Reanimated (5e Race)

Reanimated

The elven Dr. East scrutinized his subject lying peacefully on a wooden slab. Hastily adjusting his spectacles and looking back at his notes, he noted the time and dosage of his reagent. His illegible scribble flowed down his roll of parchment, the sleeves of his white tunic slipping every time he fervently crossed his Ts. A loud knock on the door and a shouting of his name startled him, sending his inkwell careening across his desk. He cursed under his breath as he began to head towards the door, carelessly tossing his pen to the side. Suddenly, the subject sprang up and yanked Dr. East backwards, the two of them crashing into a bookshelf. Dr. East tried his best to wrangle the creation, quickly grabbing a large copy of Common Medical Maladies and Their Treatments, 5th Edition to defend himself with. The noise resulted in the solid oak door being slammed open, fellow researchers peering curiously into the cramped laboratory. Blood, spilled reagent, ink, and various books littered the floor. Dr. East had managed to bludgeon his creation’s head to a gory pulp and dropped the book as eyes fell upon him. One called for guards as East stood up, desperately explaining himself through heaving breaths as they shouted accusations of murder and malpractice at him. He ran over to the subject, caressing the stitches and tentatively prodding various muscle masses. His brow furrowed in concentration as he mentally noted details about his experiment before his arms were wrenched behind his back by two guards. As he was dragged down the hallway, bucking wildly to free himself, he shouted “I did not murder him! I gave him life!”

Physical Description

Reanimated are created in two different ways, though are occasionally brought to life using both methods. The first is an injection of endorphins and other similar hormones into the heart. The creator will perform CPR to circulate the drug into the reanimated’s system. The second method is much more common and much less precise. This process involves sending a calculated electrical shock through the reanimated’s heart to restart it. Reanimated are very androgynous looking unless their creator chooses to give them more binary features such as increased body hair, full hips, a rounder face, an Adam’s apple, etc. Reanimated are not able to reproduce, but can be modified to impregnate or carry children if their creator sees fit. Creators use sinew, twine, waxed thread, or staples to combine parts and bring their reanimated to fruition. “Older” reanimated have keloid or faded scars, which makes it easy to estimate their general age. Reanimated coloration covers the full humanoid range, though it is often more pallid or jaundiced. Segments of tissue with necrosis are also found on older reanimated and will need to be replaced with surgery and skin grafting. Tissue from different races can be grafted to one another, but face increased infection rate and tissue rejection.

An example of a male reanimated. Image credit to LiamRSharp

Accursed Creation

The first reanimated was created by Victor Franke, a physician turned necromancer. Mary Shelley, a renowned scholar, caught wind of Franke’s experiments and apprenticed underneath him. She recorded the first instance of artificial life in a paper which made the public aware of the existence of reanimated. Since Shelley’s paper has been published, various feats ranging from amazement to horrors have occurred involving reanimated.

Ostracized and Outcast

There are two main public opinions on reanimated. Some view them as sacrilegious and that the humanoid’s body and soul used to create them is devoid of a peaceful rest. To these, reanimated are regarded as abominations to nature, science, and religion. However, some are much more accepting towards reanimated and believe they were resurrected to serve a greater cause. They are also a topic of scientific and natural curiosity. Some towns and cities make the creation of reanimated illegal while others strictly regulate their manufacture to aid in state run labor. Regardless of how they are viewed socially, reanimated are often judged based on their unusual physical appearance.

Reanimated Names

Reanimated do not remember their past names, so they or their creator will choose a new one. Reanimated tend to take up the last name of their creator to avoid arousing suspicion on official documents or in formal social settings. Their names are mostly gender neutral but some creators like to allude to famous scientists or scholars, like a past mentor or someone whose work they particularly admire. Others choose to give their reanimated names resembling scientific taxonomy, as a reference to their favorite scientific procedure, or even a nod to materials they enjoy working with. Reanimated with longer names will typically be given nicknames.

Gender Neutral: Alex, Amber, Bailey, Brook, Clay, Delta, Elliot, Erin, Harper, Lark, Rowan, Shiloh

Masculine: Alan, Bernard, Charles, Cousteau, Herbert, Huxley, Leonardo, Mendel, Miller, Nelson, Theo

Feminine: Astrid, Carolyn, Christina, Eileen, Eleanor, Lizzie, Jane, Joan, Margot, Rosalind, Ruth, Sarah, Polly, Pauline

Reanimated Surnames: Attenborough, Audubon, Carver, Curie, Darwin, Lamarck, Pasteur, Pavlov, Salk

Reanimated Traits

Reanimated are made from parts of deceased humanoids which are connected together and brought back to life through the use of chemical or electrical activation.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2.
Age. Most reanimated range in age from days old to about 30 years if they are properly looked after. They tend to reach mental maturity about 3 years after their initial creation.
Alignment. Reanimated are True Neutral, but they tend to align with the morals of their creator or their party. They are morally influenced by others as they have lost all sense of their previous moral compass.
Size. Reanimated range in height between 4 to 8 feet. Build size ranges from skeletal to unhealthily muscular as reanimated tend to have very low amounts of body fat and dense musculature. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Creator's Tongue. You can speak, read, and write one extra language. The chosen language can be: Gnomish, Elvish, Goblin, Halfling, Giant, Dwarvish, or Orc.
Living Construct. Even though you were constructed, you are a living creature. You are immune to disease. You do not need to eat, drink, or breathe, but you can ingest food and drink if you wish. Instead of sleeping, you enter an inactive state for 4 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.
Horrible Healing. As a bonus action, you can consume the flesh of a non-undead, non-construct creature to regain 1d8 + your Constitution modifier hit points. You can use this trait a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice.
Subrace. Brain, Beauty, Brawn

Brain

As a brain reanimated, you were made to provide your creator assistance as they work. Though not as knowledgeable in the topic, you have gleaned bits of information through observation. Brain tend to be accountants, bookkeepers, or archivists.

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence or Wisdom scores increase by 1.
Skill Proficiencies. You gain proficiency with one of the following skills: Animal Handling, Arcana, History, Medicine, Nature, Religion, or Survival.
Lab Rat. From observing your creator’s work, you have picked up some of their knowledge. You gain proficiency with one set of tools.

Beauty

As a beauty reanimated, your creator made you with looks in mind. Beauty tend to be soothsayers, con artists, or companions to their creator. They also tend to appear more binary than their brain or brawn counterparts due to social and cultural attractions.

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1.
Artificial Allure. You are able to cast the charm person spell twice. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for this spell. You regain all uses of this trait when you finish a long rest.

Brawn

As a brawn reanimated, you were made to assist your creator with (quite literally) the heavy lifting their job requires. Brawn tend to fulfill the roles of grunt workers, bodyguards, or mercenaries. Though much hardier than their brain or beauty counterparts, they also need to be repaired and maintained much more often.

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1.
Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
Secret Strength. When you are at half hit points or lower, you have advantage on Strength (Athletics) checks.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
5′ 5''	+1d10	100 lb.	× (2d4) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

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