Jürgen Hubert
First Post
There has been a lot of discussion about warforged on this board recently - some like them, and others find the whole concept silly. Well, here are my two cents.
I like warforged. Not for their powers, but for what they represent - a player character race that is entirely different from the usual races.
Most non-human PC races are just "humans in funny suits". Elves, dwarves, orcs, and so on - they might have different societies and cultures and different strengths and weaknesses, but they still are more similar to humans than not. They still desire to eat, procreate, take care of their young and engage in all those activities that animals raised to sapience do. They are all not that different from us, really.
But warforged are different. They don't eat, they can't procreate, they essentially live forever unless destroyed. They simply don't have the same instinctual urges as humanity - unlike almost every other sapient species out there.
So what, in fact, should drive their behavior? The warforged themselves don't know. Many only have their military training to go on and simply fall into the same patterns they are used to because they can't think of anything else. But others try to pursue their destiny in their own ways, whether creating a new warforged homeland, attempting to create new warforges by gaining control over a creation forge, finding a place in human society, or even become genuine living beings themselves. But all of these attempts are driven by philosophy and their intellect, not any innate drive. Humans will procreate and form societies because that's innate to their very nature. Some warforged attempt to do the same because they have seen humanity do it and are willing to give it a try if it gives them a sense of purpose.
Thus, to me warforged are a far more interesting playable race than just the latest Humanoid Variant With Funny Ears. They require an entirely new approach to play, and are often far more intellectually and philosophically challenging than playing members of any other race.
In fact, what they remind me of are some of the possible player character types of the SF RPG Transhuman Space. In it, humanity has encountered no alien sapient species... but it has created a large variety of new ones, from simle genetic modifications of ordinary humans to uplifted sapient animals, intelligent biological constructs, software personality emulations of dead people, and sapient artificial intelligences. The struggle of these beings to find their place in society is a large part of what makes this setting so interesting and philosophical stimulating.
And kudos for Keith Baker for trying something similar in a fantasy setting.
I like warforged. Not for their powers, but for what they represent - a player character race that is entirely different from the usual races.
Most non-human PC races are just "humans in funny suits". Elves, dwarves, orcs, and so on - they might have different societies and cultures and different strengths and weaknesses, but they still are more similar to humans than not. They still desire to eat, procreate, take care of their young and engage in all those activities that animals raised to sapience do. They are all not that different from us, really.
But warforged are different. They don't eat, they can't procreate, they essentially live forever unless destroyed. They simply don't have the same instinctual urges as humanity - unlike almost every other sapient species out there.
So what, in fact, should drive their behavior? The warforged themselves don't know. Many only have their military training to go on and simply fall into the same patterns they are used to because they can't think of anything else. But others try to pursue their destiny in their own ways, whether creating a new warforged homeland, attempting to create new warforges by gaining control over a creation forge, finding a place in human society, or even become genuine living beings themselves. But all of these attempts are driven by philosophy and their intellect, not any innate drive. Humans will procreate and form societies because that's innate to their very nature. Some warforged attempt to do the same because they have seen humanity do it and are willing to give it a try if it gives them a sense of purpose.
Thus, to me warforged are a far more interesting playable race than just the latest Humanoid Variant With Funny Ears. They require an entirely new approach to play, and are often far more intellectually and philosophically challenging than playing members of any other race.
In fact, what they remind me of are some of the possible player character types of the SF RPG Transhuman Space. In it, humanity has encountered no alien sapient species... but it has created a large variety of new ones, from simle genetic modifications of ordinary humans to uplifted sapient animals, intelligent biological constructs, software personality emulations of dead people, and sapient artificial intelligences. The struggle of these beings to find their place in society is a large part of what makes this setting so interesting and philosophical stimulating.
And kudos for Keith Baker for trying something similar in a fantasy setting.
