Sentients: An Alien AI Race
A Race Beyond Sci-Fi
"In order to close the portal, you must reach for the battle key. only then, can we escape these cruel beasts that thirst for our blood..."
Sentients are a race of highly intelligent, greatly advanced beings made up of technology and energy itself. With advanced knowledge of the planar system, alien electronics, and vehicles beyond our wildest comprehension, any sentient can pull knowledge of a given subject out of thin air and can calculate the exact trajectory of a bullet fired within microseconds.
Restriction: Modern/Futuristic Settings Only
While it may be tempting to play a highly advanced race of physical holograms in a world where the only firearm you can find is a crossbow, we strongly suggest that this race only be used in a setting where technology is prevalent. This, however, does not mean that you cannot play this in a more medieval setting, but you'd have to come up with a way your race is on that world. your gm might also be able to come up with another way to work this into the story; perhaps instead of a holographic race with a power core, you could be a spirit of a magical item that can project their human forms to interact with the world? Discuss specifics with your DM before attempting this race
History
The Sentients were created by the Karmordials, a species of primitive stone creatures and one of the first races to ever exist on the Multiverse. While their creation evolved scientifically, the Karmordials remained primitive, which angered them and they attempted to eliminate the Sentients. As result, a radical group of warriors combining the best traits of Red and Blue Sentients called Penta Warriors were created. During the conflict, Helixion, a member of the team, was forced to leave his brothers behind and because of that he was banished by the Council of Five to the Storm Battle Zone.
The Blue and Red Sentients have been at war for centuries, until a truce was made. After Vert, an outside hero, defeats Krytus -the leader of the Red Sentients- and his warriors, he shows his true colors and breaks the truce, thus restarting the war between the Red and the Blue Sentients. Sage -a high ranking Blue- on the other hand had created the Double-Helix Crystals, which she used to put almost all of the Blue and Red Sentients into stasis. As Krytus and his team weren't in the planet at that time, they weren't frozen. Before the Blue Sentients went into stasis, they uploaded their mind onto Sage, which she didn't acknowledge.
Appearance
Sentients come in all shapes and sizes, but most follow a trend of appearance: a holographic humanoid with several dark markings covering their bodies. When a sentient's power is low, their body becomes much duller in color, and
as a result, may need to return to their "Hibernation Mode", where their holographic bodies are brought back into their core that projects them. The core is different depending on the sentient, but most simplify down to a small shape comprised of only hexagons, powered by a supply not known to mere mortals.
Sentients of the two races vary drastically in appearance, other than the colors they're named after. Blue sentients are often lean and thin, possessing larger heads in proportion to their bodies, and markings that closely resemble a circutboard. Reds, on the other hand, resemble more of a muscular human, with markings that move in eerie curves and end in sharp points.
While most sentients are portrayed as a typical gender of humans, and identify as such when referred to by others, they do not reproduce. Most sentients that exist, have existed for centuries, but this does not mean a new one cannot be created. The appearance of a new sentient is dependant on how the creator programmed for it to appear.
Names
Most sentients dont have specific names in their culture, instead pulling from other races. The most common names reflect some of the most meaningful words of a culture. For instance, Sage was named after humans of the same position- the most knowledgeable of their kind.
Sentient Racial Traits
The following traits apply to all Sentients.
Ability Score increase: Your Intelligence score increases by 1
Age: If it maintains itself well, a sentient can live indefinitely
Size: Sentients in their humanoid form reach between 4 and 8 feet tall. While that form itself has no mass for weight, the core weighs 10lbs. Your size is Medium.
Darkvision: Due to your high tech sensors, you can see very clearly in the darkness. You have darkvision with a range of 60 feet, and can discern colors in darkness. You may see in dim light as though it was bright light, and in darkness as though it was dim light.
Simulated Body: because of your artificial nature, damage to your holographic form works in an odd way. Any damage to anything other than your core is treated as psychic and drains your power supply. This effect takes place after the effects of other abilities that would reduce damage from those types (such as barbarian’s Rage), but you do become vulnerable to lightning damage. You also do not require food or drink, nor do you need to breathe.
**Hibernation Mode:**sentients don’t sleep, eat, or drink. Instead, you enter a state of hibernation, where your projected form is contained into your Core to charge and conserve power. While in this state, you are aware of your surroundings, and gain a blindsight up to 30 feet. You cannot communicate while in this form, save for soft beeps and faint glows. While in this state, you gain the benefits of a long rest if you rest for 4 hours.
