User:Quincy/Tall Knight (5e Equipment)

Vehicle, Legendary (Requires attunement) Cost: 100,000 gp
Weight: ~800 lb.
Speed: 60 ft
Carrying Capacity: ~450 lb.

(Represents a variety of fantasy giant robots, inspired by Guyemelefs from "Vision of Escaflowne", the ATACs from "Vanguard Bandits", the Incorruptus from "White Knight Chronicles", Warstriders from "Exalted" RPG, the various mecha designs from "The Five Star Stories", the Magitek Armors which appeard in "FFIV", the "Swords & Sorcery" RPG setting "Dragonmech", the "Warmachine" tabletop wargame, and a few other less influential sources. It is also strongly influenced by historic notions of witchcraft and magic in general. It uses an interlock construction system inspired by the "Mekton" RPG to design its form and features, transplanted entirely into the mechanics of D&D 5e.)

"Tall Knight" is a colloquialism referring to a broad range of unique war machines of incredible power. A tall knight is the product of magic and technology united as one with a single shared goal. That vision was a complete hybridization of knight, armor, weapon, and steed, into a single being. They were originally constructed to fight dragons and other massive threats, and the earliest models could take hundreds of years to construct. Even today, the construction of a tall knight usually exceeds 100 years, and so remains the craft of long-lived races, such as Dwarves and Elves. The premise is fairly simple; construct a very big golem, but instead of wasting power on giving it any degree of will of its own, have it simply copy another person's actions. Thus, creation can focus entirely on making the golem more powerful or dangerous. The next step from there was to not actually use very much personal magical power in creation. Instead, they would tap into other power sources to drive the magical effects which power the machine. The materials chosen were; a large gemstone, a dragon's heart, and the life essence (blood) of a living being. Because they are so costly to construct, they are commonly only used by nobility, or of a certain trained person or family appointed to a unique rank by nobility, and ownership is typically inherited. Many are preserved, sealed away, hidden, or kept in a dismantled state to prevent their access and use by those unworthy or unintended. There is basically no such thing as trade in tall knights. What trade does exist, is typically in the form of a construction contract or as a gift from one nation to another, typically as part of a royal wedding.

A tall knight, in the game, is not intended to be a standard piece of equipment. They are a symbolic force to be reckoned with, ideal for massive, climactic events. They are used rarely, and only in the most dire of situations, when people are driven to combat in such desperate circumstances, that their behavior nears psychosis. It is the extreme limits of what is humanly acceptable, beyond which is mere madness and hollow cruelty. The person who uses the machine sacrifices their blood, and risks bleeding to death just by running the machine, let alone the threat of being killed by whatever it is they are fighting against. No good person fully accepts the idea of a tall knight, it is cruelty beyond imagination, and their creation and use was driven by cruelty beyond imagination. That said, they are nearly always used as a force for good, and many are religious icons, representing the force of some god made manifest. It is very important that, when you intend to use a tall knight, its meaning be considered carefully. What does it represent? Is it used? Has it ever been used? Can it even be used? What is it supposed to be used for? Who owns it, and how is it kept? Why was it made? What will happen if it is used? What could cause someone to use it? What did it take to be constructed? What kind of impact has it had on history and society? Here are some examples of excellent use for a tall knight;

• "I have never witnessed such savagery in my life. The twin giants of silvered steel and gold filigree, towering over their respective forces. Neither one concerned for the death they wrought underfoot, as they exchanged blows. Two kings, driven by personal hatred, trampling friend and foe alike, as our ears bled from the sheer force of the noise. There was no honor here, no glory, no meaning, only death and hate."

• "...and as it sank into the magma, I watched its glistening hulk glow red with fury... And it watched back, its bloodthirsty emerald eyes flickering in the light of the volcano's inferno. Five thousand years, this thing has plagued humanity, first in the lives it claimed to be constructed, then in the lives of massive monsters who threatened us, then in the lives it took to conquer our so-called enemies, and finally, in the lives it claimed of its own people when we realized the truth of our heritage. Never again shall it take another life. This chapter in our history is closed."

