What do you think of the Eberron-specific races?

[ForceUser]

The top three changeling NPC professions, IMO, would be

1. Prostitute
2. Diplomat
3. Spy

For inspiration on changelings, read Clive Barker's Imajica.

 

[ForceUser]

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.

You're right--it is fascinating. And I agree that schizophrenia is probably the most common form of mental illness among changelings. So common, in fact, that when I run changelings IMC they will, as a group, be acutely aware of the dangers. Perhaps, like the warforged, changelings struggle with issues of identity; while the warforged wrangle with finding an external identity within societies that fear them, the changelings wrestle with an internal search for identity. Luckily for them, they cannot be truly blank slates, because they have grown up within a culture and are thus socialized within that culture. Likewise, they have parents, and those parents will have instilled some societal norms within them. Both of these things help to shape one's self-identity. The problem is likely that as they assume more and more personas, they distance themselves more and more from their original identity, confusing who they are with who they pretend to be. Perhaps among changelings, quests of the rediscovery of self are synonymous with the search for enlightenment. Surely there is no better goal for a changeling than to keep firmly in mind who she really is. This can even lead to stratification within changeling subculture, as those who are firmly aware of self feel pity for--or scorn--those who are lost in a sea of personalities. Again, the role-playing possibilities are enormous.

As an aside, I have decided that IMC, changelings (and doppelgangers) are true hermaphrodites, possessing a unique sex organ that is both male and female (again, refer to Barker's Imajica for more on this). This makes for a uniquely homogenous and egalitarian subculture without truly distinct gender roles--which unnerves society at large. Thus, changelings cannot be who they truly are among society at large and are forced to assume identities pleasing to the members of the dominant culture. This, in turn, exacerbates their problems with identity.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

And I agree that schizophrenia is probably the most common form of mental illness among changelings.

Which brings up another point touched on in a quasi-recent thread about the interaction of "real world" insanity and D&D insanity.

I think the question raised then was whether or not someone who was insane was Lawful or Chaotic or Neutral. I pointed out - and some others agreed - that maybe our own definitions of the causes of real-world mental problems would not necessarily be the same in a fantasy world, and that real-world mental diseases might not even be present. For instance, what we call OCD in the real world might, in a fantasy milieu, be caused by the person's soul being tainted (blessed?) by Lawful influences - the person is "touched by Law." Thus, you can avoid all the interpersonal issues that having real-world diseases might cause while still having useful hooks.

So, where am I going with this?

Well, for modern day humans, having multiple personalities swimming around inside your head (actually multiple personality disorder or dissociative identity disorder, and not schizophrenia) is considered a pretty serious mental illness.

Why would changelings necessarily think that? Perhaps those changelings who are so capable of switching into and out of their various characters are actually revered among their kind as being the epitome of changeling evolution. The ability to not only wear another's skin but their mind - and perhaps their soul, as well - is a gift, not a curse.

 

[Desdichado]

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?

They can have one, especially if you take a errr... darker alignment. My changeling character started as a half-elf dancer in what was essentially a saloon in a Old West style frontier town. The other characters didn't (actually still don't, come to think of it) know that "she" is a changeling. He's doing the Some Like it Hot hiding out from the mob-bosses by disguising himself as a woman.

In actuality, he's a huckster and wanna-be Don Juan who used his shape-changing abilities to get himself in bed with all kinds of beautiful, glamorous and famous women in Greyhawk. When he was discovered with the mistress of a big-time crime lord, he had to run for it.

Overcompensation for his essential lack of self-esteem and a strong sense of identity is his key character flaw. Not that the first adventure of Age of Wyrms has given that much chance to play itself out yet, but I certainly feel like I can have a handle on this guy's character, and it's not just based on the "I don't have an identity" concept.

In fact, he reminds me strikingly of a girl friend (not girlfriend) I had in high school. She had a pathological need to have a boyfriend at all times, and if she ever broke up with one, it only took two or three days for her to find another one. Her roster of boyfriends she had in high school read like a deepening spiral of scum-buckets and jerks who were only interested in her because she'd put out in order to keep them around a bit longer. For my character I put a masculine spin on this attitude--women like this tend to seek self-validation through having an S.O., men tend to avoid S.O.'s and try to have as many conquests as possible. But the underlying motivation and attitude is exactly the same.

Like her, my character has low self-esteem, but not in a retiring, shy way. In fact, he's extremely charismatic, especially on the surface. Rather, it's in the sense that he engages in a lot of behavior as an attempt to achieve validation--behavior that of course is totally the wrong way to find it, and is actually fairly self-desctructive.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Warforged are weak sauce, IMHO. And the rest of the races don't particularly shine to me, either.

Warforged have almost the exact same mechanics as the Soulmechs from Dragonstar, so they're hardly new or innovative for Eberron. And I have a big problem with creatures that are immune to mundane mortal effects that every other mortal race is vulnerable to. They are far too special, far too different, far too "l33t k00l r0b0tz0rz!" They hog the spotlight and demand special attention, and I loathe that from my PC races.

Changelings and Shifters are both "watered down monsters," which is great because it's a rip-off of the Planetouched. I don't mind them too much, but they are pretty lazy imaginary work, because they already come prepackaged with abilities and roles in the world, rather than having to create them from scratch like most new races have to.

