Homebrew Animated Armor 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, anarmors 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 worshiped 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 Armor Traits

Your anarmor character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase

Your Constitution score increases by 2.

Size

Though armors vary in size and shape, an animated armor's height is based on the race it was designed to be worn by while its weight corresponds the armor in which its inhabiting. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Antimagic Susceptibility

You are incapacitated while in the area of an antimagic field. If targeted by dispel magic, you must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against the caster's spell save DC or become incapacitated for 1 minute.

Built to Last

You are a suit of armor which is made of non-living materials, your creature type is Construct.

Because of this, spells and abilities that cannot affect constructs cannot affect you. You are immune to poison damage, the poisoned condition and diseases. You do not need to eat, sleep, or breathe. Instead of sleeping, you enter an inactive state for 4 hours each day. You cannot dream in this state and are fully aware of your surroundings.

Language

You can speak, read, and write one other language of your choice. This is the language of your creator. Given that animated armors are often created by wizards, mostly Common but exotic languages of such as Draconic or Primordial are also a common choice.

Blindsight

You can perceive your surroundings without relying on sight within a specific radius. You have blindsight out to a range of 60 feet, but are blind beyond this radius.

Soul Transfer

You can transfer your soul into another suit of armor over the course of 1 hour. During that time you perform a simple ritual. During this ritual you must remain within 5 feet of the armor you are transferring into, and the armor must be empty or the ritual fails. This armor can be magical, and this transference may alter your base AC. If you are not proficient in the armor you transfer into, you receive all the same detriments that anyone would normally receive from wearing a set of armor that they are not proficient in. 

Matter Over Mind

Since you are unable to gain the benefits of most healing magics, it seems only logical that certain other spells benefit you in other ways described below:

Whenever anyone casts mending on you, you regain a number of hit points equal to 1d8 + your level. This represents the cracks in your armor sealing over to regain shape.

Whenever an anyone casts creation on you with the intent to aid you, you gain a number of temporary hit points equal to 5 times the level that creation is cast at. If vegetable matter is used you have vulnerability to fire damage. If stone or crystal matter is used your speed is reduced by 10 feet. If precious metal matter is used you gain disadvantage on stealth checks. If gems are used your natural blindsight is reduced by 30 feet.  If adamantine matter is used you are immune to critical hits and considered grappled. If mithril is used there are no downsides. This effect lasts until you no longer have any of these temporary hit points remaining.

Whenever an anyone casts fabricate on you with the intent to harm you, you must make a Constitution saving throw. You take 60 + the casters spellcasting ability modifier of force damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Unnatural Resilience

You have advantage on saving throws against enchantment spells and charm effects, you are immune to magic that allows other creatures to read your thoughts, to determine whether you are lying, to know your alignment, or to know your creature type. Creatures can communicate telepathically with you only if you allow it, and magic cannot put you to sleep.

Instead of sleep being affected by a sleep spell instead forces you to enter your inert incapacitated resting state until a creature uses it's action to disturb your rest or 4 hours pass. Also instead of learning if you are lying or when attempting to read thoughts through magic the caster learns of your construct nature.

When enchantment spells do succeed against you, you are affected at your soul and the spells effect or duration lasts twice as long.