D&D Homebrew Races - The Novisnauts / Strange Divers
A homebrew racial option for Dungeons & Dragons 3e/3.5 Edition; created by Aboleth Eye! These strange hollow creatures are loosely inspired by SCP 1861-B, episode #57 of The Magnus Archives, and the Creepy Old-Fashioned Diving Suit trope…
As always, though this homebrew was made with D&D 3.5 edition in mind, with a few tweaks you can absolutely use this material with Pathfinder 1st edition! -- Aboleth Eye
The first time a spacehand ran about crying about a figure floating outside of the spelljammer, their fellow crew and captain laughed at them…
When the lone fisherman came back from the bay ranting about a metal-suited creature rising from the foam to hand them a full net; the locals at the tavern called them deluded with too much salt on the brain…
And when a peasant burst into the tavern about a large dungeon unearthed beneath their farm, patrolled by something unspeakable beneath a suit of armor; friends and neighbors rolled their eyes and booed them back out into the cold…
These sorts of jokes cease as soon as the spacehands all hear a tapping on the vista windows from outside the spelljammer vessel… Or the alehouse doors open in a great foggy wind, something dripping wet standing in the doorframe… Or the dungeon entrance is discovered, and a trail of bloody boot prints lead into.. the depths below.
These strange tales–and the unusual creatures they describe–are born from an extremely rare supernatural phenomenon. As long as curiosity has infected the mortal mind, we have sought to plunge the depths of the unknown, however hostile they are to life itself. And these brave divers into the unknowns of dungeons, the sea and space plunge in prepared and reinforced to endure what lies within. But sometimes all that curiosity and preparedness are for naught; and what rises in their suits of enchanted metal, glass and canvas is not what first went down…
These creatures are known as Novisnauts, or “strange divers”. At a distance they resemble humanoid figures wearing the full-body getup for excursions in inhospitable climates and environments; such as deep sea diving or space walking. Usually the body is covered head to toe in reinforced fabrics, rubber gloves and heavy boots, and lastly a helmet made of metal and glass–all made to protect an air-breathing humanoid from losing breathable oxygen to leaks, deep water or the vacuum of space. Some are even outfitted with the remnants of full plate armor; only darkness seen through the visor…
However, upon closer inspection, usually the full-body suits and helmet are damaged in some regard, often patched up poorly. Tears can be found in the leather and canvas, or cracks and dents in the metal and glass helmets; usually there is one great damaged spot that spelled death to the original wearer while diving into the unknown. There is no living light from within the helmets, they reflect nothing but darkness… An emptiness that makes onlookers uncomfortable.
Any tears and damage to the suit of a Novsnaut reveals a flowing, semisolid dark body beneath. Whatever remains of the original mortal diver is no longer visible within the suit, replaced or absorbed by a living emptiness…
Physical Description
Novisnauts are all animated constructs, but their construction is very unique and has never been replicated by mortal hands. It requires a vessel to come in contact with a tenebrous sentient energy, which is not fully elemental nor spiritual. This energy is semisolid and nearly pure black in coloration--it will randomly inhabit the vessel, filling it out entirely.
These creatures manifest when a humanoid person dies while wearing in a full-body, reinforced suit designed to survive inhospitable environments. While the body decays within, some unknown elemental reaction occurs with the mortal remains. Any residual spiritual energy of the previous wearer merges with this unknown force, and it fills out the suit of the departed creature to live on in ominous solitude.
Novisnauts are capable of communicating through speech it seems. Their voices are often sluggish and deep, coming from their elemental energy resonating throughout their vessel. They can replicate any language they have heard--their voices mimicking the original speaker's voice and speech patterns and identity of their vessel’s previous owner. Some say their voices are like their original wearer's, as heard while in a deep, echoing cavern.
