CHANGELINGS
Changelings are subtle shapeshifters capable of disguising
their appearance. They evolved through the union of
doppelgangers and humans, eventually becoming a separate
race distinct from either ancestral tree. They do not
possess the full shapechanging ability of a doppelganger,
but they can create effective disguises at will. This ability
makes them consummate spies and criminals, and many
changelings live up to that potential.
Personality: In general, changelings are prudent and
cautious, preferring to take risks only when they feel that
their chances of success are good or the payoff is worth
it. They appreciate the finer things in life and take great
pleasure in the comforts of a wealthy lifestyle when they
can obtain it. They avoid direct confrontation, preferring
stealthy strikes and hasty retreats whenever possible. In
conversation, they are soft-spoken but have a gift for drawing
out more information than the other party intends to reveal.
Physical Description: Changelings strongly resemble
their doppelganger lineage, with only a passing nod to
their human heritage. All changelings fall within the
boundaries of Medium size, usually standing between 5
and 6 feet tall. Unlike true doppelgangers, changelings
do have gender in their natural form, although they can
adopt any shape they like. Changelings have pale gray
skin, and their hair is thin and fair. Their limbs are
long and slightly out of proportion compared to other
humanoids. Their faces have slightly more distinct features
than a doppelganger's, including a hint of nose and
lips, though their eyes remain blank white and the rest of
their facial features don't look quite as finished as those
on a human.
Relations: Nobody with any sense completely trusts
a changeling. Many people, however, have reason to do
business with them. Most members of other races treat
changelings with extreme caution. Dwarves have little
patience for their deceptive and subtle manner. Halflings,
on the other hand, enjoy matching wits with changelings,
though they are often rivals in certain shady activities.
Alignment: Changelings of all alignments exist, but
most gravitate toward the neutral alignment. They focus
on their own concerns without any meaningful regard for
laws or morals. Many have their own code of honor but
are also fiercely independent. Some refuse to engage in
assassination, while others embrace that path as the most
perfect form of the changeling art of deception.
Changeling Lands: Changelings live wherever
humans do in Khorvaire, blending in among them and
living in their shadow. They are most commonly found in
the large cities of Khorvaire, where they form the backbone
of the criminal underworld, though many find more
respectable work as entertainers, inquisitives, government
agents, and sometimes adventurers. Changelings have no
established homeland of their own.
Dragonmarks: Changelings never develop dragonmarks,
though they can mimic a mark's form if not its power.
Religion: Many changelings revere the deity known
as the Traveler, one of the Dark Six. Others follow a personal
philosophy of the perfect form, in which physical
transformation is a mystical practice symbolizing spiritual
purification. This philosophy is curiously amoral, and its
practitioners include both assassins and saintly ascetics.
Language: Changelings speak Common, which allows
them to move easily among humans and members of all
other races. They often learn as many other languages as
they can to facilitate a multitude of disguises.
Names: Changeling names are usually monosyllabic
and seem to other races more like nicknames than proper
names. In fact, changelings collect names and may go by
entirely different names in different social circles. They
make no distinction between male and female names.
Male and Female Names: Bin, Dox, Fie, Hars,
Jin, Lam, Nit, Ot, Paik, Ruz, Sim, Toox, Yug.
Adventurers: Changeling adventurers might
be fleeing from past crimes, seeking revenge for a
wrong done to them, or striving for spiritual perfection
through the use of their shapechanging abilities.
Others are driven to adventure through a simple lack
of other palatable opportunities: Changelings who
are not inclined toward crime or stealth often have
difficulty finding steady work.
CHANGELING RACIAL TRAITS
-
Shapechanger Subtype: Changelings are humanoids
with the shapechanger subtype.
-
Medium: As Medium creatures, changelings have
no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
-
Changeling base land speed is 30 feet.
-
+2 racial bonus on saving throws against sleep and
charm effects: Changelings have slippery minds.
-
+2 racial bonus on Bluff, Intimidate, and Sense
Motive checks: Changelings are inherently skilled
in deception and intimidation; though they
cannot actually detect thoughts as doppelgangers
can, they can intuitively read body language and
attitude with surprising accuracy.
-
Natural Linguist: Changelings add Speak Language
to their list of class skills for any class
they adopt.
