It is a testament to the human spirit that, when a group of engineers became trapped underground thousands of years ago, they found a way to survive instead of dying terrified in the dark. Their descendants started being born without eyes, becoming the first grimlocks. Even the name “grimlock,” a reference to the grim fate of being locked in the earth, speaks to the ingenuity and grit of these brave souls. In the generations since the first grimlock was born, eyelessness has become a trait that parents can pass on to their children, even if they do not live in the depths of the earth.

Grimlocks live an isolated existence heavy with responsibility. Tasked with the self-imposed duty of keeping the geology of the regions they inhabit stable (a response to the tragedy that created their society) they build communities that run on reliable schedules and provide routine training for all. They are a serious people, but not a joyless one, and their respect for innovation and problem solving has allowed them to not only persist for centuries, but to achieve levels of advancement unseen on the surface.

The original grimlocks were made up entirely of humans, but over time they absorbed people of other heritages who were willing to take up the responsibility of stabilizing the earth. Grimlocks welcome anyone who can adapt to unlit environments and is willing to help their community. Modern grimlock communities are surprisingly diverse, given their isolation. Those who lack darkvision often go blind in the lightless tunnels of a grimlock community, but their other senses sharpen to compensate.

Characters raised in the grimlock culture share the following traits:

Grimlock Training. Specialized training has equipped you to aid your community. Choose one of the following:
• Maintenance. You gain proficiency in the Engineering skill and with tinker’s tools.
• Medic. You gain proficiency in the Medicine skill and with herbalist’s kits.
• Security. You gain proficiency with the Stealth skill and with shortswords and shotguns.

Whatever’s At Hand. Underland is a dangerous place, and grimlocks learn to defend themselves with whatever’s handy, such as tools like pry bars and wrenches. You gain proficiency with improvised weapons.

Lightless Expertise. You never suffer disadvantage for being unable to see while making skill checks, so long as one of your other senses (such as touch or hearing) can compensate.

Languages. You can speak Common and Undercommon and you can read Grimlock texture writing, which uses the words and grammar of Undercommon. Because most grimlocks lack traditional sight, blind members of their society are not taught the written or signed forms of the languages they use to communicate. Grimlocks with darkvision learn the written and signed forms of Common and Undercommon normally.

Additionally, many grimlocks (especially those of human, halfling, or dragonborn heritage) do not have eyes; their faces are smooth where their eyes would usually be, and their skulls lack eye sockets. The following traits are most commonly seen in grimlocks whose heritages lack the darkvision ability. If you wish, you gain the following traits:

Blind. You are permanently blind and can’t see beyond the range of your blindsight. You can’t benefit from any ability or magical effect that would grant you visual sight or darkvision. Your inability to see, however, is not without its advantages. You are immune to any illusion spell that relies on vision, such as blur , darkness , or invisibility , and you are also immune to attacks and effects that require meeting a creature’s eyes, such as a medusa’s petrifying gaze. Additionally, you gain an expertise die on Perception checks that don’t rely on sight.

Echolocation. While you are not deafened , you have blindsight with a range of 60 feet. You count as being able to see targets within the range of your echolocation.

Sensitive Ears. Any time you take thunder damage, you make a Constitution save against a DC of 10 or half the damage taken, whichever is higher. On a failure, you are deafened until the end of your next turn.

The Faceless is a collective of doppelgangers and other shapechangers who share information and defend each other from harm.

The Faceless come from all walks of life, counting among their number thieves, adventurers, merchants, and even royalty. Each knows the true identities of those in their immediate circle, as well as the names of a few far-flung Faceless. Every Faceless swears to never knowingly hurt or expose their fellows. Beyond that, they share no common goals, and indeed their aims may even be opposed. A Faceless conclave that shelters doppelganger con artists may also include a skinchanger druid that disapproves of their deceptions, even as they protect the doppelgangers’ lives and false identities.

With each member able to adopt many guises, a Faceless enclave naturally becomes a storehouse of secrets. Members of a Faceless community often share these secrets, as well as the magical tricks they use to protect their identities.

