Have some sort of magic storage device. Ring of spell storing or other magic conductive material. Everything focused around that one piece moving. You can choose a recharge method but my favorite idea is just a hand crank that needs to be wound up.
I mean for my android in starfinder i have the run off oil as a drink and because why not since i went with a more mechanical look she eats fender washers but still doesnt need anything like that to live
I have created a Auto-gnome named "Jukebox". Jukebox is a bard, who travels in search for the perfect song for his creator. His creator is dying and wanted to hear the perfect song, thus he created "Jukebox."
I definitely agree that it's a bad move to make the DM do more mental gymnastics about the playable construct races than to just keep the rules consistent and allow players to think a little more and play a little differently.
I made an Electromancer (Pyromancer subclass changed to lightning damage) Autognome named J037 (AKA, "Joel") as an NPC. Died after the second fight (was supposed to, just like the party was supposed to hate him). But mechanically & thematically he was quite fun.
Personally, I love seeing hit dice being used in more ways aside from the rare short rest. Makes the mechanic more important and a strategic choice of whether to use or not to use. I’d probably include your healing and death save suggestions as an optional variant, but I think Wizards know the no death saves thing would scare off more players than it’d bring; so as it stands I think the mending hit dice its a bit of fun balance. But those who want a hardcore robot experience can pick big beep boop mode. But the malfunction part just seems all ‘round fun, thanks!
Here's one thing I noticed more recently: Autognomes can benefit from the construct healing prowess of a Battle Smith Artificer's Steel Defender. On top of the Steel Defender healing from Mending. I think you can see the gears turning in both senses of the phrase.
Idk i think it's super unbalanced if you can't heal. My dm usually just has items and certain classes that can heal like artificer and forge clerics can heal constructs
I've been playing Light of Xaryxis as an autognome artificer, for my first ever 5e campaign. I agree it would help me feel more special if they applied harder construct rules, but so far I've enjoyed my gameplay! I have only needed to break out Mending a few times, and I wear armor that gives me better AC than Natural Armor would with my piddly dex stat, but that feat would be nice as a rogue or something. I envision one day playing an evil assassin autognome who is a bona-fide killbot!
I made artificer/ bladesinger gnome who loves to make guns and its the best lol basically acts like a toddler, kinda a grrr from invader zim vibe lol love the vid!
It says that healing magic works on you, unlike normal constructs. Since the potion of healing is based on turning the spell Cure Wounds (one of the aforementioned spells) into a consumable item, it would stand to reason that logically an auto-gnome can use a healing potion. Granted, if you don't make your gnome with a liquid intake valve, straw, or any other way to consume a potion, it is a quandary as to how they would use it (maybe like goop juice from RE7?) but that is for specific game tables to decide.
