Carapacer

Carapacer
Homebrew Class – Project Tandenovis

A young human girl straps her headgear on, the dull eyes of the helmet suddenly bursting into a bright green glow. Her breathing slows as she slips into the rest of her armour and the intricate machinery begins to whir. Unskilled with a blade and with no affinity for magic, but determined to aid in any way she can, she brings her suit to life, stepping out onto the battlefield to aid her companions.

Some fighters utilise their unique skills and talents in combat, the divine, or the arcane to defend those in need or further their own goals. However, there are those who have no such skills or training, yet still wish to fight as best they can. A few of these become their own weapons, creating designs of suits of armour that double as machines that enhance one's combat potential.

These few are named Carapacers, after the insect-like designs most of them adopt.

Expert Tinkerers
Carapacers come from many different walks of life but share one thing in common – they're natural inventors. Their push for creating and inventing leads them to create their suits, often making things to aid them in tasks that they cannot complete on their own.

Advanced Technology
The technology that goes into a Carapacer's outfit is complex and intensive, often being experimental and unstable. A Carapacer's outfit is not one that one is able to stay in for extended periods of time, lest the user overload the system and render it dysfunctional.

Creating a Carapacer
As you create your Carapacer, consider what drove your character to create their suit? Was it to protect those you care about? Perhaps it was to have a means to defend yourself? Another thing to consider is where they learnt their craft, and how they came to experiment and tinker with such technology.

Quick Build
You can make a Carapacer quickly by following these suggestions. First, make Intelligence your highest ability score, followed by Strength or Dexterity, and then Constitution. Second, choose the Folk Hero background.

Hit Points

 * Hit Dice:  1d10 per Carapacer level
 * Hit Points at 1st Level:  10 + your Constitution modifier
 * Hit Points at Higher Levels:  1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per Carapacer level after 1st

Proficiencies

 * Armour:  None
 * Weapons:  Simple weapons
 * Tools:  Tinkerer's tools
 * Saving Throws:  Constitution, Intelligence
 * Skills:  Choose two from Athletics, Acrobatics, Investigation, Insight, Perception, Intimidation and Persuasion

Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
 * (a) a dungeoneer's pack or (b) an explorer's pack
 * Your carapacer suit and tinkerer's tools

Carapace Design
You have designed a suit of armour and weaponry that fits your needs. Your choice grants you special features at 1st level, and again at 3rd, 7th, 15th, and 20th level.
 * Apocrita Design
 * Arachnida Design
 * Lepidoptera Design
 * Myriapoda Design

Carapacer Armour
You may activate your Carapacer armour as a bonus action, granting you access to a majority of your Carapacer features. You may stay in this form for a number of rounds equal 1d4 + your Intelligence modifier rounds (minimum 1), after which you must revert back for a number of rounds equal to 1d10 - your Intelligence modifier (minimum 1) to avoid your experimental suit from becoming dysfunctional or, even worse, life threatening.

Reverting back takes a bonus action, and for every round you fail to revert, you take two levels of exhaustion. The number of rounds you need to take to rest your Carapacer armour decreases as you gain Carapacer levels, as shown in the Carapacer Rest column of the Carapacer table.

Defensive Design
While your Carapacer armour is active, your Armour Class is equal to 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Intelligence modifier.

Quickmend
Starting at 2nd level, you have learnt to alter your suit to repair damage in the heat of battle. On your turn, while wearing your Carapacer armour you can use a bonus action to regain hit points equal to 1d8 + your Carapacer level (minimum 1).

Additionally, once you use this feature, your armour class increases by half of your Intelligence modifier (minimum 1) until the start of your next turn. Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again. You can use this feature twice between short or long rests starting at 9th level and three times between short or long rests starting at 14th level.

Capture
At 2nd level, as a bonus action, you can capture accurate representations of what you see with your visor, recording them to be able to be displayed later on. You may store a number of images equal to 4 times your Intelligence modifier.

At 17th level, you gain the ability to capture moving images and sound using this feature, recording a number of minutes up to a maximum of double your Intelligence modifier.

Extra Attack
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Pinpoint
Starting at 5th level, your analytical mind allows you to pinpoint weaknesses in an opponent's offensive and defensive abilities.

