Autoplate Pilot, Variant (3.5e Class)

Autoplate Pilot
"All systems active. ENGAGE!"

Autoplate pilots are frontline melee combatants whose prowess is supplemented by the fantastic abilities of their eponymous suits of armor. Driven (by ambition, by pride, by honor, even by love) to exceed the known limits of enchantment, transmutation, and artifice in the field of martial technology, every pilot has managed to design and construct an autoplate, a magical device superficially similar to armor but combining powerful abilities of protection, destruction, and utility within a compact mechanical frame.

Making an Autoplate Pilot
Autoplate pilots are generally dedicated melee combatants, but they fight with discipline and keen intellectual awareness of the rigors of combat.

Abilities: Autoplate pilots are powerful melee warriors, and as such benefit from high Strength and Constitution. Intelligence is the controlling attribute for most of the autoplate pilot's class features and several important skills, and in some cases may replace Strength as dominant ability score. Dexterity is largely replaced by the many benefits of the autoplate, and Charisma and Wisdom also tend to fall to the wayside of a focused pilot's advancement.

Races: Humans and gnomes are the most common autoplate pilots, possessing naturally the arcanomechanical skill, ambition, and love of creation necessary for the construction of autoplate, as well as the adventurous predisposition that drives a pilot to martial excellence. Unconventional dwarves may also complete and implement autoplate designs. Elves, while magically talented, rarely develop the advanced craftsmanship required in the creation of autoplate. Other races generally lack some combination of the martial, technical, and magical aptitudes essential to an autoplate pilot's progression. Exceptional individuals, of course, are what all the greatest stories are made of.

Alignment: Any.

Starting Gold: 5d4&times;10 GP (125 GP).

Starting Age: As wizard.

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the autoplate pilot.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: An autoplate pilot is proficient with all simple weapons, light hammers, warhammers, gnome hooked hammers*, dwarven urgroshes*, and with light and medium armor and light and heavy shields.

Only if the weapon is a martial weapon for the character.

At first level, an autoplate pilot gains the ability to add half his class level as a competence bonus to Craft checks to repair items and to repair or craft armor. He may also cast mending, identify and magic weapon as at-will supernatural abilities with a range of touch and a casting time of 1 minute. His caster level for these abilities is his class level.

At seventh level, an autoplate pilot makes all Craft checks with the highest Craft skill he possesses as long as he has at least 1 rank in the original Craft skill required. He gains Craft Wondrous Item as a bonus feat even if he does not meet the prerequisities, and may cast make whole, dispel magic, shatter, and stone shape as at-will supernatural abilities with a range of touch and a casting time of 1 minute. His caster level for these abilities is his class level.

At thirteenth level, an autoplate pilot gains Craft Magic Arms and Armor and Craft Construct as bonus feats even if he does not meet the prerequisities. He may cast greater magic weapon, fabricate, and greater dispel magic as at-will supernatural abilities with a range of touch and a casting time of 1 minute or the original casting time, whichever is greater. His caster level for these abilities is his class level.

Each autoplate is a unique suit of masterwork light armor with an AC bonus of +5, a maximum Dexterity bonus of +8, hardness equal to 20 + your Intelligence modifier, hitpoints equal to 10 per class level, and no armor check penalty. When donned by an autoplate pilot, it becomes a +1 autoplate that has no maximum Dexterity bonus and does not encumber the wearer. The autoplate's enhancement bonus increases by 1 every fourth level after first, as shown on the chart.

Additionally, at first level, the autoplate pilot gains access to the suit's energy core and its pool of Energy, which is used to power his class abilities. An autoplate's maximum Energy is equal to the amount specified in Table 1-1: The Autoplate Pilot plus your Intelligence bonus, and regenerates an amount of Energy equal to half its maximum (rounded down; minimum 1) at the end of your turn. Energy and abilities that require access to an Energy pool are not accessible when not wearing autoplate.

