Custom Constructs - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Custom Constructs

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
chakat
Jun 16, 2009 22:01:06 Okay, I'm in a friend of mine's game and she has allowed me make custom constructs as my character is a tinker/artificier. I've been thinking of a few different ones to make and was wondering if anyone else had ever made custom constructs before. Sadly, I've not seen any online...

Would anyone like to help me? I'll go ahead and describe the ones I've made/are thinking of making.

========================================================

My first idea was for a camp watch construct of sorts... I codenamed it my Project: Fear prototype until it was done. My Prototype Warforged Dragon Mark 01. (Cheesy, yes, but whatever.)

It was the size of a baby dragon (around 3ft. tall and weighing in at about 15 lbs. I had made it out of Mithril which has a Max Dex of +2, AC Check of -3, and a Hardness of 15; also grants 30 HP/in. of thickness.

I made the mithril plating about 2in. thick which gave it 60 HP.
It's stats were all rolled by me, so they don't really count in this sense. However, constructs don't get CON or INT, so keep that in mind, okay.

It's basic attacks were a Claw (1d3), Bite (1d4), Tail (1d4), and Body Slam (1d3), but I added in some special abilities of my own when I made it.

First I made the body, then customized it by making the tail hollow and fitting a sharp point to the end of the tail which could pierce enemies bodies and inject them with poisons I added into the hollow compartment in the tail.
This "Acid Spike" dealt 2d4 damage.

Secondly, I made the head compartment hollow to allow it to be filled with oil and the tongue inside the maw would be made of something easily ignitable as light the oil as it was spewed forth from the maw. (I actually lost my notes on this part of the construct and so I forgot exactly how I made it work, sorry.) This "Flame Maw" dealt 1d6 damage and 1d3 fire damage for the next turn.

Also, I combined bits of cloth that I found on my travels and attached them together and to the wing frame (small of course) of the construct. Then I enchanted them with the Fly ability, enabling it to fly (fly speed of 100ft. compared to normal speed of 50 ft.)

To add even more flavor I attached two rubies to the eye sockets in the head and enchanted them with Light (which would glow red) and Ghost Sound (which I made sound like a dragon's roar). Also, on parts of the body I enchanted it with the Shield and Entropic Shield spells (just as an added defense for the lil guy).

========================================================

My second construct was a little more thought out than my first experiment. It was designed as a Stealth & Reconnaissance construct. I called it my Prototype Warforged Fox Mark 02 (codenamed Project: Shadowfox until I was done).

Once again, it was made out of Mithril bits. It was 1 1/2 ft. tall and weighed about 5 lbs. It's plating was only about an inch thick and so it's HP was only 30.

It's basic attacks were Body Slam (1d3), Claw (1d3), and Bite (1d4).

I didn't really add any special attack to this one as it wasn't a combat construct and more of a specialty one.

I used soft cloth as padding under it's paws to make it quieter and a fox's hide over the metal to make it blend in more.

I made most of it's body hollow to make for a larger compartment. In the upper area of the compartment there were notches for 3 smokesticks and on the roof are attached tindertwigs. When a smokestick is pushed out through a hole in rear of the construct (hey, not perverted, but realistic) it rubs up against the tindertwig and is ignited and jettisoned behind it. Thereby making a "Smokescreen" (fog cloud fills a 10ft. square & dissipates after 1 round).

Also, on the belly of the construct there is a door mechanism that opens and closes quickly and quietly. The lower compartment holds 1 bag of caltrops that once the door is opened drops down onto the ground. This makes the "Caltrop Drop" (make an attack roll with no base attack added; no shield, no armor, and no deflection bonuses to enemy; footwear gives a +2 to AC. 5ft. square deals 1 damage and results in 1/2 movement speed for 24 hours or until healed; halts a charge and moving at 1/2 speed or slower allows enemies to move through the caltrop area unaffected.)

I also enchanted the tail with Zone of Silence (which only allows only those in immediate vicinity to hear noise), the rear legs with Improved Speed (giving +30 ft. to speed), and the head with Tongues (which allows it to speak and understand any language). (Just to clarify, the construct doesn't think, it can only relay what it hears, more like an answering machine or recorder.)