The vessel for a Novisnaut always begins an artificially made suit that includes an attach piece of headgear and has few openings once assembled. The suit in question is most commonly a full set of metal armor, but full body suits meant for deep sea diving and spacewalking have become vessels. Another factor is that the vessel must have been worn-in by a mortal, the longer it has been used the more likely it will attract the strange energies that will animate them. Tragically, a necessary circumstance for a Novisnaut manifestation is that the vessel will have been worn during the wearer's death. The remains of the vessel's wearer (whether they are fully intact or merely traces) are what binds the sentient energy of a Novisnaut to the suit.
The animating energy that fills the suit vessel is semi-solid and dark in color, like an animated cloud of suspended crude oil particles. It fills out every available space in the suit, like water in a jug, and forms a skeletal-like structure of strong tendrils to strengthen the inorganic body for movement. Leaks in the vessel will often give off small bursts of the dark energy, dispersing like smoke in the atmosphere over time.
The animating energy of a Novisnaut is similar to that of oozes or elementals. It is a more complex and refined substance, however, as it is capable of manifesting sentient thought compared to those primal forces. While within vessel, this energy is light absorbing, and fills onlookers with a feeling of foreboding emptiness. When damage is taken to the suit and the animating body inside, the creature's dark energy oozes out like a strange hybrid of blood, oil and even ferrous liquid; and the creature will often remark at feeling pain. This semisolid entity is fully bonded to its suit, having the capacity for pain to bolster its endurance and know when to repair its vessel-body. Unlike oozes, however, the shadow-energy animating a Novisnaut has no need to consume food. Their bodies are living constructs, so while they have certain traits of living organisms, they do not require sustenance or sleep. The shadow-energy can technically digest organic matter, but its particle cloud technically degrades anything placed into it at a rapid rate as if time speeds up. It does nothing to sustain the Novisnaut, as any matter digested this way degrades into dust particles. Only non-sentient masses of organic matter are digested this way--sticking your hand into a Novisnaut's shadowy self will not rot your hand away. And the degradation process seems to be slower for bone matter, compared to the hours it takes for things like plants or animal muscle. Hence the skeleton of the Novisnaut's previous wearer is usually still knocking around in the vessel after years and years of being animated. They cannot distinguish sensations such as taste, but they are affected by magical smells or magical foodstuffs like potions or heroes' feast.
Novisnauts typically wear the headpiece made to fit their suit vessel when interacting with other creatures, no matter how damaged. If no headpiece is available, they may substitute it with another or even create a bulbous mass of its shadowy energy to act as a head. This revealed head actually ebbs and shifts depending on the creature’s emotional state. Because the vessel was most likely inhabited by the last wearer's remains during the manifestation--depending on the stage of decay--witnesses may see parts of the inhabitant's skeleton between shifts in the dark cloud.
Novisnauts can replace any destroyed limbs on their suit-vessels. They can temporarily extrude a pseudo-limb if a limb segment of their vessel is destroyed, but it is apparently very uncomfortable and requires great focus to do so before the energy is sucked back into its vessel. They can attach new pieces of their suit vessel type, their dark energy stitching on new arms, legs or helms to the main body. Some of these creatures are even made up of mismatching suit pieces; possibly formed from multiple deaths interacting with strange elemental energies.
If a Novisnaut’s vessel is ever fully destroyed, the entity inside will scream in pain and start to dissolve into nothingness. Even if protected from light exposure and destroyed in complete darkness (even magical darkness), without a vessel the Novisnaut's animating spirit will perish. Scholars suggest the “core” of these animated constructs is a living elemental reaction between negative energy and air or water elements; and any exposure to outside elements or light could cause the core’s reaction to break down instantly.
