Homebrew War Engine Species Details

Before the start of the God War, the city/state of Galacia was a place known for building wonders of machine and magic alike.  Producers of the finest magical baubles and works of art, the most magnificent works of artifice, Galacia enjoyed peace through economic power and diplomacy rather than force-of-arms.

When the War began, the Archons of Galacia turned their incredible skill and power to the art of survival, unleashing a tide of magical weapons and arcane constructs in their own defense.  These first War Engines, the Armigers, were little more than mechanoid footsoldiers, designed to use the weapons and armor of their flesh-and-blood compatriots, but without the morally distasteful waste of a life.  Over time, the Galacians became undisputed masters of golemcraft and automatacraft, dwarfing even their own masterpieces with the invention of the Scion War Engine, capable of using blade and spell.  In the final days of the War, the Galacians unleashed their magnum opus, a construct that would stand as the high-water mark of the art for centuries to come; the Archangel, the Dragonbreaker, a truly gargantuan construct of incredible power that struck fear in the hearts of the enemy.

While few War Engines survived the Fall of Galacia, those that did may still be found throughout the world in operation today. Though most modern examples are relegated to the private collections of the rich and vain, a scarce few 'Wandering' War Engines may be found, still functioning centuries after their purpose was fulfilled. Aimless, now, in a world they were never built to understand, many struggle to find a place in a society that has passed them by, while others wait for the day when they will again be called to serve.

Relics of War

Originally, the constructs that became the first War Engines were works of art, much closer in build and design to stone- or iron-golems than later generations.  Today, most surviving examples of the craft are from later generations; human in shape and proportion, with a few extra joints and points of articulation that allow them more adaptability than a living human. Their build, at its most basic, is thin and poorly protected compared to earlier works, with thin overlapping illumarium plating where flexibility is required, and thicker brass and bronze to protect rigid structures such as the chest or skull. A featureless face is made of smooth plating but for a cut-out in the middle, from which an inset, glowing, blue eye looks out upon the world. Blue glyphology encircles every major joint and vital structure, providing an interface between the automaton's animating force and its physical form. 

Proportionally, the construct is thin, almost scrawny, a design that does limit its physical strength considerably. This was a design trade-off, allowing a War Engine the greatest possible chances of salvaging equipment it finds in the field if needed in an emergency. 

Five-fingered hands are capable of fitting into human gloves, but are also capable of taking a configuration that allows for an opposable thumb and opposable pinky. The War Engine has three broad toes that can either be pulled together into a single mono-foot, capable of fitting into a boot, or taking a splay-toed stance that is beneficial for rough terrain.  Extension structures in its ankles allow it to take a digitigrade stance, like a big cat, and additional flexibility in the torso allows it to take on a quadrupedal stance in emergencies where speed and a lower profile are necessary.

Creations of Metal and Magic

War Engines differ from traditional golemcraft in that they are animated not by a single captured, imprisoned elemental spirit, but in an array of three; an elemental of air, of fire, and of earth.  These elementals are imprisoned within a self-reinforcing matrix called an Arcane Core, which forms the beating heart within the War Engine's chest. The constant tension, the constant struggle to break free or, short that, achieve dominance over their fellow captives, forms the strata upon which the War Engine's intellect is forged.  Stronger elementa give more advanced variants of War Engine increased intellectual capacity, as well as the ability to harness magical power, further increasing their capacity for war.  Over time, individual War Engines gain enough life experience and unguided adaptation to achieve true individuality, developing quirky personalities of their own.

The magical power captured by the Arcane Core is channeled through the body's Arcane Matrix, driving machinomantic enchantments and artificial structures. It also provides the construct with the ability to function without any source of power, food, or fuel, indefinitely. Arcane power is continuously fed into glyphs which allow the construct to benefit from the spell Mending, repairing minor damage and normal wear-and-tear without any assistance from an artificer. Their Arcane Core even allows for an ability to channel, harness, and redirect certain types of energy it may be exposed to, such as a lightning strike or direct flames.

There are rumors that the Archons of Galacia experimented with more potent spirits than elementals in their final days, though functional examples of Arcane Cores powered by imprisoned demons, living souls, or bound celestial spirits are not known to exist.

Two Sides of One Coin

Like a flesh-and-blood soldier, the true success of the War Engines was not in their basic chassis, but in the combination of that basic under-chassis with a powerful exoskeletal outer frame. The Mission Frame formed the support structure upon which much heavier armor and mechanical weapons systems were installed, equipment that couldn't be easily removed and repurposed by the enemy. Becoming true extensions of the construct, interchangeable, modular Mission Frames allowed a single, expensive War Engine to take on a number of different combat roles as needed, quickly changing from a heavily-armored melee combatant to a lightly armored, fast, stealthy scout, to a moderate mix of protective armor and magical spellcasting might.  As the Mission Frames were exponentially cheaper and easier to build than the complex, highly advanced automata that wore them, it provided the Galacian forces an incredibly flexible fighting force.

