Creepy Doll (5e Race)

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This content deviates from 5e standards. Its use could dramatically alter campaigns, take extreme care.

Caution - Here there be monsters! This content intends to provide a different experience, or goes beyond the scope of the anticipated subjects and situations, than the 5e rules were intended to handle. Some portions of the content below may not be what you expect from traditional game content. When implementing this content, DMs and Players should read over all the information carefully, and consider the following specific notes of interest:

This race uses a Tiny size character.

Creepy Doll

“	And the flashlight shows you something moving just inside the door; There's a tattered dress and a feeling you have felt somewhere before; And there's a creepy doll, That always follows you, It's got a ruined eye, That's always open; And there's a creepy doll, That always follows you, It's got a pretty mouth, To swallow you whole	”
—Johnathan Coulton, Creepy Doll

Physical Description

Any one of these could be alive. Are you willing to bet on it? (Source: Pinterest[[1]])

Creepy Dolls are a varied race. Some philosophers who know about their existence argue that they are not a proper race at all, due to their origins, but there are a few physical features that all creepy dolls share. The first is obviously that they are a doll of some kind - whether a much-beloved child's toy, or a more sophisticated puppet, or even an entertainer's dummy. But they could be made of cloth, wood, metal, porcelain, or even plastic in some settings. Sometimes they will be decorated with button eyes, fake hair, real hair (usually from an animal such as a horse), or sometimes other materials if the doll was made in the image of another race, like bird feathers if it was made to look like a Kenku or other bird race.

In many circumstances, you wouldn't be able to tell a Creepy Doll from an ordinary, everyday doll, except that they can move under their own power. And when they move, they move in short bursts, or on all fours, or with an awkward walk that almost certainly puts an observer on edge. Many, if not most, creepy dolls also show signs of wear, tear, and often outright damage, such as missing eyes, cracked paint, or pieces of cotton sticking out of seams. Whether this is from love or abuse is anyone's guess.

History

The origin of creepy dolls is completely unknown, as the origin of each individual doll is usually unique. Some dolls are created purposefully, with or without a soul, and animated with black magic. Others are naturally occurring, sometimes when a much-loved keepsake of a child is abandoned and malign spirits possess it, or when the wear and tear of a doll fill with the stress and fury of its owner which becomes incarnate inside the doll. Sometimes someone dies, and their soul is trapped in a nearby shell, and sometimes a doll collects a multitude of spirits of the dead, and together their lost souls bring a semblance of life to the doll.

Creepy dolls may not exist in every world or campaign setting, but in the setting of Innistrad creepy dolls are a known threat, and on the discovery of one, townspeople will band together to remove it from their city, lethally or by force. The infrequency of the appearance of creepy dolls means that few people are ever on guard for them, though, and many small villages have been lost to the killing sprees on which these dolls have a tendency to go on.

Society

Most creepy dolls believe themselves to be one-of-a-kind, alone in the world, with none like them. There are very few instances where multiple creepy dolls have banded together to form their own community, instead, the vast majority of dolls are influenced by the society around them. The societies of humans, for example, are the most likely to lead to the appearance of a Creepy Doll, which mold's the doll's perception of the world. Creepy dolls are very small and tend to gain sentience in the worst of situations, so usually see the worst a society has to offer, which creates a filtered perception of the world.

Their perception of other races is usually one of disdain, disgust, or morbid curiosity, with a desire to pick apart the strings that hold these people together and see what makes them tick. Often this involves stalking and brutally murdering people in cold blood, sometimes planning for weeks or months between kills, and sometimes going on killing sprees and wiping out whole populations in a single night. It is not uncommon for a doll to then craft an effigy of its victims, putting it in the place of the one it killed as if it were still performing its daily routine, though it is rarely the case for the effigy to become another creepy doll and actually take the place of the victim. Although most creepy dolls are potential killers, though, some are content to observe or even serve other races, although it makes them no less disturbing to see.

In some rare cases, when multiple creepy dolls do gather in number, sometimes because a collection of ordinary dolls was all animated at once, or sometimes because the effigies crafted by a single doll all became creepy dolls themselves, they will fashion a small likeness to a settlement belonging to another race, a mockery of the daily lives the people once lived. They understand, either from the life they may have lived before being a doll if they were once alive or from observing the lives of others, the routines that their victims once followed, even if they don't understand the purpose.

Creepy Doll Names

Creepy Dolls don't have a naming convention of their own. Typically, they are given names by members of other races, either by children who once owned the doll or by adults who recognize the appearance of a creepy doll to be a likeness of someone they knew. Dolls who have not been given a name seldom ever take a name for themselves.