• "I felt the familiar straps wrap around my body, gripping me, feeling every muscle. I braced myself, and as I did, the collar locked around my neck, sinking its teeth into the place of those old scars. The view grate slid open with a hiss and I could see the rows of soldiers arrayed before me. Today was the end of the siege. Today is our last stand. Today we shall break down our own walls, and we shall taste the fresh air of freedom again, but not before we taste the blood of those who would have us rot in this stone casket!"

• "As Nathus translated the forgotten words on the massive brass door, it suddenly gave a jerk, dust raining down from the ceiling, and slowly rose to reveal a grand chamber. All around were ancient metal benches and tools of unknown origin, and the walls were richly adorned with precious gems and metals. And, sitting at the far end of the chamber, was a huge suit of armor in an equally huge marble throne engraved to resemble a writhing mass of dragons. We stared in shock... And fear... Though clearly inanimate, we could all feel it staring back at us."

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Two Tall Knights 2930 by Licheus

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Properties

An industrial Tall Knight Model A3 by Docslav---GE

Regardless of the many varying properties among tall knights, there are some basic, or foundational properties shared by all.

First and foremost, the tall knight is a vehicle, much like a steed, but fully passive and obedient, with no mind of its own. The tall knight can travel at a speed of 40ft.. The warrior effectively replaces his own body with that of the tall knight, and in so doing, also trades his physical abilities for those of the tall knight. The earliest and weakest tall knights were made primarily for combatting dragons, and so their scores are relative to those of dragons.

STR: 30 (+10)

DEX: 15 (0)

CON: 25 (+7)

Whenever the character using a tall knight needs to make a check or save using one of those three abilities, they use the ability of the tall knight instead of their own. If they have proficiency with tall knight use, then they may add their proficiency bonus as well. If they have proficiency with Tall Knight use then all their weapon, shield, and Athletics/Acrobatics proficiencies transfer to the Tall Knight as well as their Ability Saves. So a falling knight might roll with a punch, or make a jump check, but can't normally or easily try to pick a pocket or make a stealth check.

Additionally, a tall knight is huge in size, ranging around 15ft. tall, but sometimes more. For so long as a character is using a tall knight, they are considered to be huge. A tall knight is more than a steed, it is also a suit of armor, and so has properties akin to armor. It also takes damage in the place of the warrior as well, so it has its own HD and HP.

AC: 19

HD: 19d12+133

HP: 256

Normally in combat, all damage is dealt directly to the tall knight. However, each time an enemy of large size or greater succeeds on an attack roll against a tall knight, they may also make a second attack roll. If they succeed on that attack roll, then half the damage from the initial attack is also dealt to the warrior inside. Intentionally attacking the person inside a tall knight is generally considered to be an atrocious act of cruelty and malice, as they are typically of royal blood. As such, attacking or killing another tall knight warrior, rather than destroying their machine, is often considered a crime, even if your superiors ordered you to do it.

At the start of a round, if the tall knight has no operating time, the tall knight drains life essence from its user to power itself, dealing 1d4 piercing damage to the user. This grants it four rounds of operating time. The tall knight can be made to do this even when it has operating time, as an action. Thus, the effective operating time of the tall knight is directly dependent on how long the user can survive having their blood drained.

Antimagic Susceptibility. Like an animated suit of armor, a tall knight is more than just a magic robot- it is magically infused with the genuine life force of a living being- the power of their soul extended into its form. However, this state is sustained by magical effects, and shutting down those effects is tantamount to killing the tall knight. When in an antimagic field, the tall knight is incapacitated. It is likewise incapacitated for one minute when struck with dispell.

