Chronologist
First Post
The origins of the Aulos are obscure at best, at worst lost to the winds of time. Some scholars claim that they are humans who have bred with mechanical outsiders and become detached from mortality, while other equally learned mages believe them to be a race of machines created for the express purpose of entertaining their masters. There are dozens more theories, and no real answers. The simple truth is that the Aulos exist, and have existed for some time.
Prom a distance, it is possible to mistake an Aulos for a copper-skinned human, but at a closer distance the truth becomes clear - their "skin" is actually copper. Their features are metallic, yet flowing in a way that resembles the hair, skin, and eyes of normal humans. The effect is strangely alluring. Their appearance, not quite construct but not human either, leaves their true nature in question.
Contrary to what one would expect of a race of metallic beings, the Aulos are actually quite passionate and expressive, their features expressing a wide range of emotions. Aulos tend to make fast friends, and their relative rarity in society tends to draw eyes when they enter a room.
Aulos Racial Features
+2 Constitution, +2 Charisma, -2 Dexterity: Aulos are tough and alluring, both attributes of their metallic appearance, but their actions are graceful and slow, leading more to dance than battle.
Humanoid (Living Construct): As Living Constructs, an Aulos gains a number of benefits and drawbacks.
Medium Size: Aulos are about as tall as humans, though generally thinner, and as such have no benefits or penalties based on their size.
30 ft. Land Speed: Aulos move as quickly as your average human.
+2 racial bonus to Perform checks, and Perform is always a class skill for the Aulos. In addition, the inherent versatility of Aulos leads to them being talented in several ways; each Perform skill they put ranks into covers not one, but two possible subsets of Perform. For example, a 5th level Aulos could have 5 ranks in Perform (Oratory and Strings), and 3 ranks in (Art and Comedy).
Self Repair: One of the most basic tools an Aulos learns is how to repair any physical damage they sustain, using minimal tools and resources. This process takes 8 hours, and can only be performed once per day. If the Aulos is interrupted during this process, round down the healing to represent how much damage is removed. The Aulos heals an amount of damage equal to their Constitution modifier times their hit dice, to a minimum of their hit dice in damage healed.
Armored Body: An Aulos' natural metallic skin is flexible enough to allow the character to wear armor, but even unarmored the Aulos is not without its natural defense. They have a +3 Armor bonus to armor class naturally, and gain an additional +1 to armor class at levels 3, 7, 11, 15, and 19, to a maximum of +8. This bonus does not stack with an Aulos' physical armor, nor does it stack with magical armor bonuses like Mage Armor or unarmored bonuses to AC like a Monk's Wisdom bonus to armor class. An Aulos' body cannot be enchanted, but perhaps certain components could be added to their bodies artificially to give them additional abilities.
So, what do you think? I left the flavor ambiguous so that a DM could adapt the race to their campaign, and I like the versatility of the class quite well. They make good bards, good warriors, and their natural AC bonus makes them attractive for mages as well, especially sorcerers. I didn't want to make a race that was only appropriate for a specific class.
The race, I think, is also a good way to roleplay a Living Construct designed for something other than war, though an Aulos might choose that path of their own volition.
The racial benefits seem pretty decent, I think. Nothing too spectacular, nothing too bland either.
The inspiration comes partially from the Muses from Girl Genius (awesome webcomic), but mostly from my own crazed fever-dreams about clockwork women playing the violin.
I considered naming the thread "Warforged, Now 20% More Metal", but preferred this title personally.
So anyway, thoughts?
Prom a distance, it is possible to mistake an Aulos for a copper-skinned human, but at a closer distance the truth becomes clear - their "skin" is actually copper. Their features are metallic, yet flowing in a way that resembles the hair, skin, and eyes of normal humans. The effect is strangely alluring. Their appearance, not quite construct but not human either, leaves their true nature in question.
Contrary to what one would expect of a race of metallic beings, the Aulos are actually quite passionate and expressive, their features expressing a wide range of emotions. Aulos tend to make fast friends, and their relative rarity in society tends to draw eyes when they enter a room.
Aulos Racial Features
+2 Constitution, +2 Charisma, -2 Dexterity: Aulos are tough and alluring, both attributes of their metallic appearance, but their actions are graceful and slow, leading more to dance than battle.
Humanoid (Living Construct): As Living Constructs, an Aulos gains a number of benefits and drawbacks.
Medium Size: Aulos are about as tall as humans, though generally thinner, and as such have no benefits or penalties based on their size.
30 ft. Land Speed: Aulos move as quickly as your average human.
+2 racial bonus to Perform checks, and Perform is always a class skill for the Aulos. In addition, the inherent versatility of Aulos leads to them being talented in several ways; each Perform skill they put ranks into covers not one, but two possible subsets of Perform. For example, a 5th level Aulos could have 5 ranks in Perform (Oratory and Strings), and 3 ranks in (Art and Comedy).
Self Repair: One of the most basic tools an Aulos learns is how to repair any physical damage they sustain, using minimal tools and resources. This process takes 8 hours, and can only be performed once per day. If the Aulos is interrupted during this process, round down the healing to represent how much damage is removed. The Aulos heals an amount of damage equal to their Constitution modifier times their hit dice, to a minimum of their hit dice in damage healed.
Armored Body: An Aulos' natural metallic skin is flexible enough to allow the character to wear armor, but even unarmored the Aulos is not without its natural defense. They have a +3 Armor bonus to armor class naturally, and gain an additional +1 to armor class at levels 3, 7, 11, 15, and 19, to a maximum of +8. This bonus does not stack with an Aulos' physical armor, nor does it stack with magical armor bonuses like Mage Armor or unarmored bonuses to AC like a Monk's Wisdom bonus to armor class. An Aulos' body cannot be enchanted, but perhaps certain components could be added to their bodies artificially to give them additional abilities.
So, what do you think? I left the flavor ambiguous so that a DM could adapt the race to their campaign, and I like the versatility of the class quite well. They make good bards, good warriors, and their natural AC bonus makes them attractive for mages as well, especially sorcerers. I didn't want to make a race that was only appropriate for a specific class.
The race, I think, is also a good way to roleplay a Living Construct designed for something other than war, though an Aulos might choose that path of their own volition.
The racial benefits seem pretty decent, I think. Nothing too spectacular, nothing too bland either.
The inspiration comes partially from the Muses from Girl Genius (awesome webcomic), but mostly from my own crazed fever-dreams about clockwork women playing the violin.
I considered naming the thread "Warforged, Now 20% More Metal", but preferred this title personally.
So anyway, thoughts?
