Unique races of Eberron

[ZorroGames]

Many races in Rising from the Last War are relatively understandable for playing but some are not so clear.

Changelings - so that elf or dwarf or human or... could be a changeling hiding its true nature from you? Trust lost can be trust never regained?

Gnomes just have their deviousness out in the open now... 😂

Goblinoids are still goblinoids.

Dragonborn,Dwarf, Elf, are still variations on a theme. Humans, Orcs, Half-Orcs similarly. Ditto Tieflings.

Half-Elves are finally a race of their own. Good.

Talenta Halflings are a new twist which I get.

Shifters re okay, some more interesting than others.

Warforged seem like metallic humanoids capable of most any role.

Kalashtar... while I really like the flavor and the duality I am unsure what classes they lean towards. Clerics/Druids with reasonable to great charisma? This one has me very unsure about how to play them.

[RedMage125]

Many races in Rising from the Last War are relatively understandable for playing but some are not so clear.

Changelings - so that elf or dwarf or human or... could be a changeling hiding its true nature from you? Trust lost can be trust never regained?

Gnomes just have their deviousness out in the open now... 😂

Goblinoids are still goblinoids.

Dragonborn,Dwarf, Elf, are still variations on a theme. Humans, Orcs, Half-Orcs similarly. Ditto Tieflings.

Half-Elves are finally a race of their own. Good.

Talenta Halflings are a new twist which I get.

Shifters re okay, some more interesting than others.

Warforged seem like metallic humanoids capable of most any role.

Kalashtar... while I really like the flavor and the duality I am unsure what classes they lean towards. Clerics/Druids with reasonable to great charisma? This one has me very unsure about how to play them.

Wait...what? Eberron is the setting that drastically altered races the most, up there with Dark Sun.

Dwarves are banking lords. Forget the battleaxe, fear the dwarven checkbook.

Elves come in several varieties. Either they are fierce warmongering warriors, or death-obsessed necromancers.

Orcs were the first druids, and many half-orcs follow Gatekeeper traditions. So Orcs are the tree-hugging hippies, and elves are the bloodthirsty horde. Not to mention national differences. An orc or half-orc from Eldeen Reached is probably viewed as a hippy, while one from the Shadow Marches is viewed as a snagle-toothed redneck (cue the banjos).

Gnomish deviousness is to a level that makes the KGB look like the Girl Scouts. And even if they're NOT ruthless secret police, they're scholars, barrister (lawyers), and they have a monopoly on Elemental Binding magicks.

Goblinoids are a common site in civilized cities, which is a huge shift. And they're either the eternal second-class citizen, or they're the militaristic remnants of an empire that once made human civilization look like cavemen.

Most human differences are by nation, and those can be pretty distinct, too. Overly militant, obsessed with elegance, religious zealot, almost certainly a pirate...nations get crazy diverse. Which is a huge departure from other settings. Most D&D players couldn't tell you the cultural diferences between a Cormyrian and a Thethyrian in Forgotten Realms.

Talenta Halflings are dinosaur-riding barbarians, yes. But in Sharn, halflings make up the elite of the mafia. They are sophisticated, elegant, and dangerous.

Dragonborn have gotten kind of crammed into Eberron since 4e. Not a very rich background there.

I would say same with tieflings, but Keith Baker has come up with some great ideas for them. Tieflings may be a result of being born near a manifest zone, or during a planar convergence, and depending on the fiendish connection, may not look like PHB tieflings. Personally, I think I'm going to incorporate Tabaxi as Rakshasa-descended tieflings. Still a half-baked idea, tho.

And warforged...man, those things have so much potential for great stories. A race of literal walking, thinking weapons, for a war that is over, and are suddenly told "you're people now!". Have you considered what that does to their psyches?

Sorry for the rant. I think the changes to the races are quite drastic in Eberron, and not just "variations on a theme". It's one of the things that stands out the most to me.

[ZorroGames]

Wait...what? Eberron is the setting that drastically altered races the most, up there with Dark Sun.

Dwarves are banking lords. Forget the battleaxe, fear the dwarven checkbook.

Elves come in several varieties. Either they are fierce warmongering warriors, or death-obsessed necromancers.

Orcs were the first druids, and many half-orcs follow Gatekeeper traditions. So Orcs are the tree-hugging hippies, and elves are the bloodthirsty horde. Not to mention national differences. An orc or half-orc from Eldeen Reached is probably viewed as a hippy, while one from the Shadow Marches is viewed as a snagle-toothed redneck (cue the banjos).

Gnomish deviousness is to a level that makes the KGB look like the Girl Scouts. And even if they're NOT ruthless secret police, they're scholars, barrister (lawyers), and they have a monopoly on Elemental Binding magicks.

Goblinoids are a common site in civilized cities, which is a huge shift. And they're either the eternal second-class citizen, or they're the militaristic remnants of an empire that once made human civilization look like cavemen.

Most human differences are by nation, and those can be pretty distinct, too. Overly militant, obsessed with elegance, religious zealot, almost certainly a pirate...nations get crazy diverse. Which is a huge departure from other settings. Most D&D players couldn't tell you the cultural diferences between a Cormyrian and a Thethyrian in Forgotten Realms.

