If you have the time, please scan this home brew race for a home brew campaign. Please, if you may wish to, offer up any aid you can to making it nice and balanced.
Please do not, however, offer up any totally revamped construct races or "correct, my personal versions" to be used in place of this one, as that would be of little benefit to my primary goal in posting this here- keeping this race present in it's flavor, while balancing it so no one at the table cannot resist playing one due to it's ease of exploitation/min-maxing/obvious superiority to everything else. Saying "Try my Gargaro Psi-Juggernaut of Death" will be of little use with the clockwork species I'm trying to make.
If any mechanics you used do a superior job emulating what i'm trying to get at however, weee do share please!!
Golemi
Construct
Racial Traits
- Starting Ability Score Adjustments: Con –. Golemi are clockwork bipeds composed of cogs, sprockets, spindles and springs all neatly shoved into a lightly reinforced frame composed of tin, bronze and iron. As constructs, Golemi have no constitution score, but unlike most constructs, Golemi do have intelligence, as deep within the core of each Golemi is a individually unique, shining, soul phylactery called a soul shard. Golemi guard these preciously, and will take them out on occasion to polish them. (They're also probably worth a pretty penny, especially to evil types... so Golemi sometimes do sell their souls to feed their family or advance their station in non-Golemi lands)
- Construct: Golemi do not automatically gain the benefits of all construct abilites, but instead gain the more powerful abilities as they gain Golemi levels. All golemi, as constructs, are immune to subdual damage, charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, morale effects, poisons, diseases, sleep effects, paralysis, and stunning.
- Golemi do not require sleep. They do however require 8 hours of inactivity per day for maintainence.
- Golemi do not eat, but instead require raw materials to sustain themselves. A golemi requires 1 lb of pure metal, 5 pounds of mineral substances, or 15 pounds of organic substances each day.
- Arcane Spell Failure: All Golemi suffer a 25% arcane spell failure chance.
- Speed: Land speed 30 ft. Golemi cannot run.
- Darkvision: Golemi can see in the dark up to 60 ft.
- Automatic Languages: Golemi.
- Favored Class: Golemi.
The Golemi
Level 1
HD: 1d10
BAB: +0
Saves: +0 + mods
Skills: (2+ Int) x 4
Specials: Feat, Skill Spindles, Clockwork Tinkerer. Quirk
Level 2
HD: 2d10
BAB: +1
Saves: +0 + mods
Skills: 2 + Int
Specials: Quirk
Level 3
HD: 3d10
BAB: +2
Saves: +1 + mods
Skills: 2 + Int
Specials: Feat, Immunities Package I Gained, Quirk
Level 4
HD: 3d10
BAB: +3
Saves: +1 + mods
Skills: 2 + Int
Specials: Immunities Package II Gained
Golemi Tinkerer
As constructs, Golemi do not heal naturally, but are instead repaired. Every Golemi has in its posession a Golemi Tinkerer, a Diminutive construct (AC 15, hp 2), which repairs it during maintainance times (usually times of general inactivity). This, in effect, allows a Golemi to be repaired in a fashion identical to how non-constructs heal by resting. Multiple Tinkerers may be gained only through use of the Golemi Feat, and these additional Tinkerers offer diminishing returns. A second Tinkerer increases the healing by 50%, and a third Tinkerer by 25%. No more than three Tinkerers are able to repair a Golemi at a time.
In addition to this special ability, Golemi Tinkerers act as familiars in their ability to follow basic commands, hold conversations with its chosen Golemi, and be a general miniature sidekick. Golemi Tinkerers do not gain any special abilities, saves, or HD as the Golemi levels however.
Golemi Tinkerers speak Base Golemi (a series of tiny beeps, boops, deeps, doops, etc), resemble Golemi, and are completely independent of their chosen Golemi- usually they choose the Golemi shortly after creation, and both benefit from a symbiotic relationship. Golemi in general aren’t exactly sure where the Golemi Tinkerers originate from in the massive cavernous factories, and the Golemi Tinkerers aren’t telling any time soon.
Golemi Tinkerers for Golemi, are the equivalent of extremely social pixies to humans.
