rassen bei charaktererstellung

ich wollt mal fragen ob du infos über die shapechanger aus eberron hast.

Aus Races of Eberron:

Changelings originated from unions between
doppelgangers and humanoids in the distant
past. Eventually, their descendants
became the changeling race. Like shifters,
they are a unique race that breeds true. Unlike shifters,
they have no distinct community and culture as
a species. For most of their history, they have lived in
humanoid settlements, often mistrusted and rarely at
ease. This scattering and dispersion of populations with
no central cultural focus has led to a variety of coping
techniques, expressed differently by each of the three
major changeling philosophies.

CHANGELING

RACIAL TRAITS

Shapechanger Subtype: Changelings are humanoids
with the shapechanger subtype.
• Medium: As Medium creatures, changelings have
no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Changeling base land speed is 30 feet.
• +2 racial bonus on saving throws against sleep and
charm effects: Changelings have slippery minds.
• +2 racial bonus on Bluff, Intimidate, and Sense
Motive checks: Changelings are inherently skilled
in deception and intimidation; though they
cannot actually detect thoughts as doppelgangers
can, they can intuitively read body language and
attitude with surprising accuracy.
• Natural Linguist: Changelings add Speak Language
to their list of class skills for any class
they adopt.
• Minor Change Shape (Su): Changelings have the
supernatural ability to alter their appearance as
though using a disguise self spell that affects their
bodies but not their possessions. This ability is not
an illusory effect but a minor physical alteration
of a changeling’s facial features, skin color and
texture, and size, within the limits described
for the spell. A changeling can use this ability
at will, and the alteration lasts until he changes
shape again. A changeling reverts to his natural
form when killed. A true seeing spell reveals
his natural form. When using this ability to
create a disguise, a changeling receives a +10
circumstance bonus on Disguise checks.
Using this ability is a full-round action.
• Automatic Languages: Common. Bonus Languages:
Auran, Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Gnome,
Halfling, and Terran.
• Favored Class: Rogue. A multiclass changeling’s
rogue class does not count when determining
whether he takes an experience point penalty for
multiclassing.

A DAY IN THE LIFE
The sounds of a waking city drift through the shuttered
window. Among the sour smells of humanity
and urban life, the smell of baking bread and the
warmth of the ovens drift up from the bakery
downstairs. Ot breathes deeply and smiles, happy
to start another day. She rises and dresses carefully,
in many layers. Her outer cloak secure about her
shoulders, she pauses in front of the mirror. An older
human male looks back, his face heavy from a life
of starchy food. His jowls rest comfortably on his
snug collar.
“Good morning, Azelandrik,” she murmurs.
She smiles, and the face in the mirror stretches
into a grin that almost removes the treble chin before
she lets it resume its normally dour expression. She
carefully examines this face, strokes her plump
cheeks, and thinks about stray whiskers. Staring
for a long moment, she decides on a few long nose
hairs instead.
Slowly and haltingly, she maneuvers her now prodigious
bulk and thick satchel down the stairs.
The baker is taking a tray of muffins out of the
oven. He looks up and grunts at his tenant. “Morning,
Azel.”
Azel raises a beefy hand and waves in greeting.
All morning, Azel works in his office at the docks,
checking manifests and reviewing cargo and transportation
records of the many ships that have entered
and left Sharn’s docks. His competence makes him
valuable to the city’s Office of Transportation. Due
to his age and health, they allow him to work only
half-days, laboring in the morning and leaving in
the early afternoon. He always brings work home
with him. Every day he totes his satchel to and from
the office.
Azel leaves the building and ponderously walks
toward the center of the city. Along his route, he enters
an alley. He never exits it.
Instead, a curvaceous, young, female elf wearing
loose breeches and a tunic emerges, carrying the same
bag Azel had. The elf walks jauntily, stopping in at a
number of bars and businesses, checking on a broad
network of contacts.
As she enters the Pewter Tankard, the bartender
greets her. “Usual, Melissandra?”
The elf nods.
A halfling seated at the bar finishes his drink and
tosses a coin to the barkeep for payment.
Melissandra sits in the recently vacated spot and
reaches for her wine with one hand as the other removes
and palms a note from under the bar stool.
“Just time for the one drink today,” she smiles.
After a few moments of idle conversation, she finishes
her drink and leaves.
Melissandra’s route, with many meanderings and
short stops, takes her inexorably closer and closer
to downtown.
In the late afternoon, she passes the offices of the
Champion Inquisitive Agency. Her sharp eyes notice
a man in the shadows of the doorway across the
street. He has the strong build and tough attitude of
someone who is no stranger to fighting. She passes
and enters a building around the corner, going up to
Melissandra’s living quarters. The room is sparsely
furnished with a bed and dresser. From the clothing
strewn about, it looks like two people, a male and a
female, live there.
She changes clothes into a stylish outfit with a
snazzy wide-brimmed cap pulled down over her
brow. As she adjusts her clothing, she changes her
form into that of a slender, male half-elf. He wears
the same outer cloak that Azel had, but turned
inside out.
He leaves the studio, calling out behind him, “Goodbye,
darling. See you later tonight.”
He walks purposefully to the Champion Inquisitive
Agency.
“Hello, boss,” an attractive human female greets
him. His secretary/receptionist/assistant is a fellow
changeling who finds this form effective for greeting
prospective clients and putting them at ease.
“Hi, Eva,” he says. “I’ve solved the smuggling case. I
know who’s bringing in the weapons.”
“Excellent, but right now, we’ve got company,” she
says indicating the closed door to the inner office.
“A young aristocrat. Terrified. Says a guy has been
following him.”
“I know. He’s across the street,” the half-elf says as
he opens the door to the inner office and turns his
attention to his new client. “Let me introduce myself.
I’m Dusk Steelgleam, proprietor of the Champion
Inquisitive Agency. I believe you have a problem that
I can solve.”