-
Minor Change Shape (Su): Changelings have the
supernatural ability to alter their appearance as
though using a disguise self spell that affects their
bodies but not their possessions. This ability is not
an illusory effect but a minor physical alteration
of a changeling's facial features, skin color and
texture, and size, within the limits described
for the spell. A changeling can use this ability
at will, and the alteration lasts until he changes
shape again. A changeling reverts to his natural
form when killed. A true seeing spell reveals
his natural form. When using this ability to
create a disguise, a changeling receives a +10
circumstance bonus on Disguise checks.
Using this ability is a full-round action.
-
Automatic Languages: Common. Bonus Languages:
Auran, Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Gnome,
Halfling, and Terran.
-
Favored Class: Rogue. A multiclass changeling's
rogue class does not count when determining
whether he takes an experience point penalty for
multiclassing.
KALASHTAR
The kalashtar are a compound race: incorporeal entities
from the alien plane of Dal Quor, the Region of Dreams,
merged with human bodies and spirits to form a distinct
species. They were once a minority among the quori,
the native race of Dal Quor, hunted and persecuted
for their religious beliefs. Thousands of years after the
quori invaded Eberron and the connection between their
plane and the Material Plane was severed, the kalashtar
were the first of the quori to discover a means to reach the
Material Plane once more. Fleeing persecution, they transformed
their physical forms into psychic projections that
allowed them to enter the Material Plane and possess
willing humans. Today, new kalashtar are born,
not possessed; neither spirit nor human,
they are a new race that breeds true.
It took three hundred years for the
other quori to discover a similar means
to psychically project their spirits out of
Dal Quor and possess human bodies,
forming the Inspired, while leaving their
own bodies behind - much as mortals project their minds
to Dal Quor when they dream. For fifteen hundred years
now, the Inspired in their vast kingdom of Riedra have
continued to persecute and oppress the kalashtar.
Personality: As a true hybrid of human hosts and
quori spirits, the kalashtar possess keen intellects but are
not ruled by logic. They seek the perfection of their minds
and spirits, often to the exclusion of any physical pursuits.
They are generally warm and compassionate, but their
manners and ways of thinking are alien to the native races
of Eberron. They are more interested in psionics than in
the magic that pervades Khorvaire, and often lace their
discourse with esoteric terms such as "matter," "kinetics,"
and "ectoplasm."
The kalashtar are outcasts from their home plane
and can never return there - not even in dream. The
combination of life in exile and a dreamless existence
makes the kalashtar slightly inclined toward madness, and
some have speculated that the kalashtar devote themselves
to psychic and physical discipline in order to keep
themselves safely sane.
Physical Description: Kalashtar appear very similar
to humans, but they have a grace and elegance that makes
them seem almost too beautiful. They are slightly taller
than the average human, and their faces have a slight
angularity that sets them apart from the human norm, but
these deviations only make them seem more attractive.
Relations: Kalashtar are born diplomats and relate
fairly well to individuals of all races - except, of course,
the Inspired. They relate best to humans, with whom they
share the greatest physical similarity, but some kalashtar
find themselves strongly drawn too ther races instead.
They oppose the Inspired in all ways, both within Riedra
and beyond its borders, and likewise oppose any group or
force that corrupts or degrades mortal souls.
Alignment: Kalashtar are generally lawful good.
They combine a sense of self-discipline that borders on
the ascetic with a genuine concern for the welfare of all
living things, or at least their souls.
Kalashtar Lands: The kalashtar homeland is a
region of Sarlona called Adar, a land of forbidding mountains
and hidden fortresses in the southeastern portion
of the continent. Even in Adar their numbers are small,
and the number of kalashtar found in Khorvaire is much
smaller still. However, they can be found in many of the
largest human cities. The largest kalashtar population in
Khorvaire is in the city of Sharn.
Dragonmarks: Kalashtar never possess dragonmarks.
Religion: Kalashtar do not follow gods, but they
have their own religion, called the Path of Light. The
center of this belief system is a universal force of positive
energy the kalashtar call il-Yannah, or "the Great Light."
Through meditation and communion with this force, the
kalashtar seek to strengthen their bodies and minds for
the struggle against the forces of darkness that threaten
all life on Eberron. Though il-Yannah is not a deity, its
few clerics draw power from the Path of Light. A greater
number of devout followers of the Path are psions and
psychic warriors.