========================================================

Okay, now this one is my latest idea. I have't built it yet as I've been busy working on another project in-game for a fellow party member (hehe, just think of Jaxx from Mortal Kombat). Anyway, here are my preliminary design plans for my Adventurer Survival & Performance construct Mark 03 (a.k.a. Project ASP).

It will be about the size and shape of a King Cobra snake (though, I've not actually decided, yet).

It's head will have markings on them which will have the spell Light cast on them, acting as a sort of flashlight for adventurers.

The different sections of its body will be actually multiple compartments for movement mechanisms and empty ones for storing supplies.

(Note that this has room for improvement and I've not finished adding things in the design.)

For example, one compartment will hold about a pints worth of oil that can be spilled onto the floor to make a slippery surface or an ignitable one.

Another compartment can hold caltrops. (Already used in another construct, but, hey, they're useful little things.)

Another section will be 5 compartments long and able to hold 50 ft. worth of rope or probably 10-20 ft. of chain...(though, I will most likely ignore chain.)

Another compartment will hold tinderwigs, flint & steel, or alchemist's fire for any and all fire lighting needs.

Another compartment can hold pitons for combined use with the rope in the other compartment to make climbing in a dungeon a cinch.

And, finally, (aren't you glad I didn't say "Another compartment..." lol) the tail tip will be capable of switching back and forth from a lockpicking device to a sharp speared point. When in this "attack mode" the pointed end will be used to pierce enemies. Also, on either side of the tail tip blades will pop out from the sides so as to make slashing attacks. (Think of the tail as a double bladed halberd, in other words two blades and one point.)

This makes the ASP a perfect adventurers companion in dungeons as it can assist with most tasks.

========================================================

So, tell me what you guys think. Constructive criticism is appreciated and any ideas for bettering is welcomed. But mostly, share your ideas for custom constructs.
#2
chakat
Jun 18, 2009 1:40:45 What? No one? Wow, I expected someone to say something by now.

Did I make it to complicated? Or did I do something wrong? o.O?
#3
Goober4473
Jun 18, 2009 20:48:14 There really aren't any rules like this in 4e, so it's all DM's discretion in that case. Having companions without any class feature (such as beast companion rangers) is probably either unbalanced or overcomplicated, even if you pay for them. In a game without enough players, it may be good to allow companions, but in that case, I'd suggest statting them up as PCs, and refluffing.

However, it looks like you've got 3.x references in there, which means you're going to get very little help here. I'm not sure if there's a 3.x house rules forum, but you may want to post in a previous editions forum anyways if you're not using 4th edition.

I have no idea how building your own constructs works in 3.x. I recall a craft golem feat of some sort, but that let you build thigns that were already statted out in a book. I don't remember any component-based building of constructs, and if there was, I doubt hit points would be based on material/thickness like for an object.

Again, if the DM says they're fine, that's cool, but remember that adding in more creatures will complicate things.
#4
chakat
Jun 18, 2009 23:51:02 I'm sorry. I meant to say 3.5 game. ^^; My bad.

Also, I say a bunch of 4E sections, but this one was underneath them all and had no references to 4E in their section names. So I assumed that this was a 3.5 area. If I'm wrong, I apologize.

Also, as for creating them, there are basic constructs that are what people normally summon/make. I thought they looked boring and so made my own. Am I seriously the only player to ever think of doing this? Or to even have any ideas for custom ones?

I mean, I read one thread on here on how to screw over DMs with things like the commoner railgun and other such well thought out, but wild ideas. I was so looking forward to reading ideas like those but for constructs and this has just disappointed me to no end.
#5
Qube
Jun 19, 2009 3:13:00
So I assumed that this was a 3.5 area. If I'm wrong, I apologize.

I think, officially all previous edition threads should be under the previous edition thread ... but un-officially it gets mixed.

As for the constructs, rulewise, I'dd suggest the following:
use the stats/price of animals or mercenaries (but refluffed to construct.) for example
you could make a soldier construct (uses the stats and price of a horse)
you could make a soldier construct that requires some more expensive fuel (use the stats and the upkeep costs of a mercenairy)
#6
Goober4473
Jun 19, 2009 4:40:34
Also, I say a bunch of 4E sections, but this one was underneath them all and had no references to 4E in their section names. So I assumed that this was a 3.5 area. If I'm wrong, I apologize.

