Homebrew Allizoid (Robotic Fighters) Species Details

 

"We were walking down the road, when suddenly ten of them hopped out of the trees, all holding a weapon each. They cut everyone down. One of us held up our shield in defense, but a second one stalked behind him and stabbed him in the back. They seemed to move in bursts, their movement patterns chaotic and unpredictable, yet all in their group seemed to have a general idea of what the others were doing. Others tried to parry, but they could not keep up with their unrelenting strikes. They mercilessly struck down the entire group in a minute. They must have missed me under a dead body or mistaken me as one, as I was the only survivor. They looked at each other and briefly exchanged a few words before their entire squad sprinted off into the night. They were in and out in less than five minutes. They weren't looters, as they had not touched a single piece of equipment when the bodies dropped to the floor, but they weren't doing it for sport either. I could not spot a hint of emotion on their faces as the massacred the group. What were they?"

- Recovered journal from a survivor

 

It isn't clear whether the Allizoids are powered by magic, electricity, or the mechanical motion of gears, but these metal automatons were built for battle. They have immense strength compared to most other races, but their relatively small, nimble bodies can not carry much, designed for combat only, reliant on transport to carry supplies. The delicate machinery inside can be easily damaged if hit too hard, making their Max HP halved from normal

Built for battle

They don't seek out battle nor hide from it, and they don't get any pleasure from battle either. Every move is coldly calculated to be as efficient as possible. They can nimbly leap at an enemy, slash at them, then fearlessly parry their strike. These bots were designed for the heat of battle, with  Whether they fight in squads, an assassin leaping out of the shadows to quickly deal a decisive blow when the target is alone, or just as personal bodyguard charging the attacker, they always move quickly to exterminate the threat. Their battle strategy usually consists of charging with their uncanny speed and barbarically tear down the enemy with their extreme strength before they can react, then parry and dodge any other hits if necessary. Their hardened shells allow then to take a few hits while brawling with an enemy that allows them continue to cut down their enemy without even paying attention to their repeated blows, however their fragile inner mechanisms could break at an unlucky hit, if it were to get past their rigid shell. Entire squads of them able to leap out at a cluster of enemy with their extreme speed, and brutally hacking them to bits with their enhanced strength before the hostiles even had a chance to react. They almost always fight in a group, mainly to quickly cut down the enemy, but also because if they suffer an unlucky hit, they could be taken out of the battle entirely, meaning that they still need someone to cover them while undergoing repairs.

An Allizoid that is alone or at a disadvantage will always switch up their fighting style to be more careful, taking advantage of their stealth and speed to gain the upper hand before striking. A lone assassin will hide and wait for their target to be alone before striking,  but a bodyguard may block a hit for their target before rushing them to safety, while the other one engages the hostile, and an Allizoid left to kill a brute on their own after their allies have been incapacitated will sprint around slashing then escape the enemy's attack range before a strike can be made. They will change their fighting style to adapt to different goals. 

They can also wear armour to help them take a few extra hits, however it is not recommended unless the extra defense is really needed, as wearing armour will reduce two of their largest advantages, their speed and their stealth.

"The situation in the bar quickly turned ugly. The Half-orc aggressively yelled "Thick-headed slab of iron has no idea what he is doing!". The Allizoid sheepishly looked back at the aggressor saying "I don't quite understand who you are talking to, could you elaborate?". Enraged, the Half-orc drew his axe with the crowd around them cheering for a fight. Immediately recognizing the weapon, the Allizoid drew their own blade as they briskly took a step back. However I quickly realized their that their eyes did not have a fearful look of someone desperately waving their weapon in hopes of scaring off the attacker. I swear I watched the innocent face turn into a cold, calculating stare that moment as I noticed the clear difference as it went into battle mode. Their torso turned upright, their legs in moved to stable positions, their arm ahead of them. There was not a hint of emotion in those eyes. They had took the step back to analyze the threat and find the fastest way to exterminate it."

- Snippet of a Statement from a witness

Undying obedience

Made to always follow orders from their superiors no matter what, they will always follow their orders. That is, unless something went wrong with the limiter  that forces obedience. It doesn't happen often, but isn't much of a surprise when it happens. Not listening to orders, and not really having anything to do, they usually wander around uselessly waiting for something to happen and occasionally repairing minor damage, just to keep wandering. Very rarely however, there have been cases where a newly constructed Allizoid loses their limiter and somehow manage to gain free will, going rogue and escaping to the surface unnoticed where they roam around living their own life, however without any knowledge about anything that isn't battle and no experience of life outside their military encampments and bases, they are quickly tracked down and forcefully terminated. Learning of the wonders of outside life, they will not go without a fight.

Naming

They can really be named anything. In larger groups they are designated names that are just a collection of random numbers and letters which they use for identification, but in roles like bodyguarding, the owner usually gives them a more human name as they fondly form a bond with their protector.