Language: Kalashtar speak Quor, the language of
the quori, and the common tongue of their homeland
(Common in Khorvaire, or Riedran in Adar). Quor is a
hissing, guttural tongue more suited to the alien forms
of the quori than their humanoid hosts. It has its own
written form, a flowing, elegant script with many circular
letters.
Names: Kalashtar names have much in common with
the name of their people: They are three to five syllables
long, with a combination of hard and hissing consonants.
Male names end with one of the masculine name suffixes
-harath, -khad, -melk, or -tash. Female names use the
feminine suffixes -kashtai, -shana, -tari, or -vakri.
Male Names: Halkhad, Kanatash, Lanamelk, Minharath,
Nevitash, Parmelk, Thakakhad, Thinharath.
Female Names: Ganitari, Khashana, Lakashtari,
Mevakri, Novakri, Panitari, Thakashtai, Thatari.
Adventurers: Every kalashtar enters adulthood
facing a fundamental choice: Try to live a normal life as a
persecuted exile in Adar, or take up a more active role in
combating the Inspired in the world. Not surprisingly,
many kalashtar choose the latter option and live a life at
least bordering on that of the adventurer. Most kalashtar
adventurers are motivated primarily by their hatred of
the Inspired, but a few - primarily those advanced along
the Path of Light - are driven by their compassion for all
living beings and their desire to fight darkness in whatever
form it takes.
KALASHTAR RACIAL TRAITS
-
Medium: As Medium creatures, kalashtar have no
special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
-
Kalashtar base land speed is 30 feet.
-
+2 racial bonus on saving throws against mindaffecting
spells and abilities, including possession:
The kalashtar's dual spirits help them resist spells
that target their minds.
-
+2 racial bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate
checks: Kalashtar are masters of social interaction,
influencing others through their commanding
presence and subtle psychic powers.
-
+2 racial bonus on Disguise checks made to
impersonate a human: Kalashtar have a close
physical resemblance to humans.
-
Kalashtar sleep but they do not dream. As
such, they have immunity to the dream and
nightmare spells, as well as any other effect
that relies on the target's ability to dream.
-
Naturally Psionic: Kalashtar gain 1 extra
power point per character level, regardless of
whether they choose a psionic class.
-
Psi-Like Abilities: Mindlink (1/day). This ability
is like the psionic power manifested by a
wilder of 1/2 the kalashtar's Hit Dice (minimum
1st level).
If you are not using the Expanded Psionics Handbook in
your game, use this description of the mindlink power:
You forge a telepathic bond with another creature
within 30 feet, which must have an Intelligence score
of 3 or higher. The bond can be established only with
a willing subject, who therefore receives no saving
throw and gains no benefit from spell resistance. You
can communicate telepathically through the bond
even if you do not share a common language. No
special power or influence is established as a result of
the bond. Once the bond is formed, it works over any
distance (although not from one plane to another),
but lasts for only 1 round per character level. This is
a mind-affecting ability.
-
Automatic Languages: Common and Quor. Bonus
Languages: Draconic and Riedran.
-
Favored Class: Psion. A multiclass kalashtar's psion
class does not count when determining whether he
takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.
SHIFTERS
Shifters, sometimes called "the weretouched," are
descended from humans and natural lycanthropes,
now nearly extinct on Khorvaire. Shifters cannot fully
change shape but can take on animalistic features - a state
they call shifting. Shifters have evolved into a unique race
that breeds true. They have a distinct culture with its own
traditions and identity.
Personality: The personality and behavior of
shifters are influenced by their animal natures. Many
are boorish and crude, while others are quiet, shifty,
and solitary. Just as most lycanthropes are carnivores,
shifters have a predatory personality and think of most
activities in terms of hunting and prey. They view survival
as a challenge, striving to be self-reliant, adaptable,
and resourceful.
Physical Description: Shifters are basically humanoid
in shape, but their bodies are exceptionally lithe.
They often move in a crouched posture, springing and
leaping while their companions walk normally alongside.
Their faces have a bestial cast, with wide, flat noses,
large eyes and heavy eyebrows, pointed ears, and long
sideburns (in both sexes). Their forearms and lower legs
grow long hair, and the hair of their heads is thick and
worn long.
