Animated armor

Medium armor

## Physical description

Animated armors, sometimes called "anarmors," are full sets of armor which can move, speak, and live on their own. They have no physical presence inside of them, but function just like a person in a full suit of armor. They can be molded or cast to fit a certain race, being anything from small enough to comfortably fit a gnome to large enough to completely cover an orc. Their weight and size, as well as their design and material, are up to their creator. While metal is most often used, anarmors composed entirely of stone or animal skins are not impossible. Magic is usually used to bring the armor to life and keep it from falling apart.

Though they may not have any sensory organs whatsoever, magic ensures that they can perceive what is around them. They can see, hear, smell, touch, and taste just as well as a human can. They can speak as well, magic guiding their artificial consciousness. Their armor acts as their skin, and any damage inflicted upon their plating is taken as damage to what would be their physical form. Should they sustain enough damage, the spell holding their parts together will dissipate, leaving them to fall apart completely.

Amazingly, healing potions and spells can bring them back together, even if it's only one piece at a time. At low health, animated armors often find that whole limbs will disconnect from their bodies. Fortunately, the gaps between plating have no physical presence; if a certain anarmor is designed with a horizontal gap separating its torso from its waist, slashing through it without touching the plating will cause no damage whatsoever. Only striking the armor will cause physical harm to an animated armor.

To hide the fact that they are living suits of armor as opposed to a warrior wearing a suit of armor, anarmors will use cloaks, scarves, or bandages to cover the gaps between their plating. Some are fortunate enough to have been created with arcane lights that are fixed in the space inside their helmets. These projections are meant to resemble eyes, and shift and move according to what expression the anarmor is making. Though they serve no function other than making it look like they have eyes, these lights are often enough to keep the average joe from getting too suspicious.

Animated armors weigh the same as the armor that they are, and are as tall as the race the armor was made for.

## Society

Few and far in-between, animated armors have no strict society. Anarmors usually fall dormant at the post given to them by their creator, waiting for something to bring them back into consciousness. If their creator happens to die before or after they enter this state, their purpose will no longer be explicitly defined. When they regain consciousness, most anarmors stick to their prior orders, carrying out their tasks without complaint. But some, rather than do a task that is now impossible, pointless, or both, defy their creator's magical programming and seek out a new purpose. Others forget their purpose altogether, wandering around aimlessly until someone decides to claim them. Many times, an adventurer will stumble upon a long-forgotten animated armor and convince it to join them on their travels. Others are reactivated only to find that the thing they were meant to protect has been destroyed somehow, and seek vengeance. In this way, anarmors can be anything from loyal companions and protectors to destructive avengers and mercenaries.

### Names

Animated armors are usually given a name appropriate for the species that created them; but oftentimes they will forget their assigned names after many years. Most anarmors in this situation will name themselves after an object or ideal that is important to them.

## History

Animated armors are extremely rare, so much so that they are not even considered as an independent species. Many are often created as nothing more than servants, golems, or caretakers for powerful spellcasters and rulers. The anarmor can be kept in this service for many hundreds of years, possibly indefinitely; but sometimes anarmors are left to rot or otherwise escape their masters, and over time develop independence.

The stronger the spell, the longer the armor lasts. A typical anarmor can lie dormant for 700 years before losing its magic. The maximum life span of an animated armor is unknown, as a powerful enough spell could potentially keep one alive forever, but none have been known to keep their magic for more than 1,500 years.

Unlike other creatures blessed with long life, anarmors don't actively pursue goals outside of what they were created to do; if a particular animated armor was created to protect a castle, it will stay in the castle, silently waiting for an intruder. That said, they can leave their posts or occupations if they wish, but most are not given a good enough reason to, remaining dormant until someone finds them. Unless they are doing their job constantly, they will become as still as a statue, waking only when a certain stimulus triggers a response.

When they do awake, animated armors often find that they are in a world far different than the one they know. To them, time has passed by without them, leaving them lost in a strange and mysterious future. A time gap as small as fifty years can be enough to confuse an anarmor, but if they are intelligent enough, they will catch on to present-time customs fairly quickly, Still, some refuse to change their ways, speaking in forgotten tongues or using overly-wordy and poetic speech.

## Traits

### Standard racial traits

* **Ability Score Racial Traits:** Animated armors are physically resilient, but often mentally absent or withdrawn. They receive a +2 to Constitution and a -2 to Wisdom. They also gain another bonus depending on what time of armor they are (see below).

* **Size:** Size is dependent upon the species the armor was made for.

* **Speed:** 30 feet.

* **Type:** Construct. An anarmor does not gain the usual penalties and bonuses of this creature type, and instead gains the racial traits listed below.

* **Languages:** Animated armors begin play speaking the language of their creator. Animated armors with high intelligence scores may choose from any language. See the languages page for more information.

### Other racial traits

* **Change of Body:** An animated armor can switch its consciousness to a new armor by undergoing a ritual that takes 12 hours. The animated armor must have the armor that it is switching into. Spellcasters can force this change with a DC 25 Spellcraft check, but the anarmor must be restrained and unconscious for the 12 hour duration.

* **Constructed:** For the purposes of effects targeting creatures by type (such as a ranger’s favored enemy and bane weapons), animated armors count as both humanoids and constructs. Anarmors gain a +4 racial bonus on all saving throws against mind-affecting effects, paralysis, poison, and stun effects, are not subject to fatigue or exhaustion, and are immune to disease and sleep effects. Anarmors can never gain morale bonuses, and are immune to fear effects and all emotion-based effects. (This is the android racial trait of the same name.)

* **False Appearance:** When not moving, an anarmor is superficially indistinguishable from a normal set of armor.

* **Restitution:** Animated armors do not need to breathe, eat, or drink; any food consumed falls harmlessly to the bottom of the armor. Instead of sleeping, anarmors enter a dormant period that lasts eight hours. During this time, the anarmor can still “see” and is aware of what is going on around them.
* **Subrace:** An animated armor must pick a racial subtype (see below).

## Racial subtypes

An animated armor gains all of the penalties and bonuses of whatever armor it is, including ACP, max dex, spell fail, movement speed, and proficiency. In effect, the character is treated exactly as if it is “wearing” the armor, except it actually is the armor. Armors made of particular materials, such as mithral, affect the statistics as normal, but cannot change subrace. For example, a heavy mithral armor is still considered heavy when determining the anarmor’s subrace.  Additionally, the anarmor gains penalties and bonuses based on what kind of armor it takes the form of. The animated armor loses all of these benefits when switching bodies, and gains the benefits associated with the new armor it becomes.

### Light

* **Ability Scores:** Light anarmors are flexible, and gain a +2 to Dexterity.
* **Spongey:** If fully immersed in water, the anarmor’s movement speed is halved.

### Medium

* **Ability Scores:** Medium anarmors are even more durable, and gain an additional +2 to Constitution.
* **Average:** A medium armor gains no extra benefits or penalties.

### Heavy

* **Ability Scores:** Heavy anarmors are strong, and gain a +2 to Strength.
* **Heavy Metal:** Heavy armors take a -4 to all Stealth and Swim checks.
* **Like a Stone:** A heavy armor cannot swim, but can sink to the bottom of a body of water. From there, a heavy armor can walk around freely.