape. Some warcarved ignore the concept of gender entirely, while others adopt a gender identity.

The more a warcarved develops its individuality, the more likely it is to modify its body, seeking out a druid or woodworker to customize the look of its face, limbs, and plating.

Quirks

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

Warforged Quirks

Warcarved Names

Most warcarved were assigned Pajanese designations for use in military service. Many of them adopt nicknames, often given to them by their comrades. A few take on human names, often the name of a fallen friend or mentor.

Warcarved Names: Bloom, Branch, Blade, Blue, Bow, Carver, Crisp, Crunch, Crystal, Daylight, Echo, Fist, Gemstone, Gleam, Holly, Leaf, Leathers, Oak, Onyx, Pants, Pierce, Red, Rod, Rotten, Scout, Shield, Slash, Stick, Willow

Warcarved Traits

Your warcarved character has the following traits. A few of the traits give you a choice; consider how your choice reflects the purpose for which your character was built.

Ability Score Increase

Your Constitution score increases by 2, and one other ability score of your choice increases by 1.

Age

A typical warcarved is between two and twenty years old. The maximum warcarved lifespan remains a mystery; so far, warcarved have shown no signs of deterioration due to age. You are immune to magical aging effects.

Alignment

Most warcarved 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. To set your height and weight randomly, start with rolling a size modifier:

Size modifier = 2d6

Height = 5 feet + 10 inches + your size modifier in inches

Weight in pounds = 270 + (4 × your size modifier)

Speed

Your base walking speed is 35 feet.

Carved Resilience

You were carved 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.
• You are immune to disease.
• You don’t need to sleep, and magic can’t put you to sleep.

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.

Integrated Protection

Your body has built-in defensive layers, which can be enhanced with armor:

• 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 incorporate 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 incorporated into your body can’t be removed against your will (you cannot use armor or use shields made of metal)

Specialized Design

You gain one skill proficiency and one tool proficiency of your choice.

Languages

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