Homebrew Cogs Species Details
She'd heard the ledgends, the whispers, but never thougt them to be true. Yet here was on estanding right in front of her - a cog. Not flesh enough to be human, but not machine enough to be a robot. They were somewhere inbetween. She shivered, the cold metal of the monsters prostetic heart seeming to suck the warmth from the room, his eye scanning her up and down, taking in every last detail, as if plotting exactly how to kill.
In the reckonings of most worlds, humans, and by proxy cogs, are the youngest of the common races, late to arrive on the world scene and short-lived in comparison to dwarves, elves, and dragons. Perhaps it is because of their shorter lives that they strive to achieve as much as they can in the years they are given. Or maybe they feel they have something to prove to the elder races, and that’s why they build their mighty empires on the foundation of conquest and trade. Whatever drives them, humans are the innovators, the achievers, and the pioneers of the world.
A Broad Spectrum
With their penchant for migration and conquest, cogs tend to be more physically diverse than other common races. There is no typical cog. An individual can stand from 5 feet to a little over 6 feet tall and weigh from 100 to 300 pounds (metal is heavy). Human skin shades range from nearly black to very pale, and hair colors from black to blond (curly, kinky, or straight); males might sport facial hair that is sparse or thick. Metal types can be copper, tin, platinum, gold, silver, and titanium. A lot of cogs have a dash of nonhuman blood, revealing hints of elf, orc, or other lineages. Cogs reach adulthood in their late teens and rarely live even a single century, although, if lucky, may live up to 150 years.
Variety in All Things
Cogs are the most adaptable and ambitious people among the common races. They have widely varying tastes, morals, and customs in the many different lands where they have settled. When they settle, though, they stay: they build cities to last for the ages and great kingdoms that can persist for long centuries. An individual cog might have a relatively short life span, but a cog nation or culture preserves traditions with origins far beyond the reach of any single cog’s memory. They live fully in the present—making them well suited to the adventuring life—but also plan for the future, striving to leave a lasting legacy. Individually and as a group, cogs are adaptable opportunists, and they stay alert to changing political and social dynamics.t from them.”
Exemplars of Ambition
Cogs who seek adventure are the most daring and ambitious members of a daring and ambitious race. They seek to earn glory in the eyes of their fellows by amassing power, wealth, and fame. More than other people, cogs champion causes and the pursuit of knowledge rather than territories or groups.
Cog Names and Ethnicities
Having so much more variety than other cultures, cogs as a whole have no typical names. As cogs are originally human, the majority of cogs have human names. Human parents give their children names from other languages, such as Dwarvish or Elvish (pronounced more or less correctly), but most parents give names that are linked to their region’s culture or to the naming traditions of their ancestors.
The material culture and physical characteristics of cogs and humans can change wildly from region to region. In the Forgotten Realms, for example, the clothing, architecture, cuisine, music, and literature are different in the northwestern lands of the Silver Marches than in distant Turmish or Impiltur to the east—and even more distinctive in far-off Kara-Tur. Human and cog physical characteristics, though, vary according to the ancient migrations of the earliest humans, so that the cogs and humans of the Silver Marches have every possible variation of coloration and features.
In the Forgotten Realms, nine human ethnic groups are widely recognized, though over a dozen others are found in more localized areas of Faerûn. These groups, and the typical names of their members, can be used as inspiration no matter which world your cog is in.
Cog
Sometimes, Cogs choose to forgo their human names and rename themselves with what they feel matches their new metallic appearance more.
Cog Names: Mercury, Copper, Iron, Gold, Silver, Nickel, Tin, Aluminium, Titanium, Platinum, Dial, Gear, Motor, Piston, Ratchet, Socket, Sprocket, Tripwire
Cogs Traits
It’s hard to make generalizations about humans, but your human character has these traits.Dark Vision
Accustomed to life underground, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Tool Proficiency.
You gain proficiency with the artisan’s tools of your choice: smith’s tools, brewer’s supplies, or mason’s tools.
Trance.
Cogs don’t need to sleep. Instead, they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. (The Common word for such meditation is “trance.”) While meditating, you can dream after a fashion; such dreams are actually mental exercises.
Ability Score Increase
Your ability scores each increase by 1.
Age
Humans reach adulthood in their late teens and live less than a century.
Alignment
Humans tend toward no particular alignment. The best and the worst are found among them.
Size
Humans vary widely in height and build, from barely 5 feet to well over 6 feet tall. Regardless of your position in that range, your size is Medium.
Speed
Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Languages
You can speak, read, and write Common, Cog and one extra language of your choice. Humans typically learn the languages of other peoples they deal with, including obscure dialects. They are fond of sprinkling their speech with words borrowed from other tongues: Orc curses, Elvish musical expressions, Dwarvish military phrases, and so on. Cogs can also speak their own language, which they can use with other cogs, or can even use to speak to machinery. It sounds like banging, clacking, sparks, and squeaking, or just general machine shop sounds.
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