Characters raised in the Faceless culture share a variety of traits in common with one another.

Quick Change. You can change clothes, assume a disguise, or doff armor as an action.

Secret Lives. By asking around, you can learn the identities of any Faceless operating in a community, and whether the activities of a non-Faceless shapechanger are suspected. Furthermore, you make Investigation checks to gather rumors with advantage .

Stealthy Enchantment. You know the friends cantrip. Once you reach 3rd level, you can cast charm person once per long rest . You can cast  these spells without components, and when casting them your spellcasting ability is your choice of Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma.

Subtlety. You are proficient with your choice of either Deception, Insight, Sleight of Hand, or Stealth.

Languages. You can speak, read, write, and sign Common and three other languages.

The mind of a rockborn can’t help but wander to the question of what they are and where they came from. As patient appreciators of time, rockborn know well the value of coordinated effort, so it’s only natural for them to join together into a community. Carven societies dedicate themselves to carving the legends of their people into underground natural formations. Anyone with a passion for history or an appreciation for stonework is welcomed into their fold, as the more hands they have to carve the rock, the closer they come to the truth. Carven communities hold different beliefs about the origins of the rockborn, each vying for more adherents and more evidence to support their claims. Some think they are elementals born from errant magic, others that they are the literal children of the planet. Still others believe that rockborn are statues bestowed with life by the Forge God or the creations of forgotten dwarven empires from eons ago.

Characters raised in the carven culture share a variety of traits in common with one another.

Rock Training. You gain proficiency with rocks as improvised weapons, and in your hands a Tiny rock deals 1d6 + your Strength modifier bludgeoning damage and has the thrown property (40/80 feet).

Stonecarver. You are proficient with mason’s tools and gain an expertise die on checks made to carve stone.

Stonecunning. Whenever you make a History check related to the origin of stonework, you are considered proficient in the History skill and gain an expertise die .

Tough. Your hit point maximum increases by 1, and it increases by 1 every time you gain a level.

Languages. You can speak, read, write, and sign Common and Terran.

Minotaur Traits

Characters with the minotaur heritage share the following traits:

Age. Minotaurs reach adulthood at age 18 and live up to 100 years.

Size. Medium.

Dominant Presence. Making use of your prominent size or deep voice, you can gain advantage on a Charisma check or saving throw . After you do, you cannot use this trait again until you complete a short or long rest .

Labyrinthine Recall. You can perfectly recall any path you have traveled. Your memory is similarly reliable regarding knowledge, though it can take you a while to methodically retrace how you learned something. Whenever you complete a long rest , you can choose one of the following skills: Arcana, Culture, Engineering, Nature, Religion. You gain proficiency in that skill until you take another long rest .

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Minotaur Gifts

Select one of the following gifts.

Driving Horns.

You can use your horns as a natural weapon to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with your horns, you deal bludgeoning or piercing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier. Also, whenever you hit with a melee attack (with your horns or otherwise), you may immediately spend a bonus action to Shove the creature you hit. If you make multiple attacks in the same turn, one bonus action suffices to let you shove with each horn attack that hits.

Guard Instinct.

You gain an expertise die on initiative checks. Also, you can spend an action to stamp a hoof and sense vibrations and reverberations in the ground, granting you tremorsense with a range of 30 feet until the start of your next turn or until you move, whichever comes first.

Minotaur Paragon

When you reach 10th level, you gain the following paragon gift.

Mental Maze

Circuitous thought pathways make your mind harder to infiltrate and overcome. Whenever you fail an Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma saving throw , you may delay the effect until the end of your next turn.

Minotaur Culture

Minotaur communities are often centers of lore and learning, and everyone, from farmers to warriors, is expected to be well-educated. Throughout Ber it is common to see solo minotaurs or small bands traveling between tribes and cities, sharing news and stories among the nation’s many peoples.

Suggested Cultures. While you can choose any culture for your minotaur character, the following cultures are linked closely with this heritage: collegiate , De Guerra , nomad .

