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<blockquote data-quote="Redthistle" data-source="post: 7003714" data-attributes="member: 6778305"><p><em>This one came about by way of the recent Unearthed Arcana piece on the Artificer class; from threads on EN World by [MENTION=6855057]QuietBrowser[/MENTION]'s and [MENTION=6762655]transcendantviewer[/MENTION]'s individual takes on the Warforged race; from a "History of the Nentir Vale" document compiled by an unnamed fan of the game (the document simply credited WoTC as the source for all of the information); from the 13th Age/(Pathfinder) supplement "Midgard Heroes for 5th Edition"; and, finally, from a 13th Age game in which I am playing (the backstory below does not come from that game).</em></p><p></p><p><strong><u>Fumor's Backstory</u></strong>:</p><p></p><p>I'm an invention that invents things. That's the way I see it, anyway. Other "warforged", and I use that term advisedly, were simply devised for other purposes.</p><p></p><p>Granted, I can hold my own in a fight, but I simply do not view myself as being any kind of militant engine.</p><p></p><p>About being a warforged: I am built on that general chassis, for which I'm grateful. Of all the various living constructs that currently exist, it's the closest to evolved life, in that we are substantially organic.</p><p> </p><p>There is another type, the "gearforged", that are fully metallic in all their parts. All they know, all their thoughts and memories, are encoded as pinpricks on long metal ribbons winding about within their forms. New thoughts, new memories, new experiences, new knowledge: all those are added to those long, fragile strips. The body of a gearforged is designed for multiple ribbons that interact quickly with each other, and room for additional ribbons exists within them, should there be a need.</p><p></p><p>Those tapes, their very identities, can be removed and replaced by someone else’s. I’ve heard a terrifying tale of a gearforged paladin whose tapes were replaced with a killer’s, allowing the assassin to easily gain access to its target. The tapes were then switched out again with the paladin none-the-wiser until he was confronted with the crime.</p><p> </p><p>The very idea of that horrifies me. </p><p></p><p>The possibility of being possessed by another is a distressing thing for any sentient being, but for it to be performed in such a cold-blooded manner, to be made a puppet to such wickedness ... the emotional heart of me goes out to that poor paladin.</p><p></p><p>Still, it leaves me uneasy whenever I meet with any gearforged I have met before - is the face I see before me really the same gearforged I know, or has it been replaced by some malignant actor?</p><p></p><p>Other significant differences exist between warforged and gearforged. Primary among them, to most ways of thinking, is that the former were created using souls, almost always stolen, from the victims of violent death, and usually through the means of a profane religious sacrifice. Although buried within our souls may be a link to the memories of the lives we lived before, we warforged do not have any way of recalling them. We may pass people we once knew every day without knowing it, and neither we nor they have any clue as to who we once were in each others‘ lives. For some of us, that is a source of great sorrow, but many warforged just accept that it’s something we can do nothing about.</p><p></p><p>Many kingdoms and religions view the act of creating a warforged, therefore, as being morally atrocious, and have banned its practice. Although warforged can live long lives, our numbers dwindle each time one of us dies. The day will likely come when there will be no more warforged. Our bodies simply carry our souls, which are held back from moving on by the nature of our creation.</p><p></p><p>Gearforged, on the other hand, are unlikely to have souls at all, at least from my perspective. Can a device, however complex, even hold a soul? They’re a privilege of the wealthy, as the process of their crafting requires a great expenditure for the materials, skills, and magic needed to transform everything contained in a given creature’s brain into those pinpricked holes in alloyed metal.</p><p> </p><p>It’s like becoming a lich without getting your hands dirty or leaving yourself at risk of inevitable madness.</p><p></p><p>Perhaps I’m being unfair. Maybe it’s just my envy of those who can remember who they were before.</p><p> </p><p>Is it really so simple? That gearforged have memories, but no souls, while warforged have souls without memories?</p><p> </p><p>How can it be true, if the world can contain a gearforged paladin? </p><p></p><p> ... I cannot imagine a paladin who does not have a soul ...</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Redthistle, post: 7003714, member: 6778305"] [I]This one came about by way of the recent Unearthed Arcana piece on the Artificer class; from threads on EN World by [MENTION=6855057]QuietBrowser[/MENTION]'s and [MENTION=6762655]transcendantviewer[/MENTION]'s individual takes on the Warforged race; from a "History of the Nentir Vale" document compiled by an unnamed fan of the game (the document simply credited WoTC as the source for all of the information); from the 13th Age/(Pathfinder) supplement "Midgard Heroes for 5th Edition"; and, finally, from a 13th Age game in which I am playing (the backstory below does not come from that game).[/I] [B][U]Fumor's Backstory[/U][/B]: I'm an invention that invents things. That's the way I see it, anyway. Other "warforged", and I use that term advisedly, were simply devised for other purposes. Granted, I can hold my own in a fight, but I simply do not view myself as being any kind of militant engine. About being a warforged: I am built on that general chassis, for which I'm grateful. Of all the various living constructs that currently exist, it's the closest to evolved life, in that we are substantially organic. There is another type, the "gearforged", that are fully metallic in all their parts. All they know, all their thoughts and memories, are encoded as pinpricks on long metal ribbons winding about within their forms. New thoughts, new memories, new experiences, new knowledge: all those are added to those long, fragile strips. The body of a gearforged is designed for multiple ribbons that interact quickly with each other, and room for additional ribbons exists within them, should there be a need. Those tapes, their very identities, can be removed and replaced by someone else’s. I’ve heard a terrifying tale of a gearforged paladin whose tapes were replaced with a killer’s, allowing the assassin to easily gain access to its target. The tapes were then switched out again with the paladin none-the-wiser until he was confronted with the crime. The very idea of that horrifies me. The possibility of being possessed by another is a distressing thing for any sentient being, but for it to be performed in such a cold-blooded manner, to be made a puppet to such wickedness ... the emotional heart of me goes out to that poor paladin. Still, it leaves me uneasy whenever I meet with any gearforged I have met before - is the face I see before me really the same gearforged I know, or has it been replaced by some malignant actor? Other significant differences exist between warforged and gearforged. Primary among them, to most ways of thinking, is that the former were created using souls, almost always stolen, from the victims of violent death, and usually through the means of a profane religious sacrifice. Although buried within our souls may be a link to the memories of the lives we lived before, we warforged do not have any way of recalling them. We may pass people we once knew every day without knowing it, and neither we nor they have any clue as to who we once were in each others‘ lives. For some of us, that is a source of great sorrow, but many warforged just accept that it’s something we can do nothing about. Many kingdoms and religions view the act of creating a warforged, therefore, as being morally atrocious, and have banned its practice. Although warforged can live long lives, our numbers dwindle each time one of us dies. The day will likely come when there will be no more warforged. Our bodies simply carry our souls, which are held back from moving on by the nature of our creation. Gearforged, on the other hand, are unlikely to have souls at all, at least from my perspective. Can a device, however complex, even hold a soul? They’re a privilege of the wealthy, as the process of their crafting requires a great expenditure for the materials, skills, and magic needed to transform everything contained in a given creature’s brain into those pinpricked holes in alloyed metal. It’s like becoming a lich without getting your hands dirty or leaving yourself at risk of inevitable madness. Perhaps I’m being unfair. Maybe it’s just my envy of those who can remember who they were before. Is it really so simple? That gearforged have memories, but no souls, while warforged have souls without memories? How can it be true, if the world can contain a gearforged paladin? ... I cannot imagine a paladin who does not have a soul ... [/QUOTE]
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