This forum is system-neutral, but is 99% 4th edition. It's not so much the incorrect place to post officially as it is a place where you may not get many people who use 3.5 to look at it.

As for making your own constructs, it really all falls under DM discretion, just like researching a new spell, only with fewer guidelines.

The constructs themselves look alright. I feel like they'd be very useful at very low level, if not broken due to the number of hit points, then become largely useless at mid level, as they may not have the skill bonuses/attack bonus/damage to really do anything, but they would still have high enough hit points to bog down combat with more creatures, and then at high level, they'd get blown appart pretty fast. But without their AC, saves, attack bonuses, or skill bonuses, it's hard to say for sure. Perhaps you could provide those? Also, what level is the character?
#7
chakat
Jun 19, 2009 14:48:40 Well, my Artificer level is 6.

For Project Fear, its AC was 21, Fort 2, Ref 7, Will 3, BAB 6, 12 skill points:
Hide 8, Move Silently 5, Listen 3, Spot 3, Tumble 2.

For Porject Shadowfox, its AC was 20, Fort 2, Ref 5, Will 6, BAB 6, 12 skill points: Hide 12 (includes it's plus 8), Move Silently 7 (though with Zone of Silence it makes it nill), Listen 5, Spot 5, Climb 5, Jump 5, Balance 4, Sense Motive 4, Tumble 3.

Does this help?
#8
chakat
Jun 28, 2009 23:51:44 More Info:
This is my first time playing an Artificier and so my DM simply said that (since I wanted to specialize in constructs) if I made any constructs I just had to detail everything about them out and show it to her for approval. If it wasn't overpowered or completely inappropriate for the time period (such as no tires or lasers, lol) then it would be okay.

Also, to interest you guys I've been thinking of some new hilarious ideas. I got them during our game earlier today. We just saw some dinosaurs in a city and my character was immediately fascinated by them. So my next two constructs will definitely be a raptor and a pterodactyl. ^^ Yeah.

Also, I got two more crazy ideas from a friend in the game. She said that maybe I could use my constructs for other things. So I came up with the idea for Chimera Armor and my "Mega Construct" (stupid name as I've not had time to come up with something better.)

The Chimera Armor will be for my taur character (yes that's right, I have room on my back for this to work).

Project: Chimera
1st:

Take Project Fear prototype and tweak to fit new project: add colored scale armor to the exterior to give it a more realistic look, and redesign the feet to connect to armor.

2nd:

Take Project Shadowfox prototype and tweak to fit new project: make slightly bigger by reinforcing the thickness of the armor, add two eye gems (obsidian), add ray of frost spells to the eye gems, and redesign the feet to connect to armor.

3rd:

Finish plans on the Project ASP prototype construct and then tweak it to fit new project: add an electric spell to its body, make it to where the fangs can shoot acid (lethal or stonebreaker options would be best), and reconfigure tail to hook onto armor whilst head & body are still free-moving.

4th:

Get a custom-fit suit of plate armor made & then add onto the lower back area connection joints and locks for 3 constructs.

Also, consider use of two side attachments; possibly spike traps retro-engineered to be fired at enemies. These “spike cannons” will each have about 6 spikes in each box which would be attached via connection joints and locks on the side of the lower body.

As this armor will be very heavy, cumbersome, and possibly very heat retentive it can only be worn for a limited amount of times per day as it would take a toll on the wearer.

Project: Mega

This is something I just started work on as my friends gave me the idea today. Since I have started making plans to create a raptor and pterodactyl construct they jokingly said that I should turn them into a giant robot like in power rangers or something. I took that joke WAY too seriously. ^^ Hee.

Picture if you will, a humanoid construct with the head of a fox, the torso of a dragon, a snake for one arm, a raptor's tail for the other (don't worry, I was going to make the tail turn into a giant sword or something so it won't be stupid), as well as a raptor's two legs, and a pair of pterodactyl's wings on the back.