When you are attacked by an creature or are forced to make a saving throw, you may use your reaction to inflict a penalty on the creature's attack roll or save DC by an amount equal to your Intelligence modifier, potentially causing the attack to miss.

Similarly, when you miss an attack roll or a creature passes your saving throw, you may inflict a penalty on the creature's armour class or saving throw by an amount equal to your Intelligence modifier.

Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again. You can use this feature twice between short or long rests starting at 13th level, and three times between short or long rests starting at 18th level.

Overclocking
At 10th level, when you activate your Carapacer armour, you may choose to stay in the form for 1d4 rounds instead of 1d4 + your Intelligence modifier rounds. If you choose to do so, you gain an additional action and reaction on your turn until you revert back.

Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again.

Acute Visor
Starting at 13th level, you have upgraded your suit's visor to be useful and efficient even outside of combat. You can take 10 minutes to scan a passage of text, translating the language into one you can read if you cannot naturally.

Additionally, you may attempt to restore faded or disrupted text, piecing together otherwise lost pieces of information. To do so, you can take 10 minutes and roll a percentile die, successfully deciphering lost text on a roll equal to your level or lower. Once you use this feature, you must finish a long rest before you can use it again.

Carapace Designs
The mechanics and abilities of a Carapacer is heavily dependant on the design of their suit, influencing their combat potential and fighting style. Carapacer suits are often based on insects and arachnids, using their forms to inspire a efficient, stylish, and powerful suit of technologically advanced armour.

Apocrita Design
The Apocrita Design is a style of Carapacer designs that take inspiration from bees, wasps, and hornets. They are often seen as the most common design, and excel at quick and effective combat.

Apocrita Stingers
When you choose this design at 1st level, you gain access to the Apocrita Stingers, which are two short blades that are installed into the Apocrita Design. While wielding the Apocrita Stingers, you cannot be disarmed of them.

Cross Thrusters
Also at 1st level, you can move up to half your speed as a reaction when an enemy ends its turn within 5 feet of you. This movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks.

Additionally, when you take the Dash action on your turn, opportunity attacks made against you are made with disadvantage.

Apocrita Wings
Starting at 3rd level, while you have your Carapacer armour active you have a flight speed equal to five times your Carapacer level. This flight speed cannot surpass double your base speed and is affected by any movement altering conditions.

Fleetfoot
At 7th level, while your Carapacer armour is active, your base speed increases by 10 feet. This increases to 20 feet at 15th level and 30 feet at 20th level.

Cross Speed
At 15th level, your Carapacer suit enhances your speed and reflexes even further. You can take two turns during the first round of any combat. You take your first turn at your normal initiative and your second turn at your initiative minus 10. You can't use this feature when you are surprised.

Overdrive Rush
At 20th level, your Carapacer suit is designed to go into an overdrive state to protect you from near death experiences.

When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead and activate your Carapacer armour if it wasn't already activated. Your speed is tripled, your Dexterity score increases by an amount equal to double your proficiency modifier, and you gain an additional action on each of your turns until you revert back from your Carapacer armour, after which you fall unconscious and suffer 2 levels of exhaustion.

Arachnida Design
The Arachnida Design is a style of Carapacer designs based off of spiders and scorpions, utilising extremely powerful attacks and poisons to fatally wound and disrupt opponents.

Arachnida Piercer
When you choose this design at 1st level, you gain access to the Arachnida Piercer, which is a large scythe-like stinger or fang that is installed into the Arachnida Design. While wielding the Arachnida Piercer, you cannot be disarmed of it.

Blood Toxin
Also at 1st level, when you hit a creature with your Arachnida Piercer, you may inject a devastating poison into its system.

Your piercer has a number of charges equal to your Carapacer level divided by 4 (rounded up). On a successful hit, you may spend any number of charges to deal additional poison damage to your target. The additional poison damage is 1d6 for every charge spent.

The damage dice for this feature increase to d8s at 7th level, d10s at 15th level, and d12s at 20th level. You recover all spent charges upon completing a long rest.

Lingering Toxin
Starting at 3rd level, the poison you inflict with your Arachnida Piercer seeps into the system of your targets.

When you use your Blood Toxin feature, you can force the target to make a Constitution saving throw against a DC equal to 8 + your Intelligence modifier + your proficiency bonus. On a failed save, the poison inflicts disadvantage on all of the creature's attack rolls. The creature may repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns.

