So, I was working on a PC (A Ghost automaton summoner for Blood Lords who is essentially a ghost in their own shell, if you're curious) and it got me thinking: we have a pretty good idea of the general look of a Jistkan automaton; the sleek, ancient high tech look, and I love it. It did get me thinking, though...
How do you imagine automatons look in the current day? I don't mean the recently awakened ones, but those who have been around a bit. Is it POSSIBLE for them to adjust or even completely restructure their bodies? Could one, in theory, craft something akin to Brigh's form, or perhaps use Gebbite undead grafts to give them a semblance of external humanity?
Is there any canon examples of automatons who have done anything of this sort? I feel like, with many of the newer ancestries (at least in terms of visuals) we have such a limited pallet to draw inspiration from. I'd love to hear how other people have been playing or imagining their ancient friends.
You could probably handle augmentations with the Sterling Dynamo archetype and/or Deviant Abilities with a little tweaking of the descriptions.
Giving the automaton PC free archetype feats in multiclass Inventor Dedication feats and taking Integrated Armament can add other options, as well.
I see no reason why you couldn't have a mask-face the way Brigh does, and it's not like there's a shortage of mask-wearing cultures in Garund for the Automatons to be inspired by. Clothing yourself in undead flesh... I don't expect that option's too popular.
Much like the Warforged before them (a 3.5 Eberron construct people with a pretty limited canon palette, at least originally), people will always take what's written and go absolutely wild with it. These characters are individuals, and as such could decorate themselves however they please... but I think we've seen all of one Automaton NPC in print so far.
You could probably handle augmentations with the Sterling Dynamo archetype and/or Deviant Abilities with a little tweaking of the descriptions.
Giving the automaton PC free archetype feats in multiclass Inventor Dedication feats and taking Integrated Armament can add other options, as well.
Mechanically is one thing; I was mostly interested in things like lore and setting canon but I DO like the idea of Sterling Dynamo. Mechanical Prosthesis for a machine seems very meta.
When it comes to the mask and such, a lot of it has to do with the fact that the structure of the head piece would need to be... adjusted. The entire body structure of automatons, while humanoid, are not exactly 1 for 1 in proportion, so serious adjustments would need to be made. I do wonder if that's even possible, given that the makers of their tech have been gone for... a LONG time. Do automatons know how to make more of their kind?