Homebrew Bonestruct Species Details

“Out of selfishness, I made you to serve me. To live eternally under my command. But then I saw the sweetness in your eyes and the strength of your soul. I know now that you are my children. I labor in my factory, making you and your kin. My long life will be in service to your creation. Please, go out into the world and live a life of freedom.”

- from the Book of Odakar, the creator.

"Sound the alarm! Call the guards! Get a cleric! It's coming to eat the children!"

- Dave, the first person to meet a Bonestruct

 

Forged for Servitude

Odakar the mad inventor created the bonestructs to serve him in his underground palace. He secluded himself in the ruins of a buried city and used the only resource he had in abundance, the bones of the dead. He used dark magics to shape the bones into his automatons and fueled them with blood and synthetic organs. However, when the first ones came to life, Odakar's heart softened. Somehow, souls had managed to take hold within the bonestructs and Odakar saw that they were his children. Instead of creating an army of slaves, Odakar toiled to make as many bonestructs as he could. He taught them about laws and freedom. Now, despite Odakar's death, the bonestructs maintain the factory that births them and carry on his teachings.

A Short life of Freedom

 Odakar wanted his creations to live a free life on the surface, and created a device that would teleport them there. Because their gears are made of bone, the bonestructs degrade at a rapid pace, only living for a decade. One year of which, they spend in the factory learning what they can about the surface world. Every month, 100 bonestructs arrive on the surface to experience the world. The teleportation device only travels one way and those that leave the underground factory may never return. Many bonestructs have created a small town around the teleportation point, to live peacefully and to teach the newcomers about the surface. The bonestructs that leave this town seek independent adventures, but there are many that travel in pairs. They are filled with joy and naivety, hoping to find magnificent wonders on the surface. These hopes are usually dashed within their first week out of the factory.

Terrifying Presence

 The bonestructs are terrifying creatures to those unfamiliar with them. They are machines made of bone and blood. A wandering bonestruct has the horrifying presence of the undead and the uncanny movements of a metallic construct. Ignorant societies fear the bonestructs and destroy them on site. The bonestructs created a town around the teleportation device because they have realized that they have no place in the world and would rather live their short lives surrounded by their kin. Other bonestructs are undaunted by the fear they inspire and choose to disguise their appearance. They hope that people will learn to trust them for their actions and not immediately flee when their faces are eventually shown.

Bonestruct Traits

Your bonestruct character has these traits.

Ability Score Increase

Your Constitution score increases by 2, and either your Strength or Dexterity score increases by 1.

Age

Bonestructs live short lives. They are transported into the world after one year of learning in their hidden home. Their bodies degrade and decay after only 10 years of existence.

Alignment

Bonestructs are taught laws and morals within a day of their creation. They are naturally lawful and good, but they are extremely susceptible during their first interactions in the world, which can drastically change their beliefs.

Size

Bonestructs stand between 5 and 6 feet tall. They weigh between 300 and 380 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 25 feet. Your speed is not reduced by wearing heavy armor

Powerful Build

You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.

Natural Armor

The bone plates that surround your body provide you with protection. When you aren’t wearing armor, your AC is 13 + your Dexterity modifier. You can use your natural armor to determine your AC if the armor you wear would leave you with a lower AC. A shield’s benefits apply as normal while you use your natural armor.

Weapon Compartment

You have hidden compartments within each of your arms. You can spend 10 minutes inserting a weapon with the light property into one of these compartments. These weapons are impossible to detect by someone who does not know about the compartments. As a free action, you can open one or both compartments and equip the weapons into your hands. If you insert a light weapon with the ammunition property into the compartment, you can fire your ammunition out of a hole in your forearm without holding the weapon in your hand. If you do so, you cannot be holding another item in that hand and it will take 10 minutes to close the compartment and conceal the weapon.

Blood Charged

You can inject your blood with adrenaline, temporarily giving you a boost in stressful situations. As a bonus action, you can activate your adrenal gland. Until the start of your next turn, your walking speed is doubled. You also gain advantage on attack rolls, saving throws, and any skill checks that use Dexterity or Strength. Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Dwarvish.