Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Edymnion 01-22-05, 03:54 PM	The Last War is over, the nations have drastically reduced populations due to their losses. The anti-Warforged sentiment is reaching a fevered pitch, the humans especially are forming protest rallies against the Warforged taking their jobs away from them. Things are at a breaking point. Then, all hell breaks loose, only no one knows it. A new breed of Warforged have appeared. They look utterly human, they sound human, they act human, for all anyone on the outside can see, they are human. They eat, they breath, they sleep, they bleed. They are also entirely female, and have integrated themselves into society so perfectly, one could be living next to you at this very moment, and you would not know it. Now, a rogue Artificer has taken it upon himself to expose these new Warforged to the public eye, and has begun killing every one he can find. The citizens are shocked when beloved entertainers, artists, and philosophers are murdered, only to reveal that they are not what they appear to be. Not human, but these new kinds of Warforged. Not the Titans, not the combat models, but a new kind, a Third kind. Why are these Thirds being targetted and killed, and why now? That is what the party will have to discover. Are the Thirds a threat to humanity, or could they be it's saviors? The true secret to these Third type Warforged is that, as an all female race, they are capable of concieving, and bearing human(oid) children. They were designed and built during the end of the War, as a way to increase the population, so that their nations could continue fighting. But now, now that peace has settled in, the nations seek to mend relations, and none dare admit to their secret methods to shore up their numbers. Now the Thirds are being systematically hunted down and destroyed, not through any fault of their own, but because they are now percieved as a threat to the continued peace. Hated and murdered for something they could not help or control, with the truely terrible secret of their own. They have souls, not like the souls of the previous Warforged, but fully organic, living souls, with a depth of emotion that even some humans cannot hope to match. Will the PCs be swept up in the irrational hatered that is sweeping the land, or will they make their stand with the Second and Third type Warforged, and fight for their right to exist, in a world that will not admit to even wanting them? (Cookies to anyone that knows where I took this plot from, but of course, if you recognize it, you already have the reward of having seen a truely great piece of art.)
Slayen 01-22-05, 05:13 PM	I'm thinking Armitage III: Poly Matrix. Cool adaption, but I have just one tiny nit-pick, there are already 4 types of Warforged: Titan, Charger, Normal, and scout. So these would be the Fifths. Course, you probably already know that. Like I said, just a nitpick.
Edymnion 01-22-05, 05:40 PM	I'm thinking Armitage III: Poly Matrix. Cool adaption, but I have just one tiny nit-pick, there are already 4 types of Warforged: Titan, Charger, Normal, and scout. So these would be the Fifths. Course, you probably already know that. Like I said, just a nitpick.Nah, I'm counting the Chargers and the Scouts as being in the same generation as the normal Warforged. We've got the big barely sentient Titans, we've got the Warforged (Normal, Scout, and Charger), and then the Thirds. That, and I wanted to keep the Thirds name to tie it back to Armitage.
Ch@pel 01-23-05, 09:56 PM	::sits eagerly at Edymnion feet:: Oh, oh, mista Edy! Where'd they come from? Who built them, I demand to know, so I can bash it as un-Eberronian and get all uppity about female warforged! ;)
Wren 01-23-05, 10:14 PM	Beautiful! I'd just recently watched Armitage III myself. I love the idea. Now question is how is it they look human? Are they a varient of living-construct closer related to a flesh golem?
Edymnion 01-23-05, 10:43 PM	Terminator style. Warforged skeletal core, living flesh wrapping. :)
Wren 01-23-05, 10:53 PM	Again... Interesting. Another query. Aside from the mostly cosmetic change of looking human how would this effect the warforged as they are layed out now. I could see changing the vulnerable to rusting grasp to allow for flesh to blah spells instead. As they would still be 'forged and have a composite skeleton they should still be effected by effects that target wood. Any other ideas?
