Vel

Vellin are a tall, golem-like humanoid ancestry. Their bodies are made entirely from steel, which they alter through a ritualistic smithing technique called Tempering. Vellin are most commonly found in their homeland, Vorsthalland.

The Steel Soul and Saga
The majority of Vel live and die differently to other folk. They are made, not born, emerging from a swirling pool of molten steel found in the heart of Vorsthalland, called the Steel Soul. When they die, their minds do not go into the Deep Dreaming. Instead they return to the Steel Soul, where their memories are melted down to be reforged into another Vel. In this sense Vel are reincarnated, inheriting their own mind from the past minds of all their ancestors. Vellin call this process Saga.

Despite their shorter, single-century lifespan, Vellin have been successful in working magic - a feat that takes other folk far longer to achieve. Saga is what allows them to do this. Through Saga, a Vel inherits faint memories from the lives of their ancestors. This allows them to learn similar subjects at a faster rate than they would be able to with their own mind.

There are Vellin who escape this default. It is possible for two or more Vel to have their own offspring, though the process for this is often more specific and magically intensive. A Vel 'born to parents', so to speak, still inherits the benefits of Saga, however, and will return to the Steel Soul upon death if there is no further intervention.

Vel Traits
Your vel character has traits in common with other vel, a natural consequence of their creation.

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.

Age. Vellin enter adulthoods in their late twenties, and tend to live up to a century.

Alignment. Vellin embrace the alterability of their bodies and their minds, though their shared nature as created beings is just as acknowledged. They tend towards neutral alignments, but vary between law and chaos.

Size. Vellin are between 7 or 8 feet tall and weight between 280 and 340 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift. When you make an unarmed strike, you can deal 1d4 + your Strength modifier bludgeoning damage instead of the normal damage.

Steel Skin. Your armor class can't be less than 14 unless reduced by magic (such as by the *slow* spell).

Inorganic Body. You are treated as being made of inorganic material by any game effects.

Vel Resilience. You are immune to disease, and have resistance against fire and poison damage.

Tool Proficiency. You gain proficiency with smith's tools.

Tempering. You can reforge parts of your body to suit your needs. Over the course of an hour, you can change the surface metal of your body using smith's tools. This requires additional metal for the alterations, as well as an open flame or another sufficient source of heat. At the end of the hour, you recover hit points equal to twice your level, or gain one of the following benefits:​​​

You can only have one of these persistent benefits active at a time. You can change your active benefit when you use this trait again. After you temper yourself, you can't do so again until you complete a long rest.
 * Altered Appearance. You add, remove or alter engraving-like markings on your skin, or change your physical features.
 * Fused Object. You integrate one Small or smaller object into the surface of your body. You can't be disarmed of the object while conscious and you can't drop it.
 * Natural Weapon. You forge a weapon out of your body. It deals 1d8 bludgeoning, piercing or slashing damage, as appropriate to the weapon, and you are proficient with it. You can't be disarmed of the weapon while conscious and you can't drop it.
 * Repair. You reattach one severed body part, keeping it in place for as long as this benefit lasts.
 * At the DM's discretion, you can choose a benefit with effects similar in power to those listed above.

​Languages. You can speak, read, and write Giant and Common.

Meta Information
Vellin are a setting-specific replacement for Goliaths.