Rockborn Traits

Characters with the rockborn heritage share the following traits:

Age. Physically, rockborn are fully formed from their first moment of consciousness. However, rockborn children may take a century or more to fully mature. Some say that rockborn are immortal, but in truth most live only 1,000 years before they crumble and return to the earth from which they sprang.

Size. Rockborn are between 4 and 6 feet tall and weigh anywhere from 200 to 800 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your Speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. 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.

Rock. As a being made from stone, you are immune to the petrified condition.

Roll. You can use a bonus action to curl into a boulder, or an action to uncurl. While in boulder form your Speed is reduced to 0, and you cannot use a shield, make attacks, use your arms, or cast spells with seen components.

While in boulder form you can use an action to roll yourself in a straight line up to 30 feet, or 60 feet down a decline. While rolling you can attempt to enter the spaces of creatures up to one size larger than you, forcing each to make a Dexterity saving throw against your maneuver DC. On a failure, a creature or object takes bludgeoning damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier. If a creature succeeds on its saving throw, you do not enter its space and your movement stops.

Rockborn Gifts

Every rockborn’s connection to the rock is different, granting them a particular talent or defense that sets them apart from less earthly mortals. Choose one of the following.

Rockamouflage

You are proficient with Stealth. You gain an expertise die on Stealth checks made to hide in a rocky environment. Your companions also gain this expertise die , provided you can see them and they are within 30 feet of you.

Stone Armaments

Stone speaks to you in a way that’s hard to describe. You can repair stone weapons and armor by making a DC 15 mason’s tools check. In addition, if you have an expertise die on an attack roll made using a stone weapon, you increase that die one step (from 1d4 to 1d6, 1d6 to 1d8, and so on).

Rockborn Paragon

Starting at 10th level, you become a paragon of rockborn-kind. You gain one of the following paragon gifts.

Rocking Roll

The damage dealt by your Roll trait increases to 1d12 + your Strength modifier. Objects take double damage from your Roll, and a creature that fails its saving throw is also knocked prone . In addition, once on your turn while rolling you can make a DC 15 Acrobatics or Athletics check, changing the direction of the rest of your movement up to 180 degrees.

Stonemeld

You gain a burrow speed equal to half your Speed. You can burrow only through nonmagical, unworked earth and stone, but your movement does not disturb the ground.

Rockborn Culture

Living such an incredibly long time prompts rockborn to carefully consider the implications of every action they take, a mindset utterly alien to more short-lived peoples. This legendary patience has given rockborn a reputation for being dedicated, and indeed rockborn often undertake tasks that require centuries to complete, such as carving a statue from a mountain or terraforming a valley until the river that runs through it changes course.

Rockborn can’t seem to avoid ambitious goals, though not all such tasks involve the carving of stone. Some of the most remarkable spells are the creations of rockborn mages, and rockborn who meddle in mortal affairs may treat entire dynasties as pawns in political manipulations that take generations to reach fruition. Regardless of their interests, it’s always wise to treat a rockborn with respect, as a feud with one can last a lifetime or longer.

Suggested Cultures. While you can choose any culture for your rockborn character, the following cultures are linked closely with this heritage: carven , collegiate , cosmopolitan , deep dwarf , deep gnome , lone wanderer , nomad , stoneworthy , tunnel halfling , underharvester , Underlander .

Ratling Traits

Characters with the ratling heritage share the following traits:

Age. Descended relatively recently from a short-lived species, ratlings live quickly and with gusto. They mature to adulthood around age 14 and can live as long as 60 years.

Size. Ratlings average around 3 feet tall and weigh between 40 and 60 pounds. Your size is Small.

Speed. Your Speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. 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 cannot discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Keen Smell. Ratlings have survived by being able to scent out predators and food sources. You have proficiency in Perception and gain an expertise die on Perception checks that rely on smell.

Poison Tolerance. You are immune to ingested poison .

Ratling Gifts

Ratlings are known for traveling in hungry packs. In addition to the traits found in your ratling heritage, select one of the following gifts.

Bottomless Appetite

Your appetite is insatiable. Although you enjoy fine cuisine as much as anyone else, you can also eat foods that others can’t stomach. Even when you’re at death’s door, food restores your strength and vitality.

