In Short
This product details the four new races introduced in the Eberron Campaign Setting (hereinafter “ECS”): the Kalashtar, the Changeling, the Warforged, and the Shifter. While it clearly has a strong Eberron focus, the stats for these races along with their feats from the ECS are reproduced here for any DM who wants new races without having to purchase the ECS. Discussion on inserting these races into more traditional fantasy worlds is presented as well.
The book falls flat in a variety of ways, however. The racial write ups are the height of bland, saying very little that a person of average intelligence would not naturally realize. While there are occasional gems in the race write ups, such as the discussion of different philosophies among the changelings, even those interesting bits of insight are repeatedly used until the reader is tired of them. The racial setting material adds extremely little to the Eberron setting, though it may be of more use to a reader who is completely unfamiliar with Eberron.
New feats, spells, prestige classes, substitution levels, and other mechanical additions are presented. They’re a mixed bag. Many of the feats and prestige classes do a good job of expanding on the potential conceptual focus of the existing races. The racial substitution levels are likely the best part for many gamers, though some of them do very little to change the base class.
The Physical Thing
This 192 page color hardcover book showcases above average production values. The use of formatting is excellent and makes for an easy to read product. The art is of good quality, and is often logically tied together with the material being discussed. Margins are reasonable and the text tends to be dense all the way through.
This product requires the Expanded Psionics Handbook and the Eberron Campaign Setting to make full use of all the options presented.
The Ideas
The Eberron Campaign Setting presented four new races which immediately found their way into the hearts of Eberron fans. The Kalashtar are the descendents of dream spirits that long ago merged with humanity. Over time their natural psionic power has been passed down from generation to generation. Now these guardians of the dream realm continue to fight against the Dreaming Dark and creatures of nightmare just as their ancestors did.
The Changelings are the offspring of doppelgangers over the millennia, and have retained a significant amount of their parent’s shape changing prowess. Able to assume the form of any similar creature, Changelings are a powerful but lonely force in the world. Forever on the outside of the communities they join, these shape shifters have assumed positions of authority throughout the intelligence networks of the world.
The Shifters are beastial humanoids descended from lycanthropes. Each is able to partially transform, taking on powerful animal characteristics for a short time. More than simple animal people, shifters are a xenophobic group fearing non-shifters since the Church of the Silver Flame enacted its plan to purge lycanthropes from the world.
The Warforged are living constructs, built to be soldiers immediately upon activation. Since their freedom, granted at the end of the last war, Warforged have been learning to reinvent themselves. Poets, philosophers, artists, merchants, bakers, and other roles once only available to other sentient beings can now be occupied by Warforged as well. They are a people trying to find purpose and direction, becoming more than the soldiers they were meant to be.
This product discusses all four of these interesting races, as well as how traditional fantasy races are different in Eberron.
Under the Cover
This product begins with a comprehensive table of contents that makes an index unnecessary.
Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4.
These first four chapters share nearly an identical layout, so rather than repeat the same elements four times here is a description of what each chapter presents. Also, know that I’m assuming a reader is somewhat familiar with Eberron but may not know anything about the core races. I present a general overview and major game mechanics on the races, but do not go into detail.
Each chapter begins with a presentation of all of the racial statistics. This accomplishes two purposes. First, it provides a convenient reference for those that do not wish to have the ECS in front of them while also using this product. Second, it allows this to be a general D&D product instead of an Eberron product. Next the chapter presents A Day in the Life, a section presenting a typical day and the sorts of challenges a member of this race might face in the form of a short piece of fiction. Another section follows presenting general Life concerns. Leisure, art, views on technology and magic, and other topics are discussed. Psychology presents the general temperament of the race, what sorts of things they dwell on, and their developmental experiences. Society and Culture presents a discussion of, well, the society and culture of a given race. Religion, holidays, and societal roles are all presented here.
Other Races discusses how a given race relates to the various other inhabitants of the world. Creating characters discusses various character concepts that are particularly common to that race. Each racial entry includes all of these, and a few other elements at times such as NPCs and a sample community. As one might expect, there’s a strong mix of quality here.
