Homebrew Flesh Golem Species Details

"A monster, you say? We're all made of pieces of the people we meet along the way, are we not?"

 

 

OVERVIEW

Flesh golems are humanoid constructs stitched together from the remains of the dead and bound with arcane rituals and taboo sciences. To the eye, they are grisly patchworks of muscle and sinew held fast with stitches, bolts, and strange enchantments. Most common are those forged from flesh and blood vessels of agglomerated memory from their many mismatched pieces, causing lapses of identity and minor madness throughout their ageless lives.

TOOLS OF THEIR MAKER

Flesh golems are not born, but built. Their makers, whether it be rogue necromancers, surgeons, or reckless artificers, crafted them to be servants, guardians, or weapons. Many are shackled to amulets, talismans, or binding words that ensured absolute obedience. Without instruction, a flesh golem would often falter: some fell into stillness for long spells, while others lashed out in confusion. For those who outlived their masters, freedom did not always come as a gift, but instead as a void of purpose that forced them to stumble into the world with no direction but their own.

TO FIND ONE’S SELF

One’s experience within a patchworked body walks the line between obedience and selfhood. Some cling to the vestiges of their creators’ commands, treating them as guiding laws. Others hunt for fragments of who they were within their stitched flesh, seeking to make a true identity out of broken pieces. A rare few reject both maker and memory, striving instead to carve out a new existence of their own. Yet nearly all flesh golems face the same burden: to be seen not as a monstrosity or a tool, but as someone worthy of being.

OVERVIEW

Flesh golems are humanoid constructs stitched together from the remains of the dead and bound with arcane rituals and taboo sciences. To the eye, they are grisly patchworks of muscle and sinew held fast with stitches, bolts, and strange enchantments. Most common are those forged from flesh and blood vessels of agglomerated memory from their many mismatched pieces, causing lapses of identity and minor madness throughout their ageless lives.

TOOLS OF THEIR MAKER

Flesh golems are not born, but built. Their makers, whether it be rogue necromancers, surgeons, or reckless artificers, crafted them to be servants, guardians, or weapons. Many are shackled to amulets, talismans, or binding words that ensured absolute obedience. Without instruction, a flesh golem would often falter: some fell into stillness for long spells, while others lashed out in confusion. For those who outlived their masters, freedom did not always come as a gift, but instead as a void of purpose that forced them to stumble into the world with no direction but their own.

TO FIND ONE’S SELF

One’s experience within a patchworked body walks the line between obedience and selfhood. Some cling to the vestiges of their creators’ commands, treating them as guiding laws. Others hunt for fragments of who they were within their stitched flesh, seeking to make a true identity out of broken pieces. A rare few reject both maker and memory, striving instead to carve out a new existence of their own. Yet nearly all flesh golems face the same burden: to be seen not as a monstrosity or a tool, but as someone worthy of being.

SPECIAL TRAITS

Lightning Resistance. You have Resistance to Lightning Damage.

Charnel Core. Whenever you take Lightning damage, you can use your Reaction to regain Hit Points equal to the damage taken instead. You can use this Reaction even when you have the Incapacitated condition. You can use this trait a number of times equal to your Proficiency Bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a Long Rest.

Constructed Nature. You are an artificial creation stitched from flesh and bone, a fact represented by the following benefits:

• You have Advantage on Death Saving Throws.

• You don’t need to eat, drink, or breathe.

• 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 in an inactive, motionless state, during which you retain consciousness.

Wandering Limbs. You are able to detach and reattach your limbs and head as an Action, and can survive without your head attached to your body as long as your brain is intact and your heart isn’t destroyed.

While your severed limb or body remains within one mile of your head and heart, it remains animated and can be controlled as a Bonus Action. A severed limb shares your statistics and can be used as an extension of your body, but can’t speak, hear, or see, has 1 Hit Point, and can move at half your walking speed. A severed hand or arm also gains a climb speed equal to its speed. A limb that is reduced to 0 Hit Points can’t be controlled until you reattach it.

You can use a different limb or appendage to replace a detached one over the course of a Short Rest, as long as it is compatible with your anatomy.

SPECIES TRAITS

Creature Type: Humanoid and Construct

Size: Medium

Speed: 30

Flesh Golem Traits

Your Flesh Golem 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.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Lightning Resistance.

You have Resistance to Lightning Damage.

Charnel Core.

Whenever you take Lightning damage, you can use your Reaction to regain Hit Points equal to the damage taken instead. You can use this Reaction even when you have the Incapacitated condition. You can use this trait a number of times equal to your Proficiency Bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a Long Rest.

Constructed Nature.

You are an artificial creation stitched from flesh and bone, a fact represented by the following benefits:

You have Advantage on Death Saving Throws.
You don’t need to eat, drink, or breathe.
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 in an inactive, motionless state, during which you retain consciousness.

Wandering Limbs.

You are able to detach and reattach your limbs and head as an Action, and can survive without your head attached to your body as long as your brain is intact and your heart isn’t destroyed.

While your severed limb or body remains within one mile of your head and heart, it remains animated and can be controlled as a Bonus Action. A severed limb shares your statistics and can be used as an extension of your body, but can’t speak, hear, or see, has 1 Hit Point, and can move at half your walking speed. A severed hand or arm also gains a climb speed equal to its speed. A limb that is reduced to 0 Hit Points can’t be controlled until you reattach it.

You can use a different limb or appendage to replace a detached one over the course of a Short Rest, as long as it is compatible with your anatomy.