Warforged

Warforged

The origin of the Warforged is, perhaps fittingly, one of the great unanswered questions of existence itself. Unlike other races, there is no single myth of creation, no lone god or ambitious mage to point to. Warforged simply appear—in different forms, in different ages, across different worlds—wherever technology has been pushed far enough, or where arcane magic has grown dense enough to bind thought to metal. Each one can be radically different from the last, not only in shape and design, but in the very circumstances that brought them into being.

If pressed, most scholars of Shivath would narrow the likely cradles of the first Warforged in this world to two continents: Nabhi, the mazda of knowledge, or Treftiel, the crucible of sacred industry. But the truth is that no one knows for certain, and the Warforged themselves are rarely any help. It is staggeringly common for them to simply wander into a city or emerge from forgotten ruins with no memory of who they were, who built them, or why. Their life expectancy is equally mysterious—some seem to fade within decades, while others endure across centuries, silent witnesses to the turning of ages.

To the people of Shivath, a Warforged is many things depending on where you stand: an arcane marvel, a laborer, a pilgrim without a shrine, or a quiet figure searching for something it cannot name.

Treftelian Warforged

In Treftiel, the Warforged were not an accident. They were an inevitability.

A society that worships the replacement of flesh with metal will, sooner or later, produce someone who replaces all of it. And it has. Many times. The so-called Treftelian Warforged were not built in a forge—they walked into one, piece by piece, over years or decades. A hand here. A lung there. An eye. A spine. Each prosthetic earned, each replacement celebrated as another step closer to the ideal the Apex Fabricatum preaches.

Not everyone who goes far enough ends up the same way. But in some cases—the ones people whisper about—something goes wrong. Or perhaps something goes right, depending on who you ask. The body is fully replaced, and the person who began the journey simply... isn't there anymore. Memories gone, name gone, history gone. What stands up afterward is still alive, still thinking, still someone. But not the someone who started. These are the cases that Treftiel commonly refers to as Warforged.

The Apex Fabricatum does not celebrate them

They are not held up as the culmination of the Principle of Transformation, but buried quietly—failed experiments, cautionary whispers among the faithful. Most Treftelian Warforged end up drifting down through the tiers, stripped of everything they once earned, treated as tools by the very society whose ideals they followed to the letter.

And so Treftiel is left with a question it would rather not answer: if every part of a person has been replaced, is what remains still that person—or something else entirely?

Core Traits

• Creature Type: Construct
• Size: Medium (about 6-8 feet tall) or Small (about 3-4 feet tall), chosen when you select this species
• Speed: 30 feet

Construct Resilience

You have Resistance to Poison damage. You also have Advantage on saving throws to avoid or end the Poisoned condition.

Integrated Protection

You gain a +1 bonus to your Armor Class. In addition, armor you have donned can't be removed against your will while you're alive.

Sentry's Rest

You don't need to sleep, and magic can't put you to sleep. You can finish a Long Rest in 6 hours if you spend those hours in an inactive, motionless state. During this time, you appear inert but remain conscious.

Specialized Design

You gain one skill proficiency and one tool proficiency of your choice.

Tireless

You don't gain Exhaustion levels from dehydration, malnutrition, or suffocation.