Corpseborn (3.5e Race)

Author: the bluez in the dungeon (talk) Date Created: 12/06/2023 Status: Complete Editing: Clarity edits only please

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Corpseborn

Corpses that have been reanimated through a combination of necromancy, alchemy, surgery and technology.

Personality

Most corpseborns are violent, prone to anger, kind of dumb and loyal to their creator, having been created as cannon fodder, or because of a botched attempt due to inexperience or carelessness. Some though, keep a part of their mortal self, and are even able to overcome their limitations, and learn and cherish life, or at least escape the grasp of their dark masters.

Physical Description

Often the result of the stitching of various body parts (not even from the same species) and the support of mechanical contraptions, they have mismatched bodies, with skin of various degree of color, barely rotting. They may take any appearance, as much as their creator was imaginative and competent.

Relations

They are shunned from almost all societies, so they live among other undead, especially with other corpseborn, or with morally questionable individuals that don't mind their company. A lot of them live alone.

All other races oppose them violently, often perpetuating a cycle of hate and war.

Alignment

Mostly neutral evil, but any alignment is within the realm of possibilities for them.

Lands

Having almost no history, they occupy few lands, many of which are horrible necrowastes. They can otherwise be found in any environment, and many live in evil lords and mages' strongholds.

Religion

Not being exposed to religion often times, most ignore spirituality as a whole. Some may retain memories of faith from their previous life, but most are unvoluntarily connected to dark deities of death, and struggle to ignore this link.

A few handful may find faith while adventuring, and there's no predetermined path to what they may choose to believe.

Language

Common or another language from their living days. Many corpseborns learn Necril, a very useful tool among them, and a kind of way to identify themselves.

Names

They don't have really a naming convention, so many call themselves with serial numbers, nicknames or made up names (but aren't all names made up?)

Racial Traits

• -2 Charisma: Their horrible appearance and strange behaviour makes them unwelcomed in most places.
• Undead (Dark Minded, Unliving): Corpseborns are undead amalgam of body parts, stiched together and given life by magic and science. They don't gain the simple weapons proficiency of undead. 
• Medium: As a Medium creature, a corpseborn has no special bonuses or penalties due to its size.
• Corpseborn base land speed is 30 feet.  
• Darkvision: A corpseborn can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and a corpseborn can function just fine with no light at all. 
• Corpseborn Traits: While undead, the dark minded and unliving subtypes mean they do not share all the traits of the undead. They retain their Constitution score, and only retain immunity to death effects, disease, and poison in addition to the alterations brought about by their subtypes. They also benefit from a constant endure elements as an extraordinary effect, as they care little for ambient temperatures. Like normal undead, they heal from negative energy and inflict effects and are harmed by positive energy and cure effects. They can be raised and resurrected, but they are revived as corpseborn once more, rather than their original self.

Corpseborns have a minimal biology. They must breathe, eat, drink, and sleep. However, they consume food and drink at 1/4th the rate of a normal human, and last twice as long without air as a normal human. If denied air, corpseborns do not die, but rather become inert until they are exposed to air again. If starved or dehydrated, they are sickened until they can obtain the needed nourishment. Like a living creature, they do not die until they hit -10 hp, and automatically stabilize when brought below 0 hp. 

• Turn Resistance (Ex): Corpseborns have +4 turn resistance. They also react to turning and rebuking differently. Turned corpseborns are treated as shaken instead of normal turning effects until approached within 10 ft or out of combat for 1 minute. Destroyed instead becomes panicked. Rebuked corpseborns take a -2 penalty on all d20 checks against the rebuker, and are subject to suggestion if they would be commanded instead. 
• Necro-Engine: All corpseborns have a mechanical contraption which partially substitutes their vital organs and allows them to work. This is called a Necro-Engine and may take a variety of forms and functions. They are susceptibile to effects that negatively affect constructs. They are also healed at half potency both from negative energy and repair spells (or similar). Choose one among the following:

Finesse-Engine: The corpseborn has a frame that helps in movement and make it very agile. It gains the Dash feat for free and may, once per day per Dexterity modifier (minimum 1), use the dash option to sprint to its full speed.

