Autognome
by Prince Phantom
Is the Warforged not enough of a robot for you? Do you really want to double down on that fantasy? Do you want to play an actual literal construct, not some humanoid pretending to be a construct. The Autognome is here for you. There’s a lot to go over when you’re literally a robot, so let’s not waste any more time.
Autognome Features
Creature Type: Construct: You may not know this, but being a Construct has a lot of implications. First off, there’s the typical benefits of not being able to be targeted by spells that only hit humanoids like Hold Person or Charm Person. There are some beneficial spells like Protection from Evil and Good that can’t affect us, but those are very few and far between. The bigger problem would be healing spells, except…
Healing Machine: This feature solves some of the problems with being a construct, but not all of them. It allows us to be healed by the Mending cantrip by spending hit die when it is cast on us, allowing for some very quick and easy out of combat healing. The bigger deal is that this allows some low level healing spells to work on us. Namely: Cure Wounds, Healing Word, Spare the Dying, Mass Healing Word, and Mass Cure Wounds. The big deal is Healing Word, as that’s the spell that’s actually a useful healing spell during combat. There are many other healing spells that do not work on us, but Healing Word should be enough to keep you alive most of the time.
Armored Casing: This is the standard 13+Dex racial armor that a lot of races have, but there’s a slight issue. Every other racial armor feature states that we can still benefit from a shield while using our racial armor. Strangely, this one doesn’t. The Spelljammer books notoriously feel rushed and unfinished, so it’s fair to assume that the designers simply forgot to include that line of text, but RAW, we cannot use a shield with this as shields are considered armor. I’d talk with your DM about this, as I definitely think you should be able to use a shield with this.
Built for Success: The biggest deal here is being able to boost our saving throws. A d4 isn’t a lot, but it will often be the difference between success and failure. Don’t be tempted to use this on random attacks and ability checks unless you know you won’t be facing any saving throws that day.
Mechanical Nature: We get the standard resistance to poison and advantage against the poisoned condition, but also advantage against paralysis and stun, two absolutely devastating effects. I love everything about this, and we also don’t have to eat or drink (doesn’t come up often), and we don’t need to breathe (comes up surprisingly often).
Specialized Design: Two tool proficiencies is about as good as you make it. Obviously Thieves’ tools are a solid choice, but check out Xanathar’s Guide to Everything for some expanded tool uses. There’s some really neat stuff to do with tools in there that might inspire you.
Sentry’s Rest: Note, this does not shorten your long rest to 6 hours, it just replaces how you normally sleep. We get to stay conscious the whole time, making us the default night watch, so you’ll want to grab Perception proficiency from somewhere.
The Autognome feels like a whole host of small benefits that come together to form a decent, if kind of boring race. There’s nothing to really build around here, but there’s also just so much stuff that any build wouldn’t mind being an Autognome. Personally, I’m a bit disappointed though. I’d have liked our first true construct race to lean into the whole “being a robot” theme a bit more, rather than just being a race that’s good at everything. Still, I can’t deny that it is powerful, even if it doesn’t necessarily fulfill the fantasy I want it to.
Final Rating: 4/5
Thank you for visiting!
If you’d like to support this ongoing project, you can do so by buying my books, getting some sweet C&C merch, or joining my Patreon.
The text on this page is Open Game Content, and is licensed for public use under the terms of the Open Game License v1.0a.
‘d20 System’ and the ‘d20 System’ logo are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
and are used according to the terms of the d20 System License version 6.0.
A copy of this License can be found at www.wizards.com/d20.
