Mechamancer

A mechamancer blends machinery and flesh in an unholy union more powerful than sinew or gears alone. Alien technology, clockwork, or arcane apparatus might form the basis for these enhancements, but they always leave the mechamancer disconnected with their humanity. At best, a mechamancer might retain some spark of their former selves, but most eventually lose touch with reality and see only the processes and routines that guide them.

Mechamancers undergo augmentation for any number of reasons. Some find their human forms too frail, others yearn for immortality, and some are forced down the path by uncaring artificers as part of insane experiments that blend the natural and mechanical.

Most mechamancers are lawful and respect the correct functioning of well-oiled machinery and perfectly meshing cogs. Some take this to levels of religious fervor and revere machine-gods unheard of in the mortal realms, such as the Process or the Infinity Engine. Others claim to have no time for gods or faith, and instead reserve their zeal for empirical process and quantifiable data. Most mechamancers are neutral, but the threshold towards evil is never far away for those who can so readily manipulate flesh to their own ends. Because of the sensitive instrumentation interfacing with their natural brains, it’s not unheard of for mechamancers to suffer irreparable damage or a hazardous malfunction that sends them haywire. Such mechamancers cannot process information normally and become chaotic.

The mechamancer is an alternative to the barbarian class, and many of the additional options available to a barbarian can be rethemed to fit a mechamancer, with your GM’s approval. Specifically, surge and rage, and primary function and primal path, are synonymous. The mechamancer’s major difference from a standard barbarian is in how they use armor, and mechamancers gain several penalties and ability changes to balance their increase to Armor Class.

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d12 per mechamancer level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 12 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d12 (or 7) + your Constitution modifier per mechamancer level after 1st

Proficiencies

Armor: Medium armor, heavy armor, shields
Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
Tools: Tinker’s tools
Saving Throws: Constitution, Intelligence
Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Athletics, Intimidation, Investigation, Medicine, and Perception

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• a warhammer or (b) any martial melee weapon
• a light crossbow and 20 bolts or (b) any simple weapon
• tinker’s tools
• an explorer’s pack, 10 charcoal pencils, and a book of schematics

The Mechamancer

Level	Proficiency Bonus	Surges	Surge Damage	Features
1st	+2	+2	+2	Biomechanical Architecture, Surge
2nd	+2	+2	+2	Attack Configuration, Threat Evaluation
3rd	+2	+3	+2	Primary Function
4th	+2	+3	+2	Ability Score Improvement
5th	+3	+3	+2	Armor Balancing, Attack Protocol
6th	+3	+4	+2	Program Feature
7th	+3	+4	+2	Threat Prioritization
8th	+3	+4	+2	Ability Score Improvement
9th	+4	+4	+3	Critical Targeting (1 die)
10th	+4	+4	+3	Program Feature
11th	+4	+4	+3	Repair Protocol
12th	+4	+5	+3	Ability Score Improvement
13th	+5	+5	+3	Critical Targeting (2 dice)
14th	+5	+5	+3	Program Feature
15th	+5	+5	+3	Sustained Surge
16th	+5	+5	+4	Ability Score Improvement
17th	+6	+6	+4	Critical Targeting (3 dice)
18th	+6	+6	+4	Power Redistribution
19th	+6	+6	+4	Ability Score Improvement
20th	+6	Unlimited	+4	Ultimate Upgrade

Class Features

As a mechamancer, you gain the following class features.

Biomechanical Architecture

Your body is a mix of machine and mortal flesh, which makes you physiologically different to unmodified beings. Cleverly designed custom armor plating covers your skin and exposed mechanical components. You can only wear armor plating custom-made for you from metal plate, and such armor plating must be riveted or screwed on. Donning and doffing this armor plating takes 10 times the normal time listed. You can use a suit of regular armor as the raw materials for the purposes of crafting armor plating, but it must be plate armor of some kind (breastplate, half plate, or plate). In all other ways, armor plating has the same statistics as armor of the same type. Exposed gears and other moving parts make you more vulnerable to attacks while unarmored. While you are not wearing any armor, you are vulnerable to bludgeoning damage. The modifications to your body cause a disconnection to your mortality that prevents you from casting spells. The only way to restore your ability to cast spells would involve removing the mechanical aspect of your being, removing all the features of this class.

This ability replaces unarmored defense.

Surge

In battle, a surge of power increases the abilities of your augmented body. On your turn, you can enter a surge as a bonus action.

While surging, you gain the following benefits:

• You have advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws.
• When you make a melee weapon attack using Strength, you gain a bonus to the damage roll that increases as you gain levels as a mechamancer, as shown in the Surge Damage column of the Mechamancer table.
• If wearing armor plating, you add your Intelligence modifier to your Armor Class. You can use a shield and still gain this benefit.

Your surge lasts for 1 minute. It ends early if you are knocked unconscious or if your turn ends and you haven’t attacked a hostile creature since your last turn or taken damage since then. You can also end your surge on your turn as a bonus action.

