Gemstonians (5e Race)

Gemstonians

“	No matter the distance between us, we'll surely see each other soon, for whenever there's darkness upon us, we're under the light of the same moon.	”
—David Bird, in a letter to Teresa Rose Maddox.

Physical Description

Gemstonians are ancient, flesh-crafting sentient constructs that often take an outward appearance of a race they are dealing with, while their true form remains protected underneath. The skeleton of a Gemstonian is its true form, its vital pieces and the magic that holds it together compacted within. Even melting the flesh off of this creature in the most horrible ways imaginable doesn't bring it any lasting pain, since even its nerves are fabricated and disposable to it. Being social creatures, most only take the time to learn one form to craft quickly, and they usually appear human as a result. While their skeleton is primarily made out of one material depending on its kind, all kinds of gemstones can be found in lesser portions therein.

History

Gemstonians originated outside of the known multiverse of D&D. They existed in a separate universe, wherein magic did not permeate every corner of existence but instead was concentrated closer to the worlds that existed there. Without this ambient magic to constantly draw from, creatures of that universe had to evolve to generate their own magic, creating a life sourced magical energy called mana. That universe still exists, but after mastering its dangers, some of the creatures from it branched out into the D&D multiverse, because the D&D multiverse and its deities began to branch out into it. The resulting conflicts are already old news by this point, however; And while the travel is a daunting task only undertaken by powerful casters, most Gemstonians within D&D are no longer from there and doesn't necessarily even know more than a normal intelligent creature would about the big wide multiverse around them. However, there are a few exceptions, notably Half-Gemstonians, Diamondians, and Obsideons, all of which can't be created by anyone other than the creator of that universe, or at least with his permission. Without it, no one in either that universe or the D&D multiverse can create one of them, include the deities! Much to their surprise and slight fear. Because of this, deities tend to have extreme caution and at least a slight fear of Gemstonians.

Gemstonians were one of the first sentient peoples within this other universe, existing on a world called Origin for a very long time. However, after some time building up civilization as the dominant race of the world, in-fighting led to a war that ultimately encompassed the entire planet. The Obsideons, arrogant to a fault, ended up cornered by all the other peoples of the world teaming up against them, including Lesser Dragons that also lived on the world. This only proved to stalemate the fighting on its own, but the braver among the Gemstonians turned the world itself into a weapon to destroy the Obsideons. Obviously, this meant they had to abandon ship and ended up scattered throughout the cosmos.

Society

With Gemstonians, in general their personalities vary wildly depending on the gem they are primarily made out of. Separated into two types, Rarities and Geode Founded, the differences between them are shown below:

Rarities

Rarities are a general term that describe Gemstonians that are inherently of higher value and as such status by birth than the Geode Founded. There are several different kinds, each primarily made of a specific kind of rare mineral. This also makes them rarer than Geode Founded, though this seems disproportionate to the actual rarity of the gems they're made of.

Obsideons think they're better than everyone, especially all other Constructs, generally because they tend to be right. Good ones are terribly uncommon, but even they are only on the side of good because they think they have to protect all their fragile friends because no one else can. Obsideons have never been recorded to go insane, and while it's definitely supposed to be possible eventually, it's equally likely all of existence dies before this would naturally occur.

DM Note: Obsideons are not playable characters. They are far more powerful than all other kinds of Gemstonians normally become, and are more worthy of NPC stat blocks than any subrace. A typical Obsideon stat block can be found here: Vicious Obsideon (5e Creature).

Diamondians are almost exclusively cold and calculating, doing what they're supposed to do and nothing more. They feign emotion, which is as often a boon as it is a fault. They can understand how emotions affect others and use that against their foes whenever possible. They are no strangers to the power of friendship but view it at a practical level. Their most often shared philosophy is that no matter how powerful someone is, they will never be more powerful than themselves and others together. As such, they take help wherever they can find it, no matter how small. It just doesn't make sense to them to reject aid, even when others would because of a would-be ally being too weak or young or naïve. They remember every person that fails, however, and don't often take that person's help twice.

Rubicons seek peace and love and despise fighting. They wildly swing through life pursuing their whims and passions without a second thought. These two natures sometimes conflict with each other, leaving them unable to quickly decide what they should do. Their anger or frustration often ends up bottled up without release, until it reaches a breaking point that can leave even innocent bystanders the victims of long-winded rants and bouts of heated fury with nowhere to go. Allies that become true friends to a Rubicon understand this tendency, and usually try to break their habit by doing everything they can to get them to say what's wrong. Of course, a Rubicon only really opens up to people it can trust not to be offended by whatever they have to say.

Sapphirises are hyperactive thinkers that want nothing more than their amazing inventions to be recognized, even when they're not actually that good. They tend to adapt their Flesh Crafting to accommodate nerves sensitive to electricity, as they work with it a lot. They are metalworkers that try to understand mechanical engineering, but depending on the setting, they might be alone in their endeavors. They take any book knowledge they can get their hands on, and are most fond of learning new things, especially when the knowledge might help them make crazier gadgets. They'd probably get along really well with Gnomes.

