Wizards of the Coast Reveals Revised Eberron Species Details

Wizards of the Coast has revealed some new details about Eberron: Forge of the Artificer, specifically detailing some of the changes players can expect to see from the species rules in the book. The upcoming Eberron splatbook will feature five species. Four of the species appeared in Eberron: Rising From the Last War, while the Khoravar (which have mixed human and elvish ancestries) are presented as a unique species in the book.

Today on D&D Beyond, Wizards listed some of the changes that will appear in each ruleset. Most notably, the Warforged is now presented as a Construct, while the Kalashtar are presented as aberrations. This makes these species immune to various spells that only impact humanoids. Additionally, the Khoravar has a new Lethargy Resilience feature that turns a failed saving throw to end or prevent the Unconscious condition into a success. This feature recharges after 1d4 Long Rests, which is a new design element to D&D.

According to D&D Beyond, the following changes are being made:

Changeling:

• Based on the Changeling from Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse.
• Shape-Shifter: You have Advantage on Charisma checks while shape-shifted.

Kalashtar:

• Creature Type: Kalashtar now have the Aberration creature type.
• Mind Link: You can now allow multiple creatures to communicate with you telepathically, and they no longer must be able to see you.
• Severed From Dreams: You gain proficiency in one skill of your choice after a Long Rest. This proficiency lasts until you finish another Long Rest.

Khoravar:

• Now included as a unique playable species in the world of Eberron
• Darkvision: Gain Darkvision with a range of 60 feet.
• Fey Ancestry: You have Advantage on saving throws to avoid or end the Charmed condition.
• Fey Gift: You know the Friends cantrip. When you finish a Long Rest, you can swap it for any Cleric, Druid, or Wizard cantrip.
• Lethargy Resilience: You can turn a failed save to avoid or end the Unconscious condition into a success. You can use this trait again after you finish 1d4 Long Rests.
• Skill Versatility: Gain proficiency in one skill or tool of your choice. After you finish a Long Rest, you may swap that proficiency for a different skill or tool.

Shifter:

• Based on the Shifter from Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse.
• Size: You can choose to be Medium or Small when you select this species.

Warforged:

• Creature Type: Warforged now have the Construct creature type.
• Constructed Resilience: Now have Advantage on saving throws to end the Poisoned condition and some aspects of this trait have been moved to Sentry's Rest and the new Tireless trait.
• Integrated Protection: Donning armor no longer takes an hour.
• Sentry's Rest: Now specifies Warforged don't need to sleep, and magic can't put them to sleep.
• Tireless: You don't gain Exhaustion levels from dehydration, malnutrition, or suffocation.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

"Creole" means different things to different people, and plenty of multi-ethnic people don't identify as Creole.

It could be that I come from a culture with a lot more positive associations with the term, but I am unaware of any situations where it's inappropriate or a slur, and I am having a hard time thinking about other words that could be applied as broadly.

We can't use "mixed race" or "multiracial" because, well, WotC is retiring the word "race." "Hybrid" has too many connotations of animals and no one would want to apply those to people. "Mixed" just feels too unspecified, but also too close to "metis."


Am I missing another broadly applicable but neutral term we could use for an ethnic group whose distinct physiological characteristics are the result of two separate cultures intermarrying?

 

[Corinnguard]

Am I missing another broadly applicable but neutral term we could use for an ethnic group whose distinct physiological characteristics are the result of two separate cultures intermarrying?

Heritage and Ancestry?

 

[Paul Farquhar]

It could be that I come from a culture with a lot more positive associations with the term, but I am unaware of any situations where it's inappropriate or a slur, and I am having a hard time thinking about other words that could be applied as broadly.

It's not a term I've ever heard used in the UK, but I think most people would assume it was a slur.

Am I missing another broadly applicable but neutral term we could use for an ethnic group whose distinct physiological characteristics are the result of two separate cultures intermarrying?

Human.