On the plus side these chapters do several things well. They provide some new flavor to the races by noting holidays, social concerns, and generally talking about what’s important to that race. The creating characters discussion helps to spur player ideas. This isn’t a bad book to hand to a player struggling for a character concept. In certain cases the general information is interesting and flavorful.
There are some negatives here, however. A lot of this information is general and already known to anyone who owns the ECS. Even if a person wanted the Eberron races without the setting material, Chapter 5 is exclusively Eberron focused. For a lot of consumers over half of this product presents little use and no consumer will be able to use 100% of the product.
Second, a lot of the material presented is really general. Warforged were built for war and should have an opinion on war. Changelings blend in with society and have no defined society of their own. Shifters enjoy living out in nature and generally away from civilization. There are good ideas here, real flavorful stuff, but it’s mixed in with a lot of general stuff.
Chapter 1 Warforged 18 pages.
The Warforged are a race of living constructs built to be soldiers. They gain +2 Con, a variety of immunities and vulnerabilities, and armor bonuses that may be increased with 1st level feats representing heavier armor. Warforged gain only half the number of hit points from magical healing, but may be healed through the use of Repair spells.
There are several highlights here. First, the chapter discusses what Warforged tend to do with their free time. Since Warforged do not need to sleep they have a lot of free time. This can be spent crafting and otherwise pursuing artistic endeavors. Second, the chapter does a good job of talking about how Warforged have adjusted to their freedom. Many are less than ten years old and were mentally programmed for nothing but warfare. Finally, the roleplaying considerations involving Warforged are good. At times the “Warforged are robots” aspect is played up too much, but a lot of the suggestions are excellent. A general inability to distinguish different types of humanoids, for example, makes sense. While a human knows what other humans look like from a life time of experience and can easily tell one from a Half-Elf, a Warforged does not have this capability.
Chapter 2 Shifters 16 pages.
Shifters are a race of humanoids with animal characteristics. They descend from lycanthropes (such as werewolves) and have the ability to partially change form in order to embrace their animal aspect. In addition to +2 Dex and -2 Int and Cha the Shifter gains traits that grant combat bonuses in a manner similar to a Barbarian’s Rage. For example, a Longstride Shifter gains a +2 bonus to Dexterity and a +10 speed increase while Shifting. A Shifter may Shift once per day for 3 + Con mod rounds. Taking special Shifter Feats increases both the number of times per day and length of the transformations.
The focus on Shifters as a practical wilderness dwelling people focused on personal freedom is both a boon and a bane here. On the one hand this chapter fleshes out Shifters as a people very in touch with nature, who prize freedom above all else, and who seem to have a general fear of the rest of the world. On the other hand, this is a very limited perspective. Shifters have been around for a while, they live in the major cities of the world too (if in small numbers), and there’s no reason to confine them to a “they are like animals and live in the forest” sort of role.
Chapter 3 Changelings 14 pages.
Changelings are humanoids with moderate shapeshifting ability who can assume the form of other similarly sized humanoids. With a +2 bonus to Bluff, Intimidate, and Sense Motive along with Speak Language as a permanent class skill this really is the ultimate infiltrator.
The best part of this chapter is the idea that Changelings can be divided into three major categories. Passers strive to become a permanent part of a community. A Passer living among humans will take the form of a human, perhaps for their entire life, and will think of herself as a human. Becomers embrace the changing nature of their people. While they maintain an individual identity, Becomers want to change and explore their lives as mutable beings. Finally, Reality Seekers prefer their natural form and to live with other changelings.
They’re neat if a little simple. They are also used constantly throughout the chapter. Everything is presented in terms of a Passer/Becomer/Reality Seeker perspective and, while it can be good to reinforce a theme, some readers will quickly lose interest in these types. Nevertheless, the concept does present an interesting look at changelings.
Chapter 4 Kalashtar 16 pages.