Heavy and Loud. Whenever a tall knight moves over another character, the character(s) must make a DC15 DEX save or take 2d6 bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone by the force of its footsteps. Additionally, any melee attacks made by the tall knight are so loud they inflict 1d4 thunder damage to any creature with unprotected hearing within 30ft of it- including its user! Creatures with improved sense of hearing, such as wolves or elves, are affected by this out to 60ft and damage is doubled within 30ft.

Some Experience Required. Anyone who is not proficient in tall knight use suffers automatic 0 initiative when using a tall knight. Also, all physical saves and checks are made at disadvantage.

Expensive. No matter how great the craftsmanship, no matter how fine or strong the steel, iron simply has its limits, and the tall knight exceeds them. During even a simple walk, a tall knight experiences stress damage costing equal to 10% of its value to repair. When actually damaged, (HP reduced) the percentage of its HP lost is the percentage of its value which must be spent to repair it. When actually damaged, such as by combat, a tall knight becomes extremely dangerous to use, due to all if the various unseen weaknesses created. Using a tall knight without repairing it leaves one open to catastrophe. Each time an action is performed, and each time the tall knight moves, its user makes a catastrophe save against a DC of 1. The DC increases by 1 each time the catastrophe save is made. If the character fails the save, the tall knight experiences a catastrophic failure and collapses, shutting down and dealing 4d6 bludgeoning damage to the user.

Construction

This section covers all the variable qualities that a tall knight may exhibit. This is best used by a DM to create tall knights for the campaign, not by the players themselves. Tall knights are fundamentally overpowered, and so are intended as plot devices more than typical equipment. After all, most races wouldn't live long enough to see a tall knight be completed, and basically no campaigns last long enough for it either. When designing a tall knight, try to consider its meaning, theme, symbolism, and intended impact. Not just what it does, but what it means. When calculating costs and statistics, you must consider how each component affects the various attributes, particularly speed and price, which are frequently altered. In general, the calculation should be done in the order that the subject is discussed in this topic, but here is the actual order, just for reference sake:

Body + Weapons + Mundane Powers + Engine + Magical Powers = Final Values

So, for instance, a tall knight may be made with a pair of active wings, increasing the price by 10,000gp. It also uses a quartz gemstone containment, which halves the price of the tall knight. Because the gemstone's changes are calculated after the body, the 110,000gp price tag drops to 55,000gp. (As opposed to 50,000gp being increased to 60,000gp due to the wings if the reverse were true)

Body

A gargantuan Tall Knight by R-Tan

A tall knight's body consists of a large chamber to contain the user. This containment varies greatly, but typically consists of some form of suit/harness which fixes the user to the tall knight's interior and gives their limbs room to move freely. Attached to the outside of this are various limbs and armor plating. The form these limbs take needs to resemble the person who is using it somewhat. If a tall knight has four arms and its user only has two, only two of the arms will be of any use!

Form

This section deals with the general shape of the tall knight. However, it is discussed only in abstract mechanical terms. The exact details of anatomical arangement and aesthetics hold little baring on functionality, and so such details are left up to the imagination. This makes the system more flexible and versatile. In the mythic origins of the tall knight, it is said that the first tall knight took the form of a flying dragon, though the ability to fly or interpret the movements of a mismatched user form weren't designed until much later.

Torso

Variably called a suit, cage, or casket. It is a large hollow armored shell with a suit attached at a fixed point inside. This suit is called a harness, and is the tool used by the tall knight to read the user's actions. There is typically some form of grate, window, or some other opening through which the user can view their surroundings. An opening has perfect visibility, but is an easy target, applying -1AC. A grate has no effect on AC, but decreases vision, applying -1 to attack. It is possible to have a grate which can be opened and closed, allowing the operator to switch between the two, for 1,000gp. A s crying orb can instead be bound to some external point of focus, such as faux eyes on the tall knight's head, allowing the user to see clearly without any impediment, but costs 5,000gp.

