ceruleanlotus
2018-09-01, 03:51 PM
Here is an updated version of the race, newly improved thanks to KittenMagician!
Doll Servitors
Dolls are creations designed to mimic life by those who wanted to play god. Crafted by the masterful hands of artificers, these dolls – should much time, effort, and expense be put into their production, are the epitome of perfection. Beautiful, graceful, and obedient, dolls are the ideal servitors and exist for the sole purpose of serving their master, no matter how evil or cruel their tasks may be. Their unwavering loyalty makes them dangerous in the wrong hands and can be used as soldiers with no sense of right or wrong to get in the way.
The Creators
There are four doll-makers known to produce on commission, but the original creator – the “Puppet Master” they call him – is said to create the most perfect dolls but does not do so in exchange for money, only favours. There are rumours that his house is filled entirely with dolls, dolls that help him make new dolls, and that he even turned his deceased wife into a doll.
Dolls are completely loyal to their creators. This loyalty originates from a magical bond between the creator and their creation. Even if a doll manages to escape from their master, that master still holds some form of control over them and should they ever encounter each other again, there is a chance that the doll may fall back under their control.
Purposes
Dolls were first designed as servitors; to aid their master in whatever way possible, and would complete any task given to them, no matter what. Some dolls act as assistants, nannies, servants, or even friendly companions for the lonely. Some have been used to mimic dead loved ones for those who were unable to bear with their loss. There have been some commissioned to act as performers for the entertainment industry. However, due to them being incredibly expensive, they are generally reserved for the higher-class elements of society and are never used for laborious work. Unfortunately, some have ended up becoming circulated on the black market for purposes such as assa ssination, and other dark dealings.
Art Imitates Life
There is no restriction to the outward appearance of the doll; they can be male or female. However, as they are not living creatures, they have no real sense of gender or being in the same way that living beings do. The dolls, without exception, are always incredibly beautiful and innocent looking, with a very slight unearthly appearance. The more expensive the doll the more life-like, but there is always this element of being inhuman.
Appearance wise, the dolls are exquisite. Their faces are painted, their vacant eyes made from precious stones or out of delicately crafted glass, and their synthetic hair is shiny and well-maintained. They are well-dressed with an innate desire to present themselves well, and tend to wear expensive clothing with frills, bows, silk, etc. They look like the perfect humans. There are a few details, despite their likeness to reality, that indicate that they are a doll. One being that they look incredibly young and always somewhat feminine, even if a male doll. Another detail is if stripped of their clothing, a doll has mechanical ball joints which make for some of their stiff, slightly strange movements. A doll also had oil for blood, is cool to the touch, and never ages.
Machine Inteligence
A doll is not made with the initial ability to empathise with others and may not begin with a moral compass. They may be naïve and sensitive, or alternatively they may be cold, calculating, and distrustful. However, a doll that has become free may learn to have emotions, to “become human” over time . . . even if they have no soul.
Dolls are naturally obedient and will tend to listen to common instructions even if they have become free. If someone were to tell them to wait somewhere, they will wait without question unless convinced otherwise. If there is a sign telling them that no one may enter, they may initially stop and will not enter unless convinced otherwise. This inherent obedience may be overcome with time, but they will always have a part of this lawful nature within them. Because of their need for some element of order in their life, dolls will attach themselves to someone to help guide them and protect them, as a doll on its own is unable to do the things it needs to survive without instruction.
This does not mean that a free doll is without free will. They are capable of speaking on their own and taking independent actions, except it is to a limited extent.
Doll Traits
Ability Score Increase: Either your Intelligence score increases by 2 and your Charisma score increases by 1, OR your Charisma score increases by 2 and your Intelligence score increases by 1.
Age: A doll never ages; they are captured in an eternal state of youth. If well-maintained, a doll could last for hundreds of years.
Alignment: Dolls are naturally obedient and will always be lawful. Whether they bend towards good or evil depends on their current master.
Size: Dolls are designed to mimic humans, and so their size is Medium.
Speed: The base walking speed for a doll is 30ft.
Power Down: Instead of sleeping, a doll will “power down” temporarily to restore their energy levels and to remove any levels of exhaustion they may have. This state lasts for six hours. During this time, the doll is not aware of its surroundings and is effectively unconscious. If they do not rest, they will exhaust their energy source and they will gain levels of exhaustion just like living creatures.