Male: Nothing, Andy, Leo, Zack, Oliver

Female: Nothing, Lucy, Sally, Sandy, Molly

Creepy Doll Traits

A small doll given unnatural life.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score decreases by 1, to a minimum of 1.
Age. Creepy dolls are created, and might start adventuring as soon as it's 'born'. They do not die of old age.
Alignment. Most creepy dolls tend towards evil. Some are planners and even OCD, and may be lawful, while others are serial killers that murder on a whim and may be chaotic.
Size. Creepy Dolls were once actual dolls and vary from a few inches to just over a foot and a half. Your size is Tiny.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 20 feet.
Construct Type. You are a doll animated by something unnatural. Your creature type is construct instead of humanoid. As such, spells like cure wounds don't affect you, and you are immune to spells like crown of madness or dominate person because they specifically target humanoids. You are immune to poison damage, being poisoned, and diseases. You do not need to eat or breathe, though you can if you wish. Rather than sleeping, you enter an inactive state for 6 hours each day. You do not dream in this state; you are fully aware of your surroundings and notice approaching enemies and other events as normal. Additionally, you cannot be put to sleep by magic.
Mendable. When the mending spell is cast on you, it has the following alterations: It has a casting time of 1 action. If you have 0 hit points you become stable. As part of the casting of mending the caster may expend any level of spell slot to cause you to regain a number of hit points equal to 1d8, plus their spellcasting ability modifier. For each level of the spell slot expended you regain an additional 1d8 hit points.
False Appearance. While motionless, you appear indistinguishable from an ordinary doll.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice which the creator of the doll you inhabit spoke.
Subrace. Not every doll is created equally, possessed of its own will or not. Pick one subrace from the following list, and add its traits to your existing traits. (Puppeteer, Silent Stalker, Dummy)

Puppeteer

Puppeteers love to pull on the strings of others, seeing them dance like marionettes in a line. Their ability to exchange minds with an unwitting victim lets them manipulate others on a whole new level.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution and Wisdom scores each increase by 1.
Can't Play With Me. You are a doll that commands, rather than is commanded and controlled. You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed.
Commanding String. You know and can cast the puppet spell. You can use this spell via this trait a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, regaining all use after your finish a long rest. Wisdom is your spellcasting modifier for this spell.

Silent Stalker

It’s in the walls! It’s in the shadows! I heard its footsteps in the walls! I saw eyes in the darkness! Hug me, I’m scared!

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2.
Stealthy Toy. You are proficient in the Stealth skill.
Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Unencumbered Movement. Your base speed is increases by 10 feet when you are not wearing heavy armor.

Dummy

Nyah, who’s the dummy now, dummy?

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence and Charisma scores each increase by 1.
Verbal Assault. You know the vicious mockery cantrip. Intelligence is your casting modifier for this spell.
Dauntless. You are a fearlessly scathing toy. You are immune to being frightened.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
0′ 4''	+2d8	3 lb.	× 1 lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

Suggested Characteristics

When creating a Creepy Doll character, you can use the following table of traits, ideals, bonds and flaws to help flesh out your character. Use these tables in addition to or in place of your background's characteristics.

d8	Personality Trait
1	I create and leave effigies in the shape of my victims in their place.
2	I find everything to be a joke.
3	People are scum, they deserve what's coming to them.
4	I love it when something is put into a concrete definition like a game.
5	I long for bloodshed.
6	Even I understand patience is a virtue. So why can't these fleshlings?
7	Death comes for us all? Not me, loser!
8	I like to watch from the corner, unnoticed.

d6	Ideal
1	Slaughter I hate everything about flesh and blood (evil)
2	Mockery Look at them, the stupid heads, what fools! (neutral)
3	The Plan No plan is too convoluted, there are never enough contingencies (lawful)
4	Wanderlust I can't stand waiting around for something to happen (chaotic)
5	Perfect Mimicry I want to make sure everything looks just like the fleshlings have it (any)
6	My Kind I wish to find, or create, more like me (any)

d6	Bond
1	There was a child that once loved me.
2	I keep a piece of my first victim with me.
3	I owe a debt to my creator.
4	I was made in the image of a deceased.
5	I'm all alone in this world.
6	One of the fleshlings has taken a shine to me, and I like their face.

d6	Flaw
1	I spend too long planning my next kill, and often miss my opportunity
2	I have a soft spot for children and hate myself for it
3	I'm obsessed with my flawed appearance
4	I want to be a real person and try things they do, like eat and drink
5	I feel no empathy whatsoever
6	The sight of blood disturbs me deeply

References

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