A torso can come in essentially two overall designs. The basic design is, as described, simply a hollow chamber, a cockpit for the user if you will. It is solid and inflexible. In other words, you have no waist, you cannot twist or bend. It is clumsy. For an additional 10,000 gp, the torso can be bisected, having a flexing and twisting midsection, granting a +2 dexterity bonus. The point of flexion is usually in the halfway between where all of the arms connect and where all of the legs connect, but this is just a guideline, not a rule. There are, after all, some armless tall knights.

Head

Most tall knights lack a head. Most which have a head are either decorative, (something like a combined helmet crest and hood ornament) or are actually an over sized helmet for the user. Later designs, however, have begun to make actual use of the head. Some are used explicitly as an armored containment for the engine, while others are enchanted with magical effects, such as granting the user the ability to breathe underwater, or see in the dark. A few also have built-in weapons, such as breath weapons. For more information, see the weapons section and the powers section. (For heads with posable necks and jaws, such as a dragon's head and neck, capable of biting, grasping, and other actions, see the arms section.)

Arms

Arms can be one of two types based on the nature of their distal terminus. A standard arm ends with a fully articulated hand, allowing it to manipulate objects and interact with the environment. These can be as simple as a pincer or mitten, or as complex as the human hand, or even more so. Standard arms are extremely complex and so cost an additional 1,000gp per arm. A weaponized arm ends with a permanent weapon attachment, such as a large blade or crushing claw. Though they lack the ability to meaningfully interact with the environment, they cost nothing extra, and grant +1 on attack rolls using their weapon. Another feature of an arm is its reach and articulation. Standard reach limbs make no difference to functionality, but arms can be extended to have up to reach x3 (+15 ft melee attack range). Articulation refers to the way the joints are arranged and interact, as well as how many segments there are. Articulation can be folding, (as in a natural arm or tentacle) or telescopic, (as in the eye stocks on a gastropod). Telescoping arms can attack at any range in reach, while folding arms can only attack the last square within their reach. Having a high joint count, as with a tentacle, grants advantage on grapples. Arms are normally built in pairs, and a tall knight can have up to 6 pairs. An arm can be used as a "tail" or a "neck" if it is more than a decoration. Arms are typically attached directly to the torso.

Legs

"legs" is really a catch-all term for an extremely wide variety of transportation means. Some are extremely crude and simple, such as wheels. Others are more complicated, such as imitations of animal limbs, or the truly complex imitation of a serpent's body. Essentially, however, there are the following arrangements:

Wheels. Any system of a revolving shape to propel the tall knight across the terrain counts as a wheel.

Bikes have two wheels arranged one before the other. They can be extremely fast, granting an additional 20ft. of speed, but require movement to remain aright, forcing at least 10ft. of movement each turn.

Carts have four wheels arranged in a square. This arrangement is probably the most stable, granting advantage on all checks or saves to remain upright.

A trike is a hybrid between the two, adding 10ft of speed, and requiring no minimum speed.

Biped. A biped has two legs. These can be in three formats.

A straight-leg form is that of humanoids, and has no impact statistically.

A reverse-joint leg resembles those of birds, where the knee faces the rear. Reverse joint legs are more efficient, needing less power to run, granting +1 round of run time whenever the tall knight drains essence. They also, however, decrease balance, penalizing DEX by -2. Reverse joint legs cost 1000gp per leg.

A digitigrade leg resembles the hind-legs of many animals, such as dogs and cats, with a forward-facing knee followed by a rear-facing raised heel, walking on the tips of its toes. Digitigrade legs are even more efficient, but this efficiency is translated as power, increasing speed by 10ft. However, they are even less stable, with tiny surface contact and high center of gravity, penalizing DEX by -5. They cost 2000gp per leg.

Quadruped.

The four-legged variety is mostly seen on newer tall knights. The oldest quadruped tall knight had two operators, one for each pair of legs.

A beast leg arrangement has four legs in two pairs facing the same direction, usually resembling an animal such as a horse, dog, cat, etc. This arrangement is fast, agile, and stable. It grants +3 DEX, and +5ft speed, costing 1500 per leg.