Personality and Psychology Novisnauts speak only when absolutely necessary. They have no interest in their pasts or how they came to be, they simply exist–akin to how most elementals view their existences. Whatever whims they are driven to do by their nature, they do not question where they come from or why they satisfy them. Novisnauts can speak and converse fully as any humanoid can. However, they only speak when prompted an in as few words as necessary. This is because their voices take effort to gather up, requiring their entire vessel to vibrate at specific frequencies. Long sentences are possible, but the echo effect on such extended speech causes creatures with high frequency hearing some discomfort. Any intelligence Novisnaut may have is hard to calculate, due to the sluggishness of their physical actions and responses. Some believe they only have memories from the time of their manifestation, while others may have hazy memories of their original selves. As constructs with barely any attachment to their previous wearer, they not prescribe to any notions of gender or sexuality. Novisnauts typically dislike bright lights, as it agitates the shadowy energy animating them. Bright lights make their thoughts sluggish and hesitant to communicate due to overstimulation. They make their homes in dark places that are well out of the way (or near unreachable to most creatures) for this reason. The solitude and peace of the dark is usually more than enough to keep a Novisnaut occupied in their strange routines and whims. Novisnauts oddly lack curiosity except for a few unique circumstances, unlike the original wearers of their suit-bodies. They have no interest in making discoveries or learning new things, any new information they stumble upon is merely new information for them to carry and not think too much on. However, depending on their origins, they often are compelled to investigate places and people regarding specific circumstances. Because Novisnauts have no physiological needs for eating, breathing, etc. they may mimic such activities without fully understanding their function or reasoning. Their shadowy insides can technically digest organic matter, but it does it by rapidly aging the object into dust particles.
Novisnaut Varieties In the vacuum and surreal landscapes between worlds, Space or Wildspace Novisnauts are created from spacewalking suits. These lonely travelers prefer to isolate themselves from busy cities and planets, and they enjoy lingering in solitude among meteor fields or on wandering comets. If spelljammers or space vessels cross their paths, they are often compelled to investigate–something about space travel speaks to them despite their hesitance. People discover them usually when they tap on airlock windows or watch spacewalkers doing repairs from a short distance. This often disturbs spacehands and spelljammer officers for obvious reasons. Rarely, a wildspace Novisnaut may be interested in locating the ship of its origin, though they only remember blurs rather than names. Novisnauts of this type are oddly curious about space travelers, and sometimes rarely decide to travel the cosmos to live an adventuring/spacewalking fantasy (or retread the memories that haunt them).
In the ocean and other terrestrial bodies of water, Deep Sea Novisnauts are made from diving suits meant to survive excursions into deep water where light fails to reach. They spend their time walking along the ocean floor or in its deep trenches, in large circular paths they cannot explain. Shipwrecks fascinate these creatures, and they may take up residence in one for a time (as well as all treasures therein).
Often a Deep Sea Novisnaut will drag a chest behind them as they trudge through the deep, filling the box with anything they like. Deep Sea Novisnauts prefer gold and jewels, often ignoring more valuable items that aren’t obviously valuable. Perhaps some residual greed of their original selves still remains? When they come across ships in their path most Novisnauts will swim up to investigate at night, often spooking shiphands on late watch…
Deep Sea Novisnauts are usually more chaotic in nature, much like the seas they live within and beneath. Rarely, they may decide to go treasure hunting along entire coastlines or demand passage across the sea on an above water ship out of some far-off nostalgia…
Lastly, and the most common of their kind, Armored Novisnauts are born inhabiting full suits of plate and other armor. They are found wiling away their endless lifespans patrolling dungeons, abandoned castles or other dark foreboding places. They become attached to the architecture and objects found within their territory, even conversing with mortal remains and dungeon creatures as if they were friends. Armored Novisnauts are the most social of their kind. Adventurers and others who wander into their territory often excite them, remembering loneliness only when others are around.
However, they are also extremely protective of everything inside their dungeon homes. If they see intruders attacking dungeon monsters or stealing from the remains of dead adventurers, they will often become violent. Some of these Armored Novisnauts even delight in killing intruding adventurers, filling rooms with the decaying remains as new friends. They will also not allow their dungeons, castles, etc. to become bases for any aspiring mad wizard or warlord.