So, yes, it will be pretty weird looking, but I think that it will be awesome. I will update when I have more info done for my new constructs or on these last two interesting projects. ^^

Please, give more comments and criticism.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 chakat Jun 16, 2009 22:01:06	Okay, I'm in a friend of mine's game and she has allowed me make custom constructs as my character is a tinker/artificier. I've been thinking of a few different ones to make and was wondering if anyone else had ever made custom constructs before. Sadly, I've not seen any online... Would anyone like to help me? I'll go ahead and describe the ones I've made/are thinking of making. ======================================================== My first idea was for a camp watch construct of sorts... I codenamed it my Project: Fear prototype until it was done. My Prototype Warforged Dragon Mark 01. (Cheesy, yes, but whatever.) It was the size of a baby dragon (around 3ft. tall and weighing in at about 15 lbs. I had made it out of Mithril which has a Max Dex of +2, AC Check of -3, and a Hardness of 15; also grants 30 HP/in. of thickness. I made the mithril plating about 2in. thick which gave it 60 HP. It's stats were all rolled by me, so they don't really count in this sense. However, constructs don't get CON or INT, so keep that in mind, okay. It's basic attacks were a Claw (1d3), Bite (1d4), Tail (1d4), and Body Slam (1d3), but I added in some special abilities of my own when I made it. First I made the body, then customized it by making the tail hollow and fitting a sharp point to the end of the tail which could pierce enemies bodies and inject them with poisons I added into the hollow compartment in the tail. This "Acid Spike" dealt 2d4 damage. Secondly, I made the head compartment hollow to allow it to be filled with oil and the tongue inside the maw would be made of something easily ignitable as light the oil as it was spewed forth from the maw. (I actually lost my notes on this part of the construct and so I forgot exactly how I made it work, sorry.) This "Flame Maw" dealt 1d6 damage and 1d3 fire damage for the next turn. Also, I combined bits of cloth that I found on my travels and attached them together and to the wing frame (small of course) of the construct. Then I enchanted them with the Fly ability, enabling it to fly (fly speed of 100ft. compared to normal speed of 50 ft.) To add even more flavor I attached two rubies to the eye sockets in the head and enchanted them with Light (which would glow red) and Ghost Sound (which I made sound like a dragon's roar). Also, on parts of the body I enchanted it with the Shield and Entropic Shield spells (just as an added defense for the lil guy). ======================================================== My second construct was a little more thought out than my first experiment. It was designed as a Stealth & Reconnaissance construct. I called it my Prototype Warforged Fox Mark 02 (codenamed Project: Shadowfox until I was done). Once again, it was made out of Mithril bits. It was 1 1/2 ft. tall and weighed about 5 lbs. It's plating was only about an inch thick and so it's HP was only 30. It's basic attacks were Body Slam (1d3), Claw (1d3), and Bite (1d4). I didn't really add any special attack to this one as it wasn't a combat construct and more of a specialty one. I used soft cloth as padding under it's paws to make it quieter and a fox's hide over the metal to make it blend in more. I made most of it's body hollow to make for a larger compartment. In the upper area of the compartment there were notches for 3 smokesticks and on the roof are attached tindertwigs. When a smokestick is pushed out through a hole in rear of the construct (hey, not perverted, but realistic) it rubs up against the tindertwig and is ignited and jettisoned behind it. Thereby making a "Smokescreen" (fog cloud fills a 10ft. square & dissipates after 1 round). Also, on the belly of the construct there is a door mechanism that opens and closes quickly and quietly. The lower compartment holds 1 bag of caltrops that once the door is opened drops down onto the ground. This makes the "Caltrop Drop" (make an attack roll with no base attack added; no shield, no armor, and no deflection bonuses to enemy; footwear gives a +2 to AC. 5ft. square deals 1 damage and results in 1/2 movement speed for 24 hours or until healed; halts a charge and moving at 1/2 speed or slower allows enemies to move through the caltrop area unaffected.) I also enchanted the tail with Zone of Silence (which only allows only those in immediate vicinity to hear noise), the rear legs with Improved Speed (giving +30 ft. to speed), and the head with Tongues (which allows it to speak and understand any language). (Just to clarify, the construct doesn't think, it can only relay what it hears, more like an