Automaton

Automatons

Automaton Lore

General Lore

Automatons originate from the Steel Shroud. They are metallic constructs, given sentience, sapience, and a soul through some form of heightened Geneolurgy and gift from the Three. They were created by the Zhenem Gnomes to act as a form of muscle to move heavy objects and machinery. Since then, Automatons have spread throughout the Steel Shroud, and are present in all Civilizations there. Unfortunately, due to the stigma of technology generally present throughout Drakomere, Automatons are disliked by most of the Drakomere populace. Many scholars are unsure whether Automatons are actually sapient and whether or not they have a soul, but through some form of gift from the Three and a heightened form of Geneolurgy, they do.
Automatons are the only immortal Lineage in Drakomere, as they are made from inorganic materials, and do not fade or decay with time. An Automaton can weary, however, choosing to fade away once it feels its life is complete. The mass production of Automatons stopped after the Corruption of the Steel Shroud during the Incursion of the 14th Age, but new Automatons kept showing up occasionally with no discernible cause. Automatons also don’t have ethnicities or Kindreds as other Lineages do. Because they are created, they can take essentially any form, even though most of them do have a form reminiscent to that of Orcs as that was their inspiration. Their Kindreds are based on the functionalities of the form they have, rather than being related to any form of genetics, as Automatons can not reproduce.
Whether or not Automatons have a Blessing is under much debate, some say their Blessing is sapience and a soul, but others argue that those are foundational elements to being, and are not a Blessing because all other Lineages have them. Others state their Blessing is their immortality, but others debate that point by saying it’s merely part of their form, a Faerie’s Blessing isn’t their flight, nor a Saurian his claws, so why would immortality be the Automatons’?
Automatons have a Crux, a glowing core filled with Resonance, which contains their mind, memory, identity, personality, and is essentially what they are. If the chassis of an Automaton is completely destroyed, their Crux can be placed into a different chassis, bringing them back in full.

Appearance & Ethnicity

Automatons are generally made out of metals, though some of them are made of crystal. They come in all shapes and sizes, about half of them are reminiscent of Orks, another twenty percent are reminiscent of other Lineages in Drakomere, and the remaining thirty percent are not based off of anything, having strange numbers of limbs and body shapes.

Locations and Perceptions

Most Automatons remain in Steelshroud, but they do filter throughout the entirety of Drakomere. They are most accepted in the three Nations of Stellarsiege, Anoorsin, Kraetaal, and Noovaen for their practicality, and the three Nations of the Plateau, Kitech, Zgentrick, and Shkitn, because the Stoneblooms are also non-traditional and shunned because of it. They would also be accepted in the Academy and Chaloola, because of the concentration of Adventurers who are often very eccentric, strange, and accepting types, especially the ones who group up in the Academy.
Automatons are least accepted in Gaabieng and Aahwa in the Chaos, the Codists in the Archipelago, and the Ebony Swamp and Stlaakh in Drakion.
To those extremely opposed to Automatons, there are a variety of slurs often used for them, primarily Herald, as in Herald of destruction/ruin/aberrant incursions, calling out the primary reason for their ostracization and calling them to face the unfair judgement. There are a variety of more "tame" slurs, such as clanker, tinhead, screwface, wireback, scrap, or some other vaguely machine sounding words.

Automaton Stats

If you choose the automaton ancestry, your size is Tiny, Small, Medium, or Large (your choice when you select this ancestry), you can alter this size over the course of a long rest if you have access to sufficient raw materials and appropriate tools, and each Chassis has a specific size. You also gain the following benefits at the specified levels:
Modifications (Level 1). You gain 2 Modification Points. Whenever you gain modification points, after your next short or long rest, you can spend them to add new modifications (detailed at the end of this section) to your current Chassis. Whenever you enter a vacant Chassis, if it has total Modifications less than your total Points, give it Modifications in the same way as described earlier. With access to sufficient raw materials and tools, you can forgo the benefits of a long rest to change any or all of your modifications, as if you had no modifications.
Unique Talent Tree (Level 1). Whenever you choose a new talent, you can choose it from the Automaton talent tree (in addition to the other trees you have access to).
Constructed Crux (Level 1). You gain the Constructed Crux (Automaton Key) talent from the Automaton tree.
Ancestry Bonus Talents (Level 6, 11, 16, and 21). Each time you reach a new tier, you again gain a bonus talent. You must choose it from the Automaton tree or from any heroic path.