Once you have surged the number of times shown for your mechamancer level in the Surges column of the Mechamancer table, you must finish a long rest before you can surge again.

This ability replaces rage.

Attack Configuration

Starting at 2nd level, you can focus your systems to attack effectively, at the loss of some defensive capabilities. When you make your first attack on your turn, you can decide to engage your attack configuration. Doing so gives you advantage on melee weapon attack rolls using Strength during this turn, but attack rolls against you have advantage until your next turn.

This ability replaces reckless attack.

Threat Evaluation

At 2nd level, your augmented brain allows you to evaluate and react to perceived threats, giving you an edge when you dodge away from danger. You have advantage on Dexterity saving throws against effects that you can see, such as traps and spells. To gain this benefit, you can’t be blinded, deafened, or incapacitated.

From 6th level, you can use your Intelligence modifier instead of your Dexterity modifier for Dexterity saving throws.

This ability replaces danger sense.

Primary Function

At 3rd level, you choose a primary function that delineates the main form of your surge. Choose Battle Function or the Tactical Function, both detailed at the end of the class description. Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 6th, 10th, and 14th levels.

This ability replaces primal path.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Attack Protocol

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

This ability replaces extra attack.

Armor Balancing

Starting at 5th level, you don’t suffer penalties to Dexterity (Stealth) checks from armor, and your movement speed is never reduced by heavy armor. This ability replaces fast movement.

Threat Prioritization

By 7th level, your sensory processors are capable of analyzing and prioritizing threats, giving you advantage on initiative rolls.

Additionally, if you are surprised at the beginning of combat and aren’t incapacitated, you can act normally on your first turn, but only if you enter your surge before doing anything else on that turn.

This ability replaces feral instincts.

Critical Targeting

Beginning at 9th level, your targeting matrix is able to pinpoint weak points for your attack systems to exploit. You can roll one additional weapon damage die when determining the extra damage for a critical hit with a melee attack. This increases to two additional dice at 13th level and three additional dice at 17th level.

This ability replaces brutal critical.

Repair Protocol

Starting at 11th level, your surge empowers your critical life support systems, which can keep you fighting despite grievous wounds. If you drop to 0 hit points while you’re surging and don’t die outright, you can make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw. If you succeed, you drop to 1 hit point instead.

Each time you use this feature after the first, the DC increases by 5. When you finish a short or long rest, the DC resets to 10.

This ability replaces relentless rage.

Sustained Surge

Beginning at 15th level, your internal power supply is able to sustain your surge for longer durations so that it ends early only if you fall unconscious or if you choose to end it.

This ability replaces persistent rage.

Power Redistribution

Beginning at 18th level, upgrades to your skeleton allow you to redistribute the forces you exert more effectively. If your total for a Strength check is less than your Strength score, you can use that score in place of the total.

This ability replaces indomitable might.

Ultimate Upgrade

At 20th level, you complete your final upgrade, vastly improving your combat abilities. Your Strength and Constitution scores increase by 4. Your maximum for those scores is now 24.

This ability replaces primal champion.

Primary Function

The mechamancer’s malleable body is easily modified, but ultimately the mechamancer must choose a primary function and engineer their design around considerations for that role.

Battle Function

Some mechamancers optimize their engineering for destructive close combat. The Battle Function is ruthless and reckless, sacrificing defensive capabilities for deadly offensive maneuvers.

Overdrive

Starting when you choose this program at 3rd level, you can go into overdrive when you surge. If you do so, for the duration of your surge you can make a single melee weapon attack as a bonus action on each of your turns after this one. When your surge ends, you suffer one level of exhaustion.

Machine Mind

Beginning at 6th level, you give yourself over completely to your machine mind when you surge. You can’t be charmed or frightened while surging. If you are charmed or frightened when you enter your surge, the effect is suspended for the duration of the surge.

Strategic Evaluation

Beginning at 10th level, you can use your action to evaluate an enemy you can see. By running thousands of split-second combat simulations, you gain insights into the best method of attack. Until the end of your next turn, all your attacks against that target have advantage.

Countermeasures

Starting at 14th level, when you take damage from a creature that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to make a melee weapon attack against that creature.

Tactical Function

The mechamancer’s body is ultimately a tool, and many mechamancers choose to prepare for a wide range of dangers by foregoing optimization for a single role, such as combat. The Tactical Function offers strategic variety through a number of subroutines and attachable modifications with a wide variety of uses, as well as specific configurations and fine-tuned calibrations.

Basic Calibration

Starting when you choose this program at 3rd level, you gain one basic calibration from the list below. You can spend a day of downtime to recalibrate, swapping any calibrations for others available to you.

