Homebrew Animite Species Details
Animites are weapons that have achieved full sentience, whether through arcane accident, divine intention, or the slow accumulation of bloodshed and memory. They have no need for wielders. They have no need for anything, except perhaps purpose.
Most weapons are made to be used. Animites were made — and then something went wrong, or perhaps terribly right. A blade forged with murderous intent may absorb so much purposeful hatred that it refuses to stop when the task is done. A ceremonial weapon left forgotten in a vault for centuries may simply accumulate enough memory to wake. Occasionally, a spellcaster deliberately imbues a weapon with consciousness — and discovers too late that a mind, once made, does not take orders well.
An Animite's sense of self is inseparable from its form. It does not mourn the hands it never had or the face it cannot make. What unsettles an Animite is a subtler problem: weapons are built with purpose baked into their design, and an Animite that has outlived or rejected that purpose must construct a new one from scratch. Many adventuring Animites are, at their core, still working on the question.
Animite Traits
Creature Type: Construct
Size: Small (typically 1-3 feet in length), or tiny for compact forms such as daggers or katars, chosen when you select this species
Speed: 0 feet
Constructed Nature
You don't need to eat, drink, breathe, or sleep. You are immune to the effects of spells that would put you to sleep. When you finish a Long Rest, you do so in an inert state lasting 4 hours rather than sleeping.
Object Anatomy
You have no conventional body. You are immune to the Poisoned condition and to disease. Equipment, mounts, and effects that require a humanoid form don't apply to you. You cannot Grapple or Restrain other creatures. You can be Grappled and Restrained normally.
Forged Form
You cannot wear armor. Your Armor Class equals 13 + your Dexterity modifier.
Mage Hand Adept
You know the Mage Hand cantrip and can cast it without components and the duration for the spell is 'until dispelled'. You use your movement to reposition the hand — and yourself with it — rather than an action. You still require an action to manipulate objects or interact with the environment through it. You cannot move and interact on the same time.
Blind Beyond the Veil
You have Blindsight with a range of 60 feet. You are Blinded beyond that range. You have no visual, auditory, or olfactory senses in the conventional sense — your awareness of the world is purely magical in nature.
Natural Weapon
Your form is a weapon. You can make Unarmed Strikes that deal 1d6 damage. Choose the damage type at character creation — Slashing, Piercing, or Bludgeoning — to reflect your weapon form. These strikes are considered magical for the purpose of overcoming Resistance and Immunity.
Material Resilience
Choose a material from the table below at character creation. You gain Resistance to that material's associated damage type.
| Material | Damage Type |
|---|---|
| Steel | Slashing |
| Chitin | Piercing |
| Stone | Bludgeoning |
| Bone | Necrotic |
| Obsidian | Fire |
| Stormforged Iron | Lightning |
| Silverite | Radiant |
| Glacial Crystal | Cold |
Damage Resistance
You have Resistance to the damage type determined by your Material Resilience trait.
Unwilling Vessel
Another creature can pick you up and wield you as a magic weapon of your type. While wielded this way, the wielder uses their own ability modifier and proficiency bonus for attack and damage rolls. If wielded without your consent, you can impose Disadvantage on the wielder's attack rolls made with you. You may withdraw this Disadvantage at any time. You remain aware of all events occurring around you while being wielded.
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