Grab a Quick Bite. You can eat and digest huge quantities of food in seconds. If you have sufficient food for one day (1 Supply ), you can eat it as an action. When you do so, you gain temporary hit points equal to twice your proficiency bonus. You can use this trait a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. You regain any expended uses when you finish a long rest .

Strength in Numbers

You are adept at working in a team. Whether in combat or in other pursuits, you are quick to exploit any advantage your companions create.

Group Tactics. You can make an ability check with advantage as part of a group check. Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you’ve taken a short or long rest .

Rat Swarm. Once on your turn, you can reroll an attack roll against a target within 30 feet if another creature has made a melee attack against the same target since the end of your last turn. You can use this trait a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. You regain any expended uses when you finish a long rest .

Ratling Paragon

When you reach 10th level, you are an exemplar of ratling-kind, and you gain the following paragon gift.

Lucky Escape

You are adept at avoiding the negative consequences of others’ hostility and your own unwise actions. Whenever you make a saving throw you are not proficient in, you gain a bonus to the roll equal to half your proficiency bonus (rounded down).

Ratling Culture

Small collectives of ratlings can be found anywhere. Some make their livings as itinerant merchants, entertainers, or pirates, while others live quiet existences in villages made up of neat, half-sized cottages. Most ratlings, however, skulk in the sewers and alleyways of large cities. In many urban areas, they have an unsavory reputation as thieves with no regard for private property, especially where food is concerned. Indeed, ratlings have tremendous appetites, and a hungry ratling let loose in a bakery or granary can eat as much as several humans twice their size. While some communities make sure that all their citizens, including ratlings,are well-fed, others wage war upon their ratling population, attacking them on sight or banishing them to the sewers.

Some wealthy ratlings disdain the lifestyles of their scruffy, subterranean cousins, making sure to remain urbane and well-groomed at all times. These so-called “fancy ratlings” must fight for their place in high society. They resent insults and openly challenge anyone who levels slurs like “gutter rat” or who dirties their immaculate clothes or fur.

Nearly all ratlings share a love of community. Most ratlings can be found living in close quarters with their extended ratling family, holding food and possessions in common. Sometimes, a ratling adopts a non-ratling group as their pack. A ratling member of a guild or adventuring party will be loyal and selfless, and will expect the same from their fellows.

Suggested Cultures. While you can choose any culture for your ratling character, the following cultures are linked closely with this heritage: circusfolk , cosmopolitan , mischief maker , sewer rat .

Oozefolk Traits

Characters with the motley heritage share the following traits:

Age. An oozefolk’s alien mind develops rapidly, soaking up knowledge like a sponge and reaching maturity in only half a year. However, the consciousness that holds together their slimy body can sustain the effort only so long. The oldest known oozefolk lived for 50 years, but most die after only a few decades.

Size. Your height and weight are determined by your first Hit Die. If your first Hit Die is a d6 or a d8, you stand between 2 and 3 feet tall, weigh anywhere from 70 to 130 pounds, and are Small. Otherwise, you are between 4 and 7 feet tall, weigh 200 to 500 pounds, and are Medium.

Speed. Your Speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. 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.

Immutable Form. You have advantage on saving throws against effects that would alter your form.

Telepathy. You can speak telepathically to any creature within 30 feet of you that you can see. The creature understands you only if the two of you share a language. You can speak telepathically in this way to one creature at a time.

Oozefolk Gifts

The nature of an oozefolk’s creation gives them a variety of strange qualities that differ from one to another. Choose two of the following:

Amorphous Body

While you are unarmored and not carrying any items, you can pass through an opening as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing.

Jelly-Faced

You gain an expertise die on Deception checks. In addition, expertise dice you gain on Deception checks can be upgraded from a d8 to a d10 or from a d10 to a d12.

Psychic Resistance

You have resistance to psychic damage. Additionally, you gain proficiency with Intelligence saving throws .

