Warforged

In the Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting Eberron, the Warforged are a race of creatures, and one of the playable races.



The Warforged are a race of living, sentinent constructs or golems, made from various organic materials and metals. Warforged in Eberron were created by House Cannith in magical 'creation forges' to fight in the Last War. When the Last War ended, their purpose was indeterminate. They were given their freedom at the Treaty of Thronehold. Though they have free will, whether they have a soul is not known with certainty.

While they have no biological gender, warforged may adopt a gender. They do not age as the other races do, and it is not known what effects time will have on them. Like other races, warforged may take levels in any character class.

Racial qualities and adjustments of the warforged were published in the Eberron Campaign Setting (ECS) and later reprinted in Monster Manual III (MM3). Among their features, warforged are produced with their own armor and have various immunities, including to poison and disease. Healing spells have reduced effect on warforged, but a series of repair spells work fully on them. They can get feats to enhance their natural abilities, special warforged magic items, or even take specialized prestige classes, such as the Warforged Juggernaut, which emphasizes their construct aspects while reducing their living traits, or the Reforged, which emphasizes their living aspects while minimizing their construct traits. Other published forms of warforged include:


 * Warforged Charger (MM3) - Warforged that are larger than standard designed for brute strength, but have little intelligence.
 * Warforged Scout (MM3) - Smaller versions of the traditional warforged.
 * Warforged Titan (ECS) - Warforged that are larger and stronger than chargers, but are even less intelligent.

History of the Warforged
Near the halfway point of the Last War, Merrix d'Cannith, of House Cannith, was commissioned to build a great army of golems, to serve as untiring warriors. Not satisfied with the lifeless, unintelligent hulks his forges produced, Merrix began experimenting with magic to instill some sentience in them. After many unsuccessful attempts, Merrix's son, Aarren d'Cannith, finally hit upon a reliable process. The Warforged that Aarren's creation forges created were fully sentient, with the ability to have emotions, relationships, even to experience death. However, Aarren and Merrix had a disagreement over their use. Aarren felt that House Cannith had created life, and refused to see his creations used as tools. Merrix ignored him, and Aarren, feeling powerless, left. Powerful divination magics used to this day have only been able to confirm that he is still alive, not where he is. At the end of the War, two important rulings regarding the Warforged came down:


 * 1)  All Warforged were declared 'people', and not possessions.
 * 2)  The House Cannith creation forges were to be shut down, never to produce any more of the living constructs.

Despite the rulings, many Warforged are still regarded as outsiders, and many are still employed as indentured servants.

There are also rumours that Merrix d'Cannith, (the grandson of the original Merrix) still produces illegal Warforged in a lost creation forge. Even more disturbing are the rumours that the Lord of Blades, a rogue Warforged, has stumbled onto an undestroyed creation forge in Mournland and was begun creating an army.

Races of Eberron, the extended reference guide for the campaign setting, has much more in-depth material on Warforged variations and additional feats and abilities.