Magic-Engine: The corpseborn, thanks to magically-infused additions, is a master of the arcane and can choose one 1-level spell (or least invocation - but not a blast shape or eldritch essence invocations) from any list and replicate it once per day as a supernatural ability (using its HD as its caster level). It gains additional daily uses every 5HD it possess. If it has a caster class or an invoking class, it adds that spell or invocation to the appropriate list as a known spell or invocation. The DC for any eventual save is 10 + half HD + it's highest mental modifier. Caster level is equal to its HD.

Strength-Engine: The corpseborn has a sort of mechanism which gives it enourmous strength. It gains the Strong Grip feat for free, even if it does not meet the requirements. They count as if having +4 Strength for the purpose of carrying capacity and gain a +4 to Strength-only checks. 

• Augment: Beside their Necro-Engine, corpseborns have additional grafts and augments. Choose three from the following:

Adaptive Visor: The corpseborn has a visor which enhances greatly its sight. It gains the Adaptive Eyesight feat for free.

Composite Plating: As a warforged, the corpseborn has a plating which provides a +2 armor bonus. This plating is not natural armor and does not stack with other effects that give an armor bonus (other than natural armor). This composite plating occupies the same space on the body as a suit of armor or a robe, and thus a corpseborn cannot wear armor or magic robes. Corpseborn can be enchanted just as armor can be. The character must be present for the entire time it takes to enchant it. Composite plating also provides a corpseborn with a 5% arcane spell failure chance, similar to the penalty for wearing light armor. Any class ability that allows a corpseborn to ignore the arcane spell failure chance for light armor lets it ignore this penalty as well. The corpseborn can also take Warforged feats.

Death Grip: Thanks to a conductor of negative energy, once every 10 minutes, this corpseborn can use a standard action to make a touch attack. The attack deals 1d8 + its HD in negative energy. At level 5 a creature not healed by negative energy, if damaged from this attack, must pass a save (DC is 15 + 1/2 HD) or be sickened for one minute.

Death Throes: As a last option, a corpseborn with this augment is designed to explode on death. Immediately as it dies, a small explosive device activates, detonating in a 10 feet radius centered on the corpseborn. Everyone in the area suffers 1d6/HD of half fire (or electricity) and half piercing damage, with a Reflex save to halve the effects (DC is 10 + half HD + the corpseborn's Con modifier). This counts as having the Death Throes ability.

Deformity: The corpseborn is horribly deformed, but this deformity has been made into a strength. It gains, under DM's approval, a Deformity feat, even without meeting the alignment requirement or the need for Willing Deformity.

Ectoplasm Body: This corpseborn has been magically created using ectoplasm which gives it the ability partial incorporeality. Choosing this augment counts as choosing two.

Experimental Graft: The creator of this corpseborn was a grafter. The corpseborn gains the Experimental Graft trait for free, with no drawback.

Grafted Weapon: A corpseborn may choose to have either a feral strike (either one one-handed or two light strikes), with the statistics presented below, or one (or two) light or one one-handed simple weapon, or other weapon (with the same weight class) it is proficient with. In the second case the weapon is grafted onto its limb, or limbs, substituting its hand or hands. Either way, the weapon counts as a masterwork and its material maybe changed through 8 hour of work. The weapon or feral strike itself may be substituted by another option here presented, with the same 8-hour work. If the grafted weapon or feral strike is to be enhanced, the corpseborn must remain with the person doing the enhancement for all its duration.

Leather Skin: Thanks to a process of curing, some corpseborns have incredibly tough skin. Corpseborns with this trait have a +2 natural armor to AC. This bonus stacks with other natural armor bonuses.

Light Frame: By using lightweight bodies to make it, a corpseborn gains the Slight Build feat and ability. Choosing this augment counts as choosing two.

Many-Eyed: This corpseborn has a lot of eyes. It gains the Many Eyes feat for free.

Muscle Gears: By using heavy bodies to make it, a corpseborn gains the Powerful Build feat and ability. Choosing this augment counts as choosing two.