answering machine or recorder.) ======================================================== Okay, now this one is my latest idea. I have't built it yet as I've been busy working on another project in-game for a fellow party member (hehe, just think of Jaxx from Mortal Kombat). Anyway, here are my preliminary design plans for my Adventurer Survival & Performance construct Mark 03 (a.k.a. Project ASP). It will be about the size and shape of a King Cobra snake (though, I've not actually decided, yet). It's head will have markings on them which will have the spell Light cast on them, acting as a sort of flashlight for adventurers. The different sections of its body will be actually multiple compartments for movement mechanisms and empty ones for storing supplies. (Note that this has room for improvement and I've not finished adding things in the design.) For example, one compartment will hold about a pints worth of oil that can be spilled onto the floor to make a slippery surface or an ignitable one. Another compartment can hold caltrops. (Already used in another construct, but, hey, they're useful little things.) Another section will be 5 compartments long and able to hold 50 ft. worth of rope or probably 10-20 ft. of chain...(though, I will most likely ignore chain.) Another compartment will hold tinderwigs, flint & steel, or alchemist's fire for any and all fire lighting needs. Another compartment can hold pitons for combined use with the rope in the other compartment to make climbing in a dungeon a cinch. And, finally, (aren't you glad I didn't say "Another compartment..." lol) the tail tip will be capable of switching back and forth from a lockpicking device to a sharp speared point. When in this "attack mode" the pointed end will be used to pierce enemies. Also, on either side of the tail tip blades will pop out from the sides so as to make slashing attacks. (Think of the tail as a double bladed halberd, in other words two blades and one point.) This makes the ASP a perfect adventurers companion in dungeons as it can assist with most tasks. ======================================================== So, tell me what you guys think. Constructive criticism is appreciated and any ideas for bettering is welcomed. But mostly, share your ideas for custom constructs.
#2 chakat Jun 18, 2009 1:40:45	What? No one? Wow, I expected someone to say something by now. Did I make it to complicated? Or did I do something wrong? o.O?
#3 Goober4473 Jun 18, 2009 20:48:14	There really aren't any rules like this in 4e, so it's all DM's discretion in that case. Having companions without any class feature (such as beast companion rangers) is probably either unbalanced or overcomplicated, even if you pay for them. In a game without enough players, it may be good to allow companions, but in that case, I'd suggest statting them up as PCs, and refluffing. However, it looks like you've got 3.x references in there, which means you're going to get very little help here. I'm not sure if there's a 3.x house rules forum, but you may want to post in a previous editions forum anyways if you're not using 4th edition. I have no idea how building your own constructs works in 3.x. I recall a craft golem feat of some sort, but that let you build thigns that were already statted out in a book. I don't remember any component-based building of constructs, and if there was, I doubt hit points would be based on material/thickness like for an object. Again, if the DM says they're fine, that's cool, but remember that adding in more creatures will complicate things.
#4 chakat Jun 18, 2009 23:51:02	I'm sorry. I meant to say 3.5 game. ^^; My bad. Also, I say a bunch of 4E sections, but this one was underneath them all and had no references to 4E in their section names. So I assumed that this was a 3.5 area. If I'm wrong, I apologize. Also, as for creating them, there are basic constructs that are what people normally summon/make. I thought they looked boring and so made my own. Am I seriously the only player to ever think of doing this? Or to even have any ideas for custom ones? I mean, I read one thread on here on how to screw over DMs with things like the commoner railgun and other such well thought out, but wild ideas. I was so looking forward to reading ideas like those but for constructs and this has just disappointed me to no end.
#5 Qube Jun 19, 2009 3:13:00	So I assumed that this was a 3.5 area. If I'm wrong, I apologize. I think, officially all previous edition threads should be under the previous edition thread ... but un-officially it gets mixed. As for the constructs, rulewise, I'dd suggest the following: use the stats/price of animals or mercenaries (but refluffed to construct.) for example you could make a soldier construct (uses the stats and price of a horse) you could make a soldier construct that requires some more expensive fuel (use the stats and the upkeep costs of a mercenairy)