Immunities Packages
I: Reinforced Frame ( 100% Immunity to Critical Hits and death from Massive Damage)
II: Reinforced Soul Shard ( 100% immunity to death effects and necromantic effects)
Quirk
Golemi gain quirks with each character level spent in the company of non-golemi. Soldier Golemi who spend their time in the company of human guards may hold their swords like those human guards, while a golemi at a card table may have a cigar in the equivalent of it’s vocal orifice if it once saw a dwarf cardplayer do the same. These quirks have no mechanical impact upon the game.
Skill Spindles
Rather than only gaining skill ranks by level, Golemi can purchase or construct skill spindles that act as repositories for data. Constructing a skill spindle requires the feat Craft Skill Spindle. Golemi choose 10 skills as their class skills (as the NPC expert class). While they are able to purchase or construct skill ranks through skill spindles, they are still limited to their maximum ranks by level. Skills gained with leveling are considered spindle upgrades gained or made for free during a Golemi’s travels (similar to spells gained by a Wizard).
New Feats
Craft Golemi Skill Spindle
Prerequisites: Golemi level 1st+ or Knowledge (Golemi) 5 ranks.
You can construct Golemi Skill Spindles, from which you, if you are a Golemi, or other Golemi may benefit.
Benefit: You can create a skill spindle of any skill that you have as a class or cross class skill. Scribing a skill spindle of a class skill costs 25 gp times rank times number of levels required to have that number of skill ranks. To craft a skill spindle, you must spend 1/25 of this base price in XP and use up raw materials costing half of this base price. To upgrade a spell spindle, you must pay the half the difference between the market price of the original rank and the upgrade rank and 1/25 of the difference of the market price in XP (ie- upgrading between ranks 1 and 2 costs 25 gold market price, or 12.5 gp in craft and 1 XP.
You may also create skill spindles for cross class skills, but due to the extensive additional research involved, the process means that all costs are multiplied by 2.25.
Skill Spindle Cost Progression Chart
Rank Cost Equation Market Price Creation Cost XP Cost
1 1 x 1 x 25 gp 25 12.5 gp 1
2 1 x 2 x 25 gp 50 25 gp 1
3 1 x 3 x 25 gp 75 37.5 gp 2
4 1 x 4 x 25 gp 100 50 gp 2
5 2 x 5 x 25 gp 250 125 gp 5
6 3 x 6 x 25 gp 450 225 gp 12
7 4 x 7 x 25 gp 700 350 gp 18
8 5 x 8 x 25 gp 1000 500 gp 25
9 6 x 9 x 25 gp 1350 675 gp 34
10 7 x 10 x 25 gp 1750 875 gp 44
11 8 x 11 x 25 gp 2200 1100 gp 55
12 9 x 12 x 25 gp 2700 1350 gp 68
13 10 x 13 x 25 gp 3250 1625 gp 82
14 11 x 14 x 25 gp 3850 1925 gp 97
15 12 x 15 x 25 gp 4500 2250 gp 113
16 13 x 16 x 25 gp 5200 2600 gp 130
17 14 x 17 x 25 gp 5950 2975 gp 149
18 15 x 18 x 25 gp 6750 3375 gp 169
19 16 x 19 x 25 gp 7600 3800 gp 190
20 17 x 20 x 25 gp 8500 4250 gp 212.5
21 18 x 21 x 25 gp 9450 4725 gp 237
22 19 x 22 x 25 gp 10450 5225 gp 262
23 20 x 23 x 25 gp 11500 5750 gp 288
Upgrade Cost (gp and xp) = Skill Rank Creation Cost - Original Skill Rank Creation Cost.
Creation Costs for all Cross Class Skills Spindles = Cost for Class Skills x 2.25.
Golemi Tinkerer Leadership
Prerequisite: Golemi level 3rd+
You find yourself surrounded by Golemi Tinkerers… perhaps more than you can find use for.
Benefit: You gain a number of Golemi Tinkererers equal to the number of cohorts and followers you would receive with the Leadership feat. If you have no leadership score on the Leadership chart in the DMG, you gain 2 additional Golemi Tinkerers, which count to the numbers you gain as your level rises.
