Cybertronian, 2nd Variant (5e Race)

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Cybertronian

Physical Description

A group of cybertronians in their natural forms. Cover art from an unreleased Dreamwave comic, taken from TFWiki

In its natural form, a cybertronian is a humanoid machine. Their metallic bodies come in a wide variety of colours, and their eyes are often a solid colour without discernible sclera or pupils.

In terms of facial features, no two cybertronians look exactly alike. They may have humanlike eyes, mouths and noses, or they may have more bestial traits: compound eyes, predatory fangs, feline snouts, insectoid mandibles, or even a set of crustacean-like mouthparts. Others have more robotic traits, such as a visor instead of eyes or a featureless faceplate in place of a mouth. Many cybertronians have protective armor plating built into their heads, making it appear as if they’re wearing a helmet.

Cybertronians can scan a beast in order to take on its appearance. This transformation is not magical in nature, and elements of a cybertronian’s beastly disguise adorn her body like armor or clothing while she is in her natural form. When she transforms, her body folds up on itself and the organic parts enclose her mechanical innards, forming a near-perfect disguise. It is not infallible, however: cybertronians can still talk while in “beast mode”, and they do not alter their size when they transform, so a cybertronian who scanned a much smaller beast will appear to be vastly oversized in beast form.

Male and female cybertronians exist, though the race does not reproduce sexually. A cybertronian begins life as an inert mass of metal called a protoform, which does not become active or self-aware until it scans a beast and obtains its beast mode. Only then does the protoform take on its humanoid shape and take a name for itself.

Every cybertronian has a Spark, a visible and tangible manifestation of its soul. The Spark is housed within a cybertronian’s torso and resembles a pulsating ball of white light. When a cybertronian is in good health, his Spark pulses in a slow and steady rhythm: when he is badly injured or dying, the pulse becomes erratic and violent. When a Transformer dies, his Spark bursts into motes of light which fade out of sight after a few moments.

History

Eons ago, the ancestors of modern cybertronians were locked in civil war. The altruistic Autobots battled the nefarious Decepticons for control of their home realm of Cybertron, a pocket dimension within the greater plane of Mechanus. This war ultimately ended with the Autobots victorious, and in the centuries that followed the ancient cybertronians chose to spread out across the multiverse in a great diaspora.

These ancient cybertronians were towering constructs of a height with giants, but these massive forms demanded a constant supply of energy, and they could not sustain themselves outside of Cybertron’s energy-rich environment for long. They compensated by downsizing themselves in order to conserve energy, and modern cybertronians are only slightly larger than the humanoids they now interact with.

Those cybertronians who settled on the worlds of the Material Plane discovered that they could take the forms of local creatures. They would transform into these creatures for the sake of blending in, to experience the unfamiliar sensations of a flesh-and-blood existence, or to protect themselves from mystical energies which would be harmful to their mechanical bodies. Those races who know of the cybertronians and their habits have dubbed them “the Transformers” on account of their abilities.

Society

As a race, the cybertronians are divided into two sociopolitical factions. The Maximals are descended from the Autobots, while the Predacons are descended from the Decepticons. For most of their existence the two groups have enjoyed strained but peaceful relations, though tensions simmer beneath the surface. Many Maximals treat the Predacons as second-class citizens or worse, and many Predacons resent their ancestors’ defeat in the Great War. It is feared that these tensions, if left unchecked, could ignite into a multiverse-spanning conflict.

Maximals and Predacons have very different views of the humanoid races whose worlds they inhabit. Most Maximals look upon organic races favorably and may try to share knowledge with them, and even at their worst a Maximal would treat a humanoid with indifference. Predacons, by contrast, see organic humanoids as contemptible creatures or useful pawns: things to be manipulated, discarded or destroyed as a Predacon sees fit.

Cybertronian Names

Cybertronians choose their own names. They pick nouns or adjectives that reflect their personalities, appearance, occupation, fighting style or chosen beast mode. For instance, a cybertronian who takes a cheetah for his beast mode might name himself Cheetor.

Male: Cheetor, Dinobot, Jetstorm, Megatron, Obsidian, Optimus Primal, Quickstrike, Rampage, Rattrap, Rhinox, Scorponok, Silverbolt, Tarantulas, Terrorsaur, Thrust, Tigatron, Waspinator

Female: Airazor, Antagony, Arcee, Blackarachnia, Botanica, Chromia, Crossblades, Manta Ray, Soundbyte, Strika, Thunderblast

Cybertronian Traits

Cybertronians are a race of living machines which can disguise themselves as flesh-and-blood beasts.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2.
Age. Cybertronians are physically mature from the moment they come online. They are considered adults after a few decades and can live for over 500 years.
Alignment. Cybertronians are a diverse people with many different worldviews. Those who identify as Maximals often hew toward good while those who identify as Predacons are often inclined towards evil, but exceptions exist for both groups.
Size. Cybertronians range from five feet tall to just under eight feet in their natural forms. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Cyborg Nature. Your creature type is both construct and beast.
Lightning Vulnerability. You are vulnerable to lightning damage while in your natural form.
More Than Meets the Eye. You gain proficiency with the Deception skill.
Natural Armor. Your metal body has built-in armor plating. It prevents you from wearing most forms of armor, but also means you don’t need it. Your base AC is 13 plus your Dexterity modifier (maximum 3). You can wield a shield and still gain this benefit.
Beast Mode. You can spend a minute scanning a Small or Medium beast that is CR 1/2 or less. This beast becomes your beast mode. You can use your action to transform into your beast mode or revert to your natural form. While you are in beast mode, the following rules apply:

• Your movement speed(s), senses, and actions are replaced by those of the beast. If you make an attack with the beast’s natural weapons, the attack roll uses your proficiency bonus and Strength modifier, and the damage roll uses your Strength modifier. Your statistics are otherwise unchanged.
• You gain any special features that the beast possesses, such as a giant wolf spider’s Web Sense and Web Walker features.
• You retain the ability to speak, but you cannot cast spells that require material or somatic components.
• Any gear you are wearing or carrying merges with your beast mode. Equipment that merges with your beast mode has no effect until you leave beast mode.
• You revert to your natural form if you fall unconscious or die while in beast mode.

You can change your beast mode to a different beast by repeating the scanning process. Once you have done so, you cannot change your beast mode again until you finish a long rest.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
′ ″	+	lb.	× () lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

Suggested Characteristics

When creating a <race name> character, you can use the following table of traits, ideals, bonds and flaws to help flesh out your character. Use these tables in addition to or in place of your background's characteristics.

d8	Personality Trait
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d6	Ideal
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d6	Bond
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d6	Flaw
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(0 votes)

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