Warforged House Adaptation

Warforged are living constructs, built from a variety of materials — most are metallic in nature — reinforced with exotic materials from the plane of Mechanus, created in a method that fuses ancient with arcane and divine magic. All Warforged were once members of other mortal races who sacrificed their mortal flesh and blood to have their souls reborn into their new mechanical bodies, in a ritual that is not wholly known to the outside world — even to the warforgred themselves. While they recall all of their past memories, all that they can recall of the process to make them what they are now is entering into the construction chambers and awakening in their final form. Whatever they were before, they are now a race of living constructs, mechanical in nature but still retaining much of the features of living entities.

History: The first warforged were a relic of the Netherese empire — built as elite warriors to keep order of the lands of Low Netheril, particularly in the wake of the Night Parade opening the way for the Phaerimm and agents of the Far Realm to enter into the lands of Netheril. The Runelords and archmages of Netheril collaborated on a way to protect their armies from the ravages of the Far upon both the flesh and minds of their defenses. The solution was found in the creation of the forges that gave birth to the first Warforged. At first, only the most elite of warriors who volunteered were granted the honor of their life force inhabiting this arcane magical shell — which removed their mortal flesh which could be so easily corrupted, and buffered their minds at the cost of dulling their ability to know emotion. In the failing years of the empire, as more of the lands fell victim to the Phaerimm’s advance, the enclaves cared less for how elite the warriors chosen were; and ultimately, those planted into the shells to pilot them were mere conscripts. Come the events of Karsus’ Folly, when Mystryl was destroyed, the arcane forges went silent, and all of the warforged fell inert on the spot; the empire’s defensive forces shattered making easy pickings of the remnants of the enclaves by the abberant invaders.

In the years following the Year of the Bent Blade, one of these ancient forges was discovered by an expedition into one of the ancient Netherese ruins. A former War Wizard of Cormyr who had survived the Whispers that claimed so many of their ranks, recognized this as a means of creating defenses against the time that yet again, the corruption of the Whispers would revisit Faerun. Thus with the collaboration of others, and the ultimate approval of the Crown, the ancient forge was successfully awakened. By the Year of the Black Star, when the Far Spire emerged above Faerun, the forge was once again operational and ready to assemble forces. Humans, elves, halflings, half-orcs, and more among the elite of Cormyr’s armies volunteered and were vetted for the ensuing transformation, all in hopes of standing a chance to fight and survive — and retain their sanity — in the face of the threat of the Far Realm. Since the retreat of the Steel Royal from the realms of Toril, the warforged have remained much an enigma to the common folk, but those that have resigned their commissions with the Cormyrean army are finding themselves amongst the adventuring community.

Personality: Warforged retain their personalities from their prior form, and thus no two warforged have the same personality, they are as diverse and varied as the races from among whose ranks they’ve come.

Warforged Classes: Those selected to join the ranks of warforged are picked from almost all walks of life, but one class in particular will see these creations as anathema. Druids of any order, faith, or grove will not accept a warforged into their ranks. Most consider it an aberration against nature, and just as much of a planar incursion upon the natural cycle as is the opposing Far realm.

Racial Traits

• Ability Score Modifiers: +2 to two physical, -2 to Charisma. Warforged are sturdier than their mortal shells they left behind, and their mental faculties are just as sharp as before, however, their alien appearance and emotional diminishment from this transformation leave them hampered when relating to others.  (0 RP)
• Racial Background: Choose the race that your character was before becoming warforged; once that is decided, it cannot be changed. The warforged qualifies as that race as prerequisites for background traits, feats and favored class bonuses. It also further determines other traits as indicated below.
• Inerited Knowledge: Choose one racial trait from your racial background that applies to a knowledge, skill, or feat (for example, the human’s skilled racial trait, or the half-elf’s multitalented trait); the warforged gains the benefits of that trait. (2 RP)
• Size: Same as your chosen race. (0 RP)
  Those that choose to be Small Size get the standard +1 size bonus to hit and armor class and -1 penalty to CMB and CMD.
  Those that choose to be Medium Size do not get any size bonuses or penalties. (o RP)
• Base Speed: Normal for size. (0 RP)
• Languages: Same as your chosen race. (0 RP)
• Construct Physiology: Warforged do not heal hit points or attribute damage naturally, but can be repaired with use of the Craft skill or with effects that repair constructs. Repairs made with the Craft skill take 8 hours and a warforged repair kit. The amount of hit point damage repaired per check is the result of the Craft check -15. Repairing a point of attribute damage requires 8 hours and a Craft check, DC 25. Repairing both hit point damage and one point of ability damage can done during the same 8 hour period, but still requires two different checks. Appropriate Craft skills include armorsmithing, blacksmithing, gemcutting and sculpting. A conscious warforged can repair itself. All applications of the Heal skill while used on a warforged are replaced with an appropriate Craft skill. Below are other qualities of this trait: (7 RP)
  • This unique 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 repell metal or stone as if he were wearing metal armor. The metal in the body of a warforged makes him vulnerable to rusting grasp. The creature takes 2d6 points of damage from the spell (Reflex half; save DC 10 + spell level + caster’s ability modifier). A warforged takes the same damage from a rust monster’s touch (Reflex DC 17 half).
  • Warforged do not breathe, eat, or sleep, unless they want to gain some beneficial effect from one of these activities. This means that they can drink potions to benefit from their effects and can sleep in order to regain spells, but neither of these activities is required for them to survive or stay in good health.
  • Warforged gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against all mind-affecting effects.
  • Warforged get a +2 racial bonus against death effects and energy damage or drain, as well as stabilization checks and checks to remove negative levels.
  • Warforged are immune to disease, poison, fatigue and exhaustion.
  • Warforged do not change size or appearance naturally over time. While they do not “age,” per se, they do ultimately wear down and expire, at which point the inhabiting soul will proceed to the afterlife. With proper maintenance, a warforged can endure for an elf’s lifespan, perhaps even longer.
  • Spells from the conjuration (healing) subschool or supernatural abilities that duplicate them will work, but are only half as effective, rounded down. If a Breath of Life spell would have brought a warforged above 0 hit points but fails to do so at half effect, the warforged is restored to exactly 1 hit point.
  • Because they possess a sentient life force, a warforged can be revived, so long as their physical form has been suitably repaired (at least 1 hit point) before performing the revival. They can also be reincarnated, however doing this returns them into a new, organic physical form (roll table as normal).
• Neural Redundancy Matrix: Warforged are immune to charm and sleep effects, confusion and insanity effects, and the madness affliction. (3 RP)
• Darkvision: Warforged have darkvision out to 60ft. (2 RP)
• Natural Attack (Ex): Warforged’s iron fists serve as natural weapons, giving them two primary bludgeoning attacks, dealing 1d3 for small, or 1d4 for medium, and following the normal rules for natural attacks. (2 RP)
• Composite Plating (Ex): The plating used to build a warforged provides a +2 natural armor bonus. This composite plating occupies the same space on the body as a suit of armor, and thus a warforged cannot wear items on the armor slot. Warforged can, however use their attunement bonus to armor upon themselves without additional items, and they may also gain enchantments upon their body as if it were armor, given someone with either the Craft Magic Arms or Craft Construct feat and the remaining requirements for the property. The character must be present for the entire time it takes to make the enchantment. 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. (3 RP)
• Weight: 270-300 lbs (Medium) or 60-90 lbs (Small)

