So for a while now I've really wanted to make a decent enough player race out of the robot mannequin in the Numeria book and while I have a rough idea of how it might work, I don't know anything about game balance and was hoping to get some ideas from other people. Sorry if this is the wrong place for this. Here goes:
Robot Mannequin:
Ability Scores: +2 Strength and Dexterity, -4 Charisma.
Size: Medium.
Base Speed: 30 ft.
Language: Common, Androffan (Any non-secret, with high intelligence)
Feats and Skills:
False Flesh: The synthetic flesh and hair of a mannequin robot give it a +8 bonus on Disguise checks to appear human (but not to impersonate a specific human). Closely inspecting a mannequin or touching its cold, synthetic skin automatically reveals its non-human nature.
Variants: Mannequins can take one of the 'variant' racial feats detailed below at first level, and only at first level, representing the different models of robot mannequin.
Senses:
Darkvision 60ft, Low Light Vision
Defense:
Immune: Construct Traits
Resist: Fire 5, Electricity 5
Natural Armor: +2
Weaknesses: Vulnerable to critical hits (Whenever a robot takes extra damage from a critical hit, it must make a DC 15 Fortitude save to avoid being stunned for 1 round. If it makes the saving throw, it is instead staggered for 1 round.), Vulnerable to electricity (Robots take 150% as much damage as normal from electricity attacks, unless they are immune to electricity via other special defenses.)
Offense:
Melee: Two slam attacks (1d4)
Variants:
Athletic: Designed to compete in robotic sporting events, an athlete model has a +5 racial bonus on Acrobatics checks and base movement speed.
Pleasure: Designed for entertainment and leisure purposes, a pleasure model has Skill Focus (Perform [any]) and can scan the minds of creatures within 30 feet (as detect thoughts) once per day.
Rescue: Designed for rescue and retrieval operations in conditions too dangerous for unprotected humans, a rescue model's resistance to electricity and fire improves to 10.
Security Designed for assisting human security forces in dangerous situations, a security model has +1 natural armor, and replaces their resistances to fire and electricity with hardness 5.
Target: Designed as an active target for weapons practice, a target model has a 10-foot increase to speed and replaces their resistances to fire and electricity with hardness 5. Reducing a target model below half its maximum hit points causes it to shut down for 10 minutes.
Like I said I know next to nothing about game balance and I didn't really follow any particular set of rules for converting it from a monster to a PC race, so any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Mannequin Robot (29 RP)
This impassive humanoid has shiny, pale skin and an eerily expressionless face.
Robot, Mannequin Racial Traits
+2 Strength, +2 Dexterity: Mannequin robots are strong, nimble and bestowed with newfound awareness. Mannequin robots have no Constitution score. Any DC’s or other effects that rely on a Constitution score are treated as having of Constitution score of 10 (no bonus or penalty).
Medium: Mannequin robots are Medium and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Normal Speed: Mannequin robots have a base speed of 30 feet.
Darkvision: Mannequin robots can see in the dark up to 60 feet.
Low-Light Vision: Mannequin robots can see twice as far in conditions of dim light.
Construct: Mannequin robots are constructs with the robot subtype and have the following features:
• Cannot heal damage on their own, can often be repaired via exposure to a certain kind of effect (depending on the construct’s racial abilities) or through the use of the Craft Construct feat. Constructs can also be healed through spells such as make whole. A construct with the fast healing special quality will benefit from that quality such as rapid repair.
• Are not subject to ability damage, ability drain, fatigue, exhaustion, energy drain, or nonlethal damage.
• Immune to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects or is harmless).
• Do not risk death due to massive damage, but constructs are immediately destroyed when reduced to 0 hit points or fewer.
• Cannot be raised or resurrected.
• Hard to destroy, mannequin gain 20 bonus hit points.
• Have Intelligence scores of 10 and cannot be lowered upon character creation. The following are class skills for robots: Climb, Disable Device, Fly, Knowledge (all), Linguistics, Perception, and Sense Motive.
• Do not need to breathe, eat or sleep, unless they want to gain some beneficial effect from one of these activities. They still require daily routine maintenance lasting for a period of 4 hours. A construct can drink potions to benefit from their effects and can sleep in order to regain spells, but neither of these activities is required to survive or stay in good health.
Artificial Intelligence: Unlike ordinary constructs and robots and due to their higher cognitive functions, they are affected by all mind-affecting effects normally, unlike standard creatures of the construct type.
False Flesh: The synthetic flesh and hair of a mannequin robot give it a +8 racial bonus on Disguise checks to appear human (but not to impersonate a specific human). Closely inspecting a mannequin or touching its cold, synthetic skin automatically reveals its non-human nature.
Hardness: Mannequin robots have metallic endoskeletons, gaining DR 2/adamantine. The DR increases by 1/adamantine for every three character levels beyond first (maximum of 5/adamantine at 10th level).
Natural Attack: Mannequin robots receive slam as a primary natural attack dealing 1d4 damage.
Scanner: Mannequin robots gain Alertness as a bonus feat at 1st level.
Languages: Mannequin robots begin play speaking Common and Hallit. Robots with high Intelligence can choose any of the following languages: Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, and Gnome.
Robot, Mannequin Alternate Traits
Incompatible A.I.: You are not a compatible host for artificial intelligence. You are immune to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms). As such, your ability scores are as follows; +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, -4 Charisma: Mannequin are strong and nimble, but viewed with heightened distress and distrust. This trait replaces Artificial Intelligence.