The crawler leg arrangement has identical legs arranged radially from a center point, like from a crab or spider. This mode is slower than the others, reduving speed by 10ft, but is highly stable, granting advantage on checks and saves to remain upright. It also doubles the tall knight's lifting and carrying capacity.

Regardless the arrangement, you must remember that the user must have the same form as the tall knight, or they likely won't even be able to wear the harness, let alone operate it. So, for instance, if the tall knight has weels, so should its user. In order to operate a form which does not match the user, more complex controls must be added to the harness which must be interpreted by the tall knight, rather than simply mimicked. This is a complex magical effect, and makes the gemstone much more difficult to enchant. As a result, it is very costly, increasing the price of the tall knight by 50%.

Wings

Large, flat, broad, articulated limbs. Very few Tall Knights can even jump, let alone fly; any drop of 20ft will cause a Catastrophy Check, DC 10; +1 DC for every 10ft above 20 (DC 11 at 30ft, 12 at 40 etc..) Wings have, historically, been more decorative than functional. Functional wings, the kind we will discuss here, can have any of three functions.

Defensive wings are shielded panels which can be repositioned to protect the tall knight from attacks. Each pair of defensive wings grants +1 AC and cost an additional 2,500gp per wing.

Offensive wings are bladed, or have claws. They are treated as being equivalent to a tall knight's great sword, dealing slashing damage instead of piercing. Weaponized wings cost 2,000gp per wing.

Active wings are capable of generating actual lift, enough to allow the Tall Knight to glide 20ft for every 10ft of height, or a 30ft vertical jump and increase the ‘drop’ distance to +40ft before causing a Catastrophy check, DC 10; +1 DC for every 10ft above 40 (DC 11 at 50ft, 12 at 60 etc..). If the Tall Knight converts all actions to working the active wings during a descent (controlling glide, pitch, yaw, and angle of descent) it can triple the drop/check distance and right itself in a fall higher than 40ft but can’t take other actions until it’s on the ground or willing to drop. They also decrease the cost of the flight power and improve airborn agility. They are the most difficult to make, costing 5,000gp per wing.

Weapons

Tall knight weapons are Huge-sized, so deal triple the weapon dice. Huge weapons cost 16 times as much. For example, a tall knight maul deals 6d6 damage and costs 160 gp.

The reach of a tall knight weapon is 10 feet if it does not have the 'light property, and 15 feet if it has the reach property.

Tall knight weapons are often stylized like a creature's natural weapons or other unusual shapes. For these, use the weapon statistics that most resemble that attack. For example, a pair of giant scissors could use the longsword statistics; or a huge set of tiger claws could use the shortsword statistics.

Up to two of the following properties can be added to the tall knight weapon. Each additional property multiplies the weapon's cost by 4.

• Grapple. A target hit by a grapple weapon is also grappled if it is Huge or smaller. A grapple weapon may resemble a pincer or tentacle.

• Powered. A powered weapon has some mechanical component which deals damage. Such weapons act like their base weapon normally, but a successful hit allows the attacker to use their bonus action as a bonus atack on that same target with the same weapon, without modifiers. Examples would be like drills and chain saws.

The rider must be proficient in both tall knight and the weapon (or, in some cases, the most relevant base weapon) to be able to add their proficiency bonus to attack rolls with the weapon.

The rarity of a magic tall knight weapon is considered to be one step rarer than normal.