Kalashtar have potential, but are easy to ignore if you don't want to use psionics, and while I understand the descision from a design perspective, that makes them shallow. They aren't essential, they aren't needed, they are disposable -- and a race shouldn't ever really be that.

I like Eberron, in general, as a setting. I just really don't like the races, I guess. I'd play Eberron without them in a nano. Heck, I'd play Eberron without the Warforged in a nano, but since they're the new pink, I don't see that happening.

 

[Mercule]

Why would changelings necessarily think that? Perhaps those changelings who are so capable of switching into and out of their various characters are actually revered among their kind as being the epitome of changeling evolution. The ability to not only wear another's skin but their mind - and perhaps their soul, as well - is a gift, not a curse.

This fits well with the "squishy" alignment in Eberron. Now, I'm dying to try a Changeling who is a near-paladin in one guise and a sociopath in another. Of course, there will be other guises, too. But, including those two in the mix would be quite interesting.

 

[Anti-Sean]

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.

That's one of my favorite aspects of changelings. IMHO, there are as many (or more) answers to that question as there are changelings in Eberron.

I hope it's not too tacky and boorish of me to quote my own story hour here , but I'm having a lot of fun wrestling with this very idea with one of my characters.

"...If I may return the question, Niv, what is your story? And what is your place?"

Niv took a long, slow sip of her tal before setting it down on the table and answering. "Now that isn't as easy it would seem. I've lived in Sharn my whole life. Or for all of my lives, I guess you could say. I spend so much time wearing different faces that sometimes, the lines between who I am inside, and who I am at the moment tend to blur after a while. Where does Niv end, for instance, and where does Gorm, the half-orc you met earlier, begin? Is there really a difference between the two? Are they masks that I choose to wear, roles that I choose to play, or different pieces of me that reveal themselves at different times? Multiply that by the number of different names and faces and lives I wear, and I still don't think I'd be ready to begin to answer your question. I suppose its like being an actor on a stage permanently. You know, it's funny; I've heard it said that there are some people who are always alone in a crowd. Well, some of us can be our very own crowd, and still find ourselves alone."

"It certainly sounds like it is a burden for you. Regardless, I would very much like to be able to do what you can do. I know who I am, and who I'm trying to be, but most people will only see me for what they think I am. You are able to make people see you in whatever way you want them to."

Niv looked away, a slight cast of bitterness coloring her laughter as she drummed her fingers on her mug. "But at what price, Autumn? Is it worth it if I wind up losing myself in the process?"

"I don't know, but I think that it's harder to get lost when you have companions with you. Kiva and I look out for each other since our paths crossed. I don't know where I would be if not for her. You don't have to be alone, Niv. No one has to be, if they don't want to."

Niv nodded, lost in thought as she drank her tal. They sat there for a while in silence, alone in the raucous crowd of the tavern.

 

[Singing Smurf]

I like 'em all.

Changelings are interesting to me for the reasons ForceUser mentions above. I like the Passer / Becomer / Reality Seeker split. Really, all of the new races have alien enough mindsets that I would have to play them differently than a human character, which makes them solid in my book. Mechanically, Changelings are probably the weakest of the new races, at least until they take levels in the Warshaper PrC and gain massive bonuses that they get to use all the time.

I'm having a lot of fun with my Warforged Psion currently. Things are <i>different</i> when you don't have to eat or sleep, don't reproduce, and will live forever. Mechanically, they are at the high end of the ECL +0 races (with the Dwarves and Humans).

Shifters are wicked cool. They have access to several rare abilities (scent, various flavors of Pounce) and add "natural attack specialist" to the options for fighters. The dex bonues can be very useful for characters that don't care about charisma, like certain Rogues, most Scouts, archers, and some Warlocks. A fey-influenced Shifter Warlock would be nifty.

I tend to forget that Kalashtar exist...but that's just me. From a character development perspective, they have a built-in X-files/trust no one aspect that fits the noir flavor of Eberron well. Being able to take psionic feats without taking Wild Talent is doubleplusgood, especially for Fighters.

Personally, I think the leaked name for the Daelkyr Half-Breed (the Breed) is cooler than the actual name, and that's what I'll use IMC. It just ocurred to me that a Breed with a Crawling Gauntlet would have a groovy Hellboy vibe. The best starting symbiote is probably the Throwing Scarab. A Breed Scout with one is dealing 1d6+1d6+1d6 per round, at range. Not too shabby!

-Smurfy

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Mechanically, Changelings are probably the weakest of the new races, at least until they take levels in the Warshaper PrC and gain massive bonuses that they get to use all the time.

I thought for warshaper you had to have some variation of a polymorph effect. The changeling's ability is based off of disguise self, and is foiled by true seeing. As I said before to those who thought the "Minor Shape Change" is too powerful for a LA + 0 race, I can assure you having played as one, as long as your DM enforces the massive hindrances on the ability correctly, it's really not all that powerful. More fun than anything else.

 

[Stone Dog]

Changelings have the shapeshifter subtype, making them qualify automatically. They can use their Warshaper abilities whenever they are not in their true forms. By the RAW at least.