What do you think of the Eberron-specific races?

[engrishonly]

I always liked the Changelings, especially their worship of the Traveller (since he's one of the "bad" deities, even if alignment is more fuzzy in Eberron). It's good to have the zealot's faith with the Silver Flame, and then more regular good-guy Cleric stuff with the other deities, but something about the Changelings' faith seems cool to me. If there's more story in the Races of Eberron book, maybe I'll get that one next.

The Warforged are interesting just because sex/procreation doesn't drive them like it does with meatbag races. It's because they are more alien as constructs that makes them interesting from a story perspective. The other crap can be futzed around with, just like the damned Spiked Chain juggernauts... and I usually remind the crazy dudes that try to make Warforged into unstoppable killing machines that Warforged are gender-neutral, which usually takes some wind out of that type of player's sails (yay I win teh intarnets). I like the gender neutrality of Warforged, from a character concept.

Shifters... they seem okay, but only in relation to how Lycanthropes got hunted down by zealots who hated them. Otherwise, I'm not into the Furry thing

Kalashtar always seemed like the weakest to me, probably because I don't have all the Psionics stuff... but they are beginning to grow on me, mainly because they are more otherworldly than other fleshy races.

 

[shaylon]

I love the idea of Changelings. I also think Shifters are pretty cool. I could do without the Warforged, it is an interesting idea but not really my thing.

-Shay

 

[Quickbeam]

Overall, I genuinely like them. Specifically, I enjoy the warforged and changeling concepts the most. The shifter is alright, but not quite what I was hoping for when I began reading about the race. And finally, I'm ambivalent towards the Kalashtar. Their history and natural flavor are a bit too bizarre for my personal tastes. But variety is the spice of life right?

 

[Acid_crash]

I like them all and my personal favorite are the Shifters, in concept at least. What I happen to have a difficulty with is how the only way they can increase their shifting abilities is to take racial feats. I'd rather have it work more like they have it in Arcana Evolved with racial class levels, or the Paragon classes in Unearthed Arcana for bonus shifting powers, instead of just feats.

Still, in concept they are pretty darn cool.

I made a character using a Shifter Totemist. The Shifter trait was the one that allowed him to grow bat wings and fly for a few rounds. Combine that with the Totemist powers it makes for one cool combination. Never have played him, though.

I also think they get shafter, like Half-Orcs, in their racial modifiers.

As for the rest of the races, I like them all. They each add something different to the game, something unique the other core races lack.

 

[Banshee16]

I think the only one I don't like is the warforged. I really think the changelings are cool....I've got this idea I keep playing with of a changeling secret agent type, kind of inspired by Jason Bourne. He even uses disguises etc. and the PCs think he's a human agent, until at some point, he actually shifts, and it's revealed that he's not even human. Fighter/Rogue/Monk type character.

Kalashtar I found really bland at first. The chapter in Races of Eberron about them totally changed my mind though. Very mystical, and very cool.

The shifters can be neat. A little goofy, and I wish that shifting ability lasted longer, but pretty cool. I'd say they're my third preferred now.

Banshee

 

[HeapThaumaturgist]

I like the flavor of pretty much all of them.

I don't like the Warforged from a mechanical PoV. I can't find a reason NOT to play one. I'd not before encountered a reason to play a caster using a race that takes a hit to their primary casting stat, but with Warforged it's always worth it.

Rogues, Wizards, Sorcs. Gods forfend against the Warforged Artificer.

At low levels they're immune to pretty much all of the things that make casters and rogues useful. As an above poster said, why have a rogue if you can just have the Warforged take the poison dart in the eye and wave everybody through?

At higher levels, well, there goes worrying about Freedom of Movement so the whole party doesn't get nuked by Blasphemy, I guess. "Your feeble words have no effect on me, meatbag." And doesn't immunity to Energy Drain leave you immune to Enervation, bane of spellcasters everywhere? Yea, sign me up for two scoops of that.

What's sad is I like the FLAVOR behind them so much, but the rules of the game mean the logical conclusions of playing a "construct" hand waive just about everything in the game other than taking damage and Con damage. Whoopee.

--fje

 

[Plane Sailing]

I love the Kalashtar - backstory and everything. Beats the XPH races into a cocked hat for interest IMO. Nice to see a race with no ability mods too.

I really like the Changelings - so much roleplay potential there (although I didn't find their treatment in races of eberron inspiring)

Warforged I really like, although there was one change I made - vulnerable to energy drain. If you've got a CON and got a Soul, you are vulnerable to energy drain in my worlds!

Shifters I'm pretty 'Meh' about. They seemed to get much more love than anyone else in the Races of Eberron book, but I can't get that carried away with them. Probably my least favourite of the races.