If a pilot's autoplate is ever destroyed, he can rebuild it with material components costing 100gp per class level + 100gp per Expansion + 100gp per Upgrade; doing so takes 1 week + 1 day per Expansion + 1 day per Upgrade. He may make a DC 20 Craft (Armorsmithing) check to cut the time and cost in half, or a DC 30 check to reduce the time to 3 days and negate the cost, although failure at either check means he must use the full time and material expenditure to restore his armor. If it is ever deactivated or rendered nonmagical by a dispelling effect such as mage's disjunction, he may reactivate it with a DC 20 Knowledge (Arcana) check that takes 10 minutes to resolve.

Each Expansion provides a passive bonus as well as a secondary mode that requires Energy investment each round. Expansions, including their passive bonus, do not function when not wearing autoplate. It takes 4 hours and a DC 15 Craft check to apply an Expansion; once chosen, an Expansion may never be changed. The caster level of Expansion effects is equal to your class level unless otherwise noted.

When you commit Energy to an Expansion, you lose its passive benefits and gain the secondary mode's listed benefits until the start of your next turn. If you choose to commit the necessary Energy again, the effect is continuous and unbroken until a round occurs where you stop committing Energy to that Expansion. Some Expansions allow variable amounts of Energy to active their secondary modes; in this case, you may choose to dial the effects up or down as you choose round by round. As long as you commit the minimum Energy needed for the Expansion's secondary mode, any basic benefits (benefits unaffected by Energy investiture beyond the minimum) are continuous and unbroken. Committing Energy to an inactive secondary mode or changing Energy investment is a swift action (you can commit Energy and change Energy investment for all your Expansions with the same action), but choosing to maintain Energy committed in a previous round is a free action. Each Expansion may only be taken once unless otherwise stated.


 * Combat Algorithms: You may use either your Intelligence or Strength modifiers for melee attack and damage rolls and your Intelligence or Dexterity modifier for ranged attack rolls; for attacks using your Intelligence, you gain a +1 insight bonus to damage for every instance of the Assault Upgrade you possess.


 * Alternatively, by committing 1 Energy to this Expansion, you may add your Intelligence and your Dexterity modifier to ranged attack rolls.


 * Alternatively, by committing 2 Energy to this Expansion, you may add your Intelligence and your Strength modifiers to melee attack and damage rolls. This secondary mode cannot be used by an autoplate pilot of less then 5th level.


 * Entertainment Package: You gain the benefits of a constant prestidigitation spell and a +5 insight bonus to Perform and Sleight of Hand checks. You gain the ability to use mage hand and ghost sound as at-will spell-like abilities but your caster level for these effects is your class level or your Intelligence modifier, whichever is lower.


 * Alternatively, by committing 1 Energy to this Expansion, you gain the ability to use obscuring mist, silent image, and unseen servant as spell-like abilities usable once per encounter.


 * Alternatively, by committing 3 Energy to this Expansion, you gain the ability to use fog cloud, levitate, mirror image, or pyrotechnics as spell-like abilities usable once per counter. This secondary mode cannot be used by an autoplate pilot of less then 5th level.


 * Environmental Package: You gain the benefits of constant endure elements and water breathing spells and a +5 alchemical bonus to saves against poisons and diseases.


 * Alternatively, by committing 3 Energy to this Expansion, you gain the benefits of constant freedom of movement, endure elements and water breathing spells, immunity to poisons and diseases, and resist 15 acid, cold, electricity and fire. This secondary mode cannot be used by an autoplate pilot of less then 5th level.


 * Energistic Design Package: Your maximum Energy increases by 1, and you regenerate an extra Energy at the end of your turn. Choose a damage type from acid, cold, electricity, or fire. At your option, attacks made using Progressive Design weapons or spell-like abilities deal damage of that type instead of their normal damage. This passive benefit is not suppressed by activating the secondary modes of Energistic Design Package.