*end*
Please do not, however, offer up any totally revamped construct races or "correct, my personal versions" to be used in place of this one, as that would be of little benefit to my primary goal in posting this here- keeping this race present in it's flavor, while balancing it so no one at the table cannot resist playing one due to it's ease of exploitation/min-maxing/obvious superiority to everything else. Saying "Try my Gargaro Psi-Juggernaut of Death" will be of little use with the clockwork species I'm trying to make.
If any mechanics you used do a superior job emulating what i'm trying to get at however, weee do share please!!
Golemi
Construct
Racial Traits
- Starting Ability Score Adjustments: Con –. Golemi are clockwork bipeds composed of cogs, sprockets, spindles and springs all neatly shoved into a lightly reinforced frame composed of tin, bronze and iron. As constructs, Golemi have no constitution score, but unlike most constructs, Golemi do have intelligence, as deep within the core of each Golemi is a individually unique, shining, soul phylactery called a soul shard. Golemi guard these preciously, and will take them out on occasion to polish them. (They're also probably worth a pretty penny, especially to evil types... so Golemi sometimes do sell their souls to feed their family or advance their station in non-Golemi lands)
- Construct: Golemi do not automatically gain the benefits of all construct abilites, but instead gain the more powerful abilities as they gain Golemi levels. All golemi, as constructs, are immune to subdual damage, charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, morale effects, poisons, diseases, sleep effects, paralysis, and stunning.
- Golemi do not require sleep. They do however require 8 hours of inactivity per day for maintainence.
- Golemi do not eat, but instead require raw materials to sustain themselves. A golemi requires 1 lb of pure metal, 5 pounds of mineral substances, or 15 pounds of organic substances each day.
- Arcane Spell Failure: All Golemi suffer a 25% arcane spell failure chance.
- Speed: Land speed 30 ft. Golemi cannot run.
- Darkvision: Golemi can see in the dark up to 60 ft.
- Automatic Languages: Golemi.
- Favored Class: Golemi.
The Golemi
Level 1
HD: 1d10
BAB: +0
Saves: +0 + mods
Skills: (2+ Int) x 4
Specials: Feat, Skill Spindles, Clockwork Tinkerer. Quirk
Level 2
HD: 2d10
BAB: +1
Saves: +0 + mods
Skills: 2 + Int
Specials: Quirk
Level 3
HD: 3d10
BAB: +2
Saves: +1 + mods
Skills: 2 + Int
Specials: Feat, Immunities Package I Gained, Quirk
Level 4
HD: 3d10
BAB: +3
Saves: +1 + mods
Skills: 2 + Int
Specials: Immunities Package II Gained
Golemi Tinkerer
As constructs, Golemi do not heal naturally, but are instead repaired. Every Golemi has in its posession a Golemi Tinkerer, a Diminutive construct (AC 15, hp 2), which repairs it during maintainance times (usually times of general inactivity). This, in effect, allows a Golemi to be repaired in a fashion identical to how non-constructs heal by resting. Multiple Tinkerers may be gained only through use of the Golemi Feat, and these additional Tinkerers offer diminishing returns. A second Tinkerer increases the healing by 50%, and a third Tinkerer by 25%. No more than three Tinkerers are able to repair a Golemi at a time.
In addition to this special ability, Golemi Tinkerers act as familiars in their ability to follow basic commands, hold conversations with its chosen Golemi, and be a general miniature sidekick. Golemi Tinkerers do not gain any special abilities, saves, or HD as the Golemi levels however.
Golemi Tinkerers speak Base Golemi (a series of tiny beeps, boops, deeps, doops, etc), resemble Golemi, and are completely independent of their chosen Golemi- usually they choose the Golemi shortly after creation, and both benefit from a symbiotic relationship. Golemi in general aren’t exactly sure where the Golemi Tinkerers originate from in the massive cavernous factories, and the Golemi Tinkerers aren’t telling any time soon.
Golemi Tinkerers for Golemi, are the equivalent of extremely social pixies to humans.
