Homebrew Animated Armour Species Details
Living Metal
Animated armors are full sets of armor that can move and speak on their own, their various pieces of plating seemingly unburdened by gravity. While they have no physical presence inside them, they function just like a person in a full suit of armor. They can be molded or cast to fit a certain race, being anything from small enough to comfortably fit a gnome to large enough to completely cover an orc. Their weight and size, as well as their design and material, are up to their creator. While metal is most often used, an armor composed entirely of stone or animal skins are not uncommon. Magic is often used to bring the armor to life and keep it from falling apart.
Though they may not have any sensory organs whatsoever, magic ensures that they can perceive what is around them. They can see, hear, smell, touch, and taste just as well as a human can. They can speak as well, magic guiding their artificial consciousness. Their armor acts as their skin, and any damage inflicted upon their plating is taken as damage to what would be their physical form. Should they sustain enough damage, the spell holding their parts together will dissipate, leaving them to fall apart completely.
Amazingly, healing potions and spells can bring them back together, even if it's only one piece at a time. At low health, animated armors often find that whole limbs will disconnect from their bodies. Fortunately, the gaps between plating have no physical presence; if a certain anarmor is designed with a horizontal gap separating its torso from its waist, slashing through it without touching the plating will cause no damage whatsoever. Only striking the armor will cause physical harm to an animated armor.
To hide the fact that they are living suits of armor as opposed to a warrior wearing a suit of armor, anarmors will use cloaks, scarves, or bandages to cover the gaps between their plating. Some are fortunate enough to have been created with arcane lights that are fixed in the space inside their helmets. These projections are meant to resemble eyes and shift and move according to what expression the anarmor is making. Though they serve no function other than making it look like they have eyes, these lights are often enough to keep the average joe from getting too suspicious.
Dormancy
Normal suits of armor usually last as long as their material does, the elements hazing it until it eventually rusts over and crumbles to pieces. With animated armors, however, the game changes. If magic is used to bring a suit of armor to life, another spell is usually cast on the armor to make it more durable. The stronger the spell, the longer the armor lasts. A typical anarmor can lie dormant for 700 years before losing its magic. The maximum lifespan of an animated armor is unknown, as a powerful enough spell could potentially keep one alive forever, but none have been known to keep their magic for more than 1,500 years.
Unlike other creatures blessed with long life, anarmors don't actively pursue goals outside of what they were created to do; if a particularly animated armor was created to protect a castle, it will stay in the castle, silently waiting for an intruder. That said, they can leave their posts or occupations if they wish, but most are not given a good enough reason to, remaining dormant until someone finds them. Unless they are doing their job constantly, they will become as still as a statue, waking only when a certain stimulus triggers a response.
When they do awake, animated armors often find that they are in a world far different than the one they know. To them, time passed by without them, leaving them lost in a strange and mysterious future. A time gap as small as fifty years can be enough to confuse an anarmor, but if they are intelligent enough, they will catch on to present-time customs fairly quickly, Still, some refuse to change their ways, speaking in forgotten tongues or using overly-wordy and poetic speech.
Reawakening and Rebirth
Anarmors usually fall dormant at the post given to them by their creator, waiting for something to bring them back into consciousness. If their creator happens to die before or after they enter this state, their purpose will no longer be explicitly defined. When they regain consciousness, most anarmors stick to their prior orders, carrying out their tasks without complaint. But some, rather than do a task that is now impossible, pointless or both, defy their creator's magical programming and seek out a new purpose. Others forget their purpose altogether, wandering around aimlessly until someone decides to claim them. Many times, an adventurer will stumble upon a long-forgotten animated armor and convince it to join them on their travels. Others are reactivated only to find that the thing they were meant to protect has been destroyed somehow, and seek vengeance. In this way, anarmors can be anything from loyal companions and protectors to destructive avengers and mercenaries.
Ghosts in Armor
Generally, people see animated armors as threats. The thought of a walking, talking suit of armor terrifies them, though not to the same capacity as a tiefling. They are often likened to ghosts in armor, and many villages have their own tales of menacing suits of armor that move of their own volition. Because of this, anarmors that waltz into unsuspecting towns are usually avoided completely, the only words spoken of them being whispers. Those who know better than this see wandering anarmors as potential companions, workers, or servants. Some are ambitious or crazy enough to try and capture them by force, often to no avail. Taverns and whorehouses usually look the other way, since being intangible except for one's armor don't give the ladies or the barkeeps much to work with.
