Gearforged

Life, unfortunately, is not equal. Those who designed the first Gearforged were well aware of this fact, and sought to provide a remedy to those who could afford it. Those on the verge of death, the most desperate of the physically infirm, those most adventurous and brave, some plainly unwilling to leave the world behind, and many similar people form the core of those people who commission a Gearforged shell to house their soul for the rest of eternity. Once a Gearforged’s shell is completed, a special ritual is performed that severs the soul from the person who commissioned the project, placing it inside of a gem that is further housed inside the construct. With the completion of this ritual, the Gearforged awakens in their new body, freed from whatever physical ailments that once blighted them and granted everlasting life.

**Physical Description**: Without exception, the gearforged are shaped as humanoids, and the vast majority of those are one of two styles: roughly human-sized, with articulated joints, hands, feet, and magical eyes; or a rather stouter version made by the dwarves. Minotaur gearforged are rare but not entirely unknown. A very few gearforged are built to even smaller sizes, believed to be intended for kobold souls, but these are subject to frequent failure and even the extinction of the souls they carry. The core fact of all gearforged is that they were once something else, and now they are somewhat standardized with cylinders, springs, and articulated joints of varying quality. Each is made as distinctive in appearance as any other people are distinctive in their hair and eyes, but the basic framework is always humanoid. This is what separates them from other constructs, which are merely servants responsive to orders and capable of little more than a limited amount of memorization. Gearforged are thinking, free-willed creatures. Their mechanisms are more than mechanical, of course, because all gearforged are machines with souls. Their arms and legs depend on actuators powered by magical springs. Their minds depend on memory gears, transverse cognition gearing, and the marvel of a soul gem connected directly to a maze of silver and mithral, steam, spark, and magical conduits. These elements are all held in a shell of iron, brass, and steel, and the bulk of the things is quite remarkable: A large and heavily armored gearforged can weigh 400 pounds.

**Society**: Gearforged do not have their own society. Their vastly increased lifespans and cold exteriors have alienated them from other societies, and as such they attempt to insinuate themselves as best they can.

**Relations**: Gearforged are viewed with suspicion and sometimes fear by most races due to their nature as towering half-constructs. Gearforged are usually at least respected in their home regions due to their vast stores of knowledge accrued over a long lifetime. Most Gearforged attempt to keep good relations with Dwarves and Kobolds due to their reliance on regular maintenance checks.

**Alignment and Religion**: Gearforged have no typical alignment or religion, instead paying homage to deities worshiped by their base race.

**Adventurers**: Some Gearforged take the chance in their revitalized and hardy forms to go exploring for the first times in their lives. Others eventually turn to adventuring out of boredom as their life extends far past the norm for their race. Still others are constant wanderers, trying to find a place they can properly call home.

**Names**: Gearforged names follow the standards of their base race, or can be entirely new.

### Table: Random Height and Weight

**Ability Score Modifiers** (2 RP): Gearforged select any one ability score to receive a +2 bonus to reflect their varied heritages.

**Size**: Gearforged are Medium creatures and thus receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.

**Type** (7 RP): Gearforged are humanoids with the Half-Construct subtype.

**Base Speed** (-1 RP): Gearforged have a base land speed of 20 feet. However, their speed is never modified by armor or encumbrance.

**Languages** (1 RP): Gearforged begin play speaking Common and their base race’s language, if any. A gearforged with a high intelligence score can choose from the following: Dwarven and Draconic, as well as the bonus languages available to their base race.

### Deus Ex Machina

Gearforged are a combination of both life and cold mechanics, and as such have the following features.

* Gearforged have no need to eat, breathe, drink, sleep, nor do they age. However, they must spend at least six consecutive hours each day maintaining their bodies through a process of rewinding springs, cleaning and oiling inner mechanisms, and replacing damaged or broken gears. During this period, the Gearforged is fully aware of their surroundings, but any interruption in this process forces the Gearforged to restart from the beginning. A Gearforged can neglect this process for a number of days equal to their character level, taking a cumulative -2 to all attack and damage rolls, saving throws, and skill checks. Once a Gearforged has failed to perform maintenance for days equal to their character level, they are immobilized and considered helpless until another creature performs the maintenance for them. This initial maintenance removes the last -2 penalty applied, but maintenance equivalent to all neglected days must be further spent to remove all penalties.
* Gearforged are affected by both positive and negative energy as normal for a living creature.
* Though they have lost their mortal form, the unique, magical, half-construct nature of their bodies mimics the function of an organic form. As such, they have no immunity to diseases or poisons.
* Craft (Clockwork) or Knowledge (Engineering) may be used in place of Heal checks when relevant to a Gearforged.
* Gearforged, though lacking the need to drink or eat, are able to gain beneficial effects from what they consume, such as drinking potions.