 * Alternatively, you may commit 3 Energy to this Expansion to give your autoweapon the effects of a corrosive/flaming/icy/shocking burst enchantment corresponding to your Energistic Design Package (or any one of those enchantments, if you also have the Scintillating Design Advancement feat). This secondary mode cannot be used by an autoplate pilot of less then 5th level.


 * Alternatively, you may commit 3 or more Energy to this Expansion to overcharge your autocannon ability. Doing so maximizes its damage, but your Energy does not regenerate for the next round. By committing 5 Energy the spell-like ability is also empowered, but your Energy does not regenerate for 1d4+1 rounds and you take damage equal to your maximum Energy. If you are in the Red Zone, any round where your Energy would not regenerate recovers half your energy instead. This secondary mode cannot be used by an autoplate pilot of less then 10th level.


 * Martial Enhancement Package: You add Stone Dragon to your list of disciplines known. You learn one stance from the Stone Dragon discipline and one maneuver from the Stone Dragon discipline. Your initiator level is equal to your class level for maneuvers granted by this Expansion. For every two levels in this class, you learn a new Stone Dragon maneuver. At levels 6, 12, and 18, you learn an additional Stone Dragon stance. You ready and recover maneuvers as a swordsage of your class level. This passive benefit is not suppressed by activating the secondary modes of Martial Enhancement Package.


 * Alternatively, by committing 5 Energy to this Expansion, you can recover any maneuver you know as a free action once per round. This secondary mode cannot be used by an autoplate pilot of less then 5th level.


 * Sensor Package: You gain low-light vision if you did not already possess it, the effects of a constant detect magic spell, and a +5 insight bonus to Spot and Listen checks.


 * Alternatively, by committing 1 or more Energy to this Expansion, you gain 10' of darkvision and a +2 insight bonus to Spot and Listen checks (stacks with itself) for each Energy committed. You gain the benefits of a constant arcane sight spell, but its effects extend 10' from you for each Energy committed instead of a base 120'.


 * Alternatively, by committing 5 Energy to this Expansion, you gain the benefits of a constant true seeing spell and a +20 insight bonus to Spot and Listen checks.'' This secondary mode cannot be used by an autoplate pilot of less then 10th level.


 * Stealth Package: You gain the ability to use darkness as an at-will spell-like ability, and gain a +5 insight bonus to Hide and Move Silently checks.


 * Alternatively, by committing 3 Energy to this Expansion, you gain the benefits of a constant invisibility spell and a +10 insight bonus to Move Silently checks. Breaking invisibility ends the spell effect for 1d4+1 rounds. This secondary mode cannot be used by an autoplate pilot of less then 5th level.


 * Alternatively, by committing 5 Energy to this Expansion, you gain the benefits of constant greater invisibilty and silence spells.'' This secondary mode cannot be used by an autoplate pilot of less then 10th level.


 * Travel Package: You can hustle indefinitely without taking nonlethal damage. You can run for the same period of time you would normally be able to hustle; after this period you begin taking nonlethal damage at a rate of 1 per hour, with the damage doubling every third hour. You can walk for 12 hours before you are considered to be making a forced march. Terrain modifiers to overland distance are improved by one category to a maximum of 1 1/2.


 * Alternatively, by committing 1 or more Energy to this Expansion, your base land speed increases by 10 feet and you gain a +2 competence bonus to Jump checks for each Energy committed. While this secondary mode is active, you retain the passive benefits of Travel Package.


 * Alternatively, by committing 3 or more Energy to this Expansion, you gain a fly speed of 30 feet (clumsy) and a swim speed of 30 feet. Each Energy over 3 committed to this Expansion increases your base, fly, and swim speeds by 10 feet, and every 3 Energy over the minimum first 3 increases your flight maneuverability by one grade to a maximum of perfect. This secondary mode cannot be used by an autoplate pilot of less then 10th level.

