Military Steamsuit Pilot

AC 18 (powered armor)
HP 60 (8d10+16; bloodied 30)
Speed 30 ft.
Initiative Dex +3 (13), Insight +0 (10), Perception +0 (10)

Proficiency +3; Maneuver DC 17
Saving Throws Str +6, Dex +3, Con +2, Int +5, Wis +0, Cha –0
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 5
Languages Common

Piloted Vehicle. These stats represent the pilot in the suit and the abilities the suit grants them. Reducing the pilot to 0 HP does not destroy the suit any more than an unconscious knight’s full plate would cease to work.

If another creature enters the suit, it gains a Strength of 23, can attack with the suit’s weapons and use its bonus actions, and treats it as heavy armor that grants AC 18. The creature gains darkvision 60 ft, but disadvantage on Perception checks.

However, because the controls of the suit are complex, only the pilot who trained with the suit knows how to pilot it well. Anyone else must make a DC 15 Engineering check each turn or else be restrained and unable to use any of the suit’s abilities until the start of their next turn.

Though they seldom need to, the pilot can exit as a bonus action, emerging in an adjacent space. For a “standard” pilot, this reduces the pilot’s AC to 15 and size to Medium, and they can use none of their abilities except to multiattack with unarmed strikes.

ACTIONS

Multiattack. The pilot makes two attacks.
Unarmed Strike. The pilot without the suit has moxie, but not much power. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit; reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4+3) bludgeoning damage.
Piston Fist. A moment after the metal fist strikes, a burst of steam launches it like a piston hammer for a second hit. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit; reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d6+6) bludgeoning damage and the target is pushed 10 feet unless it succeeds a DC 15 Strength saving throw .
Heavy Shotgun (2/Encounter). A cover on its other arm conceals a massive double-barreled shotgun. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit; range 30/90 ft., one target. Hit: 21 (4d8+3) piercing damage. Special: If the attack has advantage and both rolls hit, it deals an extra 9 (2d8) damage. If the attack has disadvantage and at least one roll hits, the graze still deals 4 (1d8) damage.

BONUS ACTIONS

Arcane Shield. A dome on its head flashes, and a faintly visible aura extends twenty feet from it. The pilot chooses a damage type. Until the end of its next turn, the suit and creatures within 20 feet have resistance to that damage type. The pilot can start encounters with a resistance already active (usually piercing).
Dazing Light. An integrated launcher in its shoulder chucks a vial that shatters and releases a blinding blast of light. The pilot picks a spot within 30 feet. Each creature within 10 feet of that spot is blinded unless it succeeds a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. A creature blinded this way can make a new saving throw at the end of its turn to end this effect. Special: The pilot is wearing goggles and has advantage on this saving throw

TECHNOLOGICAL WEAKNESS

Reverse the Deflector Shield Polarity (Engineering DC 13). When the suit’s arcane aura switches, the dome on its head rotates and snaps to a precise angle, suggesting physical alignment affects how the shield works. A character who successfully Shoves the pilot can, instead of moving the suit, disrupt the arcane shield by rotating the dome on the suit’s head. The pilot cannot use Arcane Shield on their next turn, and until they use Arcane Shield, the pilot instead has vulnerability to the last chosen damage type instead of resistance.