 

[Kid Socrates]

Shifters are a little too animalistic for me. Just not my bag. I agree that to get any real flavor or cool stuff about the race, you need feats, and that's odd to me -- there aren't any halfling feats or dwarven feats to improve THEIR racial abilities.

Warforged are neat. I like warforged a lot. Except how they're presented in Races of Eberron. The whole blades-of-grass thing. I think a warforged cleric or paladin would be incredibly neat, or at least for flavor -- a warforged cleric pacing around the Church of the Silver Flame, having deep philisophical conversations with every shift of clerics working, dropping it when they go to bed and starting on the other shift.

Kalashtar, same thing. I didn't like them until I read Races of Eberron, and I believe my reaction was a constant "Oooooooooh."

Changelings -- my problem with changelings AS PRESENTED BY RACES OF EBERRON. (emphasized because I don't think the core book goes into what this extra book did.)

Changelings are presented as a race without identity, and therein lies their identity. The problem with that statement is that it is gibberish. They have no real features themselves, and they constantly can change into another person or change their identity, at -any- time. What personality do they have? Someone else's. What is their purpose? Being someone else. I can't identify with them as a player -- it would be a huge role-playing challenge for me. As a DM, I'd rather not run a game where it's painfully easy to change who you are at any time.

Now, as villains, I think they could be remarkably effective -- but I'd prefer they have limits on that Insta-Disguise! ability.

They're all very distinctive. I like that -- they really add to the setting.

 

[ForceUser]

Changelings are presented as a race without identity, and therein lies their identity. The problem with that statement is that it is gibberish. They have no real features themselves, and they constantly can change into another person or change their identity, at -any- time. What personality do they have? Someone else's. What is their purpose? Being someone else. I can't identify with them as a player -- it would be a huge role-playing challenge for me. As a DM, I'd rather not run a game where it's painfully easy to change who you are at any time.

This is actually the trait that I find compelling about changelings. What would it be like to live one's life without a core sense of self-identity? For inspiration, turn to characters such as Jason Bourne and Tom Ripley (by pure coincidence, both were portrayed by Matt Damon on the big screen). As a player this appeals to me immensely, because in a sense, role-playing such a PC would allow me to "DM" while playing in someone else's game.

One of my favorite things to do as a DM is to assume the roles of the various NPCs, and I get great satisfaction by portraying them as unique individuals who are distinct from other NPCs. Normally as a player I'm limited to a single identity, but if I were playing a changeling, then I'd get to act like a DM by constantly being able to assume a new demeanor and appearance whenever dramatically appropriate. How refreshing! Even better, I could choose recurring personas with which to interact with the other PCs--for the party fighter, perhaps I am a demure damsel or stalwart "veteran". For the wizard, a sage-like peer. For the cleric, I choose to portray an earnest supplicant, and for the party rogue, I'm a scoundrel and partner-in-crime. For each recurring NPC that I meet, I can adopt a persona that best facilitates interaction with him. The possibilities for role-playing are enormous, especially when the personalities begin to conflict. What happens when the rogue expects his partner-in-crime to back him up in a "trade negotiation," but the changeling has adopted a persona pleasing to the crime boss with whom they are dealing--and that persona is a fawning synchophant?

Man, I'd have some fun with that.

 

[Kid Socrates]

This is actually the trait that I find compelling about changelings. What would it be like to live one's life without a core sense of self-identity? For inspiration, turn to characters such as Jason Bourne and Tom Ripley (by pure coincidence, both were portrayed by Matt Damon on the big screen). As a player this appeals to me immensely, because in a sense, role-playing such a PC would allow me to "DM" while playing in someone else's game.

One of my favorite things to do as a DM is to assume the roles of the various NPCs, and I get great satisfaction by portraying them as unique individuals who are distinct from other NPCs. Normally as a player I'm limited to a single identity, but if I were playing a changeling, then I'd get to act like a DM by constantly being able to assume a new demeanor and appearance whenever dramatically appropriate. How refreshing! Even better, I could choose recurring personas with which to interact with the other PCs--for the party fighter, perhaps I am a demure damsel or stalwart "veteran". For the wizard, a sage-like peer. For the cleric, I choose to portray an earnest supplicant, and for the party rogue, I'm a scoundrel and partner-in-crime. For each recurring NPCs that I meet, I can adopt a persona that best facilitates interaction with him. The possibilities for role-playing are enormous, especially when the personalities begin to conflict. What happens when the ropgue expects his partner-in-crime to back him up in a "trade negotiation" when the changeling has adopted a persona pleasing to the crime boss--and that persona is a fawning synchophant?

Man, I'd have some fun with that.

That seems like it could get really schizophrenic, though -- never having something to fall back on. Yes, those are the personas, but does the changeling even HAVE a real identity, a real personality? Are they more than just a collection of illusions?

It's a fascinating concept, isn't it? I just can't get a handle on them -- and maybe that's the point of the race.