Homebrew Clockwork Species Details

“After making our way through miles of ruins, it was a shock to enter the court. Not only had the servant Clockwork kept everything in pristine condition, but the courtiers seemed to be maintaining the social condition as well. Our physician distinctly heard two of the Clockwork talking in hushed tones of some tryst between a bluejay and a cardinal - proving without a doubt that every court, no matter it’s makeup, runs on scandal."

-Arthur Lodestone, The Clockwork Court

Racial Flavor

The Clockwork were discovered by the renowned explorer Arthur Lodestone during an expedition in search of a long lost Gnomish kingdom. When Lodestone finally stumbled upon the lost court he found it to be alive with mechanical life. While the flesh and blood inhabitants had long since left the kingdom the mechanical humanoids, which the Lodestone expedition took to calling Clockwork, maintained order through their day to day tasks. 

When they came across the Clockwork, the Lodestone expedition believed they stumbled on to something truly astounding - the autonomy of the Clockwork was far more advanced than anything else created in the same era. It wasn't until a Clockwork was examined by a Grandmaster of the Artificer's guild that the darker secrets of their autonomy was revealed. At the core of each clockwork is a small stone. These stones were thought to be decorative or used for identification but, in fact, they contain the living souls which act as pilots of the Clockwork bodies. 

As texts were uncovered from the Lost Court a clear picture of the inner working of Clockwork became clear. A group of tinkers promised the King that his son's coronation would be attended by completely autonomous clockwork courtiers, the likes of which the kingdom had never seen. As the coronation came closer, the failures of the tinkers experiments began to pile up. Fearful of not being able to deliver on their promise, the tinkers turned to more creative solutions and entrapped the soul of a servant in an ornate crystal.

The servant was able to control to machine from the crystal, but was none too pleased with being removed from her body and threatened to reveal their ruse to the king. Unwilling to face the shame, the tinkers used a combination of magic and condition to suppress the souls past self and rebuild their personality as that of a perfect servant.

The King and his son were so delighted with the Clockwork creations that they demanded all servants to be replaced by a Clockwork counterpart. One by one, the servants disappeared and a new Clockwork creation appeared to take their place - each with a shining, beautiful gem housed deep in their chests. 

After this came to light, a modern gnomish tinker successfully attempted to reverse the conditioning that stole the personalities away from the Clockwork. While still confined to their metallic bodies, these clockwork creations have a new level of freewill and often roam the world in search of a new place where they will be accepted. 

Appearance

Most Clockwork have a simple skeleton made of thick brass rods which form a surprisingly sturdy core and offer a good deal of protection, especially for their soul crystal. The skeletons come in all shapes and sizes, as the Lost Court seemed to host delegates from all races and wanted to provide servants in forms recognizable to their guests. Because their central form is so plain and utilitarian, most Clockwork have been given intricate, ornamental armors, which provide aesthetic bulk and interest. These armors are largely made from precious metals with a large degree of detailed decoration.

Some of the free Clockwork, in an attempt to reclaim themselves, have taken great liberties with their forms. Some strip away all ornamentation, leaving only the necessary framework,  while others continuously add more ornamentation in search of a look that reminds them of who they are. 

Clockwork and Other Races

Clockwork were conditioned to be not only courteous to all races, but to actively appeal to them. They delight in the company of others and will actively attempt to make their conversational counterparts more comfortable. 

The reverse, unfortunately, is not always true. Many who inhabit the higher circles of society have come across at least one Clockwork as a novelty in the court of some king or exceedingly wealthy citizen and will treat the clockwork as a delightful novelty. In the rest of the world, Clockwork are a novel and absurd sight that may be met with the the fear and confusion that would be expected of a walking, talking, thinking machine. 

Clockwork Names

“When our gnomish tinker spoke with our Clockwork host, the host offered a gnomish name. When it spoke to me, it offered a human name, our elf was presented with an elvish name, and I’m sure if we had an Orc it would present itself with the most cordial grunt one could imagine.”

The Clockwork who were found in the court seem to be without a stable identity. They were created to keep their charges as comfortable as possible - many have the ability to take on the look, sound, speech, and names of a number of different races. The few who have managed to leave the Clockwork Court and come to terms with the fact that their masters no longer control them tend to take names with a rather bizarre humor. The Clockwork often take very literal names - Cook, Butler, Maid - or very unusual names - Klunderfenderwerk - not really grasping how names work. 

Clockwork Traits

Clockwork were made to maintain the court, socially and physically, for thousands of years. Their bonuses revolve around social actions and hearty dispositions.

Ability Score Increase

Your Constitution and Charisma score increase by 1

Conversationalist

Your time in the court has taught you how to better understand individual motives. You gain proficiency to Insight checks during conversation.

Living Construct

Even though you were constructed, you are a living creature. You are immune to disease. You do not need to eat or breathe, but you can ingest food and drink if you wish. Instead of sleeping, you enter an inactive state for 4 hours each day. You do not dream in this state; you are fully aware of your surroundings and notice approaching enemies and other events as normal.

It should be noted - Clockworks are extremely courteous. If their companions are eating, drinking, or sleeping, many Clockwork will mimic the actions as to not make their companions feel bad. The excessively courteous will feign disease and poisoning as well.

Artificial Anatomy

Your simple mechanical workings give you advantage on one death saving throw after every long rest.

Integrated Armor

Your metal body is tough, your AC cannot be lower than 12 + DEX

Langauges

You can speak, read, and write Common, the language of your creator, and one additional language of your choice.