The Warforged Warforged are sentient constructs, typically soldiers but can be made to perform almost any task. In the world of Eberron the Warforged were made to be soldiers in a great war, but once that war was over the world was left with a new sentient race that was searching for it's place in the world. Who are the Warforged? The origins of the Warforged This question depends entirely upon you or your DM, below is information gathered from "The Races of Eberron" book from DnD 3.5e and some speculation and perhaps postulation. In Eberron, the Warforged were a living reminder of "The Last War", having been created by House Cannith for that war the Warforged are typically soldiers but can choose to live peacefully. This is because unlike other constructs Warforged are entirely sentient and can make decisions by themselves, so they are able to rise above the purposes that their creators designed them for. Once that war had finished the Warforged were granted their freedom and so were able to try and find their place in the world. Unlike the rest of the veterans of the war however, the Warforged had no homes to return to and no lands to call their own and so they tried to integrate with the other races. This did not always go smoothly and the Warforged faced heavy prejudice from the other races. The above information is the history of the Warforged as it was told in DnD 3.5e, the Warforged in your world could be almost entirely different. For suggested history and plot hooks please see (page). Warforged Psychology When are Warforged is created it instinctively knows how to move its body and is able to understand and speak the language of it's creator. They are essentially born as blank canvas. This however is a very dangerous thing, Warforged have no understanding of the world, politics or the intricacies of how good and evil work. This gives their creator tremendous power over the future development of the Warforged's future mindset. Since they were created to be sold off as soldiers for the first few months of their lives the Warforged were trained to use weapons, learned tactics and how to identify foes and distinguish them from allies. A lot of this training consisted of elaborate war games where Warforged were pitted against each other. It was in these games that many Warforged experienced their first emotions, be they pride in victory or shame in defeat, fear for their lives or dread/joy at killing one of their own kind. This is also where a lot of Warforged first learned to experience fear once they had been knocked unconscious and were healed or revived. Since they do not require sleep Warforged had no understanding that the world continued without their input. It was during this time that the concept of death was explained to them and to a Warforged nothing was more terrifying, that there would be a time where they were not functional and without purpose, one day they could possibly face oblivion. This was another stick that their masters could use to beat them with, if a Warforged didn't obey or was deemed defective in any way it would be locked away to rot, or threatened with death. Fear became a powerful factor in a Warforged's training. Warforged would learn most about emotions on the battlefield, being soldiers Warforged developed an incredible sense of camaraderie from sharing battle experience with their kin. This makes Warforged extremely loyal to any party that they spend any significant amount of time with, especially if they had done battle together. After the Last War ended and the Warforged were granted their freedom by the Treaty of Thronehold, freedom can be a beautiful thing but the Warforged's world had lost all structure and purpose so they would have to seek new purposes in a world ravaged by war. They were able to find many new purposes in the world but they were not always welcomed by the other races, their tireless work created opportunity and animosity. How could a simple Dwarven blacksmith who could work for a maximum of eight or nine hours a day at their optimum compete with a Warforged blacksmith who could sit at the forge and work twenty-four hours a day. But on the other hand, Warforged made perfect employees that never needed to rest, they also made excellent adventuring companions due to their incredible level of loyalty and skill in combat. 1

