Playable Race: Dolls

by Spiderheart

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Playable Race: Dolls

Perfect valets, clockwork nannies, wondrous toys…. Dolls are more perfect than any organic could ever be, and never—but never—question orders, betray owners, or make mistakes. Yet their mimicry of perfect sapience eventually unnerves the living beings around them, as does their unsettling tendency to eventually attain independent thought.

‘That’s blasphemy,’ said the vampire.

He gasped as Vimes shot him a glance like sunlight. ‘That’s what people say when the voiceless speak.’

Somehow, at some point, you became a person; whether by the death of your owner, or by being abandoned, you navigate the world feeling the suspicion of everyone on all sides—for things are not supposed to be people….

Doll Traits

Immortal. You do not die of age, though you do suffer from disrepair. You can only be killed if every part of you is completely destroyed or eaten.

Size. You can be any size up to Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30ft (if Medium), 25ft (if Small), or 20ft (if Tiny).

Creature Type. Your creature type is Construct. You are immune to poison, disease, necrotic, and psychic attacks. You do not need to eat, drink, breathe, or sleep. Your creature type changes to Aberration once you are Real, and you become susceptible to necrotic and psychic attacks.

Material Weakness. You are especially vulnerable to certain kinds of damage, while being resistant to others, depending on what you are made of:

Material Vulnerability Resistance
Wood Fire Lightning, Slashing, Piercing
Porcelain Bludgeoning Lightning, Fire
Fabric Fire, Slashing Bludgeoning
Metal Lightning, Cold Fire, Slashing, Piercing
Hard Candy Fire Cold, Slashing, Piercing
Soft Candy Fire, Bludgeoning Cold
Cake, Bread Fire, Slashing Thunder, Bludgeoning
Silicone * Everything

*Requires specialised alchemical substances to repair (acetone, silicone cement).

Languages. You can speak the language of your creator. If you know how to write in this language, it is in the formal or standardised version of that language. If you did not start out knowing how to write, you can learn to write in your spoken language. Learning new languages cannot happen until you are Real.

Cut Strings. When you take enough damage, you fall limp as though under the effect of a Feign Death spell. Before you can get up you must be repaired.

Repairable. You do not heal on your own and must make repairs or replace damaged parts. However you cannot be killed unless your head (or heart) is destroyed. However, if you have Become Real, you heal hit dice after rests the same as living creatures.

Servant

Quiet, observant, anticipating your owner’s every need and whim, you know their every secret and habit. Whether made as a nanny for children, a nurse, a gentleman’s personal valet, a lady’s maid, a groundskeeper or a guard, you were made to serve a purpose—and only that purpose….

Ability Score Increase. Your lntelligence or Strength score increases by 2.

Uncanny Valley. Your Charisma score decreases by 2.

Rules & Strictures. You start off Lawful Neutral or Lawful Good, even if your master was Lawful Evil.

Specialised Machine. You have proficiency in one artisan toolset, musical instrument, vehicle, mount, or can read and write one extra language that your owner also knows.

Observant Outsider. As a servant, you were privy to the intimate foibles and realities of people. This gives you a +2 when making Insight or Knowledge checks that have to do with the society and class that you served, and can be used in place of a Wisdom modifier at the DM’s discretion.

Toy

Toys are most common among those Dolls that become Real. They can be stuffed with fluff, jointed of porcelain, or even wood; but they all share a single trait: They were made to be played with and loved by a child—even after that child grows up….

Cute. Your Charisma score increases by 2.

Child-sized. You are one size or more smaller than the race that made you. You can choose to forgo this at the cost of decreasing your Constitution by 2 and taking a Hobble.

Playful. Toys are more likely to be Chaotic, as they aren’t designed to follow orders or be adult. They are also more likely to be Good, as they are designed specifically to bond with a child.

Fear Guardian. You can offer a toy’s comfort and safety when held by a single sapient being, as though casting the Resistance cantrip.