Talenta Halflings are dinosaur-riding barbarians, yes. But in Sharn, halflings make up the elite of the mafia. They are sophisticated, elegant, and dangerous.

Dragonborn have gotten kind of crammed into Eberron since 4e. Not a very rich background there.

I would say same with tieflings, but Keith Baker has come up with some great ideas for them. Tieflings may be a result of being born near a manifest zone, or during a planar convergence, and depending on the fiendish connection, may not look like PHB tieflings. Personally, I think I'm going to incorporate Tabaxi as Rakshasa-descended tieflings. Still a half-baked idea, tho.

And warforged...man, those things have so much potential for great stories. A race of literal walking, thinking weapons, for a war that is over, and are suddenly told "you're people now!". Have you considered what that does to their psyches?

Sorry for the rant. I think the changes to the races are quite drastic in Eberron, and not just "variations on a theme". It's one of the things that stands out the most to me.

Guess we will just have to disagree.

[Garfunion]

Guess we will just have to disagree.
Well that was a short discussion. How ever RedMage125 is correct, the races are more diverse than you think.

[Arkhios]

Half-elves as their own race finally, is reeeeeeally relative. Eberron was first released in June 2004 - almost 16 years ago.
Sure, if Rising from the Last War is your first touch with Eberron, then yes, it's been long overdue, but the thing about half-elves' place in Eberron has been the way it is ever since Eberron's first release.

[RedMage125]

Guess we will just have to disagree.

I know that the mature thing to do here is accept and agree to disagree, but I'm actually curious about how you figure some of what you said in your OP.

How are Eberron Elves (with Aerenai and Valenar wildly distinct from each other) "variations on a theme" with other settings?

Given that orcs are USUALLY either druids or swamp-dwelling hicks, how are they similar to other settings?

In what other settings are goblinoids actually welcome and a common sight in human cities? AND are actually civilized and used to trappings of civilization to boot? Because the only one I can think of is Kingdoms of Kalamar, and even that was hobgoblins only.

Just curious about how you see them as so similar to other settings.

[HappyDaze]

Given that orcs are USUALLY either druids or swamp-dwelling hicks, how are they similar to other settings?


That's a bad stereotype. Most orcs in Eberron are just as varied as most others. A portion of them come from the Shadow Marches and might fit those descriptors, but there are plenty of orcs that are entirely different. Oddly, the book says most of them don't even speak Orc anymore (they speak Goblin instead), but somebody forgot to put that into the PC race rules.

[Arkhios]

That's a bad stereotype. Most orcs in Eberron are just as varied as most others. A portion of them come from the Shadow Marches and might fit those descriptors, but there are plenty of orcs that are entirely different. Oddly, the book says most of them don't even speak Orc anymore (they speak Goblin instead), but somebody forgot to put that into the PC race rules.

I believe Orcs not having their own language in Eberron has always been a thing, not just a new addition. Plus it makes leagues of sense, given that goblins used to have a vast empire across Khorvaire long before humans came from Sarlona.

[JackPhoenix]

I know that the mature thing to do here is accept and agree to disagree, but I'm actually curious about how you figure some of what you said in your OP.

How are Eberron Elves (with Aerenai and Valenar wildly distinct from each other) "variations on a theme" with other settings?

Given that orcs are USUALLY either druids or swamp-dwelling hicks, how are they similar to other settings?

In what other settings are goblinoids actually welcome and a common sight in human cities? AND are actually civilized and used to trappings of civilization to boot? Because the only one I can think of is Kingdoms of Kalamar, and even that was hobgoblins only.

Just curious about how you see them as so similar to other settings.

I don't think you'll get an answer, as ZorroGames announced few days ago he's retiring from the forums.

[HappyDaze]

I believe Orcs not having their own language in Eberron has always been a thing, not just a new addition. Plus it makes leagues of sense, given that goblins used to have a vast empire across Khorvaire long before humans came from Sarlona.

Yet the PC rules for Eberron Orcs (and the entry talks specifically about them being Eberron Orcs when speaking of alignment) gives them the Orc language but not the Goblin language. Half-Orcs will be the same. Oddly, only those Humans and Half-Orcs of the House Tharashk subtype speak Goblin rather than Orc.

[CornfedCommando]

I think the class that best fits the kalashtar is probably monk, both mechanically and thematically. They have the whole self reflective, meditative, inner power, spiritual thing going on. They’re literally old souls who tend to be more serene and mature than other races. Their religion isn’t a god so much as it is a philosophy, which screams monk over cleric (though a Light Cleric of The Path of Light would be just as easily done).

Those who walk the Path of Light tend to be diplomatic types who advocate nonviolent solutions to problems. Probably had quite a few kalashtar mediators at work during the Last War. So bard would be a good fit as well. That concept could also apply to an Open Palm monk.

And of course, kalashtar are naturally psychic, so once those rules get nailed down, that’ll probably be a good fit for them too. It was their preferred class back in 3.5.