Living Machine: A doll may mimic eating and drinking yet it is not necessary to their survival, nor do they need to breathe.
Languages: Common and the language of the doll’s creator (if their creator spoke common, the doll may choose another language of its choice.)
The Beauty of Hesitation: Due to the sheer beauty of these creations, attacks made against these dolls are made with hesitation, as it would be a tragedy to destroy such admirable handiwork. The doll has an AC equal to 12 + their Charisma bonus when not wearing any armour.
Subserviant Minds Dolls are automatically Charmed by their creator if they fail a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. However, for 24 hours after falling back under their control, the doll is able to continue to make saving throws against their creator should the creator force the doll to attack their allies or do something to harm itself. After those twenty-four hours are over, the doll can no longer resist this control.
Additionally, dolls are especially weak to any effects or spells that would control them, Dolls have a -4 against spells that charm them or force their obediance in some fashion. The -4 decreases to -3 at 5th level, -2 at 10th level, -1 at 15th level and no penalty at 20th level.
Blood and Oil As a construct, instead of having blood, oil flows in pipes between your mechanical parts. When wounded, oil spills from you. The oil is flammable, therefore fire is particularly dangerous to you. If you are at half your maximum hitpoints or less and you take fire damage, that fire damage is doubled. Additionally you can lightly wound yourself in order to drain some oil from your body for various purposes. For every 5 hit points you sacrifice, you may cover a five-foot square. Filling a small oil lantern, for example, will only cost you 1 hit point.
Artificial Life Because you are a construct and not truly a living creatures, you immune to poison and disease. You also do not have flesh like living creatures, instead, your outer shell is made of a ceramic material, and your inner parts are made of metal. When you are killed, you cannot be revived using magical means. However, you can be reconstructed by someone with highly advanced mechanical expertise. You cannot be reanimated to become an undead.
High Maintenance Because you are not made of organic tissues, you will not heal your wounds naturally. In order to regain hit points, you must repair yourself using 1gp’s worth of material per five hit points. You can scavenge for spare parts and raw materials which you can use to repair yourself in either a city, junkyard, or another location where such materials may be found, such as in a factory or workstation
If you search for one hour, you can find 3gp’s worth of material.
If you search for half an hour, you can find 1gp’s worth of material.
If you search for ten minutes, you can find 5sp’s worth of material.
This time may vary depending on the situation you are in. These numbers are also up to the discretion of the DM, who may limit the amount of material you can find depending on where you are. Your DM may also create alternate rules.
If you do not wish to scavenge, you may also purchase these materials from an artisan of sorts, including a blacksmith, or from a general goods store.
You may also visit a blacksmith who will be able to repair you for a fee. You may repair yourself during a short rest or a long rest. However, the time it takes for you to repair yourself is at the DM’s discretion, so how many hit points you may gain depends on the DM’s choice.
Healing potions/spells work, but only for half the amount it would normally.
Spells such as Mending may be used to fix you but only so much. You treat the Mending Cantrip as if it were a 1st level Cure Wounds. You may only benefit from this a number of times equal to your Inteligence modifier + 2. You regain this benefit after you shut down for a long rest.
Power Reserves You may expend some of your power reserves to forgo your shut down period. If you do, you don't have to shut down and don't gain a level of exhaustion. You can't use this trait again until you do enter a shut down period to recharge you reserves. Additionally, if you have your reserves full, when you are dropped to zero hit points, your back-up generator will activate to restore you to one hit on your next turn. This feature can be used once and then you must shut down to replenish them during a long rest.
Hi to anyone who might be reading this, and thank you for taking the time to take a look. This is my first homebrew creation which I originally made to be used in my own homebrew world, but any of the information given below can be manipulated or changed to suit your own campaign setting. I wasn't going to upload this at first, but I needed some other people's opinions to tell me whether this as balanced or not.
I've given this class a few downsides, so I'm hoping the few bonuses I've given balance it out. If not, could I have some suggestions? It may seem like a complicated class and so it may not be ideal for someone who is new to D&D. Thank you in advance for any advice you could give me, it will be much appreciated!
***
“Who would have thought that these clockwork beauties have no soul?”
Dolls are manmade creations designed to mimic life by those who wanted to play god. Crafted by the masterful hands of artificers, these dolls – should much time, effort, and expense be put into their production, are the epitome of perfection. Beautiful, graceful, and obedient, dolls are the ideal servitors and exist for the sole purpose of serving their master, no matter how evil or cruel their tasks may be. Their unwavering loyalty makes them dangerous in the wrong hands and can be used as soldiers with no sense of right or wrong to get in the way.
There are four doll-makers known to produce on commission, but the original creator – the “Puppet Master” they call him – is said to create the most perfect dolls but does not do so in exchange for money, only favours. There are rumours that his house is filled entirely with dolls, dolls that help him make new dolls, and that even turned his deceased wife into a doll.
Some dolls act as assistants, nannies, servants, or even friendly companions for the lonely. Some have been used to mimic dead loved ones for those who were unable to bear with their loss. There have been some commissioned to act as performers for the entertainment industry. However, due to them being incredibly expensive, they are generally reserved for the higher-class elements of society and are never used for laborious work. Unfortunately, some have ended up becoming circulated on the black market for purposes such as assassination, and other dark dealings.
There is no restriction to the outward appearing gender of the doll; they can be male or female. However, as they are not living creatures, they have no real sense of gender or being in the same way sentient humanoids do. The dolls created are always incredibly beautiful and innocent looking, with a very slight unearthly appearance. The more expensive the doll the more life-like, but there is always this element of being inhuman.
Appearance wise, the dolls are pampered. Their faces are painted, their vacant eyes made preciously out of glass, and their synthetic hair is shiny and well-maintained. They are well-dressed with an innate desire to present themselves well, and tend to wear expensive clothing with frills, bows, silk, etc. They look like the perfect humans. There are a few details, despite their likeness to reality, that indicate that they are a doll. One being that they look incredibly young and always somewhat feminine, even if a male doll. Another detail is if stripped of their clothing, a doll has mechanical ball joints which make for some of their stiff, slightly strange movements. A doll also had oil for blood, is cool to the touch, and never ages.
A doll is not made with the initial ability to empathise with others and may not begin with a moral compass. They may be naïve and sensitive, or alternatively they may be cold, calculating, and distrustful. However, a doll that has become free may learn to have emotions, to “become human” over time… even if they have no soul.
Doll Traits
Ability Score Increase: Either your Intelligence score increases by 2 and your Charisma score increases by 1, OR your Charisma score increases by 2 and your Intelligence score increases by 1.
Age: A doll never ages; they are captured in an eternal state of youth. If well-maintained, a doll could last for hundreds of years.
Alignment: Dolls are naturally obedient and will always be lawful. Whether they bend towards good or evil depends on their current master.
Size: Dolls are designed to mimic humans, and so their size is Medium.
Speed: The base walking speed for a doll is 30ft.
Power Down: Instead of sleeping, a doll will “power down” temporarily to restore their energy levels and to remove any levels of exhaustion they may have. This state lasts for six hours. During this time, the doll is not aware of its surroundings and is effectively unconscious. If they do not rest, they will exhaust their energy source and they will gain levels of exhaustion just like living creatures.
Living Machine: A doll may mimic eating and drinking yet it is not necessary to their survival, nor do they need to breathe and the states of drowning or suffocation to not apply to them.
Languages: Common and the language of the doll’s creator (if their creator spoke common, the doll may choose another language of its choice.)
The Beauty of Hesitation: Due to the sheer beauty of these creations, attacks made against these dolls are made with hesitation, as it would be a tragedy to destroy such admirable handiwork. The doll has an AC equal to 12 + their Charisma bonus when not wearing any armour.
Doll to Doll: Dolls can exchange information between them by touching each other. This feature can be used to extract information from a willing doll in the form of a memory, or to transfer information to that doll. This cannot be done on an unwilling doll without the risk of it self-destructing. There is a 50% chance that the doll will self-destruct before the information can be exchanged, and it will die with the information.
Made to Serve
Dolls were first designed as servitors; to aid their master in whatever way possible, and would complete any task given to them, no matter what. This loyalty originates from a magical bond between the creator and their creation. This condition is the same as the doll being Charmed by their creator. Even if a doll manages to escape from their master, that master still holds some form of control over them and should they ever encounter again, there is a chance that the doll may fall back under their control if they fail a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. However, for twenty-four hours after falling back under their control, the doll is able to continue to make saving throws against their creator should the creator force the doll to attack their allies or do something to harm itself. After those twenty-four hours are over, the doll can no longer resist this control.
Dolls are naturally obedient and will tend to listen to common instructions even if they have become free. If someone were to tell them to wait somewhere, they will wait without question unless convinced otherwise. If there is a sign telling them that no one may enter, they may initially stop and will not enter unless convinced otherwise. This inherent obedience may be overcome with time, but they will always have a part of this lawful nature within them. Because of their need for some element of order in their life, dolls will attach themselves to someone to help guide them and protect them, as a doll on its own is unable to do the things it needs to survive without instruction.
This does not mean that a free doll is without free will, and is capable of speaking on their own and taking independent actions, except it is to a limited extent.
Additionally, dolls are especially weak to any effects or spells that would control them, such as the Charm Person spell, the Command spell, the Suggestion spell, or the Dominate Person spell, and makes all saving throws against these spells with disadvantage.
Metal Heart
Like most creatures, they have organs. The only difference is their organs are made out of metal. They have a heart that can be accessed by a compartment in the doll’s chest. The heart acts as their energy reserve, generating energy inside them which keeps them in constant animation and pumping oil to their functioning organs. If their heart is removed, this will not kill them outright, but it will force them into a permanent state of unconsciousness until the heart is returned.
Dolls can replace their organs that have been broken or have ceased to function. Some crime gangs specialise in kidnapping dolls to salvage their organs to create their own dolls or to sell them on to buyers for cheap.
Blood and Oil
As a construct, instead of having blood, oil flows in pipes between your mechanical parts. When wounded, oil spills from you. Oil is flammable, and if exposed to excess heat or open flame, it may catch on fire. This may set you on fire, or you can purposefully spill your oil to set fire to something else. However, due to you having oil for blood, fire is particularly risky for you. If you are already wounded when you take fire damage, that fire damage is doubled.
You can lightly wound yourself in order to drain some oil from your body for various purposes, such as filling an oil lantern, or to smear over an area that you may want to set alight or make slippery. For every 5 hit points you sacrifice, you may cover a five-foot square. Filling a small oil lantern, for example, will only cost you 1 hit point.
Because you do not have blood like living creatures, you have advantage on saving throws against poison and resistant to poison damage, and immune to disease.
You also do not have flesh like living creatures, so spells which target living creatures with flesh do not affect you, such as the Flesh to Stone spell. Instead, your outer shell is made of a ceramic material, and your inner parts are made of metal. Therefore, you do not bruise, blush, nor cry, but your outer shell may crack with enough force.
Life over Existence
You are not a living being, and therefore as a construct you are not affected by spells which target living creatures. Spells like this include the Antilife Shell, which hedges out creatures other than undead and constructs. When you are killed, you cannot be revived using magical means. However, you can be reconstructed by someone with highly advanced mechanical expertise. You cannot be reanimated to become an undead.
High Maintenance
Because you are not made of organic tissues, you will not heal your wounds naturally. In order to regain hit points, you must repair yourself using 1gp’s worth of material per five hit points. You can scavenge for spare parts and raw materials which you can use to repair yourself in either a city, junkyard, or another location where such materials may be found, such as in a factory or workstation
If you search for one hour, you can find 3gp’s worth of material.
If you search for half an hour, you can find 1gp’s worth of material.
If you search for ten minutes, you can find 5sp’s worth of material.
This time may vary depending on the situation you are in. These numbers are also up to the discretion of the DM, who may limit the amount of material you can find depending on where you are. Your DM may also create alternate rules.
If you do not wish to scavenge, you may also purchase these materials from an artisan of sorts, including a blacksmith, or from a general goods store.
You may also visit a blacksmith who will be able to repair you for a fee.
You may repair yourself during a short rest or a long rest. However, the time it takes for you to repair yourself is at the DM’s discretion, so how many hit points you may gain depends on the DM’s choice.