Straylight 01-23-05, 11:02 PM	Now question is how is it they look human? Are they a varient of living-construct closer related to a flesh golem? I'd just call it the effect of an Eldritch Machine and use that to forestall any questions that may arise with the players. While I've never seen Armitage (I know, I know...), I DID recently get a chance to revisit Appleseed in the form of the new movie, and I'd personally go with that explanation: this Third type of Warforged is what you get when you introduce biological components to a Creation Forge proces. Even Merrix d'Cannith doesn't really understand how the Forges work, so Cannith people trying new things with them makes perfect sense. I wouldn't draw the "flesh golem" comparison because, let's face it, Flesh Golems have a bit of a "squick" factor to them, and that sort of destroys the bioroid-esque image if these things. One of the things that I like so much about the 'Forged is that Mr. Baker managed to avoid making them seem like machines -much like the bioroids/boomers/etc in [insert cyberpunk anime series here]. As with many things in Eberron, the 'how' behind the Thirds seems less important than the 'since:' nobody knows (or is admitting) how they were created, but, since they were, the world and the PCs now have to deal with it.
Wren 01-23-05, 11:13 PM	Well I'm less shooting for the "How" as compaired to "IF" the mechanics would change with the "NEW" Third model. Otherwise we are just looking at the same 'Ole warforged with a flesh jumpsuit. Not really my idea of a Third-type.
Wren 01-23-05, 11:19 PM	Although... We could just say that they are a more powerful (read higher level) version of 'forged right out of the Creation Forge. Give them a +1 enchantment to their composite plating and the "Glamered" armor enchantment. Since their skin is the composite plating this would give them the appearece of one unique human. Little rule-zero to squetch the "thats not how it works" and you are good to go.
Straylight 01-23-05, 11:38 PM	I'd just call that a Glamered 'Forged. the WF Ranger in my party right now is doing basically that with a Hat of Disguise, and it doesn't explain that wonderful little bit under Edy's spoiler. Yes, they ARE a more advanced type of Warforged -SO advanced, in fact, that the only thing that still qualifies them AS Warforged is that they're built, not born. That begs some interesting questions, though. You get into disucssions about things like whether they're constructs at all. Is being made, not born, enough to differentiate a WF Third from a human? What about if that distinction goes away after the first generation? Like I said, I'd treat these things like the S-clas Boomers from Bubblegum Crisis or the Bioroids from Appleseed. Basically, I'd do them like what you'd get if the ECS had been co-written by Shirow Masamune and William Gibson.
Wren 01-23-05, 11:51 PM	SEE! Thats what I am asking. Would the New "Third" version of 'forged work mechanically as 'forged? Otherwise you just have a human with some different flavor text. So do we make rules for a "Hybrid"? Something in between a Warforged and Human? -Resembles human only gets the forged bonus to Con. -Possibly still has the light fortification. -No bonus skills or feats -blah blah blah (you get the picture)
Brastan 01-24-05, 01:54 AM	Another twist is that these so called "Third Generation" Warforged are mostly just normal Humanoids and the rogue artificer is furthering some twisted agenda of the Cult of the Dragon Below. How creepy would that be? I have one source of Fleshy Warforged, Mordain the Flesh-weaver(pg 167). Such a high level transmuter can alter just about anything. Tag-teamed with an enchanter of similar level you have body and mind altering powers necessary to perpetrate some nasty schemes. Make no rules, there's no need for them. For game stats use the standard humanoids they emulate. The key comes in the description. This were the DMs ability to bend/ignore printed rules and martial for the sake of a good story is clearly the only rule one needs. Players don't need to know the every detail in the mechanics as long as the DM is being fair and consistent(not balanced). Also there is no need for players to make such a creature. It is solely a DMs personal plot device, like black powder guns. If the players want to make some there either meta-gameing way to much or they're bored and you need to give them something to do.
Wren 01-24-05, 07:16 AM	So you like the idea of the "human" with different flavor text. Just going of the idea of what Edy said 'bout how they look human he was going for more of a "Terminator" type approach. I like that idea and just wonder how to to it. Though... if we are basing it more off of "Thirds" human would work. Yet if we base it off of Naomi Armitage... well she is almost a "Fourth" type.