That said, an anarmor will usually try to avoid being discovered, unless a quirk in their personality programming says otherwise. They'll use cloaks, scarves, and bandages to cover the gaps in their armor and blend in. They'll stay away from crowded places, speaking only when spoken to and never causing too much of a scene. Some spend their time in taverns, never ordering any food or drink, hoping that the patrons will be too drunk to notice how empty they are on the inside. On the rare occasion that an animated armor is welcomed or even worshipped by the people of a village, some merely serve the community as a guard or sentry, while others take a more commanding role, like a war chief or even a deity.
Animated Armor Names
An animated armor's name is usually bestowed by its creator. Sometimes, however, they forget their names. When this happens, a name can be given to them by a new owner or partner, or they can come up with a name themselves. When an anarmor comes up with a name for itself, it's usually something simple, something they see around them or remember from their past. Really, any name will do, whether it's based on their function, their appearance, or their surroundings. Some are based on the creator's native tongue, whatever that may be.
Animated Armour Traits
Animated Armor Traits A suit of armor that is given life through magic and is assigned a task. Often they are left behind by their creators, left to lie dormant for hundreds of years only to wake up and seek out a new purpose.Soul Transference
You can transfer your consciousness from your current set of armour to another set. Dependent on type, this can take different amounts of time. If you are transferring your consciousness to an armour of the same category e.g (Heavy to Heavy, Light to Light), you can do this over the course of a short rest. However if you are transferring your consciousness to an armour of another type e.g (Heavy to Light), you can do this over the course of a long rest as your consciousness adjusts to the weight, feel and flexibility of the new armour. After the armour you are inhabiting changes, your size/weight will change to that of the armour, and you will gain all bonuses of wearing that armour, including AC bonuses and magical effects. If the armour is one you do not have proficiency in you will gain all negative effects and -2 to AC.
Ability Score Improvement
Your constitution score increases by 2
Antimagic Susceptibility
Due to your magical nature, spells and effects which disable magic are dangerous to you. When you start your turn in the area of an Antimagic Field or are targeted by the Dispel Magic spell you must make a constitution saving throw against the casters spell save DC. On a success you take 3d6 Force damage, on a failure you fall unconscious for 1d4 rounds.
Construct
You are a suit of armor made of a variety of durable materials. Your creature type is Construct. All magical healing on you is halved. You are immune to poison damage, being poisoned and diseases. You do not need to eat or breathe, and any food you do attempt to eat falls through your space where your head would be at the bottom of your armor. Instead of sleeping, you enter an inactive state for 4 hours each day.
False Appearance
While the armor remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from a normal suit of armor. You gain +10 to stealth checks if you are motionless and not yet detected.
Mendable
When the mending spell is cast on you and you have 0 hit points you become stable. Alternatively, as part of the casting of mending the caster may expand any number of spell slots (minimum 1) causing you to regain a number of hit points equal to 1d8 + their spell-casting ability modifier. When you do this using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the healing increases by 1d8 for each slot level above 1st
Languages
You can speak, read and write Common, as well as in the language of your creator. Given that animated armors are often created by wizards, the exotic languages of magic such as Draconic or Primordial are commonly known.
Flexible
The armor your soul inhabits determines certain traits about you. The classifications are Light, Medium and Heavy.
Heavy armour
You inhabit a heavy suit of armor.
Ability Score Increase
Your Constitution score increases by 2.
Sluggish
Your base movement speed decreases to 25.
Slugger
Your fists are as heavy as your steps. You are proficient with your unarmed strikes, which deal 1d4 bludgeoning damage on a hit.
Light Armour
You inhabit a suit of light armour
Ability score increase
Your Dexterity score increases by 1.
Light Footed
Your base movement speed increases to 35.
Medium Armour
You inhabit a suit of medium armor.
Ability Score Increase
Your Strength or Dexterity score increases by 1.
Evasive
You can take the Dodge action as a bonus action a number of times equal to your Dexterity modifier (minimum 1). You regain all expanded uses of this trait when you complete a long rest.