Warforged vs. Ironborn

[Tetsubo]

Now that both Eberron and The Book of Iron Might have been out for a bit, how do you think these two races compare?

I think the Ironborn are a far better design. The Warforged were made for battle, hence their name. But frankly they don't seem to be well suited to the task. It would have been cheaper and easier to hire on some Orcs (or other martial race). The limitations that the Warforge have hamper them severely in the role-playing department.

The Ironborn on the other hand can be tailored to any role-playing need. No class is disallowed to them. They can have stat bonuses like the tradition races or forgo them completely. They can choose different "builds" that allow a great deal of flexibility. You can't have as many Ironborn, only one per creator, but they are just so much more versatile.

What do others think?

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

I don't know anything about the Ironborn.

But what do you think hampers the Warforged in the role-playing department?

 

[reanjr]

I don't have to think twice. Unless it's an Eberron campaign, Ironborn hands down. But the Warforged are definitely appropriate for Eberron where they belong (and should have stayed, along with the half-dopplegangers, half-lycanthropes, and that other race that they decided to make core in MMIII).

Their similarities are striking, but where they differ, to me, the Ironborn shine. The Ironborn racial abilities and the flexibility with creating a character are awesome. I'm not so sure their back story would drop into just any campaign, a DM can easily change this.

 

[Berandor]

The ironborn left me a little cold at first, because there is no "unifying character concept". But they grew on me, and of course if I were to built a mechanical servant for some task, I'd make sure to give him the abilities needed for that task.

So now, I really like them.

Warforged didn't grip me right away when I read them, but that's some time ago. Ironborn, to me.

 

[Gez]

The Kalashtars are not in the MM3. Only warforged, shifter, and changelings.

(BTW, shifters and changelings aren't halfbreeds, they're rather like planetouched, distant offshoots of halfbreeds that now breed true.)

 

[Desdichado]

[slight hijack] Warforged probably should have stayed in Eberron, but what's wrong with shifters and changelings? I can easily see a place for them in any D&D campaign.

 

[Psion]

[slight hijack] Warforged probably should have stayed in Eberron, but what's wrong with shifters and changelings?

Speaking for myself, I have always had difficulty with the apparent default 3e philosophy that "everything mixes with human."

Even inasmuch as you accept that, it seems to me that natural lycanthropy is traditionally considered to be, by nature, all or nothing. I find the idea of half-lycanthropes almost nonsensical.

 

[Campbell]

I don't have to think twice. Unless it's an Eberron campaign, Ironborn hands down. But the Warforged are definitely appropriate for Eberron where they belong (and should have stayed, along with the half-dopplegangers, half-lycanthropes, and that other race that they decided to make core in MMIII).

I'm just not seeing how by doing a writeup of the Eberron races in MMIII these races are made part of the core. MMIII is an optional book, and like any other optional book, you don't have to allow anything that's included into your games. The game police will not revoke your roleplaying priveleges for having badwrong fun.

 

[JoeGKushner]

A lot of people keep mentioning how customizable the ironborn are. Have you checked out Phil Reed's article on his version? It's been a while... Construct Machinus? It's been a while since I busted my copy out, but it has two basic types and you build from there. It has it's own customized classes too. Of course the artwork of Christopher Shy is also a good thing... Let's see. where's my review...

My Review

Other Reviews

I keep mentioning it because people keep pointing to the ironborn like it's some brand spanking new concept. "I can customize my character? I'm a construct! Awesome!" It's a good idea but it has been done before.

Does anyone know if Phil updated this to 3.5? Maybe worked on lowering the ELC a little?

 

[Berandor]

But Ironborn is an ECL +0 race, and can be Large, Medium, Small. Isn't that a novel concept?