Regen-Core: The corpseborn has a small machine which can pump it full of chemicals and restore its mechanical functions. Twice per day, as a swift action, the corpseborn may regain 2d6+Con (min 0) hit points and remove any kind of fatigue that affects it. This value increases by 1d6 every 5HD the corpseborn has.

Residual Conductivity: The corpseborn has been reanimated through the extensive use of electricity. It gains the Conductivity feat for free, except the DC is 10+1/2 HD+Con modifier (the same is true if it would take the Improved Conductivity feat). If the corpseborn would take less electricity damage due to abilities like Energy Resistance or Evasion, it still inflicts damage through the Conductivity feat as if it had not reduced the damage. 

• Flaws: Being only botched attempt to life, corpseborns also suffer from two major flaw. Choose two from the following:

Deformed Legs: This corpseborn has misshapen lower limbs, which cut its land and swim speed in half.

Energy Malfunction: A corpseborn with this trait has very little benefits from exposure to energy that heals it. When receiving any healing thanks to negative energy (or positive energy, if, for any reason, that could heal it), it receives only minimal healing.

Flawed: Choose one flaw which you meet the requirements for and that your DM approves. You gain that flaw with no bonus feat.

Light Weakness: The corpseborn takes 1 non-lethal damage per minute it spends in bright light and abrupt exposure to bright light (such as sunlight or a daylight spell) blinds the corpseborn for 1 round. On subsequent rounds, it's dazzled as long as it remains in the affected area. Anything that would negate this flaw makes it act as light sensitivity instead.

Vulnerability: This corpseborn is particularly susceptible to a specific source of damage. Choose one source of damage either based on physical, alignment or energy damage, such as cold damage. It gains Damage Susceptibility 5 to that source of damage, which can't be reduced, only mitigated by other effects, such as Damage Reduction or Energy Resistance. 

• It could work! (Ex): Once per day, when at 0 or lower pf, but not dead, a corpseborn that receives any amount of Electricity damage is instead healed by 1d8 + its HD, and regains consciousness.
• Automatic Languages: Common or Dwarven or Elven or Giant or Gnome or Halfling or Orc
• Bonus Languages: Any
• Favored Class: Any
• Level Adjustment: +1
• Effective Character Level: 2

Feral Strike

One-Handed Melee

Cost:	— gp
Damage (Small):	1d6
Damage (Medium)1:	1d8
Critical:	20/×2
Weight2:	— lbs
Type3:	Any
HP4:	10
Hardness:	5

1. See Damage Increases by Size to calculate the damage for a weapon larger than Medium or smaller than Small.
2. Weight figures are for Medium weapons. A Small weapon weighs half as much, and a Large weapon weighs twice as much.
3. When two types are given, the weapon is both types if the entry specifies "and", either type (player's choice at time of attack) if the entry specifies "or", or each end of the double weapon is a different type if the entry specifies "/".
4. The hp value given is for Medium armor, weapons, and shields. Divide by 2 for each size category of the item smaller than Medium, or multiply it by 2 for each size category larger than Medium.

Feral Strike

Light Melee

Cost:	— gp
Damage (Small):	1d4
Damage (Medium)1:	1d6
Critical:	19-20/×2
Weight2:	— lbs
Type3:	Any
HP4:	10
Hardness:	5

1. See Damage Increases by Size to calculate the damage for a weapon larger than Medium or smaller than Small.
2. Weight figures are for Medium weapons. A Small weapon weighs half as much, and a Large weapon weighs twice as much.
3. When two types are given, the weapon is both types if the entry specifies "and", either type (player's choice at time of attack) if the entry specifies "or", or each end of the double weapon is a different type if the entry specifies "/".
4. The hp value given is for Medium armor, weapons, and shields. Divide by 2 for each size category of the item smaller than Medium, or multiply it by 2 for each size category larger than Medium.

Racial Options

Feats

Extra Augment

Pathfinder Options

In Pathfinder games, corpseborns gain a +2 to a single ability score of their choice.

Alternate Racial Features

To be done

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