To apply an Upgrade, a pilot must succeed at a DC 20 Craft (armorsmithing) check that takes 4 hours to resolve. Once applied, an Upgrade can be changed to another with a DC 30 Craft check that takes 8 hours to resolve. Upgrades confer their passive benefits while the pilot is wearing his autoplate. All Upgrades may be taken multiple times and stack with themselves, with Expansions, and with each other unless otherwise specified.


 * Assault Upgrade: You gain a +1 enhancement bonus to Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution.


 * Energy Upgrade: You gain 1 additional maximum Energy, and you regenerate an extra 1 Energy at the end of your turn.


 * Guardian Upgrade: Your autoplate gains +2 AC and confers 20% fortification. Each round, it regains 5 hitpoints.


 * Medical Upgrade: You gain fast healing 1 and a +2 alchemical bonus to Heal and Constitution checks.


 * Mobility Upgrade: You gain a +10 feet enhancement bonus to your base land speed and a +1 enhancement bonus to Initiative.


 * Resistance Upgrade: You gain a +1 bonus to Fortitude, Reflex, and Will saves, as well as resist 2 acid, cold, electricity and fire.


 * Weapons Upgrade: If you have access to the autoweapon, it deals +2 damage and ignores 2 points of DR per Weapons Upgrade. If you have access to the autocannon, it deals +1 damage per die, its range increments increase by 50 feet, and ignores 2 points of SR per Weapons Upgrade.

To this end, he creates a powerful offensive tool. Choose one Progressive Design weapon from the list below.


 * Autoweapon: As a move action, he can spend 1 Energy to create or dismiss a custom melee weapon identical in all respects (except visually, and as noted below) to a greatsword sized for him. It deals slashing, bludgeoning, or piercing damage as he chooses and has hardness, hitpoints, and enhancement bonus equal to his autoplate's. If destroyed, it cannot be reformed for 1 minute.


 * Autocannon: As a standard action, he can spend Energy to make a ranged touch attack that does 1d8 damage per Energy spent, with a range increment of 100 feet. Treat this as a spell-like ability with a caster level equal to his class level.

As a full-round action, the pilot enters a state similar to a barbarian's rage. In this state he gains a +2 alchemical bonus to Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution, his BAB increases to full, and he receives the benefits of a constant haste spell. His Energy regenerates to its maximum value at the end of his turn. A pilot can operate in the Red Zone for up to 3 + his Intelligence bonus rounds. Upon exiting the Red Zone, an autoplate pilot is immediately fatigued and takes 2 points of temporary Intelligence damage.

It becomes an intelligent item with an alignment of the player's choosing, Empathy communication, vision and hearing out to 120 feet, and mental ability scores of 12, 10, and 10 (arranged as the player chooses). It knows any language its creator knows. It never confers negative levels on its creator for differing alignment and never forces a personality conflict unless its Ego exceeds its creator's class levels.

Despite its seeming benevolence and built-to-spec personality, an awakened autoplate occasionally seems to be...more then the sum of its components. Choose two skills corresponding to Charisma, Intelligence, or Wisdom. When wearing the autoplate, an autoplate pilot is treated as having 10 ranks (or his own ranks, whichever is the higher value) in those skills.

Finally, if an autoplate pilot is reduced to negative hitpoints while wearing his autoplate, he is automatically stabilized and knocked unconscious, and the autoplate takes over for 1d10 rounds. Treat it exactly as if it were the character operating in the Red Zone for the duration of its control, except that it is an NPC with its own alignment and mental ability scores. After this period, the autoplate becomes both unresponsive and impossible to remove until the pilot regains consciousness.

While wearing his autoplate, a pilot is considered to be under the effect of a constant |mind blank spell, and gains SR equal to his class level + his Intelligence bonus.

While operating in the Red Zone, his alchemical bonus to his physical ability scores increases to +4. He may enter the Red Zone once per encounter, and upon exiting may make a DC 20 Concentration check. If he succeeds, he is not fatigued and does not take Intelligence damage.