This variety of Novisnauts are the most lawful among their kind. Perhaps the rigidity of their routines and vessels impart some need to be organized and have strict codes of conduct? Or perhaps they create elaborate codes of conduct to avoid going insane in dungeons and labyrinth depths? Armored Novisnauts may be compelled to become adventurers if inspired...
Novisnaut Racial Traits The following are the racial traits for a Novisnaut character:
- Medium size Construct (living)
- Living Constructs have Constitution scores, but cannot heal damage naturally. They are healed by repair damage spell effects, and healing is halved for cure wounds spells.
- Living Constructs are subject to spells that target living targets, as well as constructs.
- Immunities: poison, sleep effects, paralysis, disease, nausea, fatigue, exhaustion, effects that cause the sickened condition, and energy drain.
- Living Constructs are not immune to mind-affecting effects; they are subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, stunning, ability damage, ability drain, and death effects or necromancy effects.
- Living constructs do not need to eat, breathe or sleep; but they can benefit from consumable spells and magic items.
- A Novisnaut spellcaster must rest for 8 hours before preparing/refreshing spells.
- A Novisnaut takes damage from heat metal and chill metal as if wearing metal armor.
- A Novisnaut is repelled by repel metal or stone as if wearing metal armor.
- The metals in the Novisnaut’s body makes them vulnerable to rusting grasp; taking 2d6 points of damage from the spell (Reflex half; save DC 14 + caster's ability modifier). A Novisnaut takes the same damage from a rust monster's touch (Reflex DC 17 half).
- Spells such as transmute metal to wood, metal melt and fortify metal or stone affect objects only, and thus cannot be used on the body of a Novisnaut.
- A Novisnaut responds slightly differently from other living creatures when reduced to 0 hit points. A Novisnaut with 0 hit points is disabled, as with a living creature–it can take only a single move action or standard action in each round, but strenuous activity does not risk further injury.
- When its hit points are less than 0 and greater than -10, a Novisnaut becomes inert. They are unconscious and helpless, and cannot perform any actions. An inert Novisnaut does not lose additional hit points unless more damage is dealt, however, as with a living creature that has become stable.
- As a living construct, a Novisnaut can be raised or resurrected.
- Racial Hit Dice: 4d10 Construct
- Racial BAB: +3
- Racial Base Saves: Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +1
- Racial Class Skills: Climb, Hide, Intimidate, Knowledge (arcana), Listen, Spot
- Racial Skill Points: ( 2 + Intelligence modifier, minimum 1 ) x 7
- Racial Ability Scores: Strength +6, Dexterity -2, Constitution +8, Intelligence -2, Wisdom +2, Charisma -4.
- No matter their Vessel Type, the animating spirit or energy within a Novisnaut puts their body materials to great use in resisting and inflicting damage; but they are sluggish and not the best speakers.
- Novisnauts are living constructs–they have a Constitution score and benefit from bonus hit points due to their Constitution modifier. As described in the Living Construct traits above, they cannot heal damage naturally but can be repaired with magic effects.
- Base Land Speed: 20 feet
- Natural Weapons: 2 slams (1d6 plus Strength modifier). These are considered magic for purposes of Damage Reduction effects.
- Special Qualities:
- Light Blindness: Abrupt exposure to bright light (such as sunlight or a daylight spell) blinds Novisnauts for 1 round. On subsequent rounds, they are dazzled as long as they remain in the affected area.
- Living Construct traits (see above)
- Light Fortification (Ex): When a critical hit or sneak attack is scored on a Novisnaut, there is a 25% chance that the critical hit or sneak attack is negated and damage is instead rolled normally.
- Darkvision 60 feet. Whatever the dark spirits that inhabit the Novisnauts’ Vessels are, they allow them to perceive details in true darkness–though it is in black and white.