Oozefolk Paragon

Starting at 10th level, you become a paragon of oozekind. You can use your climb speed even on difficult surfaces and upside down on ceilings. In addition, you gain one of the following traits.

Corrosive Body

You can use a bonus action to bubble corrosive liquids to the surface of your body or to draw them back in. While corrosive, a creature that touches you or hits you with a melee attack while within 5 feet of you takes acid damage equal to your proficiency bonus. In addition, your natural weapons and unarmed strikes deal an extra 1d4 acid damage.

Transparent Body

Your body is made of a substance as clear as water. You gain the following traits.

Invisible Focus. You can use an action to focus, spreading your transparent qualities to your equipment and any items you are carrying. You become invisible for 1 minute or until you lose concentration (as if concentrating on a spell). Once you have used this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest .

Transparent. While you are unarmored, you have advantage on Stealth checks made to hide from creatures unaware of your presence.

Oozefolk Culture

Born spontaneously in the planet’s lightless depths, newly spawned oozefolk are incredibly sensitive to other sentient minds. They may follow Underland travelers unnoticed for months or years as they learn what it means to be a living, thinking being. Even so, these strange people are known for being adaptable and fearless in the face of the unknown. They are just as willing to undertake a daunting new challenge as they are to abandon something that’s proven to be beyond their capabilities.

As soon as an oozefolk reaches maturity, they feel their life force start to wane. Certain that death is fast approaching, it’s only natural that they make their time in the world as significant as possible. Their freakish appearance makes them outcasts in most societies. Fortunately, they are well suited to a life of travel, and groups of adventurers are often quick to recognize the many advantages of an oozefolk’s unusual biology.

Suggested Cultures. While you can choose any culture for your oozefolk character, the following cultures are linked closely with this heritage: kithbáin halfling , lone wanderer , nomad , motley crew , underharvester , Underlander , wildling .

Mycelial Traits

Characters with the mycelial heritage share a variety of traits in common with one another.

Age. Mycelials grow from spores and mature quickly. In mycelial communities, a sporeling is considered an adult by the age of 3. They usually live about 30 years, although mycelials who form bonds with longer-lived creatures have been known to live as long as the creatures they’re bonded with.

Size. Mycelial bodies are diverse, ranging from squat to slender. They stand between 2 and 5 feet tall and are dense for their size, weighing 60 pounds on average. Your size is Small.

Speed. Your Speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. 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.

Plant. You are a plant in addition to a humanoid. So long as rocks and soil are available, you can sustain yourself without other sources of food, although you still require water. While exploring, you consume 1 Supply every other day before suffering fatigue .

Soft Bodied. You can squeeze or contort through spaces as if you were one size category smaller than you are.

Spore Cloud. Mycelials naturally produce poisonous spores, which they can use to attack or defend themselves.

You can use a bonus action to release a puff of poisonous spores in a 5-foot-radius area centered on you. The spores lightly obscure the area and linger in air or water for 1 minute or until dispersed by a strong wind or current. Non-plant creatures that enter the area for the first time on a turn or start their turn there must make a Constitution saving throw . On a failure, the creature takes 1d6 poison damage and is poisoned until the end of its next turn. The DC for this saving throw equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier. The poison damage increases to 2d6 at 4th level, 3d6 at 9th level, 4d6 at 14th level, and 5d6 at 19th level.

Once a creature has been affected by the spores, it is immune to this effect for 24 hours. You can use this trait a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. You regain any expended uses when you finish a long rest .

Mycelial Gifts

Mycelials fungus biology and underground adaptations offer a diversity of talents. Choose one of the following heritage gifts.

Adaptability

You can change your body to survive various environments. You gain resistance to poison damage. In addition, whenever you finish a long rest , you can choose one of the following forms:
• Amphibious. You can breathe underwater and gain a swim speed equal to your walking speed.
• Arboreal. You gain a climb speed equal to your walking speed. When you fall, you can use your reaction to float gently to the ground, taking no damage from the fall.
• Cold Adapted. You gain resistance to cold damage.
• Heat Adapted. You gain resistance to fire damage.

You remain in your new form until you use this ability again. You can benefit from only one form at a time.