Relations: Many races feel uncomfortable around
shifters, the same way they feel around any large predator.
Of course, some grow to appreciate individual
shifters despite their natural aversion, and halflings in
general get along well with them. For their part, shifters
are accustomed to distrust and don't expect better treatment
from members of the other races, although some
shifters try to earn respect and companionship through
acts and deeds.
Alignment: Shifters are usually neutral, viewing
the struggle to survive as more important than moral or
ethical concerns about how survival is maintained.
Shifter Lands: Shifters have no land of their own.
Being descended from human stock, they live in human
lands. Unlike changelings, however, shifters often live in
rural areas away from the crowded spaces of the cities. They
are most commonly encountered in the Eldeen Reaches
and other remote areas that can be found in all the nations.
Many shifters earn their way as trappers, hunters, fishers,
trackers, guides, and military scouts.
Dragonmarks: The fact that none of the dragonmarked
houses includes shifters cements their place outside
the mainstream of society.
Religion: Most shifters incline toward the druidbased
religion of the Eldeen Reaches, believing in the divine
power of the earth itself, the elements, and the creatures of
the earth. Those shifters who revere the pantheon of the
Sovereign Host are drawn toward the deities Balinor and
Boldrei, while other shifters follow the Traveler. Shifters
rarely worship the Silver Flame.
Language: Shifters speak Common and rarely
learn other languages.
Names: Shifters use the same names as humans, often
ones that sound rustic to city-dwellers.
Adventurers: Moving from the rugged, self-reliant
life of a shifter trapper or hunter to an adventuring life is
not a big step. Many shifters find themselves embarking on
adventuring careers after something happens to disrupt
their everyday routines - a monstrous incursion into their
village or forest, for example, or a guide job gone sour.
SHIFTER RACIAL TRAITS
-
+2 Dexterity, -2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma: Shifters
are lithe and agile, but their fundamental bestial
nature detracts from both their reasoning ability
and their social interaction.
-
Shapechanger Subtype: Shifters are humanoids
with the shapechanger subtype.
-
Medium: As Medium creatures, shifters have no
special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
-
Shifter base land speed is 30 feet.
-
Shifting (Su): A shifter can tap into his
lycanthropic heritage to gain short bursts of
physical power. Once per day, a shifter can
enter a state that is superficially similar to a
barbarian's rage. Each shifter has one of eleven
shifter traits - characteristics that manifest
themselves when a character is shifting. Each
shifter trait typically provides a +2 bonus to
one of the character's physical ability scores
(Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution) and
grants some other advantage as well. Shifter
traits are described below.
Shifting is a free action and lasts for a
number of rounds equal to 3 + the shifter's
Constitution modifier. (If a shifter trait or
other effect increases the character's Constitution
modifier, use the newly improved modifier.) A
shifter can take feats to improve this ability.
Every shifter feat a character takes increases
the duration of his shifting by 1 round. For every
two shifter feats a character takes, the number of
times per day he can tap into the ability increases
by one. So, a character with two shifter feats can
shift two times per day (instead of the usual one),
and each use of the ability lasts for a number of
rounds equal to 5 (instead of 3) + the shifter's
Con modifier.
Shifting, though related to and developed from
lycanthropy, is neither an affliction nor a curse.
It is not passed on by bite or claw attacks, and a
shifter can't be cured - shifting is a natural ability
for the race.
-
Low-Light Vision: Shifters can see twice as far as
a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and
similar conditions of poor illumination. They retain
the ability to distinguish color and detail under
these conditions.
-
+2 racial bonus on Balance, Climb, and Jump checks:
A shifter's animalistic heritage enhances many of his
physical skills.
-
Automatic Languages: Common. Bonus Languages:
Elven, Gnome, Halfling, and Sylvan.
-
Favored Class: Ranger. A multiclass shifter's ranger
class does not count when determining whether he
takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.
SHIFTER TRAITS
Each shifter has one of the following special traits,
which is selected when a character is created and
cannot be changed thereafter.
Beasthide (Su): While shifting, a beasthide shifter
gains a +2 bonus to Constitution and natural armor
that provides a +2 bonus to AC.
Cliffwalk (Su): While shifting, a cliffwalk shifter
gains a +2 bonus to Dexterity and has a climb speed
of 20 feet.
