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Okay so me and some guys started working on a robot race (like a proper robot race) and would like some help/feedback. The idea is that the Coppelion are between Mannequins and Androids (Gen 2's to Mannequin's Gen 1 and Android's Gen 3). What we have so far:
+2 Str, +2 Dex, -4 Cha
Medium size
Normal speed (30ft)
Construct (Robot Subtype)
-1 to Diplomacy, Bluff, and Intimidate
+2 Reflex (multi-directional swivel joints. Think Orianna from League of Legends)
Toughness as a bonus feat
Construct
--Constructs have no Constitution score. Any DCs or other statistics that rely on a Constitution score treat a construct as having a score of 10 (no bonus or penalty).
--Constructs have the low-light vision racial trait.
--Constructs have the darkvision 60 feet racial trait.
--Constructs are immune to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms).
--Constructs cannot heal damage on their own, but 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 still benefits from that quality.
--Constructs are not subject to ability damage, ability drain, fatigue, exhaustion, energy drain, or nonlethal damage.
--Constructs are immune to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects or is harmless).
--Constructs do not risk death due to massive damage, but they are immediately destroyed when reduced to 0 hit points or fewer.
--Constructs cannot be raised or resurrected.
--Constructs are hard to destroy, and gain bonus hit points based on their size (in this case 20)
--Constructs do not breathe, eat, or sleep, unless they want to gain some beneficial effect from one of these activities. This means that 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.
Robot Subtype
--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 a successful saving throw, it is staggered for 1 round. The robot remains immune to other sources of the stunned condition.
--Vulnerable to Electricity: Robots take 150% as much damage as normal from electricity attacks, unless they are immune to electricity via other special defenses.
An idea we were kicking around was they would have a Force Field to offset how tough it is to keep them healed. Personally I favor the idea of the Construct Bonus HP (the 20HP) being relegated to the Force Field HP and the "Core" HP being a combination of Class HD, Toughness, and any Favored Class bonus HP. Would provide a buffer for players at low levels up until the players get access to Make Whole. Also kicking around the idea of significantly lowered difficulty for implanting cybertech and allowing them to self-implant.
Anyway, thoughts?
Is this designed to be a player race or an NPC race?
The problem with constructs as a player race is that they get an insane amount of immunities whereas a standard player race should only have abilities appropriate for a 1st level character. They have some drawbacks, but not enough to offset the massive benefits being a construct has. The result is that a construct will always result in a high powered race. The android was an attempt to create a balanced construct-like PC race (though they kind of screwed that up by giving them the powerful nanite surge ability).
On top of it, you give this race a great bonus to Reflex and Toughness to add to all of their defensive abilities.
Yes, your race has some weaknesses, but they're situational and won't come up until certain levels of play while the benefits will always stay relevant and be useful at all levels of play. Even the healing issue can become trivial with the infernal healing spell and the right party.
That's a bit of an awkward issue because technically creatures without souls shouldn't be able to have feats, skills, or gain class levels.
Disregarding that fluff, I recommend making the race a humanoid or monstrous humanoid with the android's Constructed trait. Alternatively, make them a construct, but remove some of the stupidly powerful aspects of being a construct (like total immunity to effects that grant Fortitude saves and mind-affecting effects) with some kind of justification why they're affected normally (maybe magic in your world works on robots?)
That's a bit of an awkward issue because technically creatures without souls shouldn't be able to have feats, skills, or gain class levels.
Pathfinder's kinda iffy on who exactly has souls. But they're certainly not needed for feats, skills, or class levels. Anything that can learn can pick those up. The numerous intelligent (and allegedly soulless) robots and AIs of Numeria can attest to that.
That's a bit of an awkward issue because technically creatures without souls shouldn't be able to have feats, skills, or gain class levels.Pathfinder's kinda iffy on who exactly has souls. But they're certainly not needed for feats, skills, or class levels. Anything that can learn can pick those up. The numerous intelligent (and allegedly soulless) robots and AIs of Numeria can attest to that.
Hey, you're quite right about that.
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I wanted to make a middle ground construct player race that was between an animated object and human, and without being a straight up cut down the middle hybrid.
So I came up with the following:
Zoetic Construct Subtype
The zoetic constructs are an unique race of sentient robots, powered by a core cell designed to encase and stabilise a minuscule portal to the positive energy plane. From this "heart", cables carrying energy laden fluid power the various metal rods, servos and gears that make up their body, and the ever changing crystalline semi-liquid cortex that contains their sentience.
This unique construction grants the zoetic construct much more flexibility in growth, and is likely the ultimate reason for their sentience. However, it does open them to some of the same weaknesses.
Positive Energy Core: Zoetic constructs have a Constitution score and are receptive to curative magic, but the shielding that keeps their core stable prevents easy application. They have resistance 5 against positive energy, including curative magic. Zoetic constructs count as both humanoids and as constructs for purposes of spells and effects, such as the spells make whole and rusting grasp.
Zoetic constructs do not heal normally with rest, and cannot have damage restored with the heal skill. Instead they can be repaired using the knowledge (engineering) skill to perform first aid, long-term care and treat deadly wounds.
Inorganic Construction: Zoetic constructs are immune to disease, poison, sleep, exhaustion and fatigue effects.
Eternals do not breathe, eat, or sleep, unless they want to gain some beneficial effect from one of these activities. This means that an eternal can drink potions to benefit from their effects and can sleep in order to regain spells, but neither of these activities is required for the construct to survive or stay in good health.
Digital Mind Zoetic constructs do not have a normal mind, and have a +2 bonus against mind affecting spells and effects. However, it also means they cannot be raised or resurrected normally. Instead, they must be repaired back to full health and then have a heal spell cast directly into their power core. This will reactivate the zoetic construct, but it will have lost all it's memories, becoming a new character. This can be averted by casting wish to restore the power core instead.
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This gives some nice perks, and keeps the flavour of a construct, but makes it far more playable as a PC race. Constitution score and bleeding, etc, are part of the positive energy core.
Slapping on the critical hits and electricity vulnerability for being robotic would be simple enough, and would offset some of the immunities a bit more (critical hits are a common enough thing).
My own creation had +2 Str, +2 Int, and -2 Cha. Strong from construction, smart from a highly logical brain, but then lacking cultural grounding to understand and influence people.
The above is weak enough (especially with robotic drawbacks) such that you could even add a few skills or abilities into the race and it would still function pretty well with most of the other races. At worst, an advanced race.