You are barely effective if your core uses too much power. For every level of Exhaustion you take, you must take one full day in hibernation mode, near a designated power supplier (chosen at the end of a long rest).
If you are reduced to 0 hit points, you are sent into Hibernation Mode, except you do not gain the blindsight. In addition, sentients don’t fully die unless the Core is destroyed. If you fail your 3rd death save, you are stuck in hibernation mode in a state of indefinite stasis. Regular resurrection magic is not able to bring you back. Your party must take your core to a skilled technician, engineer, etc., and pay an amount of gold equal to the cost of the Resurrection spell, and you must wait a month for the repairs to complete.
Technological Transport: You have proficiency in all Vehicles, and have advantage when repairing a vehicle. When you successfully repair a vehicle, you add a bit of Sentient technology to it (no mechanical difference). You also gain proficiency in either History or Arcana (your choice).
Languages: because of the database programmed into your core, you gain proficiency in Common and two languages of your choice.
Subrace: Sentients are divided into two factions, Reds and Blues.
Blue Sentients
Blue sentients are the superior to their red twins when it comes to technology and history, but tend not to create weapons, as most value peace above all else. This does not mean that they never create weapons, just that they prefer to find the most beneficial solution to both sides. While they do have emotions, it is very hard to feel anything less than
the extreme on one emotion in a given situation, and very rarely feel true fear or anger, nor can they truly read the emotion of most other species. this allows them to outsmart their red kin with a cool head instead of outfight them, as they are very weak in comparison.
Ability Score Increase: Your Intelligence and Wisdom scores increase by 1.
Emotionless: While you are peaceful and compassionate, you are unaware of the more specific aspects of the mortal emotion. You have advantage on saves against being charmed or frightened by magical means, and immunity from those effects from nonmagical means (such as the Diplomat and Menacing feats, or a dragon's Frightful Presence). You also have disadvantage on Wisdom(Insight) checks made to determine the emotional state of an individual
Alien Database: You have access to centuries of lore, as well as access to computers without needing contact with it. You gain proficiency in Hacking Tools and one skill proficiency of your choice. you can make a hacking check without needing Hacking Tools, as all you need to access a device are holographic keyboards that appear at your fingertips at command.
Telepathy: You may communicate telepathically to a single creature within 30 feet, as long as they are willing, and you have been around them for more than a day. You do not need to share a language with this creature, and that creature cannot initiate or break a telepathic connection unless they possess telepathy as well. A telepathic link can be maintained as if concentrating on a spell, with a maximum time of 1 hour.
You can use your telepathy while in Hibernation Mode, but the range is reduced to 10 feet, and the creature must not be unconscious.
Red Sentients
Red Sentients possess greater strength for combat than their Blue siblings, and as such have developed ways to conquer many empires and planets. While intellectually inferior to the other race, they are by no means stupid. The battle strategies crafted by a regular Red rival that of the best generals of even our own world, giving them not only an advantage in dealing damage, but also being able to survive a large chunk of damage. As well, they have a better grasp on mortal emotions than their twins, giving them a much better way of reading their opponent's strategies at the same time as crafting their own.
Ability Score Improvement: Your Strength score increases by 2.
Battle Calculations: Your supercomputer mind can calculate the exact power and direction needed to land a hit. Your attacks ignore half cover. In addition, if an ally is within 5 feet of an enemy that you are engaged in combat with, you may use your reaction to give that ally advantage on an attack against that enemy.
Survival Program: if you’re close to death, your core has adapted executibles to help keep you alive. If you have 2 failed death saves, you have advantage on all subsequent death saves.
In addition, upon succeeding on your third death save, the energy generators in your core give you a boost in strength, allowing you to stand with 1 hit point. Once you use this trait, you may not use it again until you finish a long rest.
Why I Made This
The route that lead to the creation of this race was a weird one. It started as some D&D friends and I were discussing odd dreams we had as children, and I told them about a vivid dream that I experienced, based off of a TV show i watched around the time: Hot Wheels; Battle Force 5.
After describing a race from the show, specifically the Sentients, a friend gave me the idea to create this. As I have never once created a race for 5e, I decided to give it a shot for one of my favorite childhood shows. This may be a little odd to make for a game about dragons, but I also often play a modern/future setting, and I know a lot of others do too, so I thought they'd enjoy a bit of variety from space, and have a better way to play as an AI without being limited to warforged.
Credits
D&D 5th Edition is property of Wizards of the Coast, and the Sentients described in this document, as well as the images, are property of Hot Wheels.
this document itself was made by The_Pokeman_52 (the_Pokeman_53 on reddit).