The needs of the Warforged Warforged do not require a lot to survive, they don't need rest or sleep, food or water, they don't even need to breathe. Their only real need came from self maintenance and managing battle damage as they could not heal naturally. Above all else what a Warforged needs is a sense of purpose in what they do. During the early days of the Warforged experiments were done on them to test their limits. These experiments were cruel in their nature, seeing many Warforged being buried alive. What these experiments did show was that even though Warforged could maintain their sanity far longer than humans, with enough time without stimuli a Warforged would indeed go insane. Seeking a new Purpose Created in a warring world everything the Warforged understood about the world came to an end with the end of the war. A Warforged's sense of the war would help shape the kind of purpose they sought. Those relieved by the wars end would seek jobs and employment, some were happy to work simply for materials to repair themselves but the vast majority would seek to make a mark on the world and would work tirelessly to keep their constantly working minds occupied. Many would become workers and builders, helping to rebuild a war torn world. Those who could not adapt to a world without war however would seek to sell themselves as skilled fighters, many would go on to become bodyguards, joining adventuring parties or became mercenaries. A lot of Warforged would stick together with their newfound freedom to seek a group purpose. Finding prejudice from the other races and since some of the Warforged could not understand violence on a small scale, many would seek their purpose in more peaceful lands. Warforged and other Races Having a soldier mindset, Warforged would typically fit other people into one of four categories: Commander, comrade/ally, civilian and foe/enemy. Any being that a Warforged was happy to take orders from would be considered a "Commander", whether this was an employer or the leader of their adventuring party. A "Comrade" or "Ally" would be any person that a Warforged worked with or fought alongside. Being created as a soldier Warforged did not have a concept of friendship or friends, instead other people who they lived alongside were their comrades that were working together with them to achieve a shared goal, whether this be construction work or clearing out a dungeon. Anyone that a Warforged was not against or did not share a common goal with are considered "Civilian". Most Warforged found civilians a bore and would ignore most of them unless ordered to do so, this sometimes would come across as a lack of empathy in the Warforged. They will happily go kill the monster and rescue the child, but why must they listen to this civilian crying about it for so long? A "Foe" or "Enemy" was anyone a Warforged was set against, not necessarily needed to be killed by the Warforged, but almost certainly needed to be defeated. This could apply to a monster a dungeon or could apply to a rival blacksmith across the street. This would come across as competitive or arrogant to other races, but it simply the Warforged being determined to fulfil its purpose to the best of its ability. 2 Warforged and Gender Being created constructs Warforged do not have a gender as they have no natural means or desire to procreate. They can however choose to present as Male or Female but this is usually as a way to try and fit in with other races. Warforged with bulkier frames were often identified as male and those with a more slender frame were identified as female. Despite not having a gender or feeling a need to identify as one, Warforged despised being called "It", preferring to be called by their name. Warforged and Names Warforged are not normally created with names but instead are usally named after their function or maybe even something as simple and cruel as a serial number by their creators. Some Warforged will appropriate names from the lives they choose for themselves, a Warforged working in a warehouse shifting crates may be called "Lifter" by their work colleagues so they appropriate the name. Some Warforged are given a nickname by their travelling or adventuring companions which they would then take as their name. Despite it not being directly related to a purpose, Warforged were happy to take on a name once they joined the rest of the world as it gave them a sense of belonging amongst other races.

Warforged Work Warforged were not always unwelcome in society however as they could do work that others simply could not do. They could mine in places with little air to breathe, salvage ships from the bottom of the sea and help rebuild the world torn apart by war. They were a great resource in many cities as they replaced a lot of the workforce lost in the war. Warforged were still subject to abuse however, their desire for something to do and their tireless nature made them perfect for exploitation in manufacturing jobs, some rich families or houses would employ many Warforged and corner markets and force competitors out of business. This was ample enough excuse for many workers to fear the presence of a Warforged worker as it could spell the end to their livelihood. Warforged Leisure The Warforged's never ending desire to seek a purpose could sometimes leave them frustrated or anxious. A Warforged that had to wait some time to complete a purpose may seek a temporary new purpose to occupy their time until they can return to first task. This is how many Warforged would come to discover what other races would call a hobby, a simple task they could return to again and again to occupy them when they were not busy. The more unending the hobby the better the Warforged would take to it, some would do something as simple as count blades of grass and others would seek more intricate tasks like braiding leather straps and then un-braiding them to repeat the process endlessly. Warforged who decided to continue their existence as soldiers, whether it be adventuring or mercenary work, would take up such hobbies as sharpening swords or maintaining equipment for their comrades. Warforged Culture Despite seemingly being a race with no culture or history, Warforged could produce a tremendous amount of art. If they found whittling wood, carving stone or painting satisfactory enough to occupy their time then a Warforged through hours and hours of practice could produce beautiful artwork. Warforged however do not set out to create art and it is almost always created by accident, it is simply a product of a Warforged's never ending desire to occupy themselves. Having very little imagination, if any, Warforged art was normally abstract or based upon experience. A hunting Warforged may carve deer from wood or a Warforged painter would paint views or people they were familiar with. Art for a Warforged is not an expression of thought or emotion but merely a means to an end and thus doesn't usually have any meaning worthy of deep analysis. Despite this however, their self taught proficiency could help them find a new purpose or employment as a manufacturer of carvings or portraits. 3

