Deadmen

Deadmen Do Tell Tales

"Rusting and Rotted, Deadmen stand abandoned in a field waiting for Death."

The Deadmen are the end result of a civic failure at a planetary level, if not greater. They are undead cyborgs who are most commonly found shambling in the underbelly of society and are expected to be put down whenever found in this state. The creatures are husks of rotting biology chained to autonomous systems that often have just enough living cunning attached to them to make them incredibly dangerous. No two Deadman are exactly alike but they will often be grouped by Series, or the time whenever they received their cybernetics and a Type; which is a classification that has to do with who specifically did the augments with some societies using more magic or magitechnilogical while others using more purely mundane technology.
During the conflict known as the Unification Wars all parties researched and advanced cybernetics to previously unheard heights, the casualties were atrocious and any method found to bring soldiers back to the fronts were explored. As the wars raged on, the advanced only grew and soon it felt as thought cybernetics would almost be bringing soldiers back to life.
Whenever the wars were over however, the incredible cost of the augments as well as their maintenance become a rising concern. When it became clear that the most heavily augmented individuals were effectively immortal, the Union of Gilnares began to slowly shift the cost of their augmentation back onto them. Those without support, money or pull found themselves slowly starved out of important updates, maintenance and healthcare that was so specialized that it was hard to find cheaper alternatives. Without access, they slowly began to decay in various ways as different systems failed and others were easier to maintain.
Soon, thousands of these "Deadmen" were cropping up on every planet in the Union, often finding themselves homeless and driven to the outskirts of civilization as they were degrading with many falling into madness or worse. Soon, periods of violence broke out against the Deadmen, driven by real and imagined instances of Deadmen going mad and attacking others. They would gather into communities for support and would ultimately create a ravenous, mad horde. Many times this madness takes the form of the need to eat flesh in the belief that it will help cure them.
Not all Deadmen are shambling and mindless, though they do find it hard to shake the stigma caused by their broken brethren. Those with the funds or the support of institutions are generally ok, with some even being able to hide their affliction to some extent. Those without these means tend to do any job, scrounge any wreck or dangerous world just to find the tech or the money to maintain their faltering forms. Others find an equilibrium, a unique cocktail of drugs, tech, magic or biological fortitude...or a mix of all of them that lets them maintain themselves.
Deadmen are not well received in most places, there are too many stories of atrocities and madness surrounding them and most people do not trust them, at least not in the more "Civilized" areas. They are mostly found on the outskirts and the underbellies, in dangerous jobs on ships and stations or living on the harsher worlds and scraping by. With enough money and augments, even the most rotted Deadman can blend in.
Not every Deadman was created during the Unification Wars. Any person who becomes over-dependent on Cybernetics runs the risk of becoming a Deadman and during the conflicts surrounding the Dissolution, mass cybernetic enhancement rose sharply for some time and has not actually reduced much in the time since. Without the heavy hand of the Union Government, enforcement of cybernetic augmentation is different wherever you go and there are more "Fresh" Deadmen than ever before.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Deadmen loosely follow the form of their original species but with large swathes of their form replaced by cybernetics and bionics.

Genetics and Reproduction

Most Deadmen are sterile but some can breed. The Children of Deadmen are born as the original species of the Deadman.

Dietary Needs and Habits

The dietary needs of Deadmen depend entirely on their augments, some of them require food as normal for their original species while others can subsist off of harsher or otherwise inedible food.

Biological Cycle

Deadmen are outside of the natural cycle, having replaced many of their biological failure points with mechanical parts.

Behaviour

Deadmen are utterly outside the natural order and older ones tend to behave in ways that are increasingly devoid of reason. Not all deadmen go this route but enough of them do that it has given cybernetics and the over-reliance on them a bad reputation. 
Regardless of their age, most deadmen are not integrated with their original peoples society any longer.

Additional Information

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Deadmen are found all over Gilnares space and at all levels of society. It is just as likely that a Deadman is working in the toxic guts of a space ship doing a job no-one else can...or wants to do as they are a filthy rich corporate executive...though the latter would have far better augments and would be able to hide their status far better.

Average Intelligence

Your average Deadman is highly intelligent, often augmented to be so. Brain enhancement is the most common type of augment that a Deadman has started with.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Many Deadmen have sensory augments to allow them to see in the dark

Deadman Traits

The Deadmen are considered Undead. When creating a Deadman, choose another species to serve as the original form that the Deadman took.
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 2, Constitution by 1
Age. Deadmen are effectively immortal, however without proper care their living tissues can slowly degrade over time.
Size. Deadmen have the same size stat as their original species.
Speed. Your base walking speed is the same as the original species.
Redundant Life Support You have advantage on Death Saving Throws and on a critical success you regain consciousness with 1 HP
Cybernetic Augments Pick one of the following that counts as a built in technological augmentation. At any point where you would choose a feet or an additional ASI, you can instead choose to take an Augment.

• Speed Servos Your speed is increased by 15 feet
• Twitch Servos You have advantage on Initiative Rolls
• Purge Protocols You are immune to a single poison, disease or necrotic damage or effect you are subjected to a day.
• Night Vision Cornea 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.
• Sustainment Furnace You can subsist off of normally inedible or low-nutrition food or outright inedible un-organic matter.

Self Sustaining You gain proficiency in the Technology and Medicine skills on checks regarding cybernetics
The Body Remembers Deadmen retain some level of expertise from their previous lives, when creating the Deadman you can choose one racial ability from those common to your original species.
Ghost in the Machine On character creation, roll on the Indefinite Madness table. You start the game with this effect on you and have had it for some time. On a roll of 1 or a roll of 100 your character does NOT have any madness. Alternatively if the DM allows, you can just choose a form of madness.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write U-Lang and any languages spoken by the original species.

Average Physique

Many Deadmen take on a skeletal, emaciated appearance as more of their physique is replaced by cybernetic enhancements. Only the richest of Deadmen are able to afford the expensive treatments that can keep their necrotic flesh alive.

Geographic Distribution

• Gilnares

Related Organizations

• The Union of Gilnares