Homebrew Doll Species Details
Dolls are clockwork automatons crafted to mimic the appearance of humanoid children. The secrets of their creation are closely guarded by the artificers who reverse-engineered their designs, as the preparation of the materials used for them -- a mithral-like substance known as "living metal" -- requires alchemical techniques otherwise lost to time. The original purpose of the dolls is unknown, with the theories ranging from "companion or guard to a wealthy family's children" to "replacement for a deceased child". An artificer's reason for creating a doll might be more varied, resulting in a doll better suited for the laboratory or the battlefield than the home. Or they may have created one just to prove that they can, leaving the automaton in search of its own purpose in the world. Such a doll, or one that has lost its creator, may soon find itself thrust into the adventurer's life.
At a distance, a doll is indistinguishable from a member of the species it was modeled after (choose which when you create your character). Up close, however, the seams and balls of its joints are more plainly visible, exposing its artificial nature. A doll's skin is cool and firm to the touch, as if it were porcelain, but can repair itself and be repaired as if it were flesh. Dolls are heavier than their sizes would indicate, due to the ever-ticking clockwork that stands in for their internal organs. They do not sleep, but instead spend their rest periods running internal diagnostics and ensuring that their clockwork is well-wound. While dolls can experience the full range of emotions from a mental standpoint, the limits of their bodies mean that the physical signs of emotion -- sweating, goose bumps, blushing, heart palpitations, and the like -- are not present, creating distance between their emotions and how they or others perceive them.
Doll Traits
Creature Type: Construct
Size: Small (about 3-4 feet tall)
Speed: 30 feet
Living Clockwork
You are a clockwork automaton made of living metal that heals like flesh. You gain the following benefits:
- You have advantage on saving throws against being Poisoned, and you have resistance to Poison damage.
- You don’t gain Exhaustion levels from dehydration, malnutrition, or suffocation.
- When you aren’t wearing armor, your base AC is 13 + your Dexterity modifier. You can use this AC if the armor you wear would leave you with a lower AC. A shield’s benefits apply as normal.
Magitech Soul
The magic of the artificer who created you permeates your soul, controlling the electrical impulses of your clockwork body and allowing it to gradually repair itself like a mortal body does. It also allows you to turn a bit of that magic outward, both as a self-defense mechanism and for mending other artificial objects.
You know the Shocking Grasp and Mending cantrips. Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these cantrips (choose the ability when you select this species).
Specialized Design
Your creator made you with a particular purpose in mind and imbued you with the knowledge necessary to carry out that purpose as a result. You gain one skill proficiency and one tool proficiency of your choice.
Winding
You don't need to sleep, and magic can't put you to sleep. You can finish a Long Rest in 4 hours if you spend those hours magically winding and mending your internal mechanisms, during which you retain consciousness.
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