Paralysing Strike
Beginning at 7th level, you can expend two charges of your Blood Toxin feature to perform a paralysing strike.

You make a melee attack against a creature within 20 feet of you, forcing the target to make a Constitution saving throw against a DC equal to 8 + your Intelligence modifier + your proficiency bonus. On a failed save, the target is pulled within 5 feet of you and is paralysed until the end of your next turn.

Enhanced Toxin
At 15th level, the poisons you use are heightened in potency and cut through even the strongest of opponents.

Your Blood Toxin feature ignores resistance to poison damage, and reduces immunity from poison damage into a resistance.

Overdrive Charge
At 20th level, your Carapacer suit is designed to go into an overdrive state to protect you from near death experiences.

When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead and activate your Carapacer armour if it wasn't already activated. Your Strength score increases by an amount equal to double your proficiency modifier, and your attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 18-20 until you revert back from your Carapacer armour, after which you fall unconscious and suffer 2 levels of exhaustion.

Lepidoptera Design
The Lepidoptera Design is a style of Carapacer designs that borrows from moths and butterflies. They are often used as vehicles of deceit and cunning, employing various strategies to distract and confuse their opponents.

Lepidoptera Laser
When you choose this design at 1st level, you gain access to the Lepidoptera Laser, which is a powerful laser that is installed into the Lepidoptera Design. While wielding the Lepidoptera Laser, you cannot be disarmed of it.

Guiding Laser
Also at 1st level, your laser can leave behind trails of light, guiding allies towards targets and allowing ease of firing.

As an action, you can fire a guiding laser instead of your regular one. The guiding laser deals 4d4 force damage on a hit, and before the end of your next turn, the next attack roll made on the target of the laser has advantage.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Distracting Laser
Starting at 3rd level, your laser can be used to disorient foes, using flashes and signals to blind and confuse them.

When a creature you can see within 60 feet of you makes an attack roll against you or another creature, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on its attack roll.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Transparent Pattern
At 7th level, you can use your action to cloak yourself in a film which renders you and everything you are wearing or carrying invisible for up to an hour. If you drop an item or remove it, the item is no longer invisible, and if you try to attack or cast a spell, the effect ends early.

Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again.

Inverse Clarity
Starting at 15th level, as an action you can cast the Mirror Image spell without expending spell slots. When you cast the spell this way, you can add your Intelligence modifier to your d20 rolls to determine if a foe hits a duplicate instead of you. Once you use this feature, you must finish a long rest before you can use it again.

Overdrive Flurry
At 20th level, your Carapacer suit is designed to go into an overdrive state to protect you from near death experiences.

When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead and activate your Carapacer armour if it wasn't already activated. You gain an additional action, bonus action, and reaction on each of your turns until you revert back from your Carapacer armour, after which you fall unconscious and suffer 2 levels of exhaustion.

Myriapoda Design
The Myriapoda Design is a style of Carapacer designs influenced by millipedes and centipedes. They are hardy and tougher than other Carapacer designs, built to withstand vast pressure and powerful blows.

Myriapoda Shield
When you choose this design at 1st level, you gain access to the Myriapoda Shield, which is a dense and strong shield built into the Myriapoda Design. While wielding the Myriapoda Shield, you cannot be disarmed of it.

Altered Resilience
Also at 1st level, while wielding the Myriapoda Shield, you gain resistance to either bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage. You may change the damage type that you are resistant to at the end of a long rest.

Myriapoda Serum
At 3rd level, your suit automatically boosts your constitution when you enter dangerous situations.

When you roll for initiative, you gain temporary hit points equal to half your Carapacer level.

At 15th level, you instead gain temporary hit points equal to your Carapacer level.

Sturdy Husk
At 7th level, your tough shell protects you from certain damaging effects, such as a white dragon's freezing breath or a blight spell.

When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Constitution saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.

At 15th level, this ability also extends to Strength saving throws.

Overdrive Shell
At 20th level, your Carapacer suit is designed to go into an overdrive state to protect you from near death experiences.

When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead and activate your Carapacer armour if it wasn't already activated. You gain temporary hit points equal to your Carapacer level and you gain a +4 bonus to your AC until you revert back from your Carapacer armour, after which you fall unconscious and suffer 2 levels of exhaustion.