How do Shifters and Changelings fit in Eberron?

[Asmor]

So today I was thinking about the races unique to Eberron, and I came upon a thought...

There are many races I have no interest in playing. Dwarves, Kalashtar, Gnomes, and others.

For the longest time, I thought shifters fell into that category. However, I've realized now that I really dislike shifters. Those other races I mentioned, I'm basically neutral on. I'd use a dwarvish or a kalashtar NPC as appropriate, and I certainly have no problem with my players playing them...

But shifters, I actively dislike. I can't imagine ever wanting to use a shifter NPC, and I'd be annoyed if a player was playing one (though I wouldn't disallow it, assuming shifters were part of my setting).

So as I thought about this, something else occurred to me. I'm still learning Eberron, and there's a lot I don't know, but shifters really don't seem to fit anywhere. For that matter, neither do changelings, though I really like changelings.

It seems to me that Changelings and Shifters could both be erased from Eberron without having to make any adjustment at all. Neither have lands of their own, neither even seem remotely tied into any of the big plot lines. Maybe there's some important shifter druid or a changeling who runs some thieves' guild, but they could just as easily be any other race.

Compare this to the Warforged and Kalashtar. Warforged are practically synonymous with Eberron, both among people who love the setting and those who hate it. Further, Warforged have a hugely important role in the plot of Eberron, not just since they were (re)invented, but practically from the dawn of time (well, the age of giants, at least).

Kalashtar are similar to warforged, though their connections to Eberron aren't as evident until you dig a little deeper. However, getting rid of the Kalashtar would require a rethink of Sarlona and the whole Quori invasion. It wouldn't necessarily be a major rewrite, and honestly you could probably get away with just turning them into plain old humans working as a resistance against the Inspired... but the point is, it requires at least a bit of thought and explanation.

So am I missing something, or are shifters and changelings really just "tack-ons?"

 

[blargney the second]

I think it's fair to say that their niche is less heavily carved than the other races in Eberron. That said, I've played both so far, and they're really quite fun to play.
-blarg

 

[Crothian]

Shifters have their own land and are tied into the history of the world pretty well. I played one and it was a lot of fun.

 

[dystmesis]

Changelings are everywhere in Eberron's history. They just were so good at what they do that nobody realized it

 

[Asmor]

Shifters have their own land and are tied into the history of the world pretty well. I played one and it was a lot of fun.

What land is that? As I said, there's still a lot about Eberron I don't know.

 

[Nifft]

I totally agree with you about Shifters. They're one of the things I just don't like. IMHO that archetype should be handled with a class or a class variant ("Shifter Barbarian" or whatnot).

Changelings are awesome. I love that they can be stealthy bastard NPCs right from CR 1 on up. Oh, and as a PC they're fine too.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Crothian]

What land is that? As I said, there's still a lot about Eberron I don't know.

The Eldeen Reaches. And they have a place in Sarlona as well.

 

[Rechan]

Here's a thread on the WotC boards on why changelings are cool.

Changelings don't have a place specifically in the history of Eberron because they're a subculture. They assimilate in their surrounding culture, rather than having one of their own.

But changelings add to the level of intrigue in Eberron. In addition, they add to a level of wonder in the setting. I've had Changelings in Sharn who are Professional Art pieces; they change appearance and clothing (via illusion) so that one minute at a party, those statues of a couple locked in a Cyran tango to two men locked in a fencing position. (Sort've like mimes, but less obnoxious). I've had a flamboyant changeling painter whose appearance changes with his mood. I've had a changeling Journalist for the Sharn Inquisitor who used his ability to do the work, all with the hidden goal of being allowed into House Medani.

Shifters are tied to Eberron's history in one way: The Purge. Lycanthropes were infesting Aundair, and going wild in mass murder. The Silver Flame sent templars and paladins to take care of it, and the lycanthropes turned the templars. The Church went Crusades on the lycanthropes.

This included killing innocent shifters in a fervor against the Lycanthropes. Shifters then either sided with the lycanthropes against the Church, and others sided with the Flame, helping the Church hunt down the shifters.

Also, I've seen one person play the Lycanthropes as being created by a Rajah related to beasts. And thus that Rajah has sway over Shifters, who were spawned from lycanthropes. Those Shifters might be subtly controlled by the slumbering Rajah to help free it.

 

[Wik]

It's funny. We started a group last week, and everyone was flipping through the books. And the first thing that happened was a fight over who got to be the Changeling (we wound up having two), and the second thing that happened was someone yelling "shotgun shifter!"

Since I axed Kalashtar (don't like psionics), they weren't an option. But our group LEAPED on the new Eberron races, and we have one warforged, two changelings, and a shifter.

So far, I've been having fun with the "odd feelings" between shifters and members of the church of the silver flame. A few have given the shifter nothing but animosity, but most seem apologetic and "Cool" - when you overdo something just to show you're not "racist".

That was fun.

(I also have a running gag where people offer the warforged employment; she's already been offered to work as a bouncer, a town guard, a caravan guard, and an expensive babysitter).

Really, though, I think Shifters are neat. the one in our group is optimized towards spot checks, and when he's shifting, due to some feats, he gets all sorts of super abilities. Which is always fun.

 

[TwinBahamut]

Shifters are pretty well set in the Eldeen Reaches, so they do have lands. I think they are interesting through the way they interact with the druidic culture of the Reaches. Also, I just think the race itself is pretty interesting (though I would prefer to have an equivalent "playable lycanthrope" race with a proper full-beast altered form).

Also, I think changelings are more interesting because they don't have a homeland. They blend in and hide within society instinctively. They pass through the layers of society invisibly, and it might be impossible to tell if a person is who he says he is, or is a changeling pretending to be a normal person. And if it is a changeling, you may never know if he is deceiving you just because he wants to blend in and be normal, or because he is pretending to be a man he killed so he can get closer to you and assassinate you.

Also, technically, there is an island populated almost entirely by changelings in the Lhazaar Principalities (Lastpoint, I think, ruled by the Gray Tides fleet), so they sort of have a land of their own.