D&D (2024) You Can Now Pre-order Eberron: Forge of the Artificer

Pre-orders for the upcoming setting book have gone live. Eberron: Forge of the Artificer comes out on August 19th. The book contains the new 2024/5 edition Artificer class with 5 subclasses, the Warforged species, a ton of backgrounds and feats, and 20 new monsters.

​

Forge wonders in the world of Eberron, where magic meets marvelous inventions.

Play as the Artificer: the ultimate creative class. You’re not just an inventor or spellcaster. You're an innovator, a bold-hearted visionary, fusing together magic and technology to craft extraordinary creations.

Fuel your adventures with this rules expansion for Dungeons & Dragons:

• 4 revised Artificer subclasses and 1 new subclass: the Cartographer
• 5 revised species, 17 backgrounds, and 28 feats
• New spells, bastions, and magic items
• 3 distinct, genre-based campaign templates for building fantasy noir, political thriller, and pulp adventure campaigns in the world of Eberron
• Over 20 new monsters, each inspired by a campaign model

​

 

[Von Ether]

The cover art warforged is the only warforged we've seen from the new book right?

So we're assuming that the one single example is now the representative of all warforged rather than being an individual?

The examples we have of mechanical looking beings so far are below. The first one is more likely the "Iron Man" artificer.

The others could be a steel defenders or not. If they are steel defenders then the Warforged have been strangely absent in the marketing for this Eberron product. In the second to last picture, that would also put two steel defenders in the picture.:

https://www.enworld.org/data/xcu_event_banner/0/38.jpg?1738073918

https://www.enworld.org/attachments/crab-temple-jpg.404792/

https://www.enworld.org/attachments/eberron-forge-of-the-artificer-physical-02-webp.404974/

Thread 'Eberron: Forge of the Artificer Alternate Cover Revealed'

May 9, 2025

Wizards of the Coast has revealed the alternate cover to Eberron: Forge of the Artificer. The new cover, seen below, was first seen on ICv2. The cover shows an Artificer creating a metal construct, which may or may not be a Warforged. We'll note that, generally speaking, the average Artificer doesn't have the capabilities to create a sentient Warforged, as they were created by House Cannith via special Creation Forges. Unless there's a radical change to Eberron lore, it's more likely that this construct is a less sophisticated cration of some kind. The...

• Christian Hoffer
• Replies: 31
• Forum: *Dungeons & Dragons

• 

 

[WanderingMystic]

The second two are indeed warforged. The middle picture has a backpack and other trappings that show them as actual pcs.
The thrid picture is investigating a death, which no one would do for a steel defender.

 

[pukunui]

The second two are indeed warforged. The middle picture has a backpack and other trappings that show them as actual pcs.
The thrid picture is investigating a death, which no one would do for a steel defender.

Yeah, I think what we're seeing is a new take on warforged - not man-shaped steel defenders. I suspect they are either changing the lore around the creation of warforged or else they just gave their artists free rein to invoke the vibe of the setting, and a bunch of them chose to show warforged being created by artificers in their labs without realizing that's not supposed to be possible in the setting itself. (This would hardly be the first time an artist "gets it wrong".)

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Yeah, I think what we're seeing is a new take on warforged - not man-shaped steel defenders. I suspect they are either changing the lore around the creation of warforged or else they just gave their artists free rein to invoke the vibe of the setting, and a bunch of them chose to show warforged being created by artificers in their labs without realizing that's not supposed to be possible in the setting itself. (This would hardly be the first time an artist "gets it wrong".)

The lore for warforged is they have a wide range of different appearances, tailored to function. I.e. the lore states (and always has done) that there is no canon warforged look.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

I can understand warforged created during the war had got a face more like a mask or a helm but ones created later would have got a more "artistic" human-like face.

Ups! Sorry, wrong franchise. What would be I thinking about!?

Could a warforged to use four arms like she had the magic item "naga's arms" (Savage Species 3rd ed)? (I don't say it with intention to terminate jedis!)

Now I am thinking if there are shifters and the subrace of saurian shifters... why not a new subrace based in werevermins? These were almost canon in 3.5 internet web. It may sounds weird but not more than the insectares from Spelljammer. (Surely somebody will want a waifu monster girl like this).

How would be an "almost reverse isekai" where Eberron discover a parallel universe style noirpunk+atompunk like New Capena?

 

[pukunui]

The lore for warforged is they have a wide range of different appearances, tailored to function. I.e. the lore states (and always has done) that there is no canon warforged look.

While I like the uniform look for warforged that all official Eberron art up till now has used, that’s not the real issue.

The real issue is the potential change to established lore about the creation of warforged. Canonically, only House Cannith artificers using a creation forge can make new warforged, and they’ve been officially banned from doing so by the Treaty of Thronehold. (Which is why Merrix is doing it in secret in the bowels of Sharn, and why there are theories that the Lord of Blades was once a Cannith dragonmarked heir or something.)

This new art makes it look like WotC is saying that any old artificer can create a new warforged in their own workshop. I certainly hope that isn’t the case because that would make for a MAJOR change to the setting lore.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

can understand warforged created during the war had got a face more like a mask or a helm but ones created later would have got a more "artistic" human-like face

In theory, there are no warforged created after the war. However they can freely change their outer casings. Want a different face? Go down the workshop and make yourself one.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

While I like the uniform look for warforged that all official Eberron art up till now has used, that’s not the real issue.

The real issue is the potential change to established lore about the creation of warforged. Canonically, only House Cannith artificers using a creation forge can make new warforged, and they’ve been officially banned from doing so by the Treaty of Thronehold. (Which is why Merrix is doing it in secret in the bowels of Sharn, and why there are theories that the Lord of Blades was once a Cannith dragonmarked heir or something.)

This new art makes it look like WotC is saying that any old artificer can create a new warforged in their own workshop. I certainly hope that isn’t the case because that would make for a MAJOR change to the setting lore.

It was always possible to create more warforged. It was just illegal. The guy on the cover doesn’t look like the kind of person who cares about breaking international treaties.

Also see, real world human cloning.

 

[pukunui]

It was always possible to create more warforged.

If you have a creation forge, which is a rare eldritch machine that only artificers with the Mark of Making can use.

You can bet House Cannith isn’t going to share their warforged creation secrets with just anyone.

 

[Parmandur]

If you have a creation forge, which is a rare eldritch machine that only artificers with the Mark of Making can use.

You can bet House Cannith isn’t going to share their warforged creation secrets with just anyone.

Could this be a depiction of a creation forge...?