Healing potions/spells work, but only for half the amount it would normally.
Doll Servitors
Dolls are creations designed to mimic life by those who wanted to play god. Crafted by the masterful hands of artificers, these dolls – should much time, effort, and expense be put into their production, are the epitome of perfection. Beautiful, graceful, and obedient, dolls are the ideal servitors and exist for the sole purpose of serving their master, no matter how evil or cruel their tasks may be. Their unwavering loyalty makes them dangerous in the wrong hands and can be used as soldiers with no sense of right or wrong to get in the way.
The Creators
There are four doll-makers known to produce on commission, but the original creator – the “Puppet Master” they call him – is said to create the most perfect dolls but does not do so in exchange for money, only favours. There are rumours that his house is filled entirely with dolls, dolls that help him make new dolls, and that he even turned his deceased wife into a doll.
Dolls are completely loyal to their creators. This loyalty originates from a magical bond between the creator and their creation. Even if a doll manages to escape from their master, that master still holds some form of control over them and should they ever encounter each other again, there is a chance that the doll may fall back under their control.
Purposes
Dolls were first designed as servitors; to aid their master in whatever way possible, and would complete any task given to them, no matter what. Some dolls act as assistants, nannies, servants, or even friendly companions for the lonely. Some have been used to mimic dead loved ones for those who were unable to bear with their loss. There have been some commissioned to act as performers for the entertainment industry. However, due to them being incredibly expensive, they are generally reserved for the higher-class elements of society and are never used for laborious work. Unfortunately, some have ended up becoming circulated on the black market for purposes such as assa ssination, and other dark dealings.
Art Imitates Life
There is no restriction to the outward appearance of the doll; they can be male or female. However, as they are not living creatures, they have no real sense of gender or being in the same way that living beings do. The dolls, without exception, are always incredibly beautiful and innocent looking, with a very slight unearthly appearance. The more expensive the doll the more life-like, but there is always this element of being inhuman.
Appearance wise, the dolls are exquisite. Their faces are painted, their vacant eyes made from precious stones or out of delicately crafted glass, and their synthetic hair is shiny and well-maintained. They are well-dressed with an innate desire to present themselves well, and tend to wear expensive clothing with frills, bows, silk, etc. They look like the perfect humans. There are a few details, despite their likeness to reality, that indicate that they are a doll. One being that they look incredibly young and always somewhat feminine, even if a male doll. Another detail is if stripped of their clothing, a doll has mechanical ball joints which make for some of their stiff, slightly strange movements. A doll also had oil for blood, is cool to the touch, and never ages.
Machine Inteligence
A doll is not made with the initial ability to empathise with others and may not begin with a moral compass. They may be naïve and sensitive, or alternatively they may be cold, calculating, and distrustful. However, a doll that has become free may learn to have emotions, to “become human” over time . . . even if they have no soul.
Dolls are naturally obedient and will tend to listen to common instructions even if they have become free. If someone were to tell them to wait somewhere, they will wait without question unless convinced otherwise. If there is a sign telling them that no one may enter, they may initially stop and will not enter unless convinced otherwise. This inherent obedience may be overcome with time, but they will always have a part of this lawful nature within them. Because of their need for some element of order in their life, dolls will attach themselves to someone to help guide them and protect them, as a doll on its own is unable to do the things it needs to survive without instruction.
This does not mean that a free doll is without free will. They are capable of speaking on their own and taking independent actions, except it is to a limited extent.
Doll Traits
Ability Score Increase: Either your Intelligence score increases by 2 and your Charisma score increases by 1, OR your Charisma score increases by 2 and your Intelligence score increases by 1.
Age: A doll never ages; they are captured in an eternal state of youth. If well-maintained, a doll could last for hundreds of years.
Alignment: Dolls are naturally obedient and will always be lawful. Whether they bend towards good or evil depends on their current master.
Size: Dolls are designed to mimic humans, and so their size is Medium.
Speed: The base walking speed for a doll is 30ft.
Power Down: Instead of sleeping, a doll will “power down” temporarily to restore their energy levels and to remove any levels of exhaustion they may have. This state lasts for six hours. During this time, the doll is not aware of its surroundings and is effectively unconscious. If they do not rest, they will exhaust their energy source and they will gain levels of exhaustion just like living creatures.
