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On the origin of species: Warforged
- Thread starter Asmor
- Start date
Ooooorrrrrr the equivalent of a student's first forays into engineering or perhaps grad level final projects.
Plane Sailing
Astral Admin - Mwahahaha!
Perhaps a couple of years ago a magically inclined nation discovered how to make "Creation Forges" and create the living constructs known as warforged. Excellent workers, splendid soldiers, all that could be wanted.
Except... souls have to come from somewhere. That nation was plagued with more and more stillborn children, until eventually it became obvious - the Creation Forges placed living souls in the new warforged that were stolen from unborn children...
Whether there was mass hysteria and mobs with flaming torches, or a ruler who acted quickly to prevent others finding out about the problem, the Creation Forges were shut down immediately (whichever route is chosen would colour the way in which everyone views warforged in the campaign).
Now creation forges sit idle, locked away and mothballed; never to be used again. Unless perhaps, a threat of war so great that a nation would sacrifice its unborn to create more warforged...
Except... souls have to come from somewhere. That nation was plagued with more and more stillborn children, until eventually it became obvious - the Creation Forges placed living souls in the new warforged that were stolen from unborn children...
Whether there was mass hysteria and mobs with flaming torches, or a ruler who acted quickly to prevent others finding out about the problem, the Creation Forges were shut down immediately (whichever route is chosen would colour the way in which everyone views warforged in the campaign).
Now creation forges sit idle, locked away and mothballed; never to be used again. Unless perhaps, a threat of war so great that a nation would sacrifice its unborn to create more warforged...
atom crash
First Post
In my campaign, the panzergeist are the result of gnomish experiments into creating automated soldiers in order to reclaim their lost homeland. These early experiments met with only limited success until a secret Nazi-inspired magitech military organization co-opted the research for its super-soldier program. This organization found a way to power the armored shells with the souls of fallen soldiers stored in crystals in order to bolster the ranks of their armies.
The process of capturing the soul in the crystal and installing it into the armored shell allows it to retain its training and discipline but strips most its personality and memories, creating in effect a blank slate that can develop new personality and memories.
Squads of necromancers have been seen recently combing battlefields after a skirmish, looking for new recruits. They've been seen to dispatch dying soldiers before the combat medics can arrive, and they're recruiting from both sides. Soldiers don't know what they're doing, tending to the dead and dying while carrying large earthen pots covered with arcane symbols and strange crystals, but they know it can't be good.
Granted, IMC, the panzergeist are a new development about to be unleashed onto unsuspecting armies upon battlefields across the world and are not yet an option available to PCs. But once the timeline advances a few years or so, anything is possible.
The process of capturing the soul in the crystal and installing it into the armored shell allows it to retain its training and discipline but strips most its personality and memories, creating in effect a blank slate that can develop new personality and memories.
Squads of necromancers have been seen recently combing battlefields after a skirmish, looking for new recruits. They've been seen to dispatch dying soldiers before the combat medics can arrive, and they're recruiting from both sides. Soldiers don't know what they're doing, tending to the dead and dying while carrying large earthen pots covered with arcane symbols and strange crystals, but they know it can't be good.
Granted, IMC, the panzergeist are a new development about to be unleashed onto unsuspecting armies upon battlefields across the world and are not yet an option available to PCs. But once the timeline advances a few years or so, anything is possible.
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DaveyJones
First Post
a mechanical race has been a part of D&D from the beginning. booklet 3 (1974) included some.
it isn't hard to envision them as a magical experiment gone awry. or beings from another plane (mechanus or something similar) or invaders from space. Expedition from the Barrier Peaks did this without much trouble.
or the servants of a race long dead and now uncovered by adventurers.
it isn't hard to envision them as a magical experiment gone awry. or beings from another plane (mechanus or something similar) or invaders from space. Expedition from the Barrier Peaks did this without much trouble.
or the servants of a race long dead and now uncovered by adventurers.
Rolzup
First Post
The Malekite church is a relatively young one -- it's been less than 20 years since their god, the wizard/blacksmith Malek, achieved apotheosis. But despite its youth, this sect has grown to be one of the wealthiest and most powerful in the land...thanks largely to a particular ritual, known only as the Sacrement of Steel.
The Sacrement takes the soul of a recently deceased Malekite and places it into a specially prepared and expertly crafted artifical body. This "soulforged" awakens upon the conclusion of the ritual, with full memories of his previous life...although according to doctrine, he has been reborn and must renounce all ties to his former life.
The Souldforged is bound to the service of the church for one full year after his rebirth, after which time his will becomes entirely his own....
(The Sacrement is a 4th level spell, exclusive to the Malekite domain, that takes an hour or so to cast. The promise of apparently eternal life, along with discarding the mortal weaknesses of age, disease, and fatigue, would doubtless attract a LOT of people. And even if they are only bound to service for a year, that's a year of a VERY useful servant....)
The Sacrement takes the soul of a recently deceased Malekite and places it into a specially prepared and expertly crafted artifical body. This "soulforged" awakens upon the conclusion of the ritual, with full memories of his previous life...although according to doctrine, he has been reborn and must renounce all ties to his former life.
The Souldforged is bound to the service of the church for one full year after his rebirth, after which time his will becomes entirely his own....
(The Sacrement is a 4th level spell, exclusive to the Malekite domain, that takes an hour or so to cast. The promise of apparently eternal life, along with discarding the mortal weaknesses of age, disease, and fatigue, would doubtless attract a LOT of people. And even if they are only bound to service for a year, that's a year of a VERY useful servant....)