- Vessel Type: Each Novisnaut fits into one of three Vessel Types, based on the type of suit they inhabit. Each Vessel Type has unique traits (see below), and this choice is made immediately after acquiring its first Hit Die.
- A novisnaut cannot change its Vessel Type once chosen, not even if reincarnated or resurrected.
- Automatic Languages: any one humanoid language (non-secret) and Abyssal.
- Bonus Languages: any non-secret.
- Favored Class: Fighter. Novisnauts are strong and sturdy, and well suited for combat their preferred environment.
- Some rarely choose to become rangers in order to hedge out invading creatures from their homes, as well as navigate long distances. Rogues are uncommon but not unheard of.
- Novisnauts are patient but lack the attention span to focus on any form of extended, higher study. They do not reflect upon their nature, seek to ascend beyond what they are. Additionally, are rarely believers in any mortal deities, since they are functionally immortal, their bodies are inorganic and they are often abominations to living faiths.
- Level Adjustment: +3.
- ECL: 7+. A Novisnaut without class levels is automatically considered a 7th level character due to their Racial Hit Dice and Level Adjustment.
Vessel Type Traits The following are the unique abilities and special qualities a Novisnaut acquires, depending on their Vessel Type.
Space/Wildspace Novisnauts
These Novisnauts inhabit spacewalking suits, and they freely move about gravitational fields and deep space.
- Natural Armor +3. Space Novisnauts can benefit from wearing armor, magic robes and other objects on their bodies.
- Greater Darkvision + 30 feet. Space Novisnauts can perceive details from larger distances in the empty void of space.
- Practiced Spacehand (Ex): A Space Novisnaut gains a +4 racial bonus to Profession (spacehand) for the purposes of working on space travel vessels and using space vessel weapons.
- They gain an equal bonus to Balance and Jump checks while moving and navigating through zero- and low-gravity environments.
- Weapon/Armor Proficiency: The Novisnaut’s past grants them natural proficiency with simple weapons.
Deep Sea Novisnauts These Novisnauts inhabit deep sea diving suits, and are more buoyant than their bodies would suggest.
- Natural Armor +4. Deep Sea Novisnauts can benefit from wearing armor/robes/etc on their bodies.
- Blindsense (Ex): A Deep Sea Novisnaut can locate creatures underwater within a 30-foot radius. This ability works only when the novisnaut is mostly submerged to the waist, swimming or fully underwater.
- Weathered Plating (Ex): Time in the depths has given Deep Sea Novisnauts more rugged exteriors, covering them in the remnants of sea creatures that once jumped on for a ride. This typically includes barnacles and even fully living coral formations. Creatures that attack a Deep Sea Novisnaut with natural weapons or unarmed strikes immediately take 1d8 slashing damage per successful attack
- Weapon/Armor Proficiency: The Novisnaut’s past grants them natural proficiency with simple weapons.
- Swim Speed: Deep Sea Novisnauts have a racial swim speed of 20 feet, as well as a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard.
- It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered.
Armored Novisnauts
These Novisnauts inhabit full-body suits of metallic armor, and they are thus more protected by their Vessel than other varieties.
- Living Armor Plating: Armored Novisnauts have a racial armor bonus that does not stack with other effects that give an armor bonus (other than natural armor). The armor set they inhabit is treated as masterwork banded mail heavy armor (+6 armor bonus, max Dex 1, AC penalty -1, Arcane Spell Failure 35%, base speed 20 feet*). This armor includes a visored helmet, metal greaves, leather gloves, gauntlets and heavy leather boots.
- This armor occupies the same space on the body as a suit of armor or a robe, and thus Armored Novisnauts cannot wear armor or magic robes. An Armored Novisnaut can add magic items to themselves such as rings, hats, etc.
- Any class ability that allows a Novisnaut to ignore the arcane spell failure chance for heavy armor lets them ignore this penalty.