Immunities Packages
I: Reinforced Frame ( 100% Immunity to Critical Hits and death from Massive Damage)
II: Reinforced Soul Shard ( 100% immunity to death effects and necromantic effects)
Quirk
Golemi gain quirks with each character level spent in the company of non-golemi. Soldier Golemi who spend their time in the company of human guards may hold their swords like those human guards, while a golemi at a card table may have a cigar in the equivalent of it’s vocal orifice if it once saw a dwarf cardplayer do the same. These quirks have no mechanical impact upon the game.
Skill Spindles
Rather than only gaining skill ranks by level, Golemi can purchase or construct skill spindles that act as repositories for data. Constructing a skill spindle requires the feat Craft Skill Spindle. Golemi choose 10 skills as their class skills (as the NPC expert class). While they are able to purchase or construct skill ranks through skill spindles, they are still limited to their maximum ranks by level. Skills gained with leveling are considered spindle upgrades gained or made for free during a Golemi’s travels (similar to spells gained by a Wizard).
New Feats
Craft Golemi Skill Spindle
Prerequisites: Golemi level 1st+ or Knowledge (Golemi) 5 ranks.
You can construct Golemi Skill Spindles, from which you, if you are a Golemi, or other Golemi may benefit.
Benefit: You can create a skill spindle of any skill that you have as a class or cross class skill. Scribing a skill spindle of a class skill costs 25 gp times rank times number of levels required to have that number of skill ranks. To craft a skill spindle, you must spend 1/25 of this base price in XP and use up raw materials costing half of this base price. To upgrade a spell spindle, you must pay the half the difference between the market price of the original rank and the upgrade rank and 1/25 of the difference of the market price in XP (ie- upgrading between ranks 1 and 2 costs 25 gold market price, or 12.5 gp in craft and 1 XP.
You may also create skill spindles for cross class skills, but due to the extensive additional research involved, the process means that all costs are multiplied by 2.25.
Skill Spindle Cost Progression Chart
Rank Cost Equation Market Price Creation Cost XP Cost
1 1 x 1 x 25 gp 25 12.5 gp 1
2 1 x 2 x 25 gp 50 25 gp 1
3 1 x 3 x 25 gp 75 37.5 gp 2
4 1 x 4 x 25 gp 100 50 gp 2
5 2 x 5 x 25 gp 250 125 gp 5
6 3 x 6 x 25 gp 450 225 gp 12
7 4 x 7 x 25 gp 700 350 gp 18
8 5 x 8 x 25 gp 1000 500 gp 25
9 6 x 9 x 25 gp 1350 675 gp 34
10 7 x 10 x 25 gp 1750 875 gp 44
11 8 x 11 x 25 gp 2200 1100 gp 55
12 9 x 12 x 25 gp 2700 1350 gp 68
13 10 x 13 x 25 gp 3250 1625 gp 82
14 11 x 14 x 25 gp 3850 1925 gp 97
15 12 x 15 x 25 gp 4500 2250 gp 113
16 13 x 16 x 25 gp 5200 2600 gp 130
17 14 x 17 x 25 gp 5950 2975 gp 149
18 15 x 18 x 25 gp 6750 3375 gp 169
19 16 x 19 x 25 gp 7600 3800 gp 190
20 17 x 20 x 25 gp 8500 4250 gp 212.5
21 18 x 21 x 25 gp 9450 4725 gp 237
22 19 x 22 x 25 gp 10450 5225 gp 262
23 20 x 23 x 25 gp 11500 5750 gp 288
Upgrade Cost (gp and xp) = Skill Rank Creation Cost - Original Skill Rank Creation Cost.
Creation Costs for all Cross Class Skills Spindles = Cost for Class Skills x 2.25.
Golemi Tinkerer Leadership
Prerequisite: Golemi level 3rd+
You find yourself surrounded by Golemi Tinkerers… perhaps more than you can find use for.
Benefit: You gain a number of Golemi Tinkererers equal to the number of cohorts and followers you would receive with the Leadership feat. If you have no leadership score on the Leadership chart in the DMG, you gain 2 additional Golemi Tinkerers, which count to the numbers you gain as your level rises.
*end*
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