Homebrew Facsimilite Species Details
A Warforged inspired species designed to preserve the technological level of your high fantasy campaign while still allowing you to play an artificial character.
The products of decades or even centuries of work by master craftspeople, Facsimilites are thinking constructs granted sapience by magical artifacts called hearts. However, the gift of sapience presents a similarly unique dilemma to each Facsimilite. To serve your purpose that a creator spent their life designing you for, or to live your own life, and live it to the fullest?
Walking Exhibitions
Due to their unique creation no two Facsimilites are exactly the same. They all share some traits: generally humanoid body plan, heights ranging between 3 and 7 feet tall, body constructed of disparate or connected pieces of artisanry, and a magical contraption known as a heart, which holds the very essences of their lives. Otherwise, their appearance can broadly vary depending on their original construction and any modifications they've made to keep themselves functioning. Some Facsimilites, constructed of more rigid materials, like metal or stone, might resemble beautifully carved golems or exquisitely made suits of walking armor. Others, made of cloth or leather, are slowly writhing masses of strips and straps in the vague shape of a humanoid. Stranger still, some, made of alcohol and herbs, are constantly swirling masses of constituent materials, taking humanoid form to strike before fading away. Most are a mixture of many: a mannequin body bound together by silk, scaled with scintillating gems. However, their inorganic bodies cannot repair themselves, they must be manually maintained by artisans, or else be artisans themselves. They are able to go without repairs in times of emergency, using the raw power of their heart and soul to hold together broken and breaking constituent parts, but this is like a human going without sleep for weeks. A Facsimilite can also choose between simply repairing a damaged part or replacing it with a suitable alternative. To many Facsimilites, the way their body does or doesn't change over time is intrinsic to their identity. The average Facsimilite may replace all their constituent parts with others over the course of a few years. A determined Facsimilite may keep the same parts for centuries. An industrious Facsimilite may rework their whole body over the course of a week.
If I Only Had a Heart
By far the most crucial part of a Facsimilite, their heart is the only part of them that they cannot repair or replace. It is also their least understood. A magical artifact whose construction is jealously guarded by only the most esoteric colleges and covens, it is roughly fist sized, and if it is destroyed, the Facsimilite will die. It is bound in transmutation and conjuration magic, but never necromancy. There is a soul in it, but it is not a phylactery; the soul came from no living, dead, or yet to live thing. If the Facsimilite is killed, their soul is released and follows the same path to the afterlife or afterlives just as any humanoid's soul. The origin of a Facsimilite's soul is under debate, but it is a soul, nonetheless. Still, a heart alone does not make a Facsimilite; a soul still requires a body. A master artisan is required, as the unique nature of the heart requires an expert hand. Raw materials will not do, as the heart requires a spark of craftsmanship to assimilate items. Anything crafted could theoretically do, but intention also seems to weigh heavily on the efficacy of constituent parts. A heart can exert far more control over items designed for Facsimilite incorporation, control which manifests as a sort of highly articulate telekinesis to hold together and effectively operate its body.
Fingerprints of the Maker
A Facsimilite's nature as a construct results in a strange relationship with free will. They certainly have it, as certainly as their heart contains a soul, but they can still be "imprinted upon", similar to how one would program a golem or an animated item. The arcanist that makes their heart can write directives and instructions into its structure, which can manifest in inexplicable compulsions and deeply ingrained habits. Meanwhile, the artisan that created their body imparts their own personality, morality, and even preferences upon the materials they work upon, which can be described by Facsimilites as something along the lines of "intrusive thoughts". These imprints can be overcome by a Facsimilite, but they never truly fade, as they are written upon the core of the Facsimilite's being and cannot be erased without fundamentally changing their nature. Thus, it is very common for Facsimilites to struggle against the remnants of their creators' wills long after they are dead and buried. It is possible to create a Facsimilite without either imprint, left free to pursue their own goals and form their own persona, but it is incredibly rare.
Solitude and Servitude
There is no one uniting reason a Facsimilite may go adventuring. In regard to their masters, a loyal Facsimilite may adventure under their instruction, while a rebellious one may adventure as a form of resistance. It could be a means of escape for a captive Facsimilite, or a means of acquiescence for obedient ones. After their creator's deaths, they may adventure as a form of self-discovery in their absence, or in attempt to defy their conditioning. Perhaps they search for more Facsimilites like them, or else the secrets to create new ones. Or maybe, in their immortality, they simply grew lonely, or bored.
All Facsimilites share the following traits.Ability Score Increase
Each Facsimilite has features specific to their individual construction, so each Facsimilite has unique set of abilities. One stat of your choice increases by 2, and another stat of your choice increases by 1. Alternatively, your Facsimilite can be hyper-specialized in a single ability, gaining 3 in one stat of your choice, but this increase cannot make any ability scores go above 20.