Living Machine: A doll may mimic eating and drinking yet it is not necessary to their survival, nor do they need to breathe.
Languages: Common and the language of the doll’s creator (if their creator spoke common, the doll may choose another language of its choice.)
The Beauty of Hesitation: Due to the sheer beauty of these creations, attacks made against these dolls are made with hesitation, as it would be a tragedy to destroy such admirable handiwork. The doll has an AC equal to 12 + their Charisma bonus when not wearing any armour.
Subserviant Minds Dolls are automatically Charmed by their creator if they fail a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. However, for 24 hours after falling back under their control, the doll is able to continue to make saving throws against their creator should the creator force the doll to attack their allies or do something to harm itself. After those twenty-four hours are over, the doll can no longer resist this control.
Additionally, dolls are especially weak to any effects or spells that would control them, Dolls have a -4 against spells that charm them or force their obediance in some fashion. The -4 decreases to -3 at 5th level, -2 at 10th level, -1 at 15th level and no penalty at 20th level.
Blood and Oil As a construct, instead of having blood, oil flows in pipes between your mechanical parts. When wounded, oil spills from you. The oil is flammable, therefore fire is particularly dangerous to you. If you are at half your maximum hitpoints or less and you take fire damage, that fire damage is doubled. Additionally you can lightly wound yourself in order to drain some oil from your body for various purposes. For every 5 hit points you sacrifice, you may cover a five-foot square. Filling a small oil lantern, for example, will only cost you 1 hit point.
Artificial Life Because you are a construct and not truly a living creatures, you immune to poison and disease. You also do not have flesh like living creatures, instead, your outer shell is made of a ceramic material, and your inner parts are made of metal. When you are killed, you cannot be revived using magical means. However, you can be reconstructed by someone with highly advanced mechanical expertise. You cannot be reanimated to become an undead.
High Maintenance Because you are not made of organic tissues, you will not heal your wounds naturally. In order to regain hit points, you must repair yourself using 1gp’s worth of material per five hit points. You can scavenge for spare parts and raw materials which you can use to repair yourself in either a city, junkyard, or another location where such materials may be found, such as in a factory or workstation
If you search for one hour, you can find 3gp’s worth of material.
If you search for half an hour, you can find 1gp’s worth of material.
If you search for ten minutes, you can find 5sp’s worth of material.
This time may vary depending on the situation you are in. These numbers are also up to the discretion of the DM, who may limit the amount of material you can find depending on where you are. Your DM may also create alternate rules.
If you do not wish to scavenge, you may also purchase these materials from an artisan of sorts, including a blacksmith, or from a general goods store.
You may also visit a blacksmith who will be able to repair you for a fee. You may repair yourself during a short rest or a long rest. However, the time it takes for you to repair yourself is at the DM’s discretion, so how many hit points you may gain depends on the DM’s choice.
Healing potions/spells work, but only for half the amount it would normally.
Spells such as Mending may be used to fix you but only so much. You treat the Mending Cantrip as if it were a 1st level Cure Wounds. You may only benefit from this a number of times equal to your Inteligence modifier + 2. You regain this benefit after you shut down for a long rest.
Power Reserves You may expend some of your power reserves to forgo your shut down period. If you do, you don't have to shut down and don't gain a level of exhaustion. You can't use this trait again until you do enter a shut down period to recharge you reserves. Additionally, if you have your reserves full, when you are dropped to zero hit points, your back-up generator will activate to restore you to one hit on your next turn. This feature can be used once and then you must shut down to replenish them during a long rest.
Hi to anyone who might be reading this, and thank you for taking the time to take a look. This is my first homebrew creation which I originally made to be used in my own homebrew world, but any of the information given below can be manipulated or changed to suit your own campaign setting. I wasn't going to upload this at first, but I needed some other people's opinions to tell me whether this as balanced or not.
I've given this class a few downsides, so I'm hoping the few bonuses I've given balance it out. If not, could I have some suggestions? It may seem like a complicated class and so it may not be ideal for someone who is new to D&D. Thank you in advance for any advice you could give me, it will be much appreciated!
***
“Who would have thought that these clockwork beauties have no soul?”
