Geppettoan

Being constructs, geppettoans do not possess genders. A few geppettoans are carved with bumps on their body in certain gender-specific areas to emulate familiar humanoid genders, but these features do not always correlate to how the geppettoan behaves; the physical appearance is decided by the creator, while the personality is decided by the individual.

Society: Servitude, freedom and the power of choice are central to geppettoan society. With the exception of the two-year period during which all geppettoans are schooled by an elder geppettoan, no geppettoan holds authority over another. Because of this, there is no core belief, no central geppettoan government, nor a tribal ruler whom all geppettoans are expected to revere. Nonetheless, there are a few geppettoans that have been alive for numerous centuries, and their experience makes their opinions a valuable resource. These elders may have considerable influence on an individual geppettoan’s opinion.

Alignment and Religion: Being creatures of logic and reason, geppettoans strongly gravitate towards the lawful alignments, with lawful neutral being the most common one among their kind. Chaotic geppettoans are not unheard of, but they are by no means common. Most chaoticaligned geppettoans possess emotions, a rare anomaly among them. While some geppettoans do worship a deity or deities, most look elsewhere for spiritual meaning if they ever seek such a thing. A number of geppettoans follow one of several philosophies as a guiding force in their lives.

Aging and Death: Geppettoans do not age. They can live for hundreds of years and still look the same as the day they awakened. Because they do not naturally die, a geppettoan’s death is an extremely notable event. A geppettoan funeral appears to most humanoids more like a social gathering than a show of grief. No tears are shed, and no one mourns.

Instead, members of the race sit around and tell tales of their fallen friend. These memorial services can last anywhere from a week to a month.

Communities and Settlements: Geppettoans usually gather in groups of as few as ten to as many as 100, and generally refer to such groupings as communes. They unite over shared goals or philosophies, creating new members as needed to bolster their ranks. However, creating a new geppettoan does not always ensure the strengthening of a given commune’s numbers, because most communes steadfastly insist that geppettoans should choose their own paths and pursuits once their training has ended. As a result, young geppettoans may defect to another commune in order to pursue their passion, or forsake communal living altogether and seek out people of other races who share their ideals. A rare few communes may enforce adherence to their commune’s strictures by destroying geppettoans who do not fall in line with their beliefs or seek to defect, but this is an exceptionally rare occurrence and is, at best, frowned upon by the vast majority of communes.

Language and Script: Geppettoans read and write Common as their primary language. A few members of the race have tried to create their own language, but most geppettoans see no logic in using a constructed language. Instead, most geppettoans use existing obscure languages to communicate privately among themselves.

Unfortunately, few geppettoans agree on what that language should be. As a result, many know how to read and write at least one language that almost no one else, including members of their own race, can understand.

Names: For the first two years of a geppettoan’s life, its only name is geppettoan. However, when it completes its training, it announces its name to others of its race in a naming ceremony. The geppettoan is free to name itself anything it desires. Many choose a name suggested by their mentor; others choose a word or phrase that the individual geppettoan views as important and which reflects its abilities. Some have already decided on a course for their life and choose a name that reflects that course. Many geppettoan names pay homage to their wooden origins.

Ability Names: Enduring Oak, Sure Arrow, Unbent Bough.

Direction Names: Arcane Gift, Swift Pine, Wooden Sword.

Values Names: True Friend, Maple Sweet, Bitter Bark.

Geppettoans Racial Traits

Long ago, a wizard named Geppetto created a servitor construct. While he loved it and treated it fairly, the other wizards that copied his designs were harsh and cruel.

Imbuing their servants with free will but denying them license to exercise it. Tortured by this ever-conflicted state of being, these geppettoans, as they were called, conspired to circumvent their masters’ orders and eventually slew their creators. Few spellcasters from that point forward gifted their creations with free will, and even fewer ever created a geppettoan again; in time, this knowledge dwindled until mortal spellcasters forgot altogether the method required to craft such beings. Geppettoans, for their part, are more than happy to keep the secret of how to create new members of their race to themselves.

Physical Description: These wooden creations are as tall as a halfling or a gnome and vaguely resemble a human in shape. Being a created race, their appearance varies greatly, depending on the skill of the geppettoan’s crafter.

They all have a head, a body, two arms, and two legs. Their faces are an amalgamation of carved, stained, bejewelled, and painted wood. Their eyes are made from round stones, precious gems, acorns, or any other kind of round natural object. Not all geppettoans have dental work since they do not need to eat, but a few geppettoan communes with more warlike dispositions may create new members with teeth or fangs to give them a more fearsome appearance.

These teeth are usually carved from the same wood as the geppettoan’s body, but some have inlaid teeth of ivory, stone, or porcelain.

Geppettoans have the following racial traits.

• Ability Score Increase. Geppettoans are highly intelligent and well built. Your Constitution and Intelligence scores increase by 1.
• Age. Geppettoans are fully capable from the moment of their animation, but require some training to learn about the world around them, reaching adulthood around age 2. They routinely grow to reach 5000 years of age before their magical glyphs are so worn that they cannot keep the geppettoan animated.
• Alignment. While geppettoans can be any alignment, they tend towards neutral. They see themselves as being created by both nature and arcane powers. They believe these forces have no moral or societal biases and that, therefore, neither should they.
• Size. Geppettoans are short in stature. Your size is Small.
• Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.
• Wooden Weapon Proficiency. You are proficient with melee weapons that are primarily made from wood: club, greatclub, quarterstaff, and spear.
• Living Construct. You are a living creature, even if you are constructed. You are immune to disease. You can ingest potions, elixirs, and similar liquid magic items like living creatures do. While you do not sleep, you must spend 4 hours each day checking over the magical runes carved into your body. Failing to do so results in your suffering the same penalties you would if you had not slept. During this time, you are fully awake and aware of your surroundings, noticing approaching enemies and other events around you as normal. You do not dream.
• Languages. You can read, write, and speak Common and any one other language of your choice.