Faerunian Warforged?

[Edit] I have recently come back to this concept, and I have developed a couple of variants for incorporation of the Warforged into the Forgotten Realms. You can see the separate threads through links in my signature. Feel free to give feedback on each as well as the overall concept. [/Edit]

I am running a FR campaign that is typical in most ways. The characters are all a hodgepodge of freaks... all ex-carnivale types. One is a Warforge Wizard.

Anyway, I am wanting to essentially import the Warforge race into the FR, but I would love to hear some ideas for a backstory as to their origins if they were brought into the FR.

I would probably just call them the 'Forged' as I don't want to rip up the lands in open warfare, as this would over-complicate the setting and I would have to make many changes that depart from the sourcebooks.

Anyone have any good ideas out there? I would love to hear them.

IMC, Warforged are currently being built by the Red Wizards, who intend to use them as slaves in their western enclaves, thus bypassing the "no slavery" laws (which don't cover constructs). Eventually, some will get stolen/lost in transport/rebel against masters/sold off to highest bidders, and that's how I intend to explain potential Warforged PCs/NPCs.

Sammael said:

IMC, Warforged are currently being built by the Red Wizards, who intend to use them as slaves in their western enclaves, thus bypassing the "no slavery" laws (which don't cover constructs). Eventually, some will get stolen/lost in transport/rebel against masters/sold off to highest bidders, and that's how I intend to explain potential Warforged PCs/NPCs.

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I was going to suggest something along that line. I would just add a flavor thing: warforged are inhabited by a stolen soul. When someone dies, the soul instead of going to outer planes, is stolen and put into a warforged to animate it, and make it more useful than a simple zombie-like automaton. In a sense the soul begins a new life, but as a slave.

Turanil said:

I was going to suggest something along that line. I would just add a flavor thing: warforged are inhabited by a stolen soul. When someone dies, the soul instead of going to outer planes, is stolen and put into a warforged to animate it, and make it more useful than a simple zombie-like automaton. In a sense the soul begins a new life, but as a slave.

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Not sure how this would entirely work. See in my mind the soul encompasses our knowledge, the sum of everything we've learned. If someone goes this route, there would have to be some kind of purification/rejuvenation process, so as to make a new soul out of an old one. JMHO.

perhaps it could be explained in the same manner that Death is traumatic. raise dead and such create level loss when you die. Perhaps the method to which to bind these 'stolen souls' results in a similar effect. perhaps its not one soul that is used but several. Maybe the soul is distilled of its memory to prevent rebellion but 'quirks' and such might remain (the way he always would scratch his head a certain way or cant their head in responce to certain questions). this 'distilliation' of the soul would likly also be argued as a way to avoid people catching on that the soul is stolen. attempts to divine the original souls owner would come up clean so their would be no cause of alarm.

Even still, Warforged in eberron still have to 'learn to be' in a way. That is to say. They are a blank slate. They have enough knowledge to move and stuff like that but they dont know anything from their and have to be taught their enviorment. That is perhaps one of the most interesting things about warforged personalities as they tend to be 'simple'. At least at first, and have to grow from their. Conceptually the idea of a distilled soul (or a mixture of distilled souls peices) would serve a great foundation for how forged operate. the soul is a blank template of humanoid thought and behavior. Plug that into a construct and you have a moldable servitor thats got an advanced capability to learn.

Thats a much better idea then mine, created casually by Gnomes in Lantan. Doesn't give the same kind of history....

Ferret said:

Thats a much better idea then mine, created casually by Gnomes in Lantan. Doesn't give the same kind of history....

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Lantanese inventions is the way I was headed with it, too. I don't think there necessarily needs to be a lot of history behind the race, though, just to give one PC some background hooks to work with.

Lantan was supposed to be a human nation! Do not believe to Krynnist propaganda, the mad inventors of Lantan are human, and gnomes are the Forgotten Folk of the Forgotten Realms, they live in hills and forests, they weave illusions, and the only human god they acknowledge in their pantheon is Leira, not Gond!

Whatever happened to just being a Heman, Dwarf, Elf, 1/2 Elf, Hobbit, Gnome or 1/2 Orc. Everyone has to be some weird exotic race or weirder combination of classes...I am a half-gold dragon brownie, with 5 levels in Paladin, 3 in Ninja, 3 in half-dragon brownie paragon....I'll take a chocolate munchkin please!!!

Warforged are dumb, in my humble opinion...