Engine

An impressive, weapon-armed Tall Knight Galliant by ConceptualMachina

The heart of the machine- and that isn't a metaphor. The people who create tall knights want them to last, and they want them to work immediately the moment they are called upon. To do this, instead of enchanting it as a whole- a costly and ultimately temporary endeavour- they created a system by which the machine is "dead" and mundane up until the moment it is needed, at which point it can be immediately powered on a moment's notice from a single, readily available material- as fuel to a lamp. The chosen material was blood- the life essence of a living being. The earliest tall knights required a sacrifice in order to run, but it was soon found that this was quite wasteful, when the tall knight's purpose used only a few minutes of the hours of power it had. Thus, it came to be that tall knights would periodically drain short doses of blood from the user to power itself. Driving the blood is a dragon's heart, preserved in the only truly magical component- a huge gemstone. The gemstone is also the seat of the tall knight's limited "mind". By focusing huge amounts of magical energy into a single, very simple effect, the tall knight will last many generations longer. Both the dragon's heart and gemstone containment are intrinsically magical, which is part of why they were chosen. Their magical auras extend into the life essence as it passes through them, effectively applying their combined auras to the whole tall knight. Each gemstone and each type of dragon heart, has a different influence on the tall knight.

Gemstone Containment

The gemstone containment is a large precious stone cut to be around 1ft². It is enchanted with the mind of the golem. The golem performs a number of essential tasks. First, it allows a person to reach into the gemstone as though it were immaterial, allowing them to place or remove a dragon heart. Second, it preserves the dragon heart. Third, it recognizes when the suit has been engaged, and drains blood, also pulsing the heart to drive the essence through the machine's body. Finally, it mimics the actions of the user. The gemstone has the greatest impact on the abilities of the tall knight.

Quartz

A glass-transparent silica crystal. Though it comes in many colored forms, such as jade, amethyst, citrine, onyx, sard, sardonyx, agate, chalcedony, and many others, this has no influence on its effectiveness. The most basic containment, quartz gemstones have no impact on a tall knight's abilities, but they do cut its value in half.

Beryl

An extremely versatile gemstone which appears in many colors, the most famous of which is the emerald. Each color of beryl provides a resistance and a weakness to a given damage type. Although some of these damage types would not normally apply to the tall knight, as it is a construct, (poison, thunder) these resistances and weaknesses also apply to the person using the tall knight.

Morganite (pink): Thunder R, Lightning W
Aquamarine (pale blue): Force R, Psychic W
Maxixe (deep blue): Cold R, Fire W
Bixbite (red): Fire R, Cold W
Golden (yellow): Lightning R, Thunder W
Heliodor (pale green): Acid R, Poison W
Emerald (green): Poison R, Acid W
Trapiche (green/black pinwheel): Necrotic R, Radiant W
Cesian (orange): Psychic R, Force W
Goshenite (clear): Radiant R, Necrotic W

Corundum

You may have never heard of it, but you've probably seen it a few times. Corundum manifests in two forms, one red, the other blue. A ruby containment makes the tall knight's actions swift, granting +2 on attack rolls of any kind. Meanwhile, a sapphire makes the tall knight's movements agile, providing +2 AC.

Diamond

A glass-clear gemstone made from carbon, and also the hardest naturally occurring mundane mineral. A diamond containment doubles the HP and value of the tall knight. A black diamond on the other hand halves the maximum HP of all things within 30ft of itself, including its user.

Carbunkle

Better known by its modern name, garnet, is often of a deep red, orange, purple, or brownish color. Carbunkles get more use out of blood, halving the damage dealt, as they need less in order to run.

Bloodstone

This opaque, black stone, spattered with splotches of red, is rarely used in tall knights. It is a vampiric stone, magically draining the life essence from creatures around it as well as its user. It can do this as an action, dealing 1d4 damage to all living organisms within 30ft. And gaining one round of run time per creature damaged in this way.

Opal

A silky white, gray, or black stone with flickering sparks of other colours somehow floating inside its opaque surface. These stones grant the tall knight inherent spellcasting abilities. The tall knight is granted two cantrips based on the type of heart contained. A black opal distorts the form the spells take, but they otherwise function the same. Black opal distortion is described in italic and parentheses. All spells are scaled to match the size of the tall knight. Any effect of this is noted in parentheses after the black opal distortion description. Any damage dice must be doubled. (IE: 1d6 becomes 2d6)
Red:

Fire Bolt (Purple or green fire)

Light (invisible when immobile)

Green:

Thorn Whip (fluid steel blades)

True Strike (No form) (No pointing necessary)

Blue:

Eldritch Blast (a beam of negative darkness)

Mage Hand (Skeletal) (Range 60, encumbrance 100, can attack)

Black:

Acid Splash (resembles mercury)

Minor Illusion (No form) (Range 60ft.)