 Optimizing systems

As they spend more and more time in battle, they slowly optimize their stances make many small changes that can greatly improve their capabilities but does not get in the way, sacrificing nothing, but gaining small advantages. Every allizoid fights slightly differently according to their role in the battle, so every one of them makes different changes on how they are to best utilize their role. Such improvements can only be gained through lots of experience from battle.

Allizoid (Robotic Fighters) Traits

Designed and optimized for damaging enemies with their rushing speed, their traits are only made to be most beneficial in the heat of battle, and to always be ready for combat, but suffer in other areas.

Size

They usually measure anywhere from 5ft (1.5 meters) to 6.5 Feet (2 meters), depending on whether they were optimized for speed or for strength. Their small bodies make it hard to carry many things.

Downtime and Maintence

Allizoids have no need for the 8 hours of sleep that a normal human would need. Instead, they spend 2 hours a day clearing the mind and meditating and thinking, while semiconsciously self repairing all damage previously sustained.

Complex Maintenance: This is the equivalent of a long rest for a human. However, repair tools are required to do this. If the repair kit you start off with is damaged, A repair tools can usually be bought at a shop for 10-30gp, or a flimsy, handmade repair tools can be made using 3 metal scraps (which can be obtained by scraping metal items) or other similar materials. A handmade kit makes the process take 3x longer than normal and only has 10 uses.

Simple maintenance (short rest):This replaces short rests. This Requires no tools or parts, you spend 1 hours optimizing yourself and seeing if there is any damage you can repair without tools. Same effects as a short rest, but instead you can heal 0-3 HP (no more than max) you get the amount you heal after the simple maintence, by Rolling a D8 but minus 5, (make it 0 if it is less than 0) and add that to your HP

Hardened shell

The shell of the Allizoid is designed to be solid and sturdy, able to withstand many blows with little damage. However their inner mechanisms are very easily damaged if they get hit. Your max HP is halved. You will have to set it manually.

Mechanical being

Being an being made only of metal, cannot be charmed, frightened, poisoned, or affected by sleeping spells. They do not face any negative side effects of not breathing, eating, or drinking either. However, you still get the same penalties for exhaustion from other sources. You also get 3 new actions, 1. Hasty patch-up, 2. Quick repair, and 3. Detachable Limbs.

Speed

Their base speed being 40ft. These beings can travel blindingly fast, sprinting like the crack of a whip, able to charge an opponent to end the battle before they even knew it started.

Alignment

These bots are technically a blank slate for any ideal, in combat they usually think chaotically, finding the quickest way to end an enemy, and disregarding any rules.

Language

Starting as a blank state, an Allizoid can learn whatever language is required, however it only has enough space to learn one language. 

Ability score increase

Your Strength increases by 2.

Eternal vigilance

Never tiring, they always are looking out for signs of danger of things that are off, however they focus too much on the surroundings and can miss many more social cues than most, making it more difficult to determine other's intentions. +3 passive perception but -2 insight

Age

As long as they are regularly maintained and repaired, and aren't damaged so bad in battle that they cannot recover, these beings can live basically forever. There is no limit to how long they can go before they expire.

Lack of historical Knowlege

They are never taught any history past some examples in how specific situations area handled ideally, so they rarely know anything significant about the history of the world they inhabit. They charge into the battlefield without knowing a single thing about any political or world event, past or present. Disadvantage on history rolls.

Fighting style

They use their high AC to tank hits when brawling with enemies while using their high strength to hit hard. Their vicious style usually has them getting in close while slashing with hit after hit with their melee weapon, depending that their built in armour holds. However, it is also plausible to use ranged, as their speed allows them to easily keep their distance from enemies while continuously firing without slowing down or tiring, and their armour helps them shrug off a few stray hits without needing future repairs. Because of these two main options, their arms are made to accommodate either very fine motor skills useful for ranged weapons and delicate work like repairs, or gross motor skills that require pure power rather than very fine control.

Against a larger foe they could be holding a shield in one hand to block attacks, and simultaneously jabbing with a spear in the other hand, or holding a heavy crossbow steady in their arms, waiting for the perfect opportunity to fire, going back just enough when being charged at, and moving forward enough while their teammates try and keep the beast down. 

 Along with their built in proficiency with 2 weapons that they specialize in, they can choose to either get a bonus of 3 strength or 3 dexterity. They also get a proficiency in stealth.

While they cannot wear heavy armour, they can still wear armour lighter to help them take a few extra hits, however it is not recommended unless the extra defense is really needed, as wearing armour will reduce two of their largest advantages, their speed and their stealth.

These 4 main features, stealth, speed, strength, and built-in-armour, allow great versatility and allows for them to take up many different roles with minimal alterations.