Armor plates, blades, whips, polearms, shields, and crossbow armatures could all be installed directly onto the War Engine as the mission required. If damaged sufficiently, or if the War Engine needed to take on another role, the Mission Frame could be quickly separated as a whole unit and another installed in less time than it would take a human soldier to change clothes. Mission specific modifications could also be made, including re-allocation of the War Engine's arcane power or even its skillset.

Additional exoskeletal options were also available for enhancing long-distance travel capabilities, akin to a soldier's horse or a small boat. Swift-running legs allowed infantry to quickly run from one theater to another, while Centaur Platforms gave others greater carrying capacity for transport of logistical goods or salvage. It's believed that the titanic Archangel War Engines, themselves, were another class of exoskeletal system, within which was an otherwise ordinary War Engine construct.

War Engines of the Anvil

The War Engines belong to a realm that no longer lives, the City of Galacia long crushed into rubble and ruin and haunted by little more than memories and fell, wild magics. The city of Galacia once defended a region of the continent called The Anvil, a peninsula surrounding a semicircular ridge of mountains with a metal-rich valley in between. When the War began, the Galacians moved quickly to take advantage of their home's natural boundaries, hoping the greater war would pass them by.  As time went on, and this hope faded, the beleaguered military built fortifications in the surrounding valley, hoping to buy their people some breathing room.

 

It was on the fringes of the Anvil that the fighting was the most intense.  The bloodiest battles were fought within the lands surrounding the Anvil, and it is here, to this day, that the adventurous and foolish are most likely to come across lingering debris of ruined War Engines, buried beneath the desert sands or under centuries of mudfalls, tangled in the roots of the forests, or even deep beneath the Salt Marsh.

Those few 'free' wandering War Engines that persist today often find their way back to this land on their own at some point or another.  Many stay, drawn by the imprint of the landscape echoing within their Cores.

 

WAR ENGINE BACKGROUNDS

 

All War Engines have the same background, "Ancient Relic of War."

War Engine Names

Modern War Engines often adopt two or more names; the first, given to them as their unit designation upon their activation, and a second, more 'informal' name used by their modern peers, should they feel inclined to allow it. Production names are universally informal, consisting of some number of letters, depending on the variant, followed by some selection of numbers.  Armigers, the most common War Engines in production, took a three-letter prefix (the initials of their principal builder) followed by a three-digit serial number. Scions, being less in number and greater in cost and power, had far fewer producers, and so used a single-letter prefix followed by a two-digit number.  

 

War Engine Traits

War Engines are built for combat, and spare little of their design for the niceties of civilized society.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write one language.  In addition, you can speak and understand a secret language known only to constructs of the Galacian Magocracy. You gain an additional language at character level 4, 8, 10, 15, and two at level 18.

Quality Construction

As a mass-produced construct, you gain the following traits:
You gain +1 to your AC.
You do not need to eat, drink, or breathe air.
You don’t need to sleep, and magic can’t put you to sleep.
You are immune to disease.
You have advantage on saving throws against being poisoned, and have resistance to poison damage.
As a construct, ‘dispelling’ magics nor antimagic zones affect your operation.

Senses

War Engines do not have a sense of smell or taste, and automatically fail any Perception check that relies upon either of these senses.

Aura of Life

You are considered a creature of subtype 'construct.' You are affected by magics that affect the living as normal, including magic with the keywords of ‘healing’ and ‘necrotic.’

Restless Spirit

You do not sleep, and do not require sleep to live. You cannot become exhausted from lack of sleep alone, though you cannot recover any abilities or spells that refresh 'each day' unless you take a long rest to do so. When you do take a long rest, you must remain in an unmoving, inactive state for six hours. In this state, you appear inert, but you are not unconscious, and can see, hear, and speak as normal.

Mass-Produced Construct

Your Chassis is the same as every other War Engine. Your maximum Base Attribute Scores are as follows; STR 8, DEX 8, CON 8, INT 10, WIS 10, and CHA 8.  These scores do not include the Racial Bonuses applied above, nor do they include any level-based increases.

Mission Frame Compatible

Your body is built to be modified. You gain the ability to merge with specially designed Mission Frames. Any armor, weapons, or equipment attached to a Mission Frame that you have merged with cannot be removed from you against your will.  In addition, Mission Frames allow you to temporarily change any/all of your Base Attribute Scores (using the Point Buy method, without the above ‘maximums’), Character Class, Skills, Spells, and Feats/Attribute Increases.  These alterations only apply while merged with a specific Mission Frame, and revert to your ‘Core Attributes/Class’ if you are separated from that Frame.

Ability Score Increase

Your Constitution score increases by 2 and your Dexterity score increases by 1.

Age

Your age is impossible to determine for certain, ranging between 500 and 600 years. Your lifespan is also impossible to say, perhaps extending for several thousand years.

Alignment

Designed to follow orders without question, War Engines tend to be of lawful neutral alignment.  Units that have had time to evolve and adapt on their own terms may pick up strange philosophical and moral outlooks on the world they find themselves in, however.

Size

A War Engine’s base Chassis is six feet tall and weighs 270 pounds.  Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.