White:

Ray of Frost (ice shards) (speed is halved)

Chill Touch (the hand is made of steel slag)

Brass:

Produce Flame (Blue Fire) (30ft.+30ft. Light, 60ft. Attack range)

Dancing Lights (Magical darkness) (Radius of 50ft.)

Bronze:

Shocking Grasp (Plasma)

Prestidigitation (No form) (Range 30ft, size x10)

Copper:

Poison Spray (Launch a black barb/spine) (Range 30ft.)

Mend (No form to distort) (can restore aesthetic damage to constructs)

Silver:

Blade Ward (No form)

Message (No reply)

Gold:

Sacred Flame (Ominous, dim glow)

Thaumaturgy (No form)

Nacre

An opaque, silky white gemstone with an iridescent surface. It is unusual in that it is created by animals, not earth, typically in the form of shells, and in gemstones as pearls. A pearl large enough for use as containment is so uncommon, it is considered a myth. A pearl containment magically cuts physical resistance, doubling speed. A black pearl, conversely, will render the area surrounding the tall knight for 60ft as difficult terrain, effectively halving everyone else's speed as they near.

Amber

A yellow-orange gemstone found in unusual places, and sometimes containing trapped bugs. Amber, when used as a containment, doubles the effectiveness of its dragon heart.

Topaz

Yet another stone which can appear in seemingly infinite varieties. Topaz is named for the mythic and hidden island it is mined from. Its name is derived from an old phrase, which meant "to travel". Accordingly, different topaz crystals grant unusual means of travel to the tall knight.
(The word Topaz, in its original form, was so broad as to be essentially undefined. It was based on rumor, myth, mistranslations, and ignorance. As such, I am using it as a catch-all for a wide variety of less interesting or less renowned gemstones. It is a coincidence to my benefit that real topaz really does come in lots of different colors. I have chosen to focus on especially unusual colored stones.)
Mystic Topaz (rainbow): Floats a few feet over solid ground, negating most difficult terrain.
Cymophand (cat-eye): Swaps places with targets within walking distance.
Alexandrite (green/red shifting): Blinks through space, allowing it to "skip" through barriers thinner than itself.
Moonstone (iridescent blue): Walks through shadows as portals to other shadows.
Zoisite (blue/purple/green shifting): Walks on water as though it were solid.
Lode Stone (opaque black): Walks on slopes, walls, or even ceilings.

Dragon Heart

The heart of a dragon is a critical element in a tall knight's construction. In a purely practical sense, it is used as a pump to move blood. However, this blood has been converted into its fundamental magical form; life essence, and this is what the dragon heart is manipulating. It must be the heart of a dragon so as to take advantage of its large size and inherent magical properties. The type of dragon who gave the heart, if they are adult or older, will have a subtle effect on the tall knight's abilities. The most noticeable effect is a sort of sensory 30ft. aura surrounding the tall knight which is amplified by the power in the user's blood. All DCs and damage values for these auras are equal to the user's level.

Red Dragon

Heatwave. Being around this tall knight is like standing in the sun, near a furnace, or in a pool of lava. Anyone in the aura at the start of their turn must make a CON save against fire damage, to halve the damage dealt.

Green Dragon

Toxic Presence. All the land, air, and water surrounding this tall knight withers and dies. Anyone within 30 ft. at the start of their turn must make a WIS save or be poisoned.

