Warforged

“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?”
— Keith Baker, The Shattered Land

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.

Basic Information

Anatomy

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.

Behaviour

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.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Most warforged were assigned numerical designations for use in military service. Many of them adopted nicknames, often given to them by their comrades. As independent individuals, some have chosen new names as a way to express their path in life. A few take on human names, often the name of a fallen friend or mentor.
Warforged Names: Anchor, Banner, Bastion, Blade, Blue, Bow, Cart, Church, Crunch, Crystal, Dagger, Dent, Five, Glaive, Hammer, Iron, Lucky, Mace, Oak, Onyx, Pants, Pierce, Red, Rod, Rusty, Scout, Seven, Shield, Slash, Smith, Spike, Temple, Vault, Wall