Template: Automaton
- Details
- Category: Bestiary
- Published on Wednesday, 18 July 2012 11:24
- Written by Sean Mysliwiec
Be it through magic or craftsmanship, some constructs are imbued with the gift of sentience.
CR: Varies
Intelligence (Ex): An automaton gains an intelligence score, equal to it's base CR, it can learn languages, be bluffed, compelled, use and learn skills, and even gain class levels, among all the other things an ordinary sentient being can do. If an automaton ever has it's intelligence reduced to 0, it does NOT become comatose, rather, it is treated as a regular construct, and regains the immunities that come with it.
Fragile: A large amount of space in a constructs framework must be sacrificed in it's creation in order for the construct to be capable to becoming an automaton. As such, an automaton has half it's base creature's natural armor.
Proficiencies: Automatons are proficient with all simple and martial weapons as well as all armor types, even if they take a class that would not normally give these proficiency's. However, arcane spell failure still applies when wearing armor. (because of a construct's usually unique physiology, armor must be specially made for it, when determining price, assume the armor to be worth 3x what it'd normally cost for a normal creature of equal size.)
Alignment: An automaton shares it's alignment with it's creator. However, if the automaton was created under strange circumstances, or it's creator didn't create it with a personality in mind, it defaults to True Neutral. Sufficiently intelligent, (above 10) automatons can be possessed of any alignment, even ones radically differing from their creator.
Magic Immunities (Ex): An automaton retains it's base creatures specified magical vulnerabilities and immunities, however, automatons with at least 1 point of intelligence are vulnerable to enchantments, and are considered monsters for the purposes of determining which enchantments affect them.
Class Levels: An automaton's class levels stack with racial hit die when determining: saving throws, feats, and BAB. But NOT when determining skills and caster level. To determine an automaton's hit points, role the normal number of hit dice indicated by the base creature, then role for the class level using that classes designated hit die.
Classes: Most weaker automatons favor purely melee classes, such as barbarian, or fighter. Mithral golem automatons can only take levels of rogue, however. Alchemy golems are another special case, as despite their relatively low intelligence, they are extremely proficient in the craft that is their namesake. (Treat as having 18 intelligence for determining alchemist class abilities, bonus extracts, and eligibility for alchemist related feats.)The more powerful golems possess the intelligence to become devastating arcane spellcasters. Wood golems however, while not particularly intelligent, make excellent clerics and druids.
Additional Ratings  |
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| Balance: | 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Rating 2.50 (2 Votes) |
| Utility: | 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Rating 4.67 (3 Votes) |
| Clarity: | 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Rating 4.00 (2 Votes) |