- Living Armor Plating can be enchanted just as normal armor can be with the Craft Magic Arms and Armor feat, as well as the gauntlets they wear (which enhance their slam attacks and must be individually enchanted). The Novisnaut must be present for the entire time it takes to be enchanted.
- Living Armor Plating can be subjected to sunder attempts, but the damage is instead inflicted directly to the Novisnaut’s current Hit Points instead. An Armored Novisnaut has a +4 racial bonus to opposing Sunder attempts that target their Living Armor Plating.
- Body Armory (Ex): An Armored Novisnaut’s interior can hold a number of weapons, shields, and other small objects equal to their total Hit Dice. As a swift action on their turn, the Novisnaut can switch one or multiple items they are currently wielding with those in their Body Armory interior.
- Improved Carrying Load: Armored Novisnauts can move at their full speed even when wearing their heavy armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load (unlike other creatures, whose speed is reduced in such situations).
- Weapon/Armor Proficiency: An Armored Novisnaut is naturally proficient with their heavy armor plating, simple and martial weapons, and all shields (excluding tower).
Photo used through Wikimedia Commons
| Novisnaut | |
|---|---|
| Size/Type: | Medium Construct (living) |
| Hit Dice: | 4d10+16 (38 hp) |
| Initiative: | -1 |
| Speed: | 20 feet |
| Armor Class: | see Vessel Type Traits below |
| BAB/Grapple: | +3/+7 |
| Attack: | Slam +7 melee |
| Full-Attack: | 2 slams +7 melee (1d6+3) |
| Damage: | Slam (1d6+3) |
| Space/Reach: | 5 ft / 5 ft |
| Special Attacks: | Natural weapons (magic) |
| Special Qualities: | Darkvision 60 ft, Light Blindness, Living Construct, Light Fortification; |
| see Vessel Type Traits below | |
| Saves: | Fort +5, Ref +0, Will +2 |
| Abilities: | Str 17, Dex 8, Con 18, Int 8, Wis 13, Cha 7 |
| Skills: | see Vessel Type Traits below |
| Feats: | Alertness, Power Attack |
| Environment: | see Vessel Type Traits below |
| Organization: | Solitary |
| Challenge Rating: | 5 |
| Treasure: | 1/2 Standard |
| Alignment: | Usually Neutral |
| Advancement: | By Character Class (Favored: Fighter) |
| Level Adjustment: | +3 |
| Space/Wildspace Vessel | |
|---|---|
| Armor Class: | 12 (-1 dex, +3 natural) |
| Touch/FF AC: | 9 / 13 |
| Special Qualities: | Greater Darkvision 90 feet, Practiced Spacehand |
| Skills: | Balance -1 (+3 zero/low-gravity), Climb +4, Hide +0, Intimidate -1, |
| Jump +3 (+7 zero/low-gravity), Knowledge (arcana) +0, | |
| Profession (spacehand) +5, Listen +4, Spot +5 | |
| Environment: | any extraterrestrial or wildspace |
| Deep Sea Vessel | |
|---|---|
| Speed: | add Swim Speed 20 feet |
| Armor Class: | 13 (-1 dex, +4 natural) |
| Touch/FF AC: | 9 / 14 |
| Special Qualities: | Blindsense 30 feet (underwater), Weathered Plating (1d8) |
| Skills: | Climb +4, Hide +0, Intimidate -1, Knowledge (arcana) +0, |
| Listen +4, Spot +5, Swim +11 (can take 10) | |
| Environment: | any aquatic, coastal or swamp |
| Armored Vessel | |
|---|---|
| Armor Class: | 15 (-1 dex, +6 armor) |
| Touch/FF AC: | 9 / 16 |
| Special Qualities: | Body Armory, Improved Carrying Load, Living Armor Plating |
| Skills: | Climb +3*, Hide -1*, Intimidate -1, Knowledge (arcana) +0, Listen +4, Spot +5 |
| *AC Penalty -1 | |
| Environment: | any underground or dungeon |
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