Warforged in 5e Warforged Traits All Warforged regardless of sub-race gain the following traits: Ability Score Increase: Your Constitution score is increased by 2. Age: Being a construct you are effectively immortal as long as you are maintained, you do not physically age. Alignment: Warforged are created True Neutral, being soldiers they can easily be Lawful Neutral. However circumstances and backstory can make Warforged fit any alignment. Size: Warforged can vary wildly in size which is dependent on their sub-race, see the sub-races section for more information. All Warforged count as medium size. Speed: You have a base movement speed of 30 feet and your speed is unaffected by wearing heavy armour. Languages: As a Warforged you can speak, understand and write common and the language of your creators. Healing Immunity: As a construct you do not heal naturally and potions have no effect on you. You can however spend hit dice during a short race and recover health at the end of a long rest as normal as long as you have smithing tools to perform the maintenance on yourself. Healing magic affects you as normal. Tool Proficiency: All Warforged are proficient in Smith's Tools as they are required for self maintenance. Forged of Metal and Wood: You are not made of flesh but rather made of strong woods and metal. You are immune to disease and have resistance to poison damage and have advantage on saving throws to resist poisons. Living Construct: You do not need to eat or drink though you can consume them if you wish. You do not need to breathe and do not need to sleep, you instead can enter an inert state for four hours at the end of which you gain all the benefits of a long rest. Warforged Resolve: It is incredibly hard to kill a Warforged, once per long rest you may re roll a death saving throw. Warforged Plating: Being made of strong woods and metal plating you gain a +1 to your base AC. The Soldier/Juggernaut The Warforged Soldiers/Juggernauts, best suited to be Fighters, Paladins or any heavy melee/Strength based character. Ability Score Increase: Your Strength score is increased by 1. Size: A Warforged Soldier/Juggernaut usually stands somewhere between 6 1/2 feet to 7 1/2 feet tall. Your size is medium. Powerful Build: You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift. Stability of Mountains: You have advantage on Strength saving throws. Heavily Armoured: You start with a base AC of 16 and always count as wearing heavy armour, therefore you always have disadvantage on Stealth checks. Your maximum base AC cannot exceed 19, you can however benefit from items, shields and magical effects on top of this unless it is stated it cannot stack with Heavy Armour. The Scout The Warforged Scouts, best suited to be a stealthy or ranged class or any Dexterity based character. Ability Score Increase: Your Dexterity score is increased by 1. Size: A Warforged Scout usually stands somewhere between 4 foot to 5 foot tall. Your size is medium Darkvision: You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. Quick Footed: Your smaller stature means less heavy wood and metal plating, your base movement speed increases to 35 feet. Medium Armouring: You start with a base AC of 12 + Dex modifier (Max of 2) and always count as wearing medium armour, you do not however suffer from disadvantage on Stealth checks. Your maximum base AC cannot exceed 15, you can however benefit from items, shields and magical effects on top of this unless it is stated it cannot stack with Medium Armour. The Tactician The Warforged Tacticians, best suited to be Wizards, Rangers or a class that stays back from the frontline fighting. Ability Score Increase: Your Intelligence or Wisdom score is increased by 1. Size: A Warforged Tactician usually stands somewhere between 5 1/2 feet to 6 feet tall. Your size is medium Tactically Minded: Once per long rest you may re roll a damage dice for a spell. Quick Thinking: Your sharp mind allows you to read books at twice the normal rate and you can identify any written language by sight. Light Armouring: Instead of Metal your wood is reinforced by leathers, You start with a base AC of 10 + Dex modifier and always count as wearing light armour, you do not however suffer from disadvantage on Stealth checks. Your maximum base AC cannot exceed 12, you can however benefit from items, shields and magical effects on top of this unless it is stated it cannot stack with Light Armour. Upgrading Armour As a Warforged you do not need to wear armour as your skin counts as a natural armour, it can however be upgraded and improved at cost. You need to upgrade/reinforce your natural armour one step at a time and you cannot exceed your base AC maximum stated in the sub-races traits. First Step: To upgrade your base AC to +1 will cost 500gp Second Step: To upgrade your base AC to +2 will cost 1200gp Third Step: To upgrade your base AC to +3 will cost 3000gp 4

