Warforged
Warforged are typically humanoid in shape, though their exact form can vary widely. They are composed of a combination of organic and inorganic materials, such as wood, metal, and stone. Their appearance can be both beautiful and intimidating, often reflecting their individual personalities or the purpose for which they were originally created.Warforged are a unique race in Eberron, created as living constructs through a blend of magic and technology. Originally designed as mindless soldiers for the Last War, they evolved into sentient beings with their own desires and aspirations. Nature: Despite their artificial origins, warforged are capable of experiencing emotions and forming deep bonds. They possess a strong sense of duty and loyalty, often reflecting their origins as soldiers. However, they are also known for their curiosity and adaptability, allowing them to thrive in a world that was not designed for them. Abilities: Warforged possess a number of unique abilities, including resistance to poison and disease, as well as a natural affinity for certain skills. Their physical composition grants them enhanced strength and durability, making them formidable in combat. Society: Warforged have struggled to find their place in Eberron society. Some have embraced their role as protectors, while others have become explorers, artists, or scholars. Despite facing prejudice and discrimination, the warforged have proven to be a resilient and adaptable people.
"Pierce was built by design, while you were built by accident," Lakashtai said. "The soul is what matters, not the shape of the vessel." "What makes you think he has a soul?" Gerrion said "What makes you think you do?"The warforged were built to fight in the Last War. While the first warforged were mindless automatons, House Cannith devoted vast resources to improving these steel soldiers. An unexpected breakthrough produced sapient soldiers, giving rise to what some have only grudgingly accepted as a new species. Warforged are made from wood and metal, but they can feel pain and emotion. Built as weapons, they must now find a purpose beyond war. A warforged can be a steadfast ally, a cold-hearted killer, or a visionary in search of meaning.
Living Steel and Stone.
Warforged are formed from a blend of organic and inorganic materials. Root-like cords infused with alchemical fluids serve as their muscles, wrapped around a framework of steel, darkwood, or stone. Armored plates form a protective outer shell and reinforce joints. Warforged share a common facial design, with a hinged jaw and crystal eyes embedded beneath a reinforced brow ridge. Beyond these common elements of warforged design, the precise materials and build of a warforged vary based on the purpose for which it was designed. Although they were manufactured, warforged are living humanoids. Resting, healing magic, and the Medicine skill all provide the same benefits to warforged that they do to other humanoids.Warforged Personality.
The warforged were built to serve and to fight. For most of their existence, warforged had a clearly defined function and were encouraged to focus purely on that role. The Treaty of Thronehold gave them freedom, but many still struggle both to find a place in the post-war world and to relate to the creatures who created them. The typical warforged shows little emotion. Many warforged embrace a concrete purpose—such as protecting allies, completing a contract, or exploring a land—and embrace this task as they once did war. However, there are warforged who delight in exploring their feelings, their freedom, and their relationships with others. Most warforged have no interest in religion, but some embrace faith and mysticism, seeking higher purpose and deeper meaning. The typical warforged has a sexless body shape. Some warforged ignore the concept of gender entirely, while others adopt a gender identity. The more a warforged develops its individuality, the more likely it is to modify its body, seeking out an artificer to customize the look of its face, limbs, and plating. This is not a common thing in Dierde, however there now does seem to be a few that have come from Eberron and it is possible a few have in the past that did not cause too big of an issue for the general public, as far as the Wild Cards have seen.The Wild Cards found themselves in Eberron in Session 068: Unexpected Side Mission in Eberron Report where they met and fought many various warforged.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Warforged were a rare race of humanoid constructs created through powerful rituals. Warforged averaged 6′‒6′6″ (1.8‒2 m) and were made up of bulky (albeit resilient) metallic or stone bodies that weighed roughly 270‒300 lb (120‒140 kg). Extremely powerful and durable, warforged were able fighters. Unlike most constructs, warforged were fully self-aware and maintained mental faculties on par with elves, humans, or similar races.
