If I had designed a custom character class, this may have prevented my player from further customization, such as the multi-class option. Additionally, we would have had to test and refine the class to ensure it did not outshine (or under perform) compared to the existing D&D classes. Making this as a species option provides more flexibility, not to mention it was much easier to fit it into the existing material. 

This species provides the player with options to describe what they look like, a potential background they can implement, and some unique game play choices. One unique aspect of the Marionette species is that the player has body parts that can be replaced or swapped out. Common parts don't provide many benefits, but more complex ones may offer damage resistances or magical benefits. This is still being designed, but I think this opens up some fun way for the player to customize their Marionette for different missions. The player also has certain benefits, such as not being required to breathe, but they can't consume potions. This also encourages them find and attach different limbs to themselves. 

There were some other ideas, such as being unable to heal from magical spells, but those were abandoned or tweaked to avoid slowing down the game or having a player unable to participate for an extended period of time. One example of a tweaked rule are the Marionette parts. The parts can be broken, but will only break if the player takes a certain amount of damage on a single attack. This is known as the "Damage Threshold" rule in 5.5E. For example, if the Damage Threshold is 10, a part cannot be broken or effected if the player takes 9 damage or less on a single attack. This was a better solution to help to streamline game play and avoid confusion via tracking multiple HP values on a single character. 

As we play I will continue to make changes based on my player's feedback. I already have some ideas for custom parts, but I want to see how the core aspect of the rules work. Feel free to use it and let me know what you think!