• Armored Intervention. While surging, you can use your reaction to become the target of an attack instead of an ally within 5 feet. This ability cannot be used against attacks that target or damage multiple creatures at once.
• Defensive Maneuvering. While surging, you gain a +2 to Armor Class against opportunity attacks.
• Repair Module. While surging, you regain hit points equal to your proficiency bonus at the end of each round you did not take damage in, up to your hit point maximum.
• Dispensing Launcher. While surging, you can use your reaction to pass any item in your possession to an ally within 15 feet. You can pass multiple items if they are stored together, such as a quiver of arrow, but the container must be closed or risks spilling the contents when launched.
• Marksmanship Protocol. When you begin surging, you can choose to have advantage on Dexterity checks and Dexterity saving throws instead of advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws. This choice affects power redistribution from 18th level, replacing Strength with Dexterity for that class feature.

Intermediate Calibration

From 6th level, you gain a second calibration, which may be chosen from the list of intermediate or basic calibrations. You can only have one basic and one intermediate calibration active at a time. Firing Computer. As a bonus action on your turn, you can designate a target you can see. Ranged attacks you make against designated targets have a +2 bonus to hit. You can have any number of designated targets, but a target’s designation ends when you can no longer see that target or it is destroyed.

• Lifting Frame. You add your proficiency modifier to your Strength score for the purposes of determining your carrying capacity, including maximum load and lift. As long as you are not wounded, you can ignore the effects of 1 level of exhaustion of your choice, though you still die if you reach exhaustion level 6.
• Medical Probe. You’re fitted with a probe containing various medical apparatus. You have advantage on Wisdom (Medicine) checks made to detect or identify poisons, and to stabilize a dying creature.
• Pacification Enhancement. You are proficient with improvised weapons and have advantage on grapple checks.
• Sensory Upgrade. You are aware of any creature within 15 feet that creates noise at least as loud as a heart beat. Walls a foot thick block this sound, but loud noises do not affect your ability to discern quieter sounds. Additionally, dim light doesn’t impose disadvantage on your Wisdom (Perception) checks.

Configuration

Beginning at 10th level, you gain a configuration from the list below. You can change your configuration for free when recalibrating.

• Firing Configuration. As an action, you can adopt a stance that greatly increases your ability to hit a target’s vital points. While in firing configuration you are restrained but your ranged attacks are critical hits on a roll of 18, 19, or 20.
• Surgical Configuration. Once during a short or long rest, you can spend 10 minutes to assume a surgical configuration and preform battlefield surgery on an ally. You can choose one of the following effects:
  • End one effect reducing the target’s hit point maximum
  • Remove a level of fatigue
  • Remove one reduction to one of the target’s ability scores
• Scouting Configuration. You can travel at normal pace while moving stealthily, and you remain alert while engaged in other activities, such as foraging, navigating, or tracking. You cannot use this ability if you have ranger levels.
• Shield Configuration. Additional arms allow you to deploy two extra shields, as an action. While these shields are deployed you are restrained but gain the shield bonus from all shields you are using. In addition, your shields block a 10-footwide and 10-foot-high space directly in front of you. You can retract your shields as a bonus action on your turn.
• Wheeled Configuration. As an action, you deploy wheels that lock in place and your body reconfigures to allow for faster travel. While deployed, your movement speed is doubled while moving over smooth ground, such as roads. You cannot move over difficult terrain while your wheels are deployed, and you cannot take Attack actions. In addition, you can carry one Medium or two Small creatures without penalty. You can retract your wheels as a bonus action on your turn.

Major Calibration

Starting at 14th level, you gain a fourth calibration, which may be chosen from any list of calibrations. You can only have one intermediate, one advanced, and one major calibration active at a time.

• Dart Launcher. A dart launcher is installed above your shoulder or into your wrist and you can use a bonus action to fire it, using the weapon profile for a dart. The dart launcher holds 3 darts and reloading a dart takes an action. While surging, as a bonus action, you can coat a dart with a powerful sedative. A creature hit by a sedative dart must succeed on a Constitution saving throw with a DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier or be stunned until the end of its next turn. When fired at an ally, a sedative dart only deals its weapon damage. Until the sedative effect ends, the target has advantage on Constitution saving throws, automatically succeeds on death saves, and regains hit points equal to your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier + 1d8 at the start of their turn. Undead and constructs are immune to the sedative.
• Repulsor Boots. While you’re surging, you have a flying speed equal to your current walking speed. This benefit works in short bursts, and you fall if you end your turn in the air and nothing is holding you aloft.
• Juggernaut Mode. While you’re surging, you can use a bonus action to deploy additional armor plating. While in juggernaut mode, your Armor Class increases by half your proficiency modifier and you walking speed is halved. You can end this effect as a bonus action on your turn.
• Loading Rig. While surging, you are immune to being forced prone. Also, you cannot be moved by creatures grappling you unless they are two sizes larger than you. Finally, your movement is not affected when you attempt to move a creature you’re grappling that is the same size as you or smaller.
• Puncturing Shot. While surging, when you hit a target with a ranged attack, you can make another attack against a target directly behind the first. You can continue this chain until you miss, there are no more targets in the line, or you reach the limit of your weapon’s range. These additional attacks do not consume ammunition.