Dolls are manmade creations designed to mimic life by those who wanted to play god. Crafted by the masterful hands of artificers, these dolls – should much time, effort, and expense be put into their production, are the epitome of perfection. Beautiful, graceful, and obedient, dolls are the ideal servitors and exist for the sole purpose of serving their master, no matter how evil or cruel their tasks may be. Their unwavering loyalty makes them dangerous in the wrong hands and can be used as soldiers with no sense of right or wrong to get in the way.
There are four doll-makers known to produce on commission, but the original creator – the “Puppet Master” they call him – is said to create the most perfect dolls but does not do so in exchange for money, only favours. There are rumours that his house is filled entirely with dolls, dolls that help him make new dolls, and that even turned his deceased wife into a doll.
Some dolls act as assistants, nannies, servants, or even friendly companions for the lonely. Some have been used to mimic dead loved ones for those who were unable to bear with their loss. There have been some commissioned to act as performers for the entertainment industry. However, due to them being incredibly expensive, they are generally reserved for the higher-class elements of society and are never used for laborious work. Unfortunately, some have ended up becoming circulated on the black market for purposes such as assassination, and other dark dealings.
There is no restriction to the outward appearing gender of the doll; they can be male or female. However, as they are not living creatures, they have no real sense of gender or being in the same way sentient humanoids do. The dolls created are always incredibly beautiful and innocent looking, with a very slight unearthly appearance. The more expensive the doll the more life-like, but there is always this element of being inhuman.
Appearance wise, the dolls are pampered. Their faces are painted, their vacant eyes made preciously out of glass, and their synthetic hair is shiny and well-maintained. They are well-dressed with an innate desire to present themselves well, and tend to wear expensive clothing with frills, bows, silk, etc. They look like the perfect humans. There are a few details, despite their likeness to reality, that indicate that they are a doll. One being that they look incredibly young and always somewhat feminine, even if a male doll. Another detail is if stripped of their clothing, a doll has mechanical ball joints which make for some of their stiff, slightly strange movements. A doll also had oil for blood, is cool to the touch, and never ages.
A doll is not made with the initial ability to empathise with others and may not begin with a moral compass. They may be naïve and sensitive, or alternatively they may be cold, calculating, and distrustful. However, a doll that has become free may learn to have emotions, to “become human” over time… even if they have no soul.
Doll Traits
Ability Score Increase: Either your Intelligence score increases by 2 and your Charisma score increases by 1, OR your Charisma score increases by 2 and your Intelligence score increases by 1.
Age: A doll never ages; they are captured in an eternal state of youth. If well-maintained, a doll could last for hundreds of years.
Alignment: Dolls are naturally obedient and will always be lawful. Whether they bend towards good or evil depends on their current master.
Size: Dolls are designed to mimic humans, and so their size is Medium.
Speed: The base walking speed for a doll is 30ft.
Power Down: Instead of sleeping, a doll will “power down” temporarily to restore their energy levels and to remove any levels of exhaustion they may have. This state lasts for six hours. During this time, the doll is not aware of its surroundings and is effectively unconscious. If they do not rest, they will exhaust their energy source and they will gain levels of exhaustion just like living creatures.
Living Machine: A doll may mimic eating and drinking yet it is not necessary to their survival, nor do they need to breathe and the states of drowning or suffocation to not apply to them.
Languages: Common and the language of the doll’s creator (if their creator spoke common, the doll may choose another language of its choice.)
The Beauty of Hesitation: Due to the sheer beauty of these creations, attacks made against these dolls are made with hesitation, as it would be a tragedy to destroy such admirable handiwork. The doll has an AC equal to 12 + their Charisma bonus when not wearing any armour.
Doll to Doll: Dolls can exchange information between them by touching each other. This feature can be used to extract information from a willing doll in the form of a memory, or to transfer information to that doll. This cannot be done on an unwilling doll without the risk of it self-destructing. There is a 50% chance that the doll will self-destruct before the information can be exchanged, and it will die with the information.
