Ashoka

I saw for myself the creation of one of these beings. Metal forged from the fire lakes of Phlegethos and molded into a twisted body of serration and barbs. A devil stepped forward and reach into the chest of a damned elf, only to pull away with a blue wisp in the palm of his hand. With a sinister smile, the devil moved over and forced the elf's spirit into the center chamber of the infernal automaton. Gears on its body began to turn and steam seeps from the machines joints as it rose to its feet. As I looked into the burning red eyes of the creature, I knew that the elf was gone - fed to the infernal engine as fuel to give life to a new being.

Horror and Iron. Insanity and Steam. The Ashoka were created as instruments by the devils of the nine hells. Over time, their minds became their own and sentience began to flourish. Though still bound by a twisted mind and a terrifying visage, many set out to forge their own path.

Stewards of Hell

Long ago, a war between realms was waged, threatening to sunder every plane in existence. At the time, the lords of the nine hells took advantage of this great confusion to wage their own war against both demons and celestials. To undertake such a massive incursion, however, required large armies of the damned to be mobilized. Doing so would mean leaving the infernal plane unguarded as well as allow new mortal souls to go unpunished. Troubled by this, a devil named Dazorog purposed the creation of a new form of life to serve as the keepers and tormenters of the damned in the devils' absence. Crafted from hell-forged steel and fueled by forsaken souls, the Ashoka were brought into existence.

While the Devils Are Away

Despite all of their clever scheming, the Devils of the nine hells failed to notice that the more souls that were fed into the infernal engine of the Ashoka, the more independent and unruly they became. After no more than four months of serving in their stead, the mechanical atrocities began to develop sentience. And with the armies of hell now away fighting in the great war, there was little to stop the Ashoka from taking over completely. Realizing their mistake, the Archdevils resigned to retreat from back into under plane, least they risk losing on both fronts. Upon their return, a great purging took place, with the Ashoka populous being dismantled and thrown into the fire pits. In the confusion, however, a great many were able to escape from hell and take up residence in the material plane. Passing themselves off as Warforged, they live quiet lives, lest any infernal influences learn of their existence.

Ashoka Traits

Your Ashoka character has traits deriving from inferanl and mechanical origins.

Ability Score increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Charisma score increases by 1.

Age. Ashoka do not age from the time that they are created.

Size. You are considered a medium creature.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. Thanks to your fiendish origins, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Hybrid Nature. In addition to humanoid, you are considered both fiend and construct, but are still affected by spells that restore hit points.

Construct Resilience. Your form has remarkable fortitude, represented by the following benefits.

You have advantage on saving throws against being poisoned, and you have resistance to poison damage.

You are immune to disease.

You don’t need to eat, drink, or breathe.

Sentinel’s Rest. You don’t need to sleep and don’t suffer the effects of exhaustion due to lack of rest, and magic can’t put you to sleep. Instead you enter into an inactive state, remaining semi-conscious, for 4 hours a day. After resting in this way, you gain the same benefit a human would from 8 hours of sleep.



Art Credit to damie-m