They have transcending the physical and become something beyond anticipation.

The autoplate pilot becomes a construct with the living construct subtype. His alignment changes to a new alignment between his original alignment and the alignment of his autoplate, and his mental ability scores are his own or the autoplate's, whichever are higher. The autoplate is no longer an NPC as a consequence of Core Awakening when the character reaches negative hitpoints, and its control always last for 10 rounds rather then being rolled.

Finally, while the autoplate can no longer be removed, the autoplate pilot can absorb it into his being as a move action to appear as a normal humanoid of his original subtype, losing access to his class abilities (but not his maneuvers or stances) and the autoplate equipment until he chooses to release it as a swift action.

Gnome Autoplate Pilot Starting Package
Weapons: Gnome hooked hammer.

Skill Selection: Pick a number of skills equal to 4 + Int modifier.

Feat: Extra Upgrade

Gear: Autoplate, masterwork artisan's tools, thieves' tools, assorted mundane equipment.

Gold: None.

Playing an Autoplate Pilot
Religion: Most autoplate pilots worship deities of craftsmanship or warfare; those of appropriate race or culture may seek out deities who emblemize both, such as Flandal Steelskin. Other pilots send their prayers to deities of strength; a few choose divine patrons of the arcane, although non-Chaotic deities of magic are unlikely to appreciate the gesture.

Other Classes: Autoplate pilots tend to have mixed relations with other classes, to the extent that it's difficult to categorize their relationships: while characters such as paladins or more open-minded martial adepts are likely to respect and value a pilot's contribution to the party, traditional warriors and mages both tend to disdain the autoplate pilot's reliance on magic-enhanced equipment, seeing it as a crutch rather then an advancement. They are most likely to get along with characters who appreciate strong martial abilities and utility contributions in a companion, and least likely to get along with characters who highly value personal development or spellcasting.

Combat: The autoplate pilot's role in combat is initiation and overwhelming offense. Autoplate pilots have access to great direct offensive and defensive abilities, meaning they should always be right in the middle of the action. If you choose to focus on your Progressive Design melee weapon, take feats and Upgrades that capitalize on your melee potential and make you more dangerous to ignore.

If you choose to focus on your Progressive Design ranged weapon, you'll likely want to focus on Intelligence and take Upgrades that increase your available Energy and mobility - since your defense will still be strong with a good Dexterity and mobility options, spend time in the first few rounds positioning yourself AWAY from weaker party members and forcing enemies to choose between your high damage or a more vulnerable target. If they still pick your allies, you can always use your mobility options to switch back to a more defensive position.

Advancement: Autoplate pilots do fine just sticking it out as autoplate pilots, and have a plethora of class features and in-class advancement options to make that a desirable choice. However, they can also obtain significant benefit by pursuing the training of other martial specialists (particularly warblades, whose abilities synchronize nicely with their own). If they wish to keep their autoplate up to snuff, they'll need to devote at least a few feats to Extra Upgrade, or their levels in autoplate pilot may end up wasted as better magic armor and weapons become available.

They gain limited benefit from pursuing spellcasting classes, as spellcasting advancement is so important and certain Expansions grant numerous utility spells (the only kind they can make full use of in a competitive environment where enemies will likely be able to save against their offensive effects). However, their high Intelligence focus may be attractive if they intend to focus more on the career of a Psion or Wizard then on advancing their autoplate.

Autoplate Pilots in the World
""The autoplate defends me, strengthens me...but most of all, it gives me the chance to spend that strength defending the things that really matter.""

Autoplate pilots often find service as bodyguards, escorts, or mercenaries, similar to many fighting classes; like other martial adepts, they also tend to disdain purely materialistic lives and follow the tenets of their own personal codes, however honorable or random it may be. They are more likely even then swordsages to retreat into lengthy bouts of contemplation and invention, on par with the wizard's tendency to self-isolate - a desire to test their skills and the loneliness of living without even a familiar for companionship bring them back into view as part of a regular cycle.