Dreamsight (Su): The dreamsight trait is the rarest
of all shifter traits, and many dreamsight shifters
become druids within shifter communities. Unlike
other shifter traits, which increase a shifter's physical
abilities, the dreamsight trait sharpens a shifter's
instincts and awareness. While shifting, a dreamsight
shifter temporarily gains a +2 bonus to Wisdom and
gains the ability to communicate with animals as if
under the effect of a speak with animals spell.
In addition, the shifter gains a +2 bonus on Handle
Animal and wild empathy checks, even while not
shifting.
Gorebrute (Su): While shifting, a gorebrute shifter
temporarily gains a +2 bonus to Strength and manifests
powerful horns that can be used as a natural weapon,
but only during a charge attack. (The horns are too
awkward to use as a natural weapon in any circumstance
other than a charge.) If a gorebrute shifter uses
his horns in a charge attack, the horns function as a
natural weapon, dealing 2d6 points of damage (plus an
extra 1 point for every four character levels he has). A
gorebrute shifter can't combine a charge attack with his
horns with any other attack, even if he has the ability
to make more than one attack as part of a charge (such
as from the pounce ability).
Longstride (Su): While shifting, a longstride shifter
gains a +2 bonus to Dexterity and a bonus of +10 feet
to his base land speed.
Longtooth (Su): While shifting, a longtooth shifter
gains a +2 bonus to Strength and grows fangs that can
be used as a natural weapon, dealing 1d6 points of
damage (plus an extra 1 point for every four character
levels he has) with a successful bite attack. He cannot
attack more than once per round with his bite, even
if his base attack bonus is high enough to give him
multiple attacks. He can use his bite as a secondary
attack (taking a -5 penalty on his attack roll) while
wielding a weapon.
Razorclaw (Su): While shifting, a razorclaw shifter
gains a +2 bonus to Strength and grows claws that
can be used as natural weapons. These claws deal 1d4
points of damage (plus an extra 1 point for every four
character levels he has) with each successful attack. He
can attack with one claw as a standard action or with
two claws as a full attack action (as a primary natural
weapon). He cannot attack more than once per round
with a single claw, even if his base attack bonus is high
enough to give him multiple attacks. He can attack
with a claw as a light off-hand weapon while wielding
a weapon in his primary hand, but all his attacks in
that round take a -2 penalty.
Swiftwing (Su): While shifting, a swiftwing
shifter temporarily gains
a +2 bonus to Dexterity.
His arms grow leathery
flaps of skin (similar
to a bat's wings),
which grant him a
fly speed of 20 feet
(average maneuverability).
While airborne, the
shifter can't use his hands
for anything other than flying,
though he can still
hold or carry objects.
A shifter can't
fly while carrying
a medium or
heavy load or while
wearing medium or
heavy armor.
Truedive (Su): While
shifting, a truedive
shifter temporarily
gains a +2 bonus
to Constitution and a
swim speed of 30 feet.
Gaining a swim speed grants
him a +8 racial bonus on
Swim checks.
In addition, the shifter can hold his breath for a
number of rounds equal to 5 × his Constitution score
before he risks drowning. A truedive shifter gains
this benefit even when he isn't shifting.
Wildhunt (Su): While shifting, a wild hunt shifter
temporarily gains a +2 bonus to Constitution and
the scent ability. This ability allows the shifter
to detect approaching creatures, sniff out hidden
creatures, and track by sense of smell. A wild hunt
shifter can identify familiar odors just as a human
does familiar sights.
A wildhunt shifter can detect creatures within
30 feet by sense of smell. If the creature is upwind,
the range increases to 60 feet; if downwind, it drops
to 15 feet. Strong scents, such as smoke or rotting
garbage, can be detected at twice the ranges noted
above. Overpowering
scents, such
as skunk musk or
troglodyte stench, can
be detected at triple normal
range. These stronger
scents block other scents, so
they can sometimes be used
to confuse or hamper this
shifter trait.
When a wildhunt shifter
detects a scent, the exact
location of the source isn't
revealed - only its presence
somewhere within range.
The shifter
can take a
move action
to note
the direction
of the
scent. Whenever
the shifter
comes within
5 feet of
the source,
he pinpoints the
source's location.