Description
Warforged were physically impressive humanoids made up of magically enchanted materials. The "skin" of a warforged was made of hardened materials such as metal or stone. Beneath this lay the skeleton, made up of similar materials, and the "musculature" of the warforged, made up of leather, wooden fibers, or any leather-like material. Throughout the warforged's body were vessels resembling the circulatory system of organic creatures, complete with a blood-like fluid. The arms of a warforged ended in hands with two fingers and a thumb while the feet of the constructs were likewise two-toed. The faces of warforged were simple and vague in their features, with beak-like jaws, heavy brows, glowing eyes, runic markings and little else. The most important marking for any warforged was their ghulra, the primordial word for "truth", a rune distinctive to each warforged which was placed upon their forehead. Warforged were completely sexless—though some did "adopt" genders—and were incapable of reproduction. Each warforged was individually created through ritual, like any other construct. The warforged's artificial nature also gave the race a unique relationship to pain, which seemed limited to actual injury. This allowed warforged to modify themselves with some ease, giving them a varied appearance in spite of their lack of inherent biological diversity. Warforged's artificial nature also meant they did not need to eat, drink, or breathe. Likewise, warforged did not need to sleep but did nonetheless require rest in a fully-aware state for a period of at least four hours.Genetics and Reproduction
Creation
The actual process of giving the warforged sentience and a soul (ostensibly) remains a mystery, as the process was done using the Creation Forges of Eberron. This was outlawed and therefore no knowledge is public exists for the process.Additional Information
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Civilization and Culture
Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals
Personality
Warforged took their name from their original purpose, as soldiers, and many had a dutiful attitude towards life, taking pleasure from fulfilling commands. Warforged as a whole had a strong work ethic and shared an aversion to failure. Warforged were capable of fear, often of death or pain, as much as other races and could come to hate the sources of these fears just as easily. Warforged were also capable of loyalty and joy, particularly in relations to friends and allies and could be driven to anger when their loves or goals were threatened. However, warforged as a whole exhibited a simple-minded and reserved approach to life with straightforward goals and reactionary passions. Since warforged were created in a state of physical maturity, many exhibited a childlike perspective that was often mistaken as naïve or emotionally crippled; this was not necessarily true. Some warforged, in fact, developed a particularly sophisticated view of the world, ever curious about its mysteries in part due to the odd nature of their creation. Many wondered where they might go in death and if they even have souls. Some created deeply ordered philosophies to govern themselves or maintained a perpetual list of tasks to occupy themselves with. Others fell in with the religions and mindsets of other races. Some warforged even lived long enough to develop a deep and weathered personality as tempered by time as that of other races.Sources
Source(s):
- Jeremy Crawford, James Wyatt, Keith Baker (November 2019). Eberron: Rising from the Last War. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 35–36. ISBN 978-0-7869-6692-9.
- Jeremy Crawford, James Wyatt, Keith Baker (November 2019). Eberron: Rising from the Last War. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 320. ISBN 978-0-7869-6692-9.
- Mike Mearls, Stephen Schubert, James Wyatt (June 2008). Monster Manual 4th edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 261. ISBN 978-0-7869-4852-9.
- Andrew Finch, Gwendolyn Kestrel, Chris Perkins (August 2004). Monster Manual III. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 190. ISBN 0-7869-3430-1.
- Bruce R. Cordell (2009-01-12). “Origin Stories: Incorporating Races”. In Chris Youngs ed. Dragon #371 (Wizards of the Coast), p. 39.
- Chris Sims “Playing Warforged”. Dragon #364 (Wizards of the Coast), p. 28.
- Chris Sims “Playing Warforged”. Dragon #364 (Wizards of the Coast), p. 27.
- Chris Sims “Playing Warforged”. Dragon #364 (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 28–29.
- Codename Entertainment (September 2017). Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms. Codename Entertainment.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Scientific Name
Exnihilia, Construe, Warforged
Origin/Ancestry
Construct (Humanoid Animated | Species, Warforged)
Lifespan
Indefinite
Conservation Status
No conservation as they are not a widely known or native species to Dierde.
Average Height
typically 6–6.6 ft (1.8–2 m) tall
Average Weight
around 270–300 lb (120–140 kg)
Geographic Distribution
Related Ethnicities
Session Reports
See Also: Warforged on Forgotten Realms Wiki