The Kalashtar are a combination of a dream spirit and human soul. They gain a power point per character level and a few minor dream related abilities. +2 Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, +2 vs mind affecting abilities, Mindlink 1x/day, +2 to Disguise checks to appear Human.
The Kalashtar are presented as a monastic people always in meditation. I find it amazing that a race described as “masters of social interaction,” who gain +6 worth of bonuses to social skills, are depicted as being standoffish throughout this chapter. It’s as if the author had already decided Kalashtar are all Monks and wrote accordingly. There is no variation on the race here, just the one (strange) view expressed by the author. One would think that even the Kalashtar would have some variety, but the only variety expressed seems to be whether they are quiet and introverted or quiet and observant. This is easily the worst chapter in the book, adding nothing to the race while just reinforcing a stereotype that fails to match the race description and abilities.
Chapter 5 Other Races 32 pages.
Those who are purchasing this product for the Eberron races, but who are interested in Eberron will gain little use from this chapter. The chapter focuses on what makes the normal races in Eberron different, and while that may be useful to the DM who wants a different take on elves it really is just rehashing content from the ECS. As a well read fan of Eberron I can say, for a certainty, that this entire chapter presents little to nothing new about the races in Eberron. It just rehashes existing material.
Chapter 6 Character Options 30 pages.
Over sixty feats are presented in this chapter, both new feats and those reprinted from the ECS. For those who just want the new races, this is good news as everything you could want to tweak these four races can be found here. For those that already own the ECS, some new material is presented.
The dual nature of this book can be clearly seen in this chapter as well. Feats specific to the Aerenal Elves (such as Ancestor Guidance which allows a single Action Point die to be rerolled), that require Action Points (such as Heroic Metamagic that allows Action Points to be spent to apply metamagic), or are otherwise Eberron specific (such as Relic Hunter which gives a +5 to Appraise, Knowledge, and Bardic Knowledge checks involving items from Xen’drik and Dhakaani) are included here. This means that whether you are buying this product just for the four races or are buying it for additional Eberron material, some of the included feats will be of little to no use.
This chapter includes at least four race specific feats for each of the new Eberron races, and in some cases many more. Six new Tactical Feats (feats that can be used in three ways) are introduced. In addition to feats specific to the newer races, many feats are presented that work with existing races (such as Talenta Warrior for Halflings). On the whole this is a mixed bag. Some of the feats add interesting new options to the game. Unarmored Body, for example, strips a Warforged of their racial armor and allows them to wear normal armor. White Scorpion Strike allows a Drow martial artist to strike incorporeal creatures and do more damage to undead.
Other feats may be of questionable use, but they’re all good enough in terms of flavor that I can see players wanting to use them in a game. These largely aren’t powerful feats, but they’re fun and interesting. There are several weapon feats that make it easy for a member of a race to acquire racial weapons and then gaining the ability to use them better than other weapons and to share feats (such as Weapon Specialization) with all of the racial weapons. That’s not necessarily a powerful feat, but it’s very cool and flavorful. Many other feats are similar.
Racial Substitution Levels appears for each of the races. RSLs allow members of a given race to switch out core class abilities with more racially appropriate ones.
Changelings get new options for the Egoist (Psion), Rogue, and Wizard. Their new abilities reflect their morphic nature. Examples: Shifting anatomy around to ignore a critical hit, gaining a bonus to transmutation spells.
Kalashtar get new options for the Monk, Soulknife, and Telepath (Psion). Their new abilities reflect their psionic specialty and mental fortitude. Examples: Taking a Psionic Feat instead of a Monk Bonus Feat, the ability to align their Mind Blade at 1st level.
Shifters get new options for the Druid, Ranger, and Wilder (psionic class). Their new abilities reflect their wild and chaotic nature. Examples: Causing an animal companion to shift with the Shifter, gaining back power points from shifting.
Finally, the Warforged get new options for the Artificer, Fighter, and Paladin classes. Their new abilities reflect their construct nature. Examples: Repair Damage instead of Lay on Hands which repairs damage to constructs, Weapon Specialization in their natural Slam attack.