Emeraldans are stalwart defenders of law and justice. They value loyalty in others and are especially shocked when they discover a creature with courage that isn't as tough as they are. The idea of a creature standing to protect them that really should be behind them is flabbergasting to them and likely to earn their respect immediately, once they get over themselves that is. A friend of an Emerald is one for life.

Geode Founded

Regardless of if it's Quartz or Amethyst, Geode Founded strive for feats no one's ever accomplished before. They are the most varied group, as they aren't a particular kind, but many different kinds with varied personalities but similar capabilities. Amethyst Founded, in particular, are adept at understanding magic. Jet Founded are the weakest of the weak, only making themselves known to each other or those that forcefully make their acquaintance. They prefer the shadows and the quiet, and are the shortest lived Gemstonians as a result of their own stressed personality, with many living effectively mortal lives comparable to unhealthy humans. The slightest unexpected noise can make a Jet jump. The worst, most uncomfortable place to be is anywhere loud and crowded.

Gemstonian Names

Gemstonians take names from things they like, which can be just about anything. Some also take names inspired by other popular Gemstonians. A less traditional newer practice is for a Gemstonian to take the name of a powerful foe that it defeats forever, as proof of their accomplishment. To a Gemstonian, a name is earned, and it's not uncommon for one to not have a "real" name until it does something worthwhile. Since a Gemstonian is made for a specific job, they'll often have names related to their profession, since they're hard built to enjoy it. If a Gemstonian picks up additional names that it keeps, it always introduces itself using all of them at least once. Every Obsideon has a name given directly to them by their creator, and as a result, often has human-like names.

Examples: Bird, Fish, Yarn, Smith, Lou, Cookie, Sparkle, Shell, Siege, Shield, Transmute, Conjure, Abjure

Gemstonian Traits

Terrifyingly efficient flesh crafting magical sentient constructs from another universe! What's not to love?
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2.
Age. Gemstonians are made ready for life, and never physically age. However, Gemstonians are driven incoherently insane after about 500 years, to the point of ruin. Gemstonians will usually deteriorate less than a century later, their insanity deepening into a sleep from which they can never wake. Half-Gemstonians need about the same amount of time as humans to develop their minds, and as they are half-mortal, they wither and die just as fast as a human, avoiding the insanity of their immortal halves. Some Gemstonians benefitting from powers such as the Boon of Immortality seem to avoid this unpleasant end, never naturally falling victim to that mysterious aliment.
Alignment. The different kinds of Gemstonians have a smattering of alignments as varied as humans. Diamondians and Emeraldans prefer law, Rubicons and Sapphirises prefer chaos, and Obsideons and Geode Founded lean towards neutrality.
Size. Gemstonians are usually built near the size and builds that a human could normally possess, which allows most to pass off as humans.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Tough As Rocks. When you would take bludgeoning damage as a result of falling, you instead take no damage while you are not incapacitated.
Flesh Crafting. While you have more than half your hit points remaining, you are indistinguishable from a normal humanoid with an appearance of your choice. This false appearance cannot be changed by this trait once chosen.
Construct Nature. Your creature type is construct instead of humanoid. You don't require food or water, you don't age, and can't be aged by magical means. If you are over 500 years old you gain a form of indefinite madness, and can't regain hit points in any way until this madness is removed. You lose 1 of your maximum hit points each year thereafter while you have this madness, and if this reduces your maximum hit points to 0 you fall unconscious, unable to be awakened by any means. Your maximum hit points can only be restored if your madness is cured, which returns your maximum hit point total to normal.
Geometrical Weakness. You are considered an object for spells and effects that would deal additional damage to objects.
Fool's Gems. When you die the bones in your body disintegrate into worthless gem dust which cannot be used for spells.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Celestial.
Subrace. Pick one from rarities, geode founded, or half-gemstonian.

Rarities

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 1.
Calculated. You can choose to reroll a failed attack roll, ability check, or saving throw. Once you have done so once, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.
Summon The Blade. As a bonus action, you can turn one or both of your arms into living blades, or return your arms to normal. These blades are considered to be shortswords and you are proficient with using them. While your arms are transformed this way, you cannot use them for anything else other than as blades. You cannot transform your arms this way if your hands are bound.

Geode Founded

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1.
Speciality. You have proficiency in one set of artisans tools of your choice.
Hard Worker. You have advantage on saving throws against exhaustion causing effects.

Half-Gemstonian

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1.
Ancestry. You gain one trait of your choice from one of the other subraces. This trait cannot be an ability score increase.
Mortal. You do not have the Construct Nature trait. You age at the same rate as humans and require food, water, air, and sleep as a normal human would. However, you also lack the Geometrical Weakness trait.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
4′ 10''	+2d10	120 lb.	× (2d6) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

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