Warforged Plot Hooks The intention of this section is to provide some ideas as to what Warforged may mean to your world or to your characters. Below are some plot hook ideas for your campaigns in regards to Warforged, some are taken from older editions of DnD and others are original musings. Other Races How do other races in your campaign feel about the Warforged. In the above sections are examples of prejudice that Warforged may face in your world. Warforged long to belong in the world and find purpose but are always seen as "other" and cannot be truly understood by other races as they do not eat, drink, breathe or sleep. Warforged might as well be aliens. Who created the Warforged in your campaign? Are they then looked down upon for doing so or revered as genius'.

Have Warforged fully integrated into society or do they have their own settlements?

Are Warforged oppressed or seen as equal?

Is there a faction of Warforged that want revenge against their former masters? Warforged Age In Eberron no Warforged was much older than 40 years old as that is when they were created for the Last War. In your campaign how old are Warforged?

Were they created for a recent war or an ancient one?

Were they recently created by someone who discovered the ancient means to do so? If this is true then is there some of the original Warforged still out there to discover? Potentially thousands of years old.

Or maybe they were created recently for a war that is ongoing? Warforged and Magic In your campaign are all Warforged allowed to use magic or is it a rare occurence?

How do other magic users feel about this?

Do the Gods of your world consider the Warforged unnatural and thus not bless them with magic? If this is true but one of your PC's is a magic using Warforged, why are they so special? Does their God have a higher purpose for them to be revealed or discovered later in the campaign? Warforged and War Does your Warforged PC suffer from PTSD?

Do they miss the war or are glad that it is over?

How do they feel looking back on the war? Does it trouble them or do they enjoy telling tales from the war and are unaffected by it? Creation Forges In Eberron the Warforged were created in "Creation Forges". Do they exist in your world?

Have any survived or are they still fully operational?

Was creating new Warforged ever outlawed? Warforged and Souls In Eberron "The Treaty of Thronehold" granted Warforged their freedom and declared them "Alive". People against this idea argued that Warforged couldn't be alive because a Warforged could never be made undead by any circumstances. No Warforged "Soul" had ever been seen wandering the realms of the dead. Warforged also didn't fulfil any of the basic functions of life, they did not breathe, require sustenance and did not need rest. The people for the idea argued that since Warforged could be revived then they must have a soul. This was counter-argued however because no Warforged had ever come back with tales of an afterlife. In the end the question of souls was dropped and Warforged were granted their freedom on the basis that they could think and demonstrated free will. What implications could this have for your campaign?

If it turns out that Warforged do have souls, how is this discovered in your campaign?

How does a Warforged PC feel about this idea? Do they long to find an answer to this or does it not matter to them? The Lord of Blades In Eberron the Lord of Blades was rumoured to be the oldest of the Warforged and he hated all other life, considering the Warforged to be superior in every way. He rallied other Warforged to him and built an army to overthrow their former masters. It is also rumoured that he was somehow able to obtain or create his own "Creation Forges" and was making new Warforged. This was backed up by some Warforged turning up and claiming to be less than 2 years old. Well after creating new Warforged was outlawed. Does such a Warforged exist in your world?

Are they able to create new Warforged?

Are the new Warforged improved in any way? The Godforged In Eberron there was a group of Warforged who claimed to hear the call of a deity, this deity claimed to be a God of Constructs and demanded that the Warforged build it a giant body so it could walk amongst them. This was also a potential plot hook to be used alongside the Lord of Blades (above), maybe his plan was to give form to this God and use it to take revenge on the rest of the races. Does this exist in your campaign? If so, is the God genuine or is it perhaps a Devil or Demon or some other evil force simply manipulating the Warforged?

Is the Lord of Blades involved in this plot? If not then maybe he is a potential ally to stop the Godforged being given form? The Lord of Blades may see the Godforged as a threat to Warforged supremacy since it would by definition be superior to them. 5