“Sure, we’re made of metal and nanopolymers, and some of our physical attributes outperform organic human bodies. Thing is, I still feel everything, same as you. Some of us have tactile surfaces more sensitive than skin. Sometimes I just want to feel a gentle touch.”
—Raj-4
One of the pinnacles of Golden Age technological achievement, Exos are neohumans resulting from the transference of human consciousness into incredibly sophisticated artificial bodies created by Clovis Bray I. The complexity of their design is far beyond even the most advanced cryptarchs, though some Ghosts are said to at least partly comprehend Exos’ inner workings. The technology and expertise used to create Exos is lost, so the entire population is made up of those who have survived since the Collapse or been resurrected as Risen.
Populus Ex Machina
Exos were constructed with as wide a range of physical variation as exists in natural human bodies. Since many people converted to Exos to serve as soldiers before the Collapse, the averages skew slightly toward leaner, taller bodies. However, Exos exist with almost every body type and stature found in human populations.
Their external surfaces do not attempt to mimic skin, but Exos’ cladding exhibits a dazzling diversity of coloration and design. Its components may be assembled in almost any pattern that generally conforms to the underlying musculature, and finished with any coloration. Some Exos maintain subdued hues for a sleek, understated look, but many adopt bright splashes of brilliant color to accent their faces, or even cover their whole bodies in raucous patterns. Cranial configuration and facial features, far from being standardized, were constructed with immense variety, resulting in an individually distinct face for every Exo.
Survivors of the Ages
Exos are unique among Risen as the only race to sometimes retain snatches of memory from their past lives. However, even among those who lived during the Golden Age and experienced the Collapse directly, very few possess clear recollection after so many centuries. Those who might harbor such memories tend to be extremely secretive and often become recluses.
Most Exos live alongside the other survivors of humanity in and around the Last City, or elsewhere on Earth in holdout settlements or as refugees seeking respite along the desolate pilgrim roads. Despite their extreme longevity, Exos generally participate fully in human communities wherever they exist. Prejudicial attitudes between Exos and other humans are rare, but not nonexistent.
Fractured Memories
Despite their artificial construction, Exos are no more merely machines than natural-born humans are. In particular, their minds are wholly human, merely transferred from organic tissue into a different substrate. While their engineered bodies and brains may give Exos some mental capabilities beyond typical humans, they do not possess computer-like perfect recall or flawless eidetic memory. Generally, Exos’ memories behave similarly to those of other humans, changing and fading over time.
Another factor complicates the stability of Exos’ memories, an inheritance from the imperfect transference process. That process caused Dissociative Exomind Rejection (DER), a cognitive disorder resulting from severe dissonance between the transferred human consciousness and the Exo body which could destabilize the new Exo’s mind, eventually causing death. Clovis Bray I and his engineers counteracted this destabilization by devising a process to reset the transferred consciousness in its new body. Rebooting the mind in this way, often repeatedly, succeeds in averting rejection, but carries an increasingly heavy cost: each reboot causes worsening fragmentation and outright loss of memory.
The number appended to an Exo’s name indicates the number of such mind-reboots they have undergone. Contrary to popular misconception, it has nothing to do with the number of times an Exo Lightbearer has died.
Exos share certain traits and abilities as a result of commonalities in their construction.
Age. To all outside observation, Exos are ageless. However, Exos whose minds have been reset many times exhibit symptoms of senility.
Size. Exos are typically the same size as humans, though an Exo will weigh 20–30 pounds more than a human with a similar height and build. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Exos are built for locomotion at least on par with natural human mobility. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. Exo optical sensors are tuned to the human visible spectrum by default, but can also perceive additional wavelengths to achieve superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You have darkvision.
Living Machine. Even though you are a machine, your mind and much of the functionality of your body is no different from the average human. As such, you are considered a living creature, and you appear on scanners as one. You are immune to disease. You do not need to eat or drink, but you can if you want to. You do still need to sleep each day, but you typically only sleep for 4–6 hours, gaining the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep when you do. During your sleep, you sometimes experience dreams that feel like snatches of memory. In these dreams, you witness hideous, neverending battles in dark, lifeless places, and see yourself fighting in them. Many other Exos have described similar dreams, and the experience, though unsettling, is considered normal.
Resistant Design. You resist poison damage, and you have advantage on saving throws you make to prevent yourself from becoming Scorched or Poisoned. You also have advantage on saving throws you make to end an effect on yourself that is causing a Scorched or Poisoned condition.
Model. There are three common model-types of Exo. Choose one.
Model “AB-U”
Cryptarchs speculate your body was built for the front lines of a war, designed to survive even the toughest fights.
Ability Score Increase. One ability score of your choice increases by 2.
Built. Your hit point maximum increases by 1, and it increases by 1 every time you gain a level.
Natural Armor. You have tough, heavy-duty plating. You have disadvantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks. When not wearing armor, your AC is equal to 12 + your Constitution modifier. Even while wearing armor, you can use this natural armor to determine your AC if the armor you are wearing would leave you with a lower AC. You are still subject to the effects of the armor you are wearing if you do this. Finally, your natural armor provides insulation against all temperatures (Bitter Cold to Scorching Hot).
Model “CT-HD”
Your body’s limbs were designed for extended range of movement and flexibility, with the tradeoff of lighter armored plating.
Ability Score Increase. One ability score of your choice increases by 2, and a different ability score of your choice increases by 1.
Competitive. If you make an attack roll, saving throw, or ability check that fails, you can choose to add a bonus to your roll equal to the number of creatures who can see you and that you are aware of (maximum bonus of +5). If using this trait causes you to succeed on your roll, you cannot use this trait again until you complete a short or long rest.
Natural Armor. When you aren’t wearing armor, your AC is equal to 12 + your Dexterity modifier. Even while wearing armor, you can use this natural armor to determine your AC if the armor you are wearing would leave you with a lower AC. You are still subject to the effects of the armor you are wearing if you do this. Finally, your natural armor provides insulation against most temperatures (Cold to Hot).
Model “JSYK”
Not all Exo bodies were designed to maximize physical abilities. Yours seems to be tuned for information gathering and intelligence operations.
Ability Score Increase. Choose three of your ability scores. Each of those scores increases by 1. Alternatively, you can choose one ability score to increase by 2, and a different ability score to increase by 1.
Keen Eye. If you make a ranged attack roll and miss, you can choose to re-roll your attack roll once. You must use the new roll (it cannot be rerolled in any way), and you must complete at least a short rest before you can use this trait again.
Natural Armor. When you aren’t wearing armor, your AC is equal to 15. Even while wearing armor, you can use this natural armor to determine your AC if the armor you are wearing would leave you with a lower AC. You are still subject to the effects of the armor you are wearing if you do this. Finally, your natural armor provides insulation against most temperatures (Cold to Hot).
Superior Sensors. The range of your darkvision increases to 60 feet. When you make a Wisdom (Perception) check, you can roll a d4 and add it to your total.