Homebrew Dragonforged Species Details

“The warforged pose difficult questions. What is the role of a living weapon in a time of peace? Is it possible for a manufactured thing to have
a soul? What is the economic impact of warforged labor? This course explores the history and possible future of this new race.

– Fang, Adjunct Professor of Arcane Engineering

Cultures Future & Past

  The Last War has shaped Khorvaire over the last century, and the warforged are a physical manifestation and constant reminder of this bitter struggle. Most who encounter dragonforged assume that these reptilian constructs were designed for war, one more weapon in the clash between nations, but nothing could be further from the truth. While each being’s true purpose might remain a mystery to the dragonforged, all are designed to make a difference in the world and that is evident even without the Draconic Prophecy’s dictate.

The Hidden Forge

  Merrix d’Cannith pioneered House Cannith’s use of automatons during the Last War, but it was his son, Aaren d’Cannith, who created the first true warforged. Aaren was a philosopher searching for meaning, but House Cannith was only interested in weapons. Succeeding in repurposing Aaren’s work, the moniker “warforged” was Merrix’s invention, and cemented the martial purpose of the beings in their very identity. Aaren d’Cannith protested what he saw as the abuse of his creations and fought to prevent the production of warforged soldiers. For  is efforts, Aaren was excoriated from House Cannith in 970 YK and disappeared into the shadows of Khorvaire.

  Despite his best efforts, Aaren lacked the resources to change the course of House Cannith and he was furious that his creations were being condemned to the drudgery of lives in a state of endless war. His obsession with stopping the war led him to prioritize his remaining assets toward further research, working to understand the warforged he had created more fully. Any spare time was devoted to his second love, the Draconic Prophecy, and over time these two obsessions blended together in more than philosophical terms. Aaren located a rare convergence of planar influence somewhere along the borders of Cyre and constructed a hidden forgehold, which he would later dub the “Dragonforge” in his notes. He experimented with unusual materials, blending dragon scale and bone into the construction of the warforged, and timing the moment of creation to align with the planes and moons. In 993 YK, he created the first of his dragonforged. He continued to develop and train these living constructs, but his efforts were brought to a sudden halt by the devastation of the Mourning.

  Rumored to have been away from his Dragonforge on the Day of Mourning in 994 YK, Aaren hasn’t been seen since, while the location of his forgehold and the creation process of the dragonforged remain entirely unknown, save for scattered pages of partial notes found by relic hunters and scavengers across the wastes and craters of the Mournlands. Treasure seekers believe the presence of these notes would indicate that the Dragonforge was lost in the devastation of the cataclysm, its workshops collapsed, and enchantments broken or transformed into deadly living spells that wander the badlands.

  However, the existence of these dragonforged, all seemingly unaffected as the Mourning obliterated Cyre, and their inability or unwillingness to recall the events surrounding their appearance, leave some to wonder if they are simply agents of a conspiracy to misinform any possible explorers, or to keep House Cannith from corrupting this contribution as Aaren’s father did before. In the wrong hands, a Dragonforge might recalibrate the draconic prophecy, possibly altering Eberron’s future in unimaginable ways.

  Regardless of whether Aaren d’Cannith returns, or if the Mourning buried the Dragonforge in rubble and forced the dragonforged, alone and afraid, into the shattered lands of Cyre, these  draconic constructs have been left to find their own way in the world, and not even Aaren knows if they will fulfill their part in the Prophecy.

Phrophetic Purpose

  As a dragonforged, you were created for a purpose. This purpose is a part of your essence, tied to your moment of sentience, and the energy that grants you life. Whether it was Aaren, or one of the dragonforged only months your senior, your progenitor was working with you, training you for something, but the Mourning came before that training was complete. As an adventurer you must discover and fully harness your hidden talents. You believe in your purpose, but you know that you need to develop your skills and resources to make a difference in the world. Each of the dragonforged has a broad purpose, but a few of them believe a deeper destiny awaits them. Aaren was one of the most prolific scholars of the Draconic Prophecy, and some of the dragonforged believe that each of them is tied to a particular passage of the Prophecy, but, like most interpretations, not all of them agree on the predictions of the passages. As a dragonforged character, you might believe that it is your destiny and duty to ensure that the future follows a particular path. If this is true, it is something you will have to discover as your story unfolds. It is also something that could draw you into the ancient struggles between demons and dragons. The question is whether the dragon’s visions of the future included your kind and if they will see you as a useful ally or as the work of a human meddling to be eradicated. Find inspiration for your journey from the Dragonforged Purpose table to find out what you might have been made to do.

