Homebrew Stringless Species Details

Physical Description

 *Ported from the DND Wiki homebrew race: Stringless*

Stringless, while undeniably human-like, are very clearly not human. They are constructed like large, human-sized marionettes, although they lack strings. While they are constructs, they are typically humanoid in construction; they have one head with an accompanying face, typically a full head of hair, two arms, and two legs. None of it is organic, instead, it all appears to be carved out of plain wood and then painted. Many features of a stringless are also somewhat exaggerated. For example, a stringless might have a long nose, a strange styling of hair, or an inhumanly large smile. The most notable, and constant, feature of a stringless however must be its nutcracker-like mouth. The bottom jaw of a stringless is the only part of its mouth that moves. When a stringless talks, its bottom jaw waggles and cracks against its top jaw, somehow producing sound.

Stringless also move in the fashion that one would imagine a newborn child would. Some older stringless learn to move in a more human way, but many don’t. Instead, most stringless waggle and bounce about like a marionette would. Their limbs flap about when expressed, and whenever they speak their bottom jaw waggles in an almost unpleasant manner. This display is often characterized by an exuberance of emotion, but the stringless itself likely doesn’t know what that is. Stringless don’t have souls and thus struggle quite often to understand emotion. They still feel them of course, but they have a difficult time registering what they are and how to respond to them. Most stringless instead resolve to utilize only the emotions of passion or joy, as they are the most simplistic for them to understand.

 

History

Similar to the warforged, stringless possess differing accounts of how they came into existence, but they all share one common factor; a creator. Many stringless search out this mythical creator, and many disappear in the process. Most stringless feel what they describe as an “intense burning feeling” whenever the word creator is mentioned; a feeling most would register as rage. Stringless who understand emotion, a sight few have seen, explain that this is because they don’t understand why they’re here and that that confusion tends to broil into frustration and then into rage. An expression of rage and frustration is customary for a stringless when discussing their creator, but many theorize that they might elicit a different reaction if ever they are found. Seeing as how rage and frustration is still a constant for stringless who speak of their creator, it would seem they have yet to be found.

 

Society

There has been the occasional attempt at creating a stringless society, and each one has failed miserably. Most stringless find joy in chaos, a facet of their race that often leads to the downfall of any attempt at societal cohesion. This does not mean stringless communities or towns are not constantly trying to exist; some stringless possess enough self-control to keep a community together for a week or so, but chaotic stringless often outnumber the sane.

 

Stringless Names

All stringless have a vague recollection of a voice telling them their name. Many stringless will reject this name, as it may be from their fetid creator, but many will also keep it, as they find it fitting.

Stringless Traits

A unsettling and disorderly race of wooden marionette-like constructs who revel in chaos.

Ability Score Increase.

Your Dexterity score increases by 2. One other ability score of your choice increases by 1.

Age.

Age, while avoidable for a stringless, is still an issue. Stringless do not physically age, but their form does deteriorate over time. Oftentimes a stringless will have body parts recut or entirely remade to undo the advance of time. Stringless possess the ability to live forever, but are still entirely capable of decaying due to age.

Alignment.

Stringless are almost exclusively chaotic. They are not specifically evil, but their very nature predetermines them to the extremes of any alignment.

Size.

Stringless are built to be the size of human beings, and in conjunction with their exaggerated forms, many Stringless stand well over six feet tall or otherwise have human-like proportions. Your size is Medium or Small.

Speed.

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

No Strings.

You are immune to the charmed condition. You also cannot be influenced by magical effects in ways that could affect your actions or thoughts, like modify memory or command. Creatures are capable of reading your thoughts and actions, but they are not capable of magically affecting them. Your emotions can still be influenced by magic, however, like with calm emotions, and you are still entirely subject to nonmagical effects that would affect your thoughts or actions.

Ligneous Build.

Your creature type is Construct. You are immune to poison damage, the poisoned condition, and diseases. You also don't need to eat, sleep, or breathe. However, you are vulnerable to fire damage.

Strange Craftsmanship.

You can restore any limb after it has been detached or destroyed by simply finding a suitable replacement, and then expending your action to attach it. Additionally, you may attach and detach limbs as you wish without causing damage to yourself. Unattached limbs, so long as they aren’t destroyed, are fully functional and fully mobile. A suitable replacement for a limb must be roughly the same size and shape as the limb that was lost.

Soulless Slumber.

When you take a long rest, you must spend at least six hours in an inactive, motionless state, rather than sleeping. In this state, you appear inert, but it doesn’t render you unconscious, and you can see and hear as normal.

Toybreaker.

When you are reduced to 0 or lower hit points, but not outright killed, you can instead choose to drop to 1 hit point at the cost of a limb of the attacking creature's choice. The chosen limb is unattached and is destroyed. You cannot use this feature again until you finish a long rest.

Flight of the Marionette.

You have a flying speed of 30 feet, although you cannot fly higher than 5 feet off the ground. When your altitude drastically changes, such as moving from the edge of a cliff and then hovering off the edge of a cliff, you safely descend at 60 feet per round until you reach the ground or until the end of your next turn, after which you begin to fall and take fall damage as normal.

Maker's Mark.

When the mending spell is cast on you, it has the following alterations: It has a casting time of 1 action, and if you have 0 hit points you become stable. As part of the casting of mending, the caster may expend any level of spell slot to cause you to regain a number of hit points equal to 1d8 plus their spellcasting ability modifier. For each level of the spell slot expended you regain an additional 1d8 hit points.

Hollow.

You do not possess a soul. You cannot be targeted or affected by spells, effects, or features that require a soul, such as revivify, soul cage, or resurrection. If you die, you can be brought back to life by the spells bestow curse, awaken, animate objects, simulacrum, and wish. These spells have the same effects on you as the spells revivify, raise dead, resurrection, and true resurrection instead of their normal effects and as appropriate for the spell's level.

Languages.

You can speak, read, and write Common.