Blue Dragon

Static. The air around this tall knight is filled with a static electric charge that makes your hair stand on end. Any creature standing within 30ft. of the tall knight, or within 10ft. of a piece of metal within the tall knight's aura, must make a CON save against lightning damage to receive half damage. This save is made at disadvantage if the creature is wet or wearing metal.

Black Dragon

Terrifying Presence. The tall knight, regardless its appearance, exudes a sense of horror and revulsion. Anyone within 30 ft. at the start of their turn must make a WIS save or be frightened. A frightened creature cannot attack the Tall Knight, nor move closer to the Tall Knight of its own free will until it succeeds against the Fear effect. They can make an additional save immediately after taking any damage.

White Dragon

Cold Snap. Being around this tall knight is like standing in a snow storm, or a pool of ice water. Anyone within 30 ft. at the start of their turn must make a CON save against cold damage, to halve the damage dealt.

Brass Dragon

False Foe. Within 30ft. of the Tall Knight, illusions of enemies appear and vanish. All in the aura must make a Perception(WIS) save at the start of each of their turns to tell what is/isn't real or have disadvantage on all attacks that turn.

Copper Dragon

Slowing. All characters within 30ft. must make a CON save at the start of each turn or be slowed, their speed is halved, they can take only 1 attack on that turn, and no bonus actions until successful CON save.

Silver Dragon

Docile. All creatures within 30ft. of the tall knight at the start of their turn must make a WIS save or become docile. When docile the creature will take no action to harm anything else within the aura. If it takes damage it can take any immediate reactions it might have and immediately attempt a save.

Gold Dragon

Glorious Presence. The tall knight, regardless its appearance, exudes a sense of awe and glory. Anyone within 30 ft. at the start of their turn must make a WIS save or be charmed. A charmed creature cannot attack the Tall Knight until it succeeds against the Charm effect; and can make an additional save immediately after it takes any damage.

Shadow Dragon

Horror. If the dragon's heart had been corrupted, and turned into a shadow dragon, then in addition to its normal effects, all saves are made as though they were a death save, (No abilities, proficiencies, advantage/disadvantage, etc. apply) all damage is dealt as necrotic damage instead of its original damage type, and any creatures (not constructs, undead, beings of pure energy/magic, etc.) who are killed by the tall knight's aura will return as a shadow form until it is deactivated. The shadows follow no commands, and attack everyone and everything but the tall knight.

Powers

An impressively well-armored Tall Knight Warstrider Smash by PaleLonginus

On top of all of the previously described material, it is possible to build other, unique powers into a tall knight. These take the form of either mundane powers built in a mechanical fashion, such as a hand with retractible claws; or magical powers imbued into the tall knight, as with wands or magic weapons and armor, like a giant cloak of invisibility.

Mundane

Mundane powers are feats of engineering built into a tall knight via purely technological means. No magic is used, and no supernatural beings are invoked. These can range from gadgets, to transformations, to simply achieving magical effects in the absence of magic sources.

Size

Aside from the typical scale, a tall knight can be built undersized or oversized.

Tall Steed

Built large instead of huge. Think Mega Man X ride armors, or the Magitek armors from Final Fantasy.

Titan Armor

Built Gargantuan instead of huge. Think Iron Giant or Mecha Godzilla.

Transformations

Everything from interchangeable parts to full-body transformations and combining.

Cargo Bay

Some industrial Tall Knights and even the occasional military Tall Knight have storage bays. On a Tall Steed it can fit three Small items or creatures, on a normal Tall Knight, 3 Medium or 9 Small, and on a Titan Knight, 3 Large, 9 Medium, or 27 Small items or creatures. This costs an extra thousand GP.

Magical

Tall knights can have a built-in spell device. This is the equivalent of having a magic wand. Add the wand's creation cost (DMG p. 129) to the cost of the tall knight. If the rider is attuned to the tall knight, they are also attuned to the device. The spell device need not be shaped like a wand – it could be a disc or array of cylinders – but it does occupy one of the tall knight's hands.

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