1d6	DRAGONFORGED PURPOSE
1	Bringer of War. Your task is to fight a war and win it. There’s just one problem: The Mourning came before you learned which war you’re supposed to fight. Now you search for conflicts that feel justified to you, hoping to find the war you’re meant to win.
2	House Breaker. You are charged to bring down one of the dragonmarked houses, or potentially, all of them. This could simply be a matter of breaking their monopoly, or it could require you to shatter the entire institution.
3	Pioneer of Artifice. Aaren was a brilliant artificer, and your task is to follow in his footsteps, but to what end? You’re just beginning to master your skills, and before you’re done you want to create something that will change the world.
4	Seeker of Knowledge. It’s your duty to uncover secrets and to share hidden knowledge with the world. You could be focused on a particular subject, exposing the plans of the Lords of Dust, for example, or you might be devoted to advancing knowledge in any way you can.
5	Unifying Force. Your purpose is to reunite the Five Nations. It’s up to you whether this means restoring the monarchy of Galifar, or whether you can forge an entirely new united nation. This is a vast and lofty goal, but in the meantime, you feel compelled to resolve conflicts and strengthen relationships between nations however you can.
6	Warforged Defender. Your task is to find a way to protect and preserve the warforged. You must help them find a peaceful and secure place in the world, free from House Cannith or the nations that denounce their sentience. At the moment, warforged have no way to reproduce, and if you want to ensure their future, you’ll have to find an answer to this.

Dragonforged in the World 

  There are likely fewer than two dozen dragonforged in the world. They scattered across the globe in the wake of the Mourning, and most have no knowledge of the locations of their cousins or specific origin. The dragonforged were made in the same forge and trained together, but they aren’t necessarily friends. Bringers of war might oppose unifiers, and dragonforged with the same purpose could disagree on how to accomplish the same goals. A few of the dragonforged believe that they are in competition with their cousins, that Aaren is watching and judging their progress, and only one dragonforged will accomplish their purpose. These dichotomies can engender a dragonforged to recognize each other as loyal allies or bitter foes. 

  Most of the people of the Five Nations, including the original warforged, assume the dragonforged are a rare Cannith design, like the envoy model, and as such, dragonforged are typically treated like any other warforged. The most prominent dragonforged is Fang, Special Adjunct Professor of Arcane Advancements and artificer, once offered positions at every prestigious academy in the Five Nations. Fang chose a position among the faculty of Morgrave University, and occasionally appears as a guest lecturer around Khorvaire, acting as a unifying voice in a continent that still teeters on the brink of war.

  All dragonforged range in shape and size similar to the dragonborn or lizardfolk of Qbara, and share the same general reptilian design of a heavy-set humanoid, but with dragon marrow and sinew incorporated into a livewood frame, and warforged plating infused with dragon scales While dragonforged temperament and head shape are often similar to dragonborn, they don’t carry the same elemental resistance typically inherent to the color of their namesake.

  They typically run cool to the touch and, as other warforged do, Dragonforged possess a ghulra, the sigil engraved into the forehead of a warforged. Aaren engraved other indecipherable symbols across each frame and body, which some of the dragonforged believe are tied to their draconic heritage and it’s by these sigils that they might identify their draconic  ancestors”, while others believe the sigils are a form of prophetic mark, waiting to unlock clues about the destiny of the individual dragonforged.

Dragonforged Traits

Your dragonforged character has the following traits.

Ability Score Increase

Your Constitution score increases by 1.

Age

All known dragonforged are between five and six years old.  Like warforged, their maximum lifespan remains a mystery; so far, warforged have shown no signs of deterioration due to age, and neither do the dragonforged.

Alignment

Dragonforged find order and discipline compelling. Most tend toward a benevolent consideration for other creatures inherited from their maker. While most assimilate the ethics and reasoning of the beings they share company with, the general approach and personality can be affected by their draconic history, but dragonforged aren’t bound to a specific alignment.

Size

Your size is Medium. Dragonforged stand between 6 and 7 1⁄2 feet tall averaging over 400 pounds.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Warforged Resilience

You were created to have remarkable fortitude, represented by the following benefits.

• You have advantage on saving throws against being poisoned, and you have resistance to poison damage.
• You are immune to disease.
• You don’t need to eat, drink, or breathe.
• You don’t need to sleep and don’t suffer the effects of exhaustion due to lack of rest, and magic can’t put you to sleep.

Sentry's Rest

When you take a long rest, you must spend at least six hours in an inactive, motionless state, rather than sleeping. In this state, you appear inert, but it doesn’t render you unconscious, and you can see and hear as normal.

Forged Scale

Your hide is a blend of organic scale and segmented plates. You have a natural armor class of 15 + Proficiency Bonus and you count as both dragonborn and warforged. You gain no benefit from wearing armor, but if you are using a shield, you can apply the shield’s bonus as normal.

Draconic Fission

During your creation, you were fitted with a magical device in your maw that mimics the effects of a dragon’s breath weapon. You know the [Tooltip Not Found]. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the chromatic orb spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the dragon’s breath spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Constitution is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Draconic.