Warforged

The Shael-Wrought are quite possibly the most fascinating arcane constructs in the world. They straddle the line between machine and living being in a way that nothing else does, and to crown it all they're entirely sentient! If we could only understand the secrets of their creation and function, the possible applications are almost limitless!

— Eitar Scheppen, Last Will and Testament

Also known as the Shael-Wrought, the Warforged are arcane constructs created in ages past by the Shael. Designed as mere automatons the Warforged eventually became sentient, and many survived the deaths of their creators. Although time has claimed most of them a sizeable number have survived to the present day, usually in great underground vaults. Largely without a purpose in life the Warforged have no government or racial unity, and consequently can be found all over Calcerun.

Physical Information

Although there are some rare variants most Warforged are superficially similar in build to a modern human, though with some significant differences as they were constructed in the image of the long-gone Al-Shael. They have only three fingers and a thumb per hand, and similarly four toes per foot. They have a vertical slit instead of a nose, and four eyes arranged in a diamond formation. Most strikingly, of course, is the material making them up - the Warforged are made primarily of metal, with some wood or other materials used in small amounts.

Superficially a construct, the Warforged straddle the line between life and machine. Although artificial in nature (and thus immune to disease) they can sleep, eat, and be healed by conventional healing magic. No one today understands quite how they work, but they seem to have managed to gain the best of both worlds.

by Matt Cavotta

^{A typical Warforged}

Societal Information

The Warforged have no real societal structure, on the whole. Some small groups have formed communities on the scale of small villages, but otherwise Warforged tend to be independent. Although they are sentient and free-willed, most of them have struggled to find a purpose since they killed their masters. The response to this purposelessness varies between Warforged. Some have entered catatonic states, perhaps hoping that someday they will be awoken and given a purpose again. Others seek their own purpose in life. Exactly what this purpose is varies massively - some seek adventure and glory; some seek to rediscover the treasures of the lost Shael civilisation; some seek to make this modern world their home; some seek to make the modern world recognise their greatness; and others simply seek to become really, really good at something mundane, like baking.

During their creation the Warforged were each imprinted with the knowledge they would need for their role. In the case of most of those that survived until the present day, the only knowledge their creators thought they would need was how to fight. This has left most of the surviving Warforged sorely lacking in both the raw knowledge of how to get by in everyday life, but also a proper understanding of the norms of sentient behaviour. They frequently find it very hard to integrate into living societies, for they lack the instinctive appreciation for how to behave and conduct oneself.

How Warforged view the living varies wildly between individuals. Most Warforged are content to simply exist alongside the living, but some take it to extremes in one way or another: either viewing the living as the goal, something to aim for; or viewing the living as near-worthless 'fleshlings' who are inherently inferior to Warforged and certainly cannot be trusted.

History

Main article: History of the Shael

The Warforged were originally mindless automatons created by the Shael as a weapon to be used against the Giant Empire that ruled over the world. In this they were successful, rapidly toppling the giants from power and establishing the Shael Imperium in their place. The Warforged served as menial labourers across the Imperium, and were the backbone of its economy. Eventually the Imperium descended into civil war, with armies of Warforged fighting on all sides. The Imperium broke, and in their desperation the Shael experimented on the Creation Forges that birthed the Warforged, accidentally giving their automatons the gift of sentience. The Warforged eradicated the last of the Shael, only to find themselves without a purpose in life.

Type

Humanoid (Living Construct)

Creator

The Shael

Lifespan

Indefinite

Average Height

6ft

Average Weight

600lbs

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In-Game Rules

WIP