**Man and Machine**: Gearforged count as both humanoids and constructs for any effect related to race.

### **Soul Gem**:

In the center of all Gearforged resides the Soul Gem housing the soul of the base creature within the Gearforged. A Soul Gem being destroyed effectively kills a Gearforged, though the spirit may be resurrected as a member of its base race with the appropriate magic (Losing all Gearforged racial traits, functioning as if resurrected via Reincarnate).

* If a Gearforged’s shell is destroyed (HP reaches their Constitution score in negative numbers), the Soul Gem is left intact. A shell can be restored through any resurrection magic, such as Breath of Life or Raise Dead. Alternatively, a Soul Gem may be installed in a new shell (Costing 4,000 GP +1,000 GP/HD of the soul housed inside the Gem) with a DC 25 Craft (Clockwork) check, +1/HD of the soul, and 8 hours of work. A new shell’s racial traits are determined by its constructor.
* Removing a Soul Gem is not possible unless the Gearforged is immobilized and helpless, or otherwise allows it of their own choice. This process requires a DC 25 Craft (Clockwork) check as well as 8 continuous hours of work to remove the gem without damaging the delicate inner workings of the shell along with the gem.
* There is no check required to remove a Soul Gem from a destroyed shell, though it still requires 5 hours to dig through the mass of gears, infinisprings, and inner shielding.
* Soul Gems have a Hardness of 5 and an HP of 25 +5/HD of the soul.

### Defense Racial Traits

* Half-Construct Resistance: Gearforged have a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against diseases, poisons, and effects that would cause fatigue or exhaustion.
* Gearforged Immunities (~6 RP): Gearforged are immune to sleep effects and paralysis.
* Corrosion Vulnerability (-2 RP): Gearforged are vulnerable to Acid damage due to their over-reliance on machinery to continue to function.

### Feat and Skill Racial Traits

* Skilled (2 RP): Gearforged receive a +1 Racial bonus on Craft (Clockwork) and Knowledge (Engineering) checks; Gearforged are familiar with their own inner workings, as well as most feats of engineering.

### Senses Racial Traits

* Darkvision (2 RP): Gearforged are able to see 60 ft. in darkness.

## Alternative Racial Traits

### Advanced Motor:

This Gearforged shell was crafted with a specialized motor allowing it to move faster, albeit at the cost of some of its redundant inner workings. Gearforged with this racial trait move at 30 feet, though they can now be slowed by armor or encumbrance.

This trait replaces Half-Construct Resistance.

### Rust-Proof Armor:

This Gearforged shell has built-in, magically replenished stores of an anti-corrosive alchemical substance. Gearforged with this trait are not vulnerable to Acid damage, as their form constantly exudes this oil when such a crisis occurs. However, the necessary components for this have made the shell more conductive despite the protective layers of insulation inside. The Gearforged is now vulnerable to paralysis.

This trait replaces Corrosion vulnerability and alters Gearforged Immunities, removing Paralysis Immunity.

## Race Traits

**Hidden Compartment (Racial) ===**
**Prerequisite**(s): Gearforged

Somewhere on your body is a hidden compartment that only you know how to access.

**Benefit**(s): You can hide an object no bigger than a dagger or wand and gain a +4 circumstance bonus on your Sleight of Hand checks when you draw it from the compartment.

### Clockwork Minded (Racial)

**Prerequisite**(s): Gearforged

Your rebirth has gifted you with an even deeper appreciation and knowledge of your inner workings.

**Benefit**(s): You gain a +2 trait bonus to Diplomacy checks relating to any Constructs, as well as a +1 Trait bonus to Craft (Clockwork).

## Race Feats

### Constructs’ Bane

**Prerequisite**(s): Gearforged

Your unique situation has given you key insight to the weaknesses of other constructs.

**Benefit**(s): You gain a +2 bonus on Knowledge (Arcana) checks related to constructs, and treat Knowledge (Arcana) as a class skill. You gain a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls when made against constructs.

**Special**: These bonuses stack with the Favored Enemy class feature.

### Gorgeous Gearforged

**Prerequisite**(s): Gearforged

You’ve invested quite heavily into your appearance, and it shows.

**Benefit**(s): You gain a +2 bonus to all Diplomacy and Bluff checks, and must invest 2,500 GP into upgrading your appearance as part of this feat. Your form changes aesthetically to reflect your new, impressive appearance.

### Self-Mechanic

**Prerequisite**(s): Gearforged

You’ve made it a point to become self-sufficient.

**Benefit**(s): You gain temporary hit points equal to your HD that last for 24 hours or until your next maintenance period following each successful maintenance period. You no longer need to perform your maintenance over six consecutive hours, though you must still devote a total of six hours each day to this task nonetheless. These temporary hit points do not stack with other sources of temporary hit points.