While shifting,
a wildhunt shifter
who has the Track feat can follow
tracks by smell, making
Survival checks to find or follow
a trail. The typical DC for
a fresh trail is 10 (regardless of
the surface that holds the scent). This DC increases
or decreases depending on how strong the quarry's
odor is, the number of creatures producing the
odor, and the age of the trail. For each hour that the
trail grows cold, the DC increases by 2. This ability
other wise follows the rules for the Track feat. Shifters
tracking by scent ignore the effects of surface
conditions and poor visibility.
When not shifting, a wildhunt shifter gains a +2
bonus on Survival checks due to the lingering effects
of the scent ability.
Winterhide (Su): While shifting, a winterhide
shifter gains a +2 bonus to Constitution, a +1 natural
armor bonus to AC, and resistance to cold 5. In addition,
a winterhide shifter has a +2 racial bonus on Fortitude
saving throws to resist the environmental effects of
extreme cold.
WARFORGED
Built as mindless machines to fight in the Last War,
the warforged developed sentience as a side effect of the
arcane experiments that sought to make them the ultimate
weapons of destruction. With each successive model
that emerged from the creation forges of House Cannith,
the warforged evolved until they became a new kind of
creature - living constructs.
Warforged are renowned for their combat prowess,
their size, and their single-minded focus. They make
steadfast allies and fearsome enemies. Earlier warforged
models are true constructs; some of these remnants of
the Last War appear in monstrous varieties, such as the
warforged titan.
Personality: The warforged were made to fight in
the Last War, and they continue to fulfill their purpose
with distinction. They fight fiercely and usually without
remorse, displaying adaptability impossible for mindless
constructs. Now that the war has ended, the warforged
seek to adapt to life in this era of relative peace. Some have
settled easily into new roles as artisans or laborers, while
others wander as adventurers or even continue fighting the
Last War despite the return of peace.
Physical Description: Warforged appear as massive
humanoids molded from a composite of materials - obsidian,
iron, stone, darkwood, silver, and organic material - though
they move with a surprising grace and flexibility. Flexible
plates connected by fibrous bundles make up the body of a
warforged, topped by a mostly featureless head.
Warforged have no physical distinction of gender; all
of them have a basically muscular, sexless body shape. In
personality, some warforged seem more masculine or feminine,
but different people might judge the same warforged
in different ways. The warforged themselves seem unconcerned
with matters of gender. They do not age naturally,
though their bodies do decay slowly even as their minds
improve through learning and experience.
Unique among constructs, warforged have learned to
modify their bodies through magic and training. Many
warforged are adorned with heavier metal plates than those
their creator originally endowed them with. This customized
armor, built-in weaponry, and other enhancements
to their physical form help to differentiate one warforged
from another.
Relations: As the warforged strive to find a place in
society for themselves after the Last War, they simultaneously
struggle to find ways to relate to the races that created
them. In general, the humanoid races of Khorvaire regard
the warforged as an unpleasant reminder of the brutality of
the Last War and avoid dealing with them when possible.
In Thrane and Karrnath, the warforged are still seen
as the property of the military forces that paid to have them
built, and most warforged in those nations serve as slave
labor, often used to repair buildings and roads damaged
or destroyed in the war. Throughout the rest of Khorvaire,
they have freedom but sometimes find themselves the victims
of discrimination, hard-pressed to find work or any
kind of acceptance. Most warforged, not being particularly
emotional creatures, accept their struggles and servitude
with equanimity, but others seethe with resentment against
all other races as well as those warforged whose only desire
is to please their "masters."
Alignment: Warforged are generally neutral. They
were built to fight, not to wonder whether fighting is right.
Though they are perfectly capable of independent thought
and moral speculation, most choose not to wrestle with
ethical ideals.
Warforged Lands: Warforged originated in Cyre
before its destruction and have no homeland. Most of them
have dispersed across Khorvaire, laboring as indentured
servants in Korth, Atur, and Flamekeep, or struggling to
find work and acceptance in Sharn or Korranberg. A few
congregate in the Mournland, attempting to build a new
warforged society free from the prejudice and mistrust of
the older races.
Dragonmarks: The warforged never possess
dragonmarks.
Religion: Just as most warforged are not inclined
to align themselves with any particular moral or ethical
philosophy, few show much interest in religion.