 

[Divine2021]

Khorvar was the name the half-elves called themselves in lore. The PHB called them half-elves, so the mechanical reference to Khorvar is to PHB half-elf. The half-elf is no longer in the PHB, so they don't need to use that term anymore.

Dude, you called half elves “half breeds”, I told you how disgustingly insulting that was to mixed race people like myself, and you just went back to talking about mechanics. This isn’t about mechanics anymore. It’s about how you won’t acknowledge how the language you choose to employ around this topic is hurting and nasty.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

It's not a term I've ever heard used in the UK, but I think most people would assume it was a slur.

Human.

It's extremely common in the various postcolonial holdings of romance peoples (Spanish, Portuguese, French) but it's also commonly used in linguistics. Hell, there's an argument to be made that middle English, the English of Chaucer, is a "Creole language" of Old English and Norman French. I find it baffling that people would just assume Creole is a slur by default.

Also, calling someone of only partial human ancestry "human" is basically the D&D equivalent of the one drop rule; it erases other aspects of their ancestry that the character and/or player may want to highlight on equal footing.

Heritage and Ancestry?

To be clear, I'm not asking for a replacement for the word "race", I'm asking for a replacement specifically for the word "half-race." If anything, "heritage" and "ancestry" are especially unsuitable for this concept because they imply that an individual only has one, singular ancestry or heritage rather than two or more.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

We can't use "mixed race" or "multiracial" because, well, WotC is retiring the word "race." "Hybrid" has too many connotations of animals and no one would want to apply those to people. "Mixed" just feels too unspecified, but also too close to "metis."

"Metis" has a very specific meaning in Canadian English about which ethnic groups are in the mix, like exclusively of European and Indigenous background. I found it unusual in Lupin (the Netflix series) when Assane and Claire referred to their son Raoul as "Metis" in French, even though "Metis" might be more generic in France it's quite specific in Anglophone Canada.

 

[Remathilis]

Dude, you called half elves “half breeds”, I told you how disgustingly insulting that was to mixed race people like myself, and you just went back to talking about mechanics. This isn’t about mechanics anymore. It’s about how you won’t acknowledge how the language you choose to employ around this topic is hurting and nasty.

Yes. The term half-elf is reminiscent of that phrase. The whole language around half-races (in game) are coded with that kind of language. Which is why I would prefer a term like Khorvar to half-elf. To remove the connotation between the species and the hurtful term.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

"Metis" has a very specific meaning in Canadian English about which ethnic groups are in the mix, like exclusively of European and Indigenous background. I found it unusual in Lupin (the Netflix series) when Assane and Claire referred to their son Raoul as "Metis" in French, even though "Metis" might be more generic in France it's quite specific in Anglophone Canada.

A perfect example of how the literal translation of "mixed" in French is unspecific, but as you said, "Metis" is also a specific (creole) ethnic group.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

find it baffling that people would just assume Creole is a slur by default.

I can think of a couple of synonyms that I won’t repeat here that are definitely considered racist in the UK. Indeed the base concept is racist.

Also, calling someone of only partial human ancestry "human" is basically the D&D equivalent of the one drop rule; it erases other aspects of their ancestry that the character and/or player may want to highlight on equal footing

There are no “partial humans” in the real world. Even Devosians and Neanderthal were human.

And a player can highlight any part of their ancestry they like without it being a game statistic. One of my great grandfathers was a sailmaker from Aberdeen. I don’t need a special box for that to highlight it.

 

[Charlaquin]

I for one am glad to see the species formally known as half-elves return under an endonym, with their own distinct set of abilities. The half has always been a weird naming convention for a couple of reasons, but the guideline to choose one side to inherit the mechanics from clearly wasn’t working for a lot of folks.

I like the lethargy resistance trait as a nod to being a toned-down version of elves’ immunity to magical sleep. I do foresee disagreements as to whether a death save counts as a “save to end or avoid the unconscious condition.”