Editing Gearforged

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[[File:Gearforged heroes.png|right|300px]]
'''Gearforged''' are a major race in the [[Midgard]] setting for [[Pathfinder]] 1st edition, [[13th Age]], and [[Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition]], which can basically be summarized as "[[clockpunk]] [[warforged]]". They are a race of living constructs, consisting of humanoid souls given a second chance of life by being captured within enchanted crystals that are then installed into artificial bodies driven by enchanted clockwork components. Originally, most gearforged were crafted as artificial soldiers for a great war, but they have outlived their purpose and now seek to find a new racial identity, propagating mostly because their existence offers a kind of immortality for the desperate. A smaller "subrace" dwell amongst the [[dwarf]] population of the Ironcrags, where they are considered to be dwarves given a second chance at life.

Physically, gearforged consist of intricate clockwork components granted motive power by enchanted ''everwound springs'', with hole-pierced metallic ribbon-like ''memory gears'' holding their memories of life as a gearforged and a ''soul gem'' containing the spiritual essence of a deceased humanoid to grant the whole thing life. These internal components are installed into a humanoid shell made up of iron, brass, steel, or even wood. Each individual gearforged is custom-crafted, and thusly beyond the basic humanoid shape, no two gearforged look alike.

The favored deity among Gearforged is [[Rava|Rava the Gear Goddess]].  Clerics of Rava can become an upgraded version of a Gearforged known as a "Goddess-Forged".<ref>https://koboldpress.com/welcome-to-midgard-rava-ariadne/</ref>

==13th Age Stats==
Playable stats for gearforged in 13th Age can be found in the '''Midgard Bestiary''', where they have the following mechanics:

::Racial Bonus: Gearforged gain a +2 racial bonus to any one ability score
::Metal Yet Mortal (Racial Power): You are a living construct that houses a mortal soul. You don’t need to eat, sleep, or breathe, and you’re immune to many conditions that affect those who continue to live in meat-bodies. But you do have other needs that they don’t.
::Brass and Magic, not Tissue and Blood: Gearforged are immune to disease, ongoing damage from poison, and sleep effects.
::Broken, not Wounded: As machines, gearforged cannot heal on their own using recoveries, or take full heal-ups. But as living beings magically bound to machine bodies, they can heal using recoveries when they receive magical healing from spells, talents, potions, or item powers—including mending, if the wizard casting it has taken the Cantrip Mastery talent. Gearforged can also heal using recoveries if another character with a background that includes building, maintaining, and repairing gearforged makes a successful DC 20 check after spending an hour repairing the gearforged PC. The DC is reduced by 1 for every additional hour spent on repairs.
::*Champion Feat: You have a limited ability to repair yourself. You can heal using recoveries after an uninterrupted 4-hour maintenance period.
::*Epic Feat: You can now take advantage of full heal-ups, with no need for external magical aid to do so. The above rules for recoveries still apply.
::Wrecked, not Dead: You automatically stabilize when taken below 0 hit points or fewer. Your gearforged body is destroyed beyond repair if you die, and you cannot be raised or resurrected; but you can have your soul gem and memory tapes implanted in a newly constructed body as long as they are intact.
:: Amphibious: Gearforged do not need to breathe. A gearforged submerged in water can continue to function normally for a number of hours equal to its Strength score. After spending that much time in the water, the gearforged will grind to a halt and requires a 4-hour repair period. Gearforged suffer a –4 penalty to swim checks.
::*Adventurer Feat: Design and training have made you far more effective in water than your gearforged fellows. Your lower body acts as a powerful and graceful propulsion system and your functioning is not impaired by long periods of submersion. You may operate underwater for as long as you like (though maintenance cannot be performed underwater and penalties from foregoing maintenance still apply) and you don’t take a penalty to swim checks.
::*Champion Feat: You are fully equipped for aquatic combat and exploration. You can perform maintenance on yourself underwater, and you gain a +2 bonus to swim checks.
::Tireless: Gearforged are immune to fatigue and exhaustion. Rather than sleep, gearforged must rewind their springs, repair gears, and oil and clean their parts each day for a 4-hour period to ensure normal functioning. They are fully aware during this period, but any interruption in their routine during these 4 hours requires them to start again from the beginning. Gearforged can function a number of days equal to their character level without performing this maintenance, but each day without such a repair period applies a cumulative –2 penalty to all attack and damage rolls and skill checks.<br>
If a gearforged neglects its maintenance period a number of days equal to its character level, it becomes immobile and helpless until maintained by another gearforged or an individual with an appropriate background. One 4-hour maintenance period eliminates all accumulated penalties.
::*Champion Feat: You only take a -1 cumulative penalty on skill checks, attack rolls, and damage rolls for each day without a 4-hour maintenance period.
::*Epic Feat: You have a state-of-the-art body that automatically maintains itself. You no longer take penalties when you go without daily maintenance, but the gear priests recommend maintenance every few months just to make sure everything’s working properly.

Notably, this is absurdly more durable than the Forgeborn that came in the CRB (which have no mechanical immunities but do have a racial power that lets them make a save upon hitting 0 hp and spend a recovery if they pass for instant healing), but this comes at some extreme costs. The most significant of these is that healing becomes extremely limited, which is incredibly troubling if you don't pick up a class with some innate ways of healing like [[Cleric]]s, and if your party lacks any form of healing, you're double-boned. This is especially an issue in lower levels, where you'll desperately need that healer or else become the party's ball and chain who needs to stop and take a four-hour rest every battle or two so your team can fix you up. This will also require you to sacrifice your feats, which will block off the full utility of your builds.

==5e PC Stats==
Playable stats for gearforged in 5e can be found in the '''Midgard Heroes Handbook''', where they have the following mechanics:
::Ability Score Increase: +1 to any 2 ability scores of your choice
::Size: Medium
::Speed: 30 feet
::Type: Humanoid (Gearforged)
::Constructed Body: Your artificial body gives you many unique physical traits, even though you ultimately count as a Humanoid. You cannot eat, drink or breathe, which means you cannot benefit from potions or magical food, drink, or vapors in addition to being immune to hunger, thirst, and suffocation. You do not naturally sleep, but must spend a Long Rest period performing maintenance on your physical components; as such, this allows you remain aware of your surroundings whilst "resting", at the cost of suffering Disadvantage on your Wisdom (Perception) checks. If you do not perform maintenance at least once every 24 hours, you gain a level of Exhaustion. If dying, you can only be stabilized by a DC 10 Intelligence check or the Mending cantrip, not the normal Wisdom check or Spare the Dying cantrip. Finally, when targeted by spells or magical effects whose titles contain the words "Cure", "Heal" or "Healing", you only regain half the normal hit points.
::Flesh of Steel: You are Immune to Disease, Poison damage, and the Poisoned condition.
::Solid Construction: You can only be truly killed by destroying your soul gem. If your body is wrecked (reduced to 0 HP), you can be reanimated by casting the Soulforging spell with a revised cost of (500 + (1d4*50)) gold pieces. If your body is destroyed, but your soul gem and memory gears are salvaged, you can be reanimated by a standard casting of the Soulforging spell. If your soul gem is destroyed, then you can only be revived with a Wish spell.

==References==

[[Category: Dungeons & Dragons Races]] [[Category: Midgard]]