Some warforged have found a kind of answer to
the questions of their existence by taking up
the cause of one religion or another, but these
remain a small (if rather vocal) minority among their
kind. A larger number gravitate to a messianic figure
called the Lord of Blades. This powerful leader gathers
a cultlike following of disaffected warforged by preaching
a return to the Mournland and rebellion against the
"weak-fleshed" races.
Language: Warforged speak Common, since they
were designed to communicate with their (mostly human)
creators and owners.
Names: Warforged do not name themselves and only
recently have begun to understand the need of other races
to have names for everything. Many accept whatever names
others see fit to give them, and warforged traveling with
humans often are referred to by nicknames. Some warforged,
however, have come to see having a name as a defining
moment of their new existence, and thus search long
and hard for the perfect name to attach to themselves.
Adventurers: Adventuring is one way that warforged
can fit into the world - at least as well as any adventurer ever
fits in. In the wilds of Xen'drik, the ancient continent of
secrets, few people care whether you were born or made, as
long as you can help keep your companions alive. A fairly
large number of warforged choose an adventuring life to
escape from the confines of a society they didn't create and
at the same time engage in some meaningful activity.
WARFORGED RACIAL TRAITS
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+2 Constitution, -2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma: Warforged
are resilient and powerful, but their difficulty
in relating to other creatures makes them seem aloof
or even hostile.
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Living Construct Subtype (Ex): Warforged are
constructs with the living construct subtype. A
living construct is a created being given sentience
and free will through powerful and complex
creation enchantments. Warforged are living constructs
who combine aspects of both constructs
and living creatures, as detailed below.
Features: As a living construct, a warforged has
the following features.
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A warforged derives its Hit Dice, base attack
bonus progression, saving throws, and skill
points from the class it selects.
Traits: A warforged possesses the following
traits.
-
Unlike other constructs, a warforged has a
Constitution score.
-
Unlike other constructs, a warforged does
not have low-light vision or darkvision.
-
Unlike other constructs, a warforged is
not immune to mind-affecting spells and
abilities.
-
Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis,
disease, nausea, fatigue, exhaustion,
effects that cause the sickened condition, and
energy drain.
-
A warforged cannot heal lethal damage naturally.
-
Unlike other constructs, warforged are subject
to critical hits, nonlethal damage, stunning,
ability damage, ability drain, death effects, and
necromancy effects.
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As living constructs, warforged can be affected by
spells that target living creatures as well as by those
that target constructs. Damage dealt to a warforged
can be healed by a cure light wounds spell or a repair
light damage spell, for example, and a warforged is
vulnerable to disable construct and harm. However,
spells from the healing subschool and supernatural
abilities that cure hit point damage or ability
damage provide only half their normal effects to
a warforged.
-
The unusual physical construction of warforged
makes them vulnerable to certain spells and
effects that normally don't affect living creatures.
A warforged takes damage from heat metal and chill
metal as if he were wearing metal armor. Likewise,
a warforged is affected by repel metal or stone as if he
were wearing metal armor. A warforged is repelled
by repel wood. The iron in the body of a warforged
makes him vulnerable to rusting grasp, taking 2d6
points of damage from the spell (Reflex half; save
DC 14 + caster's ability modifier). A warforged takes
the same damage from a rust monster's touch (Reflex
DC 17 half). Spells such as stone to flesh, stone shape,
warp wood, and wood shape affect objects only and
thus cannot be used on a warforged.
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A warforged responds slightly differently from other
living creatures when reduced to 0 hit points. A warforged
with 0 hit points is disabled, as with a living
creature. He can take only a single move action or
standard action in each round, but strenuous activity
does not risk further injury. When his hit points
are less than 0 and greater than -10, a warforged is
inert. He is unconscious and helpless, and cannot
perform any actions. An inert warforged does not
lose additional hit points unless more damage is
dealt to him, however, as with a living creature that
has become stable.
-
As a living construct, a warforged can be raised
or resurrected.
-
A warforged does not need to eat, sleep, or breathe,
but he can still benefit from the effects of consumable
spells and magic items such as heroes' feast
and potions.
-
Although living constructs do not need to sleep,
a warforged wizard must rest for 8 hours before
preparing spells.
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Medium: As Medium constructs, warforged have no
special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
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Warforged base land speed is 30 feet.