Age
Given their artificial nature, any damage to the constituent parts of a Facsimilite can be repaired or replaced. Theoretically, a Facsimilite with an indefinite supply of tools and materials to upkeep their body can survive indefinitely. The degradation of the mind and soul, however, are a different matter, and expiration dates can vastly range depending on an individual's fortitude.
Size
Facsimilites can come in just as many forms as humanoids do. Their shape and proportions are always humanoid, but other than that, no two Facsimilites are alike. Some may be smaller than Gnomes, while some may be larger than Goliath. Their weight is even more variable depending on their makeup; a Facsimilite made from metal and stone may be hundreds of pounds, while a Facsimilite of silk and paint may be a couple dozen.
Speed
Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Languages
You can speak, read, and write Common and one language of your choice.
Creature Type
your creature type is construct, as opposed to humanoid.
Constructed Body
Your unique creation allows you to ignore many limitations beholden to the average person, at the cost of a couple of drawbacks.
- You do not need to eat, drink, or breathe, and as such, cannot be harmed by the deprivation of food, water, or air. Depending on the whims of your creator or modifications after the fact, you may be able to simulate/experience any associated activities, but you won't ever need to.
- You gain resistance to poison damage, advantage against being poisoned, and immunity to disease. You have no organs to harm, but a potent enough toxin is able to corrode your body.
- You cannot heal from mundane means, such as from a healing kit, but magical healing, like from spells or potions, is unaffected. You still heal from long and short rests as normal as you spend the time pulling your body back together via the force of your heart.
- You do not need to sleep, and magic can't put you to sleep. However, you can still incur points of exhaustion if you forego long rests.
- You can be identified by effects that sense magic, such as the Detect Magic spell, as well as creatures with Truesight, under the transformations clause. Said creatures can see the pure form of your soul.
Loosen Grip
As a bonus action, you can activate this ability to loosen your heart's hold over your body to fall into a heap of your constituent parts. This is analogous to the Hide action, causing you to become hidden. However, instead of rolling your Dexterity (Stealth) against an opponent's Wisdom (Perception), your opponent instead rolls their Wisdom (Perception), or uses their passive perception if they are unaware of your presence, against a flat DC equal to 10+your total player level,
- rolling with advantage if your constituent materials don't fit the environment or if you are bloodied
- roll with disadvantage if your constituent materials do fit your environment, if you are lightly obscured, heavily obscured, or out of line of sight from them after this ability is used.
You are hidden from them for as long as the ability is activated, or if your opponent succeeds at a search action against the DC stated above. Once activated, this ability can last indefinitely, but it ends without penalty if you move, use an action, bonus action, free action, reaction, or simply at will. If you are hidden from a creature and end this ability with an action, bonus action, or reaction, you remain hidden from that creature until said action is completed. While Loosen Grip is active, you can sense your surroundings as normal.
You can use the Loosen Grip bonus action a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus.
Integrate Armor
A Facsimilite's body lacks vital organs, making it harder to land a solid hit. Furthermore, the malleable nature of your being allows you to absorb additional protective gear to increase its efficacy.
- You gain a +1 bonus to AC
- You can don and doff armor normally, and gain the normal effects from said armor by wearing it atop your constituent materials.
- Alternatively, you can magically incorporate armor you are proficient in into your body. While in contact with non-shield armor not worn by another creature, you can use the Incorporate Armor action to don it, granting you an additional +1 AC (to a total of +2).
- When wearing a set of armor in this way, you can doff it by using the Eject Armor reaction, which can be activated at any time. The ejected armor is placed in an empty space within 5 feet of you
- While living, incorporated armor cannot be removed from your body except by using Eject Armor.
Field Repairs
Instead of mundane healing, Facsimilites must physically repair their body. Out of necessity, they pick up artisanal talents to keep them from falling apart, and some exceptional Facsimilites learn how to do it on the fly in case of emergency.
- Each set of artisan's tools has 10 charges.
- An allied creature proficient in a set of tools and within five feet of you can use 1 charge from said set of tools to stabilize you when you are down using the Emergency Repair action. This grants you 1 health, removes your prone condition, and brings you back to consciousness.
- You or an allied creature within 5 feet of you can use an action to spend 3 charges from a proficient tool to heal you for 1d6+4 plus your maximum number of hit dice via the Patch Up action. To benefit from the Patch Up action, you must have at least 1 hit point.
- When an allied creature spends a charge to use the Emergency Repair action, they can choose to spend an additional 3 charges to use the Patch Up action as part of the same action.
- When a set of artisan's tools runs out of charges, it is destroyed as it runs out of resources, something essential in it breaks, or simply requires routine maintenance. It can be refilled, replaced, or maintained by rebuying it at a nearby town.
When either of the above actions is used, your body is changed in a way that reflects the tools used and the craftsmanship of the artisan.
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