Homebrew Warforged Canine Species Details

“Pierce was built by design, while you were built by accident,” Lakashtai said. “The soul is what matters, not the shape of the vessel.”

“What makes you think he has a soul?” Gerrion said.

“What makes you think you do?”

—Keith Baker, The Shattered Land

The Warforged Canine were built to fight in the Last War. While the first Warforged Canine were mindless automatons, House Cannith devoted vast resources to improving these steel soldiers. An unexpected breakthrough produced sapient soldiers, giving rise to what some have only grudgingly accepted as a new species. Warforged Canine are made from wood and metal, but they can feel pain and emotion. Built as weapons, they must now find a purpose beyond war. A Warforged Canine can be a steadfast ally, a cold-hearted killer, or a visionary in search of meaning.

Living Steel and Stone

Warforged Canine are formed from a blend of organic and inorganic materials. Root-like cords infused with alchemical fluids serve as their muscles, wrapped around a framework of steel, darkwood, or stone. Armored plates form a protective outer shell and reinforce joints. Warforged Canine share a common facial design, with a hinged jaw and crystal eyes embedded beneath a reinforced brow ridge. Beyond these common elements of Warforged Canine design, the precise materials and build of a Warforged Canine vary based on the purpose for which it was designed.

Although they were manufactured, Warforged Canine are living humanoids. Resting, healing magic, and the Medicine skill all provide the same benefits to Warforged Canine that they do to other humanoids.

Warforged Canine Personality

The Warforged Canine were built to serve and to fight. For most of their existence, Warforged Canine had a clearly defined function and were encouraged to focus purely on that role. The Treaty of Thronehold gave them freedom, but many still struggle both to find a place in the post-war world and to relate to the creatures who created them.

The typical Warforged Canine shows little emotion. Many Warforged Canine embrace a concrete purpose — such as protecting allies, completing a contract, or exploring a land — and embrace this task as they once did war. However, there are warforged who delight in exploring their feelings, their freedom, and their relationships with others. Most Warforged Canine have no interest in religion, but some embrace faith and mysticism, seeking higher purpose and deeper meaning.

The typical Warforged Canine has a sexless body shape. Some Warforged Canine ignore the concept of gender entirely, while others adopt a gender identity.

The more a Warforged Canine develops its individuality, the more likely it is to modify its body, seeking out an artificer to customize the look of its face, limbs, and plating.

No Hands

The lack of opposing thumbs can hinder quite a lot, but Warforged Canine are used to it.
They hold things in their mouth and can even wield Light weapons with some training.
They can cast spells with their paws and bash enemies with their bodies.

But even then, there is still much they can't do. Namely anything that requires the use of hands.
That is quite limiting in terms of what profession a Canine can take, but there are still a lot of things they can do.

All Paws

As you have no hands, you can not effectively wield anything that requires hands to wield.  Exception: You can still use your paws for somatic components of spells, and can potentially still use a spell focus or material components if you have ready access to them (on the ground nearby and not kept within a component pouch).

It is up to your DM discretion what should or should not be possible for a Canine to do but, some outside the box thinking is encouraged.

If you are, for example, interested in a Canine that wields ranged weaponry you can discuss with your DM the possibility of crafting a piece of armor or magic artifact that allows you to make use of a hand crossbow. 
The same logic could be used to a dog wielding a lance strapped to it's back.
A Canine Bard could use woodwind instruments strapped to their neck, etc.

You can also use a familiar, or a class that has Mage Hand, to make up for your lack of opposing thumbs.

 

Keen Hearing and Smell.

You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.

Dog’s Bite

Your bite is a natural weapon, which you can use to make melee weapon attacks. If you hit with it, you deal piercing damage equal to 2d4 + your Strength modifier.   If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC (8+ your proficiency bonus + your strength modifier) Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. 

Dog’s Awareness

You have proficiency in the Perception skill.

Quirks

Warforged Canineoften display an odd personality trait or two, given how new they are to the world. The Warforged Canine Quirks table contains example quirks.

Warforged Canine Quirks

Warforged Canine Names

Most Warforged Canine were assigned numerical designations for use in military service. Many of them adopted nicknames, often given to them by their comrades. As independent individuals, some have chosen new names as a way to express their path in life. A few take on human names, often the name of a fallen friend or mentor.

Warforged Canine Names: Anchor, Banner, Bastion, Blade, Blue, Bow, Cart, Church, Crunch, Crystal, Dagger, Dent, Five, Glaive, Hammer, Iron, Lucky, Mace, Oak, Onyx, Pants, Pierce, Red, Rod, Rusty, Scout, Seven, Shield, Slash, Smith, Spike, Temple, Vault, Wall

Warforged Canine Traits

Your Warforged Canine character has the following traits. A few of the traits give you a choice; consider how your choice reflects the purpose for which your character was built.

Keen Hearing and Smell

Awakened Canine receive and advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.

Bite

Though unable to wield weapons, the Awakened Canine are able to bite an opponent as a natural weapon attack, dealing damage equal to 1d6+ Strength modifier. The target must then succeed a DC (8+ your proficiency bonus + your strength modifier) Strength saving throw or be Grappled.

Ability Score Increase

Your Constitution score increases by 1, Dexterity score increased by 1 and one other ability score of your choice increases by 1.

Age

A typical warforged is between two and thirty years old. The maximum warforged lifespan remains a mystery; so far, warforged have shown no signs of deterioration due to age. You are immune to magical aging effects.

Alignment

Most warforged take comfort in order and discipline, tending toward law and neutrality. But some have absorbed the morality, or lack thereof, of the beings with which they served.

Size

Your size is Medium. To set your height and weight randomly, start with rolling a size modifier:

Size modifier = 2d4

Height = 3 feet + 10 inches + your size modifier in inches

Weight in pounds = 270 + (4 × your size modifier)

Speed

Your base walking speed is 40 feet.

Constructed 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 don’t need to eat, drink, or breathe.
• You are immune to disease.
• You don’t need to sleep, 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.

Integrated Protection

Your body has built-in defensive layers, which can be enhanced with armor:

• You gain a +1 bonus to Armor Class.
• You can don only armor with which you have proficiency. To don armor other than a shield, you must incorporate it into your body over the course of 1 hour, during which you remain in contact with the armor. To doff armor, you must spend 1 hour removing it. You can rest while donning or doffing armor in this way.
• While you live, the armor incorporated into your body can’t be removed against your will.

Specialized Design

You gain two skill proficiencies.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice.