Hollow Legionnaire

Scarred Lands Players Guide

Hollow Legionnaire

The spirits of heroes who fall when stakes are highest can linger in the world for centuries. But for the past few decades, the peculiar spirit constructs known as the hollow knights of the Gleaming Valley have been collecting lost souls into five great spires at the heart of their realm. From there, by means of some powerful and esoteric ritual, those souls who desire another chance to complete their duties or roles are imbued with new life and welcomed into the fold of the Gleaming Legion. Following the example of their own creation by Corean, the hollow knights build every gleaming legionnaire by fusing a soul with a bound suit of armor. Though legionnaires have no clear memory of their previous life, they have distinct personalities and a general knowledge of how the world works. They also have hopes, fears, wants, and needs, like any other living being. Whereas hollow knights tend toward restraint and caution, for good or ill, legionnaires have no such restrictions.

ability score increase: Two different ability scores of your choice increase by 1.

age: A hollow legionnaire is created mature, but legionnaires rarely leave the Gleaming Valley before 5 to 10 years have passed. It is unknown how long they might live, as the oldest among them are not yet 40 years old.

alignment: Predominantly Lawful, and most are Neutral or Good

Size: Medium

speed: 30 ft

Languages: Ledean and one other language.

race features:

• Armor Bound. Your soul is bound within a suit of armor, which makes up much of your physical form. You have proficiency with light armor. The armor you start the game with is the armor to which you are initially bound, and this armor has markings you define as your inherent style. You can be bound to only one suit of armor at a time.
  During a short or long rest, you can take 1 hour to bond with any suit of armor with which you have proficiency, provided it is constructed in such a way that it covers most of a Medium humanoid’s body. (Most armor does.) Armor to which you bind yourself takes on your inherent style. If you bond to magic armor that needs attunement, the attunement can occur as part of the bonding process. You bond and gain attunement during the same hour.
• Construct Body. You are humanoid, but you do not need to breathe, eat, drink, or sleep unless you wish to do so to gain some beneficial effect. Magic can’t put you to sleep. During a long rest, you remain awake and can engage in light activity for the entire 8 hours while still benefiting from the rest. Your nature is semi-living, though: You are susceptible to death, disease, exhaustion, and poison, but you have advantage on saving throws against these threats, including death saving throws. In addition, you have resistance to poison damage.
• Construct Mind. You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep. Other creatures have disadvantage on Wisdom (Insight) checks made to determine your emotions or intentions.
• Legion’s Price. If you die, your spirit fades from your bound armor after 1 minute, and then the armor loses your inherent style. After you fade, nothing is left behind that can be considered to be part of your body, and you cannot be brought back to life via raise dead, but only with a resurrection spell.
• Past-Life Knowledge. You remember bits of your past life, but usually little more than scattered bits, and those bits are most often related only to your previous death(s). However, when you select skill proficiencies from your class during character creation, add any one skill to your list of choices.

Physical Description: A hollow legionnaire exists as a soul bound to a suit of armor, which provides most of the legionnaire’s physical form. Gaps in the armor reveal faint outlines of pale flesh made of spirit matter just as tangible as the flesh of any other living beings. The legionnaire’s face is similar to the one he or she bore in life, and the legionnaire’s movements, stance, and gait are often identical to those of that previous self. Legionnaires always bear an obvious, distinct, unique armor pattern covering the torso and at least one armored limb. The primary color of a legionnaire’s armor pattern always matches that of the spire where he or she was reborn — adamantine, gold, iron, mithril, or silver — as does the legionnaire’s blood. Armor patterns can incorporate abstract markings, stylized objects or creatures, and even elaborate images.
Society: Hollow legionnaires have existed for only a few decades, so for many of them, the Gleaming Valley is the only home they can recall. They often form a bond with other legionnaires from their home spire, with whom they feel a profound kinship. Gold Spire legionnaires tend toward forthright interactions with others, seeing themselves as part of Hollow Legionnaires 31 a great whole. Those of the Silver Spire are more careful in placing their trust and tend to be circumspect in general. Iron Spire legionnaires can be brash, preferring a direct approach in all things, and they disdain those who speak in half-truths. Legionnaires of the Mithril Spire are quick to judge, as well, but they also avoid writing off anyone as irredeemable without proof. Good-natured Adamantine Spire legionnaires stand beside their comrades, offering their loyalty on the battlefield or at the negotiating table.
Relations: A hollow legionnaire’s reception depends on how locals view the Gleaming Valley and the hollow knights that rule there (and for whom the legionnaires are sometimes mistaken). Legionnaires are generally accepted by the dwarves of Burok Torn and the people of Mithril and distrusted by the necromancers of Hollowfaust. They are viewed with the same idle curiosity by the Shelzari as those folk tend to view most everything, while they are considered meddling spies by the leadership of the Calastian Hegemony. Most followers of Corean respect them, while adherents of the titans fear and despise them. Interestingly, the clergy of Vangal loathe them.