Made to Serve
Dolls were first designed as servitors; to aid their master in whatever way possible, and would complete any task given to them, no matter what. This loyalty originates from a magical bond between the creator and their creation. This condition is the same as the doll being Charmed by their creator. Even if a doll manages to escape from their master, that master still holds some form of control over them and should they ever encounter again, there is a chance that the doll may fall back under their control if they fail a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. However, for twenty-four hours after falling back under their control, the doll is able to continue to make saving throws against their creator should the creator force the doll to attack their allies or do something to harm itself. After those twenty-four hours are over, the doll can no longer resist this control.
Dolls are naturally obedient and will tend to listen to common instructions even if they have become free. If someone were to tell them to wait somewhere, they will wait without question unless convinced otherwise. If there is a sign telling them that no one may enter, they may initially stop and will not enter unless convinced otherwise. This inherent obedience may be overcome with time, but they will always have a part of this lawful nature within them. Because of their need for some element of order in their life, dolls will attach themselves to someone to help guide them and protect them, as a doll on its own is unable to do the things it needs to survive without instruction.
This does not mean that a free doll is without free will, and is capable of speaking on their own and taking independent actions, except it is to a limited extent.
Additionally, dolls are especially weak to any effects or spells that would control them, such as the Charm Person spell, the Command spell, the Suggestion spell, or the Dominate Person spell, and makes all saving throws against these spells with disadvantage.
Metal Heart
Like most creatures, they have organs. The only difference is their organs are made out of metal. They have a heart that can be accessed by a compartment in the doll’s chest. The heart acts as their energy reserve, generating energy inside them which keeps them in constant animation and pumping oil to their functioning organs. If their heart is removed, this will not kill them outright, but it will force them into a permanent state of unconsciousness until the heart is returned.
Dolls can replace their organs that have been broken or have ceased to function. Some crime gangs specialise in kidnapping dolls to salvage their organs to create their own dolls or to sell them on to buyers for cheap.
Blood and Oil
As a construct, instead of having blood, oil flows in pipes between your mechanical parts. When wounded, oil spills from you. Oil is flammable, and if exposed to excess heat or open flame, it may catch on fire. This may set you on fire, or you can purposefully spill your oil to set fire to something else. However, due to you having oil for blood, fire is particularly risky for you. If you are already wounded when you take fire damage, that fire damage is doubled.
You can lightly wound yourself in order to drain some oil from your body for various purposes, such as filling an oil lantern, or to smear over an area that you may want to set alight or make slippery. For every 5 hit points you sacrifice, you may cover a five-foot square. Filling a small oil lantern, for example, will only cost you 1 hit point.
Because you do not have blood like living creatures, you have advantage on saving throws against poison and resistant to poison damage, and immune to disease.
You also do not have flesh like living creatures, so spells which target living creatures with flesh do not affect you, such as the Flesh to Stone spell. Instead, your outer shell is made of a ceramic material, and your inner parts are made of metal. Therefore, you do not bruise, blush, nor cry, but your outer shell may crack with enough force.
Life over Existence
You are not a living being, and therefore as a construct you are not affected by spells which target living creatures. Spells like this include the Antilife Shell, which hedges out creatures other than undead and constructs. When you are killed, you cannot be revived using magical means. However, you can be reconstructed by someone with highly advanced mechanical expertise. You cannot be reanimated to become an undead.
High Maintenance
Because you are not made of organic tissues, you will not heal your wounds naturally. In order to regain hit points, you must repair yourself using 1gp’s worth of material per five hit points. You can scavenge for spare parts and raw materials which you can use to repair yourself in either a city, junkyard, or another location where such materials may be found, such as in a factory or workstation
If you search for one hour, you can find 3gp’s worth of material.
If you search for half an hour, you can find 1gp’s worth of material.
If you search for ten minutes, you can find 5sp’s worth of material.
This time may vary depending on the situation you are in. These numbers are also up to the discretion of the DM, who may limit the amount of material you can find depending on where you are. Your DM may also create alternate rules.
If you do not wish to scavenge, you may also purchase these materials from an artisan of sorts, including a blacksmith, or from a general goods store.
You may also visit a blacksmith who will be able to repair you for a fee.
You may repair yourself during a short rest or a long rest. However, the time it takes for you to repair yourself is at the DM’s discretion, so how many hit points you may gain depends on the DM’s choice.
Healing potions/spells work, but only for half the amount it would normally.