Overactive Enzymes

You can release a splash of digestive enzymes to harm your foes. You gain the acid splash cantrip, which you can cast without requiring components. Your spellcasting ability for this cantrip is your choice of Charisma, Constitution, Intelligence, or Wisdom.

You can also use your digestive enzymes to dig. You have a burrowing speed of 10 feet and can move through nonmagical earth and stone, but not solid rock. You don’t leave a tunnel behind unless you spend time and effort to shore up the tunnel, reducing your burrow speed to 5 feet every 15 minutes.

Mycelial Paragon

When you reach 10th level, you are an exemplar of mycelial-kind. You gain the following paragon gift.

Specialized Spores

Creatures affected by your Spore Cloud no longer become immune to it. Additionally, once per day when you create the cloud you can choose one of the following conditions:
• Charmed
• Confused
• Frightened

While poisoned by your spore cloud, a creature is also affected by the chosen condition.

Mycelial Culture

Mycelials live moment to moment, enjoying the sensations of their environment. They value community and love sharing stories and songs.

Mycelials are short-lived and don’t reproduce in large numbers, allowing them to maintain a stable or slowly growing population. Because they reproduce by spores, sometimes a meld of mycelials will spring up long after their ancestors have died or abandoned the area.

Mycelials form strong friendships and familial bonds, even with people from other heritages. They adapt themselves to the societies around them, finding niches where they can live their peaceful lives. When threatened with conflict, they are generally avoidant, moving to new areas rather than engaging in violence. Most mycelials don’t feel a strong connection to any specific location, viewing the whole world as their home.

Suggested Cultures. While you can choose any culture for your mycelial character, the following cultures are linked closely with this heritage: meld-member , underharvester , Underlander .

Motley Traits

Characters with the motley heritage share the following traits:

Age. Natural-born motley mature quickly. After 7 to 10 years, they reach adulthood and choose a name unique to them. Some are said to live for centuries before dying of old age, but on average a motley’s lifespan is around 200 years.

Size. You are between 5 and 7 feet tall and weigh anywhere from 150 to 250 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your Speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. 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.

Motley Senses. You are proficient in Perception and gain an expertise die on Perception checks.

Natural Weapon. You gain a natural weapon, such as claws, horns, or teeth. Choose slashing, piercing, or bludgeoning damage. Your unarmed strikes deal 1d6 + Strength modifier damage of that type.

Motley Gifts

Despite your ungainly appearance, one of your animal features gives you a beast’s grace. Select one of the options below.

Long Arms

During your turn, your reach with melee weapons is 5 feet greater than normal.

Long Legs

Your Speed increases to 40 feet. In addition, you gain an expertise die on saving throws made to resist being knocked prone .

Prehensile Tail

You have a tail that grants you an expertise die on checks made to balance, climb, or make Sleight of Hand checks. Your tail can carry objects weighing up to 5 pounds, but it can’t wield a weapon or use a shield. In addition, you gain advantage on saving throws to avoid falling.

Motley Paragon

Starting at 10th level, you become a paragon of motleykind. You gain the following benefit.

Mutation. You gain a second Motley Gift.

Additionally, you gain one of the following traits.

Brachiator

You gain a climb speed equal to your Speed and an expertise die on Athletics checks.

Predator Weapons

The damage from your unarmed strikes increases to 1d8 + your Strength modifier, and your unarmed strikes are magical. When you hit a creature your size or smaller with your unarmed strike, you can choose to grapple that creature.

Fishkind

You grow gills and are able to breathe both water and air. In addition, you develop fins and gain a swim speed equal to your Speed.

In addition, you are slippery. You gain an expertise die on checks and saving throws made to escape a grapple .
 

Motley Culture

Motley are rarely embraced by the communities they are born into, leading many to embark upon an exile’s journey for places more accepting of their strange nature. The few motley who reside in heavily populated areas often live as outcasts, struggling simply to survive. Knowing all too well the true nature of hardship, it’s rare for a motley to be overtly cruel, but those who are soon earn a fearful reputation.