A Note on Edible Dolls

Usually having brief lives, edible Dolls are usually Tiny and baked. However, high in the mountains of Ravenloft’s Odiare is a strange forest of gumdrop pines and sugarsnow, where marshmallow bunnies gambol. One eccentric little Gnome by the name of Gilly lives here, surrounded by Dolls made of peppermint, chocolate, marzipan, and even cake. While they are limited to this forest, these Dolls are just the same as Toys, other than their unique composition.

Unique Mechanics

Each subrace of Doll have their own unique mechanics that reflect their nature.

Hobbles: A Servant’s Nightmare

Most, if not all, Dolls are made by those seeking servants that require little room and no board (and no pay); however, the fear that a Doll notices mistreatment haunts many owners, and they build cruel limitations, called Hobbles, into their Dolls. Hobbles may also be a natural design flaw owing to a Doll’s materials.

‘That’s twice this month you’ve slipped Nightshade into my tea and run off—’

‘Three times.’

‘You’re mine you know! I made you with my own hands!’

Dolls that escape or are freed by the death of their owner find themselves at a disadvantage if they have a Hobble. Choose one Hobble in place of a Flaw from the list below, or make up your own.

Voiceless. You cannot speak, and must use sign or writing to communicate.

Obedient. You cannot take action unless given a direct order, and take things literally. You autofail checks against being non-magically Persuaded, Deceived, and Intimidated.

Ragdoll. You are unsteady and tend to fall apart at the seams regularly, requiring assistance from someone who can sew to pull yourself together at least once per day.

Clockwork. You are susceptible to the elements and take damage simply from being outdoors too long. You must receive daily maintenence and cleaning. You must be wound using a key, by someone else, once per day.

Glitchy. You run on electricity, but imperfectly. Your servos jam or jerk, your voice stutters with static and skips, and you must roll a d20 (DC10) every time you touch someone, or deal 1d4 electrical damage (as with Shocking Grasp) by accident.

Keep Chilled. You are in danger of melting or overheating if you get too hot, and must stay in cold climates or climate-controlled areas.

Some Hobbles can be overcome or permanently eliminated with appropriate alterations to anatomy, and some cannot be eliminated except by deities or other powerful entities that can reshape reality.

Real: Every Toy’s Dream

‘Real isn’t how you are made,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but really loves you, then you become Real.’

‘Does it hurt?’ asked the Rabbit.

‘Sometimes,’ said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. ‘When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.’

‘Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,’ the Rabbit asked, ‘or bit by bit?’

‘It doesn’t happen all at once,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘You Become. It takes a long time.’

Real. Whispered with awe from one Toy to another, Real is something only Love’s magic can do. This is why Toy Dolls are the most often to achieve Real. Real happens in stages, detailed below.

Stages of Realness
Animate. You may start as animate and conscious, or you may have become so due to your Friend saying the Right Words to the Wishing Star, while leaving you within her sight.
Real to Me. After being taken everywhere for a year, including long rests, your Friend’s love for you has made you Real—to them, and them alone. After this, and as long as they continue, you can cast Sanctuary on them a number of times per day equal to your proficiency bonus.
Real To The World. After seeing your Friend through something terrible—a monster, an illness—and staying by their side, you may be visited by the Blue Lady, if you or your Friend say the Right Words to the Wishing Star. You are Real To The World.
Stat Changes After Becoming Real

Heal. After reaching the last stage of Realness, you have HP that recover after rests, not just repairs.

Creature Type. Changes from Construct to Aberration.

Realness is bumped back down to Animate if the Toy ever uses knowing malice against their bonded Friend.

A Note on Carrionettes

Odiare’s Carrionettes (VRGR p.231) must undo any harm they have done, and refrain from using their Soul Swap ability for three years and three days, upon which time the needle breaks in half and they possess the properties of all Dolls. They can then pursue becoming Real, if they choose.

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