Mental Partition: Some mannequin robots have an advanced A.I. and are able to better resist mental intrusions. Mannequin robots receive a +4 bonus to mind-affecting effects. This trait replaces Hardness.
Robot, Mannequin Variants
Athlete: Designed to compete in robotic sporting events, an athlete model has Fleet in place of Alertness, and a +5 racial bonus on Acrobatics checks.
Recreation: Designed for entertainment and leisure purposes, a pleasure model has Skill Focus (Perform [any]) in place of Alertness, and can scan the minds of creatures within 60 feet (as detect thoughts). Recreation models can can roll twice when making a Bluff or Diplomacy check and take the better roll.
Rescue: Designed for rescue and retrieval operations in conditions too dangerous for unprotected humans, gaining resistance 5 to electricity and fire. Rescue models have a climb speed of 20 feet, and gain the +8 racial bonus on Climb checks that it normally grants.
Security: Designed for assisting human security forces in dangerous situations, a security model has Improved Initiative in place of Alertness, a +2 natural armor bonus, and proficiency with firearms.
Target: Designed as an active target for weapons practice, a target model has a 10-foot increase to speed, and Dodge in place of Alertness. Target models have crystalline or reflective skin that grants a +2 racial bonus to AC against rays. Once per day, they can deflect a single ray attack targeted at them as if they were using the Deflect Arrows feat.
Mannequin Robot
Racial Traits RP Cost
Type
Construct 20
Type
Robot Subtype 4
Size
Medium 0
Base Speed
Normal 0
Ability Score Modifiers
Flexible (+2 Str, +2 Dex) 2
Languages
Standard 0
Defense
Hardness 3
Feat
Static Bonus Feat 2
Offense
Natural Attack 1
Senses
Darkvision -
Senses
Low-Light Vision -
Skill
False Flesh 3
Weakness
Artificial Intelligence -6
Weakness
Critical Hit Vulnerability -
Weakness
Elemental Vulnerability -
Total 29
Alternate
Incompatible A.I. -3
Alternate
Mental Partition 4
Variant
Athlete 5
Variant
Recreation 5
Variant
Rescue 4
Variant
Security 4
Variant
Target 3
Robot Subtype (4 RP)
• Intelligent (8): Robots are intelligent, and thus have skills and feats as appropriate for their Hit Dice. Unless otherwise indicated for a specific robot, all robots have Intelligence scores of 10. The following are class skills for robots: Climb, Disable Device, Fly, Knowledge (all), Linguistics, Perception, and Sense Motive.
• Vulnerable to Critical Hits (-2): Whenever a robot takes extra damage from a critical hit, it must make a DC 15 Fortitude save to avoid being stunned for 1 round. If it makes a successful saving throw, it is staggered for 1 round. The robot remains immune to other sources of the stunned condition.
• Vulnerable to Electricity (-2): Robots take 150% as much damage as normal from electricity attacks , unless they are immune to electricity via other special defenses.
• Difficult to Create (0): Robots are crafted via complex methods hidden and well guarded in Numerian ruins or other technological bastions. While the Technic League has developed magical solutions to some of these requirements, actual details on creating robots are not available.
Should you have concern about whether to allow monstrous races into your game, consider the following character creation guideline alternatives:
• Standard Races 20 Point Buy, Advanced Races 15 Point Buy, and Monstrous Races 10 Point Buy.
• Standard/Advanced Races 15 Point Buy and Monstrous Races 10 Point Buy.
• Use the challenging races chart found in the ARG to find a more appropriate APL based upon the average RP spent for the party.
Monstrous Races as Cohorts
(assuming 10 Point Buy character creation guideline for +20 RP race)
Monstrous NPC's:
The ability scores for an NPC monstrous race (+20 RP) are: 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9.
In regards to your Security variant, the following is an example of the Gearsmen that I created.
Hardness (6 RP): Gearsmen gain Hardness 4. The Hardness increase by 2 for every three character levels beyond first (maximum Hardness of 10 at 10th level). This trait replaces Charge Weapon.
There are some options to your initial build, whether you want to scale the power or have the full 5 for hardness.
An example of scaling the power for +3 RP.
Mannequin robots have metallic endoskeletons, gaining Hardness 2. The hardness increases by 1 for every three character levels beyond first (maximum Hardness of 5 at 10th level).
Your version looks like a LOT more fun and balanced, nice!
My only questions are are the variants still feats in the method you used, or do they work like alternate race traits? And on a much more minor note, why hallit instead of androffan? I'd have them know common and androffan (the language spoken by their creators) off the bat, then with high intelligence they can learn whatever else is common in Numeria (orc and hallit come to mind but I can't remember what the others were).
My only questions are are the variants still feats in the method you used, or do they work like alternate race traits?
The variants are racial subtypes and work like alternate racial traits, normally they combine to preexisting traits, adding to the RP total.
The Rescue variant is an example where traits are added, not replaced. 33 RP total.
The Athlete variant is an example where a trait is replaced, yet another is added in. 34 RP total.
And on a much more minor note, why hallit instead of androffan? I'd have them know common and androffan (the language spoken by their creators) off the bat, then with high intelligence they can learn whatever else is common in Numeria (orc and hallit come to mind but I can't remember what the others were).
It should probably be written as Mannequin robots begin play speaking Common and Androffan or Hallit.
Your version looks like a LOT more fun and balanced, nice!
Happy to help. For all your race needs Youtube GM Facepalm operating under no monetary value.