Chapter 7 Prestige Classes 38 pages.
Eight new prestige classes are introduced in this chapter.
The Atavist is a Kalashtar Prestige Class meant for a Monk or Mind Blade of around 6th level. Medium BAB, Good Reflex and Will saves, d10 HD, either unarmed strike progression or mindblade progression, and a number of anti-Quori abilities round out this class. Atavists gain 4 Skill Points per level.
The Cabinet Trickster is a Changeling Prestige Class requiring 9 ranks in Disguise and a special feat. Five levels of Medium BAB, Good Reflex and Will saves, and a d6 HD. Misdirection abilities, mind reading abilities, and an increase to the normal shape change abilities all Changelings use are bestowed by this class. Cabinet Tricksters gain 6 Skill Points per level.
The Moonspeaker is a Shifter Prestige Class meant for a Druid (or naturey divine caster) or Druid/X multiclass of at least 8th level. Twelve levels of Medium BAB, Good Fortitude and Will saves, a d8 HD, and full divine spellcaster progression are provided. A large variety of special powers are provided, many of which revolve around the Shifting ability. Moonspeakers gain 4 Skill Points per level.
The Quori Nightmare is a Kalashtar Prestige Class meant for some sort of psionic base with low entry requirements. Medium BAB, Good Will save, a d8 HD, and four manifester levels are provided. This class provides a variety of nightmare-oriented special powers. Quori Nightmares gain 4 Skill Points per level.
The Reachrunner is a Shifter Prestige Class meant for a Ranger or Ranger multiclass. Five levels of Full BAB, Good Fortitude and Reflex saves, and a d8 HD. This class gains a variety of speed oriented abilities that allows them to move and track much more quickly. Reachrunners gain 4 Skill Points per level.
The Recaster is a Changeling Prestige Class meant for an arcane spellcaster (ideally a Wizard). Five levels of Poor BAB, Good Will save, d4 HD, and 4/5 spellcasting progression. This class gains the ability to alter spells on the fly and superior metamagic use. Recasters gain 4 Skill Points per level.
The Reforged is a Prestige Class for Warforged that want to shed their construct nature and become more human. With low entry requirements, this three level class grants Medium BAB, Good Will save, and a d8 HD. The class removes many of the Warforged advantages and disadvantages, making them far less construct like. Reforged gain 4 Skill Points per level.
The Spellcarved Soldier is a Warforged Prestige Class that requires a little bit of arcane spellcasting ability (or more likely 1 level of Artificer) and quite a bit of a Good BAB class. This five level class receives a Good BAB, Good Fortitude save, and a d10 HD. Special runic powers are granted every level that give a variety of arcane abilities, from 100% Fortification to the ability to wear more magical items. Spellcarved Soldiers gain 4 Skill Points per level.
Chapter 8 Equipment 7 pages.
New racial weapons and armors, Warforged components, and artifacts are presented. It’s a short list, and the items range from the standard flavorless Exotic Weapons to angelic wing add-ons for Warforged.
Chapter 9 Magic and Psionics 14 pages.
Several new Artificer Infusions, Domains, and spells for the core classes are presented here. All of them have a racial focus, such as Druid spells that extend Shfting durations and Inflict Damage Infusions that hurt Constructs. For the appropriately focus character some of these could be very flavorful and fun.
My Take
No one is going to be able to use this whole product. Either it is reprinting material from a product they already own or it is presenting new material for a product they do not own. For that reason the substance rating of this product has to drop a peg. While I think there is some really flavorful stuff in here (as well as some really bland stuff), a product where so much of the content is useless has some things going against it.
The bottom line for me is that if you’re an Eberron fan or just think the new Eberron races sound cool this is a worthwhile buy. There’s a lot of fun crunchy bits mixed in with neat flavor, and material for non-standard fantasy races is always welcome. You wont be able to use everything, but it still gives some excellent ideas (both in terms of RP and mechanics) for your next D&D character.
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