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Composite Plating: The plating used to build a
warforged provides a +2 armor bonus. This plating
is not natural armor and does not stack with other
effects that give an armor bonus (other than natural
armor). This composite plating occupies the same
space on the body as a suit of armor or a robe, and
thus a warforged cannot benefit from the effects of
magic armor or magic robes. Composite plating can
gain a magic enhancement bonus and magic armor
properties as armor can, using the Craft Magic Arms
and Armor feat. The character must be present for
the entire time it takes to add this enhancement. In
addition, spells and infusions that normally target
armor, such as magic vestment and armor enhancement,
can be cast with the composite plating of a warforged
character as the target.
Composite plating also provides a warforged with
a 5% arcane spell failure chance, similar to the
penalty for wearing light armor. Any class ability
that allows a warforged to ignore the arcane spell
failure chance for light armor lets him ignore this
penalty as well.
-
Light Fortification (Ex): When a critical hit or sneak
attack is scored on a warforged, there is a 25% chance
that the critical hit or sneak attack is negated and
damage is instead rolled normally.
-
A warforged has a natural weapon in the form of a
slam attack that deals 1d4 points of damage.
-
Automatic Languages: Common. Bonus Languages:
None.
-
Favored Class: Fighter. A multiclass warforged's
fighter class does not count when determining
whether he takes an experience point penalty for
multiclassing.
INSPIRED
The Inspired are specially bred humans who have willingly
surrendered their bodies to nightmarish creatures called
quori. When a quori spirit
possesses a human vessel, it submerges the human spirit
and takes complete control of the consciousness. When
the human vessel dies or is destroyed, the quori spirit,
unharmed, returns to its home plane of Dal Quor until
it can inhabit another suitable vessel.
The quori originally had trouble projecting their minds
into the Material Plane. Unwilling to permanently join with
a human host as the kalashtar did, the quori sought another
solution. That solution was to use controlled breeding and
psionic manipulation to spawn highly evolved Riedran
humans tinged with elf and fiendish blood. These perfect
quori vessels possess otherworldly beauty and a penchant
for cruelty. Unpossessed hosts, known as empty vessels,
train hard for the day they receive their quori spirits. While quori prefer to
fill Inspired vessels, and needed such vessels to originally
project to Eberron, they have developed the ability to possess
any willing human.
An Inspired vessel is taller than the average human,
but lightly built, with large, almond-shaped eyes that vary
in color. Common colors are black, viridian, or violet,
although the eyes change color with the mood of the individual.
All Inspired have pale skin and straight hair that
ranges in color from jet black to deep blue or green. By
human standards, most Inspired are strikingly handsome
or beautiful, and they possess an unnatural charm
and a commanding aura that helps them influence others.
Most wear their hair long, and they favor ornate clothing
and decorations.
The Inspired would rather let others fight on their behalf.
Schemers and masterminds, they use their psionic powers
to manipulate others from the shadows instead of on the
field of battle. Even the Inspired who are trained for battle
strike with swift precision to minimize the likelihood of
an enemy gaining the upper hand.
Humans born and raised on Sarlona to become
the Inspired receive special training and education,
and they are remarkable individuals in
their own right.
EMPTY VESSEL RACIAL TRAITS
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Medium size.
-
An empty vessel's base land speed is
30 feet.
-
Naturally Psionic (Ex): Empty vessels
gain 1 extra power point per character
level, regardless of whether they choose a
psionic class.
-
Skills: An empty vessel receives 4 extra
skill points at 1st level and 1 extra skill point
at each additional level. (The 4 skill points at 1st level are
added on as a bonus, not multiplied in.) Knowledge (the
planes) is always a class skill for empty vessels.
-
+2 racial bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate
checks. Empty vessels are masters of social interaction,
influencing others through their commanding
presence and subtle psychic powers.
-
+2 racial bonus on Disguise checks made to impersonate
a human, due to their close physical resemblance
to humans.
-
Bonus Feat: Empty vessels gain 1 extra feat at 1st level.
-
Automatic Languages: Common, Quor. Bonus
Languages: Draconic, Riedran.
-
Favored Class: Psion. A multiclass empty vessel's
psion class does not count when determining whether she
takes an XP penalty for multiclassing.
-
Level Adjustment: +1.
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