Total race points: 19-20 RP

Alternate Racial Traits

The following alternate racial traits may be selected in place of one or more of the standard racial traits above, as noted:

• Adamantine Plating: The composite plating of the warforged is alloyed with predominantly adamantine, adding reduction of 2/adamantine, as well as making their slam attack, or any other natural weapons they possess, count as adamantine. This damage reduction does not stack with other sources of damage reduction, except with the Improved Damage Reduction Feat. They are always considered to be wearing heavy armor and their base movement is always reduced by 5′. Warforged with this alternate racial ability weigh four times as much as a normal warforged for their size and can be targeted by spells, powers and effects that affect metal and stone. This racial trait alters the normal movement rate and natural plating. (+0 RP)

• Mithril Plating: The composite plating of this warforged is alloyed primarily of mithral. This reduces the armor check penalty of the composite plating (and any alterations or feat modifications thereof) by 10%, removes any armor check penalty for feat augmented plating, and increases any maximum Dexterity bonus of feat augmented plating by 2, but the warforged’s hands for this process are designed purely for fine manipulation and use of manufactured items. The warforged weighs 3/4 of the normal warforged base weight. This trait cannot be taken along with Adamantine Plating. This racial trait replaces natural attacks. (+0 RP)

• Ironwood Body: This Warforged’s body incorporates ironwood instead of metal in an attempt to make it more acceptable by druids. This Warforged loses its weakness to Heat Metal, Chill Metal, and rust-based effects such as Rusting Grasp, and is not repeled by spells like Repel Metal, but gains a weakness to spells that manipulate wood such as Warp Wood or Wood Shape (either doing 1d6/level, max 7d6) and Repel Wood. A Warforged with this trait can no longer be repaired with Craft (armorsmithing) or Craft (blacksmithing) but can be repaired with Craft (woodworking). This trait modifies Construct Physiology.

• Elemental Redundancy: The internal workings of these warforged are protected against common elemental damage, but at the cost to their redundant neural matrix. They still get a +2 racial bonus to resist mind-affecting and stunning effects, but have resistance 5 to acid, cold, fire and electricity. A warforged with this racial trait is no longer immune to paralysis and sleep effects. (+0 RP)

Racial Feats

Improved Composite Plating (Racial)
Your composite plating is denser and more tensile than normal.

Prerequisite: Warforged

Benefit: Your natural AC increases to +5, however you also have a maximum Dexterity bonus of +4, suffer an armor check penalty of -2, and your arcane spell failure rate increases to 20%. You are considered medium armored for the purpose of class abilities that take advantage of medium armoror need this proficiency as a prerequisite.

Greater Composite Plating (Racial)
Your composite body is augmented to the heaviest alloy available.

Prerequisite: Warforged

Benefit: Your natural AC increases to +7, however you also have a maximum Dexterity bonus of +3, and your arcane spell failure rate increases to 30%. You are considered heavy armored for the purpose of class abilities and feats that take advantage of heavy armor or need this proficiency as a prerequisite.

Other Warforged Feats (Racial)

These, and only these from Eberron Campaign can also be taken as written:

Cold Iron Tracery
Jaws of Death
Overload Metabolism
Shocking Fist
Silver Tracery
Spiked Body