Broken Lords (3.5e Race)

Broken Lords

The Broken Lords are a fallen people. Once, they were a great empire, ruled by justice, honor and duty. The people were happy, living on the fertile plains. They tamed the forests and wildernesses, made magic and machines of awesome power and the land was at peace. Then, the Black Rot came. A hideous plague that literally dissolved its victims from the inside out and spread like wildfire. The magics and medicines of the empire could do nothing against this scourge, so the wizards tried to find a way to save their people. The only way that they could come up with was to bind the souls and minds of the populace into suits of armor, removing their bodies from the clutches of the Rot. However, the only way to keep the bound souls 'alive' was to feed of the souls of others, a practice that flew in the face of the spirit of the empire. However, with no other choice, they people agreed to this, thinking that the wizards would surely find another way to feed them soon enough. 1000 years later, they are still trying.

Personality

The life of a Broken Lord is one of paradox. They are extremely honor bound and honourable. If you obtain the word of one of the Broken Lords, it will never be retracted;even in the face of death or the destruction of the soul. However, because they must periodically drain the souls of others to maintain their 'life' and this flies in the face of their code of honor, Broken Lords are often quite melancholy and conflicted. Many wonder which is more important, their honour or their lives. Many Broken Lords have been driven into madness by this conflict.

Physical Description

Broken Lords appear as fully enclosed suits of armor with full faceplates behind which swirl the magical energies which keep them 'alive'. The suits of armor are often ornate and always appear to be of excellent quality.

Relations

Broken Lords are often isolationist because they feel ashamed of the lengths that they must go to to survive. When they do interact with other people, they keep their true natures a secret, for fear of being ostracized for their differences.

Alignment

Broken Lords are almost always Lawful and are most often Neutral or Good

Lands

Because they can survive conditions almost no other races can, Broken Lords often live in extremely inhospitable and remote locations, where they can escape the reprisals of those they must prey upon to survive.

Religion

Very few of the Broken Lords still worship the gods, believing that the gods have forsaken them and they must redeem themselves before the gods will listen to their prayers once more.

Language

Broken Lords speak Common and the Broken Speech, which only they can understand, as it relies on the direct communication of their souls.

Names

The Broken Lords have two names, the one they had before they became what they are now and a second which they took when they became bound to their armor.

Racial Traits

• +2 Strength, +2 Intelligence: A Broken Lord's metal body gives him prodigious strength and over their long lives they have gained an understanding of the world like no others, their perspective unclouded by the worries of the living.
• Construct (Living Construct) or Incorporeal (see Body and Soul)
• Medium:
• A Broken Lord's base land speed is 30 feet
• Soul Drain (Su): The Broken Lord devours another's soul to sustain himself. This ability can be performed on any living being adjacent to the Broken Lord that cannot escape and takes a full turn to use. For the remainder of the encounter, the Broken Lord gains +1 to all stats except CHA and CON. In the process, the creature being drained is killed and may not be resurrected by any means save a Wish or Miracle spell.
• Body and Soul (Su): The Broken Lord's being is split in two, the armor that lets him interact with the physical world and his soul. When a Broken Lord reaches -10hp his armor is destroyed and his soul is released. He becomes an Incorporeal being with 20hp. these deplete by one every minute unless the Broken Lord can return to his armor. This is done by Soul Draining 5 creatures within 5 feet of the armor, which must be repaired to at least 1hp. This gives the Broken Lord the strength to re-bind himself and contain the life-force that he needs to 'live'.
• The Dark Hunger (Su): If a Broken Lord does not feed via Soul Drain for longer than a week, the suffers a -1 to all stats, the penalty increasing by one for each further week. Once he uses Soul Drain again, immediately remove all penalties and reset the 'timer'.
• Flesh of Steel (Ex): A Broken Lord's armoured body grants them +5 natural armour. In addition, a Broken Lord cannot wear armour, although they can improve their own armour.
• Automatic Languages: Common and the Broken Speech.
• Favored Class: Any non divine class.
• LA: 2

Vital Statistics

As Broken Lords do not age, do not vary based on gender and their weight is entirely dependant on the material that their armour is constructed from, the vital stats of other races are irrelevant.

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