When it comes to those pilots destined to take up the mantle of adventurer, of course, all bets are off.

Daily Life: An autoplate pilot's life is practice, contemplation, and invention. Much of her free time is taken up by maintaining and perfecting her autoplate, or by maintaining and perfecting her own martial abilities. She might share a kinship with the monk in this way, if she pursues her path with regimented discipline and an established tradition of development, or else resemble the habits of the wizard, always haphazardly tinkering or trying out a new theory of combat on unsuspecting haysacks, scarecrows, and inattentive party members.

Notables: The whisper gnome mercenary, referred to by bards and fearful commoners as the Adamant Ghost, stalks the lowlands and seeks out barbarian tribes to offer her services to. With her strength and their numbers, few communities can stand against the ensuing assaults on civilization - and even the king's military has been unable to stem the slow creep of annexation. While the savage hordes show little tactical ability or interest in cooperation, it is clear that the Adamant Ghost has a master plan involving the piecemeal acquisition of the entire kingdom by barbarians - what she plans to do next is a matter of dark speculation.

The Invincible Triad, three human paragons of the northern reaches, recently disappeared on a mission to root out a lich haunting a recently thawed glacier, said to be riddled with the tombs of long-dead arctic dwarves; despite the danger, their service to the community has been all that keeps it from succumbing to despair and destruction for years, and some say this was in part due to a new martial discipline they created, focused around use of heavy armor to draw in and crush their opponents. If they are lost, this secret art will be buried under ice along with them.

Everyone knows the Knights of Celestial Vestment: ruthless champions of St. Cuthbert, appointed by the high priest and taught how to pursue and demolish the church's enemies without hesitation or mercy. The gnomish inventor Namfoodle Oneshoe suspects the high priest is in reality a servant of Asmodeus, but none except an armored Knight would have the authority to question church servants and investigate the truth of the matter. Namfoodle believes he could customize any existing suit of autoplate to pass for that of a Knight, but first a suit must be obtained - or offered by a sympathetic pilot in the party...

Organizations: Organizations of autoplate pilots are rare; it's a very specialized skill spanning multiple disciplines, and tends not to manifest too often in a given generation. Lineages of pilots, on the other hand, are quite common; many pilots begin their path upon discovery of the notes or tales of pilots past, or even examination of a heirloom suit of plate. Autoplate requires extraordinary levels of maintenance, so such discarded suits are rarely more valuable then +1 autoplate, but their obvious complexity drives many to understand and replicate. When organizations do occur, they are often among gnomish or human university-like communities of arcane craftsman, taking the form of special task forces or tradition-based community guardians. On occasion, these organizations instead appear as gangs or warbands with a truly frightening potential for destruction and tyranny.

NPC Reactions: Autoplate pilots are neither rare nor common, occupying a semi-legendary position as mad inventors playing with cursed and demon-bound armor or undying warriors who trade their souls for construct powers. Assuming they do not display overtly supernatural abilities, they're unlikely to cause a fuss; upon doing so, they tend to be relegated to the category of wizards and warlocks, with all the attendant suspicion and fearful respect. Actual wizards or rogues with an interest in magical items are likely to sit up and take notice, and may react with varying degrees of curiousity, jealousy, greed, camaraderie, or even malice.

Autoplate Pilot Lore
Characters with ranks in Knowledge (Arcana) can research autoplate pilots to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Autoplate Pilots in the Game
<-How characters of this class fit in the game (PC and NPC) and what roles they play.->

Adaptation: <-Possible variant conceptions of this class.->.

Sample Encounter: <-DM placement for NPCs of this class.->.

EL 10: <-Encounter scenario and character info on sample NPC including stat block. The CR of the NPC is typically the same as the EL for the encounter.->.