Motley must be creative to overcome their many disadvantages. When faced with a problem, they often find solutions no other person would conceive. Though many people can’t see past a motley’s animalistic appearance—assuming them no more intelligent than a mindless beast—motley can be as clever and quick-witted as any other people.

Suggested Cultures. While you can choose any culture for your motley character, the following cultures are linked closely with this heritage: caravanner , forgotten folx , forsaken , itinerant , lone wanderer , nomad , motley crew , tyrannized , underharvester , Underlander , wildling .

Tinker gnomes jealously guard their secrets. Each community might know the secret of only a few of the following pieces of gear.

Some tinker gnome inventions are automata that can move on their own. Each automaton comes with a necklace or other piece of jewelry that can be used to control it. A creature wearing the jewelry can use a bonus action to make an automaton move up to its Speed or perform an action listed in its description. An automaton is an object that is immune to fire, poison, and psychic damage. It automatically fails all saving throws , but it is immune to all conditions except prone . An automaton's AC, hit points, and speed are listed on the table below. A creature proficient in Engineering or with tinker's tools can restore all hit points to a damaged automaton during a long rest .

Clockwork Mule (Automaton). About 6 feet long and 4 feet wide, this automaton is little more than a Large cart with tracked treads. It has a carrying capacity of 1,000 pounds and is most often used to haul equipment, freeing up adventurers to carry only their most important gear.

Life Detector. This hand-held device helps answer one of the most important questions an adventuring party can ask: "What's behind that door?" As an action, a creature can use the device to detect creatures that aren't constructs or undead within 60 feet, displaying their current locations on a crystalline matrix. The device can penetrate barriers, but 2 feet of rock, 2 inches of metal, or a thin sheet of lead blocks it. This device is an exceptoin to to other tinker gnome items, as it is powered by divination magic (and so can be disrupted by dispel magic or thwarted by nondetection ). Once the life detector has been used, it can't be used again for 4 hours.

Lock Master. This metal gauntlet has small probes and picks affixed to its fingertips. The wearer gains an expertise die on Dexterity checks made to open locks and disarm traps when using the lock master.

Map Minder (Automaton). Mapping the labyrinthine tunnels and passages of lost ruins is one of the most tedious yet vital jobs of an adventuring party. The map minder is a Small device that measures distances and directions, using parchment and an automated pen to map the surroundings it can see within 60 feet of it. Highly accurate, the map minder all but eliminates the chances of a party losing its way. It can be programmed to utilize special colors and symbols to indicate the location of doors, slopes, traps, and other features.

Rope Minder (Automaton). Rope is one of the most indispensable but cumbersome items in an adventurer's arsenal. A rope minder allows parties to venture into the unknown with a near-unlimited supply of rope and a solid base upon which to secure it. A Medium, quadrupedal cube, the rope master measures about 3 feet to a side and carries inside it a powerful winch outfitted with up to 2,000 feet of sturdy silken rope. Its sharp legs and arcano-mechanical hydraulic system allow the rope minder to scuttle up sheer surfaces and anchor itself in place. The rope minder can then dispense rope to its owners, allowing them to climb or descend.

Torchbearer (Automaton). A Tiny clockwork device typically shaped like a dog or cat, the torchbearer functions as a permanent mobile light source. The torchbearer emits a cone of nonmagical bright light from its eyes to a distance of 30 feet, and dim light for an additional 30 feet. The automaton's owner can use a bonus action to activate the light, dim it, or shut it off entirely. The light shines until it is shut off.

Trapmaster (Automaton). The trapmaster is unusual in that it is specifically designed to take advantage and remain functional. Measuring 4 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 2 feet high, it is nothing more than a heavily armored, tracked automaton. The trapmaster can be sent forward to trigger traps, allowing parties to proceed safely. While it is of little use against trapped chests, locks, or other minor hazards, the trapmaster can be a true boon against more powerful traps, as its heavy armor is treated with alchemical substances that grant it resistance to acid, cold, force, lightning, necrotic, radiant, and thunder damage, in addition to the normal immunities of a tinker gnome automaton.