Constructed Crux (Automaton Key)

Prerequisite: Automaton Ancestry
Activation: Special Activation
You are an artificial character. You do not need to and cannot breathe, eat, drink, or sleep. During a long rest you enter an inactive state to recharge instead of sleeping, which provides benefits similar to sleep. The inability to enter this state has similar downsides to a non-artificial character not being able to sleep.
You are made up of two primary parts, your Crux and your Chassis. Your Crux is a glowing core that contains your memories, personality, identity, will mind, and personhood. At the most fundamental level, you "are" your crux. Your Chassis is the body that your Crux is contained within, powers, and controls. Automaton Chassis come in all shapes and sizes, but the majority are built to resemble Orks, or other ancestries.
During a long rest, you can undergo the process of transferring your Crux from your current Chassis to a vacant Chassis, when you do this, the only altered statistics are the modifications and injuries the new Chassis has in comparison to you previous Chassis.
Injuries you gain only affect the Chassis you are in when you receive them, and do not naturally heal on their own while you do not inhabit the Chassis. You, another Automaton, or a character with at least 3 ranks in Crafting can forgo the usual benefits of a short or long rest to instead spend that time repairing an Automaton Chassis within their reach. Choose one injury the Chassis has suffered, make a Crafting Test. On a success, the chosen injury is repaired. The DC of this test is dependent on the severity of the injury.
Flesh Wound. DC 10
Shallow Injury. DC 15
Vicious Injury. DC 20
Permanent Injury. DC 25
Death. DC 30 & an Opportunity
When you would die, the Chassis does instead, becoming inactive and inoperable. When this happens, make a DC 15 Discipline test, on a failed Test, your Crux deactivates, and you die.
If you are willing, another character can spend 3 Actions to remove your Crux from your Chassis, and, if you are willing can spend a short or long rest installing your Crux into a vacant Chassis.
Leads to: Additional Modification, Secondary Chassis

Additional Modification

Prerequisite: Constructed Crux key talent
Activation: Special Activation
You build onto yourself or find additional modifications for your Chassis.
Gain 2 modification points. You can gain this talent multiple times.
Leads to: Stellar Modification

Stellar Modification

Prerequisite: Level 6+; Additional Modification
Activation: Special Activation
Gain one Stellar Modification, detailed at the end of this section. If you are tier 4 or higher, or once you reach that tier, you gain a second Stellar Modification.

Secondary Chassis

Prerequisite: Constructed Crux key talent
Activation: Special Activation
You gain the goal "Gain an additional Chassis" which can be done in a variety of ways, such as building or finding it. When you complete this goal you gain another Chassis and add modifications to it as if you were entering it. You are generally able to bring this Chassis with you on your travels except under extreme circumstances. If you ever only have one functional Chassis with you, and in other circumstances at the GM's discretion you can gain the goal "Gain an additional Chassis" again.

Modifications

Quadrupedal (1 Point)

You have four limbs that you utilize for ambulation.
You ignore the Slowed from difficult terrain and you do not trigger Reactive Strikes.

Hidden Compartment (1 Point)

You have a compartment you can store items in. It is 6 inches cubed of total space, and you can use the Interact action to store or retrieve items place in your compartment. Repeatable.

Human-Cyborg Relations (1 Point)

You are fluent in over six million forms of communication.
You can speak, read, write, and understand all languages.

Martial Module (1 Point)

You gain Expertise with one Weapon or Armor of your choice. Repeatable.

Modular Build (1 Point)

Characters within 5 feet of you gains the "Repair Chassis" action:
Repair Chassis (2 Actions). Spend 1 focus and make a DC 15 Crafting Test, rolling this Automaton's recovery die as part of this test. On a success, this Automaton recovers health equal to the result of the recovery die + your ranks in Crafting. On a failure, they only recover health equal to the result of the recovery die.
You also gain this action, but you have disadvantage on the test.

Musical Module (1 Point)

You gain expertise in one musical instrument of your choice. You gain the chosen instrument as a part of your body, being able to play it without needing a free hand. Repeatable.

Culinary Module (1 Point)

You gain the ability to smell, taste, eat, and drink. You also gain expertise in Culinary Arts.

Diplomacy Module (1 Point)

You gain expertise in Diplomacy, and you gain a +1 bonus to Persuasion and Insight tests you make.