#6 Goober4473 Jun 19, 2009 4:40:34	Also, I say a bunch of 4E sections, but this one was underneath them all and had no references to 4E in their section names. So I assumed that this was a 3.5 area. If I'm wrong, I apologize. This forum is system-neutral, but is 99% 4th edition. It's not so much the incorrect place to post officially as it is a place where you may not get many people who use 3.5 to look at it. As for making your own constructs, it really all falls under DM discretion, just like researching a new spell, only with fewer guidelines. The constructs themselves look alright. I feel like they'd be very useful at very low level, if not broken due to the number of hit points, then become largely useless at mid level, as they may not have the skill bonuses/attack bonus/damage to really do anything, but they would still have high enough hit points to bog down combat with more creatures, and then at high level, they'd get blown appart pretty fast. But without their AC, saves, attack bonuses, or skill bonuses, it's hard to say for sure. Perhaps you could provide those? Also, what level is the character?
#7 chakat Jun 19, 2009 14:48:40	Well, my Artificer level is 6. For Project Fear, its AC was 21, Fort 2, Ref 7, Will 3, BAB 6, 12 skill points: Hide 8, Move Silently 5, Listen 3, Spot 3, Tumble 2. For Porject Shadowfox, its AC was 20, Fort 2, Ref 5, Will 6, BAB 6, 12 skill points: Hide 12 (includes it's plus 8), Move Silently 7 (though with Zone of Silence it makes it nill), Listen 5, Spot 5, Climb 5, Jump 5, Balance 4, Sense Motive 4, Tumble 3. Does this help?
#8 chakat Jun 28, 2009 23:51:44	More Info: This is my first time playing an Artificier and so my DM simply said that (since I wanted to specialize in constructs) if I made any constructs I just had to detail everything about them out and show it to her for approval. If it wasn't overpowered or completely inappropriate for the time period (such as no tires or lasers, lol) then it would be okay. Also, to interest you guys I've been thinking of some new hilarious ideas. I got them during our game earlier today. We just saw some dinosaurs in a city and my character was immediately fascinated by them. So my next two constructs will definitely be a raptor and a pterodactyl. ^^ Yeah. Also, I got two more crazy ideas from a friend in the game. She said that maybe I could use my constructs for other things. So I came up with the idea for Chimera Armor and my "Mega Construct" (stupid name as I've not had time to come up with something better.) The Chimera Armor will be for my taur character (yes that's right, I have room on my back for this to work). Project: Chimera 1st: Take Project Fear prototype and tweak to fit new project: add colored scale armor to the exterior to give it a more realistic look, and redesign the feet to connect to armor. 2nd: Take Project Shadowfox prototype and tweak to fit new project: make slightly bigger by reinforcing the thickness of the armor, add two eye gems (obsidian), add ray of frost spells to the eye gems, and redesign the feet to connect to armor. 3rd: Finish plans on the Project ASP prototype construct and then tweak it to fit new project: add an electric spell to its body, make it to where the fangs can shoot acid (lethal or stonebreaker options would be best), and reconfigure tail to hook onto armor whilst head & body are still free-moving. 4th: Get a custom-fit suit of plate armor made & then add onto the lower back area connection joints and locks for 3 constructs. Also, consider use of two side attachments; possibly spike traps retro-engineered to be fired at enemies. These “spike cannons” will each have about 6 spikes in each box which would be attached via connection joints and locks on the side of the lower body. As this armor will be very heavy, cumbersome, and possibly very heat retentive it can only be worn for a limited amount of times per day as it would take a toll on the wearer. Project: Mega This is something I just started work on as my friends gave me the idea today. Since I have started making plans to create a raptor and pterodactyl construct they jokingly said that I should turn them into a giant robot like in power rangers or something. I took that joke WAY too seriously. ^^ Hee. Picture if you will, a humanoid construct with the head of a fox, the torso of a dragon, a snake for one arm, a raptor's tail for the other (don't worry, I was going to make the tail turn into a giant sword or something so it won't be stupid), as well as a raptor's two legs, and a pair of pterodactyl's wings on the back. So, yes, it will be pretty weird looking, but I think that it will be awesome. I will update when I have more info done for my new constructs or on these last two interesting projects. ^^ Please, give more comments and criticism.