CHANGELINGS IN D&D
Changelings’ mutable forms give them preternatural
powers of deception, and wherever they go they face suspicion
and even a little fear. Changelings, although origninally
part of the Eberron setting, can easily be used in other
D&D campaign worlds. These versatile masters of disguise
might be suspected of any number of conspiracies or
treacheries, or they might be loyal allies of the humans
and elves; perhaps in your world the good nations have
been able to survive their wars with more powerful empires
of evil because of the intelligence brought to them
by heroic changeling spies.

CHANGELING
PSYCHOLOGY
Members of most other races have a clear answer to the
question “Who am I?” Dwarves are clever with stone,
stable, and skillful against goblins and giants. Elves are
graceful and observant. Half-orcs are strong and gruff.
Each of the civilized races has a sense of belonging and
the comfort of the society of others like them. They
are accepted by and accepting of others of their kind.
Not so with changelings.
The mutability of changelings means that they have
no one clear place in the world. Most changelings live
scattered among communities dominated by other
races. These other races view them with suspicion.
While a minority group with a stronger sense of self
might react to this prejudice by banding together and
forming a strong community of their own, changelings
are anything but unified. Many changelings view each
other with suspicion, too, and are often prejudiced
against their own kind.
Roleplaying Application: Changelings have no
preset place in society. They feel driven to adopt
another race’s persona, create multiples of their own,
or find out what roles fate and destiny intend for them.
Almost all changelings hold to one of three philosophical
viewpoints and see themselves as passers, becomers,
or reality seekers. You should choose one of these
philosophies during character creation. It can provide
guidance in handling many situations.
When considering others of their kind, changelings
tend to have more stereotypes and prejudices than even
the most opinionated of species. They tend to be very
dismissive of changelings who have different mindsets
from their own. Changelings judge each other harshly
and with little tolerance.

PASSERS
“Trouble has keen eyes. Why wave?”
—Passer adage
Passers are the most humanlike of changelings in
their thoughts and perspectives. They are ordinary
people. They just want to be part of a community and
live their lives. A passer endeavors to repress or deny
his mutable nature.
Since living as a changeling brings suspicion and distrust,
passers use their minor change shape ability to fit
into society more easily, to “pass” in their chosen communities.
Each most likely has one form he chooses
and keeps. Most often, it’s human, but in a community
not dominated by humans it matches the majority race.
Some so thoroughly adopt the new identities that they
closely identify with the races portrayed. They rarely
travel or adopt other identities.
Becomers, reality seekers, and many changelings
who have chosen more adventurous lives view passers
with contempt, calling them “actors” or “pretenders”
who have denied their true selves.
Roleplaying Application: Of the three changeling
philosophies, the passer is the least adventure-oriented.
A passer works hard to be perceived as a member of
a more accepted race. If you’re playing a passer, you
have a single cover identity to which you cleave, and
you take pains to maintain that persona. Good feats
include Persona Immersion and Racial Emulation
(described in Chapter 6 of this book), both of which
help you with your masquerade.
As an adventurer, you put yourself in stressful
situations and constantly risk discovery. In attitude,
you’re apt to be suspicious and more than a bit paranoid.
No one is entirely trustworthy. How can you
be sure someone is the person she represents herself
to be?

BECOMERS
“Life is short, but I’m not limited to just one.”
—Becomer adage
For becomers, living is being not just one person, but
many people. These changelings actively use their
minor change shape ability and live life in many different
forms. They disguise, deceive, and lie as needed
to further their individual goals.
At the core of a becomer’s identity is the belief that
the central aspect of a changeling is his mutability. To
fully be a changeling, one must change, convincingly
and frequently. For many, however, there is a purpose
and integrity to these changes. A becomer considers
himself simultaneously to be both a mutable changeling
and the individual he portrays. Those most adept
at grasping this duality of nature and devoted to the
Truth of the Now often pursue the chameleon prestige
class (described in Races of Destiny).
Roleplaying Application: Becomers like challenges.
Taking risks is part and parcel of the nature
of your multiple impersonations. The risk is limited
by your willingness to drop an identity
and create a new one. Many becomers at least
dabble in the rogue or bard class because of those
classes’ long lists of social interaction and deception
class skills. Good feat options include Master Linguist,
Persona Immersion, and Quick Change. Some
also take Racial Emulation to enhance their different
personas. (These feats are described in Chapter 6 of
this book.)
As a becomer, it’s hard for you to admit that something
might be beyond your abilities or to say “I can’t.”
When a becomer rogue feels firmly immersed in the
role of a wizard, it’s possible for him to forget, for a
moment, that he can’t really cast spells.

REALITY SEEKERS
“Every question has an answer.”
—Reality seeker adage
A few changelings reject the passers’ notion of
conformity at the cost of identity and spurn the
becomers’ philosophies
of transience and
impermanence. These
introspectives believe
that there is an
ultimate Truth,
a Perfect Form,
and a Way of Being.
Reality is out there,
and it can be sought
and understood. Their
quest is to discover
what’s real.
The reality seekers, also
known as perfecters, prefer
their natural form and
the society of their own
kind. These changelings
hold strong convictions
and tend toward lawful
alignment. Most do not engage in
deception, but the definition of deception
varies among them. Some
reality seekers find any thing remotely
deceptive to be disgusting,
while most hold this high standard only
in reference to their own kind and feel that
absolute truth and integrity are only due
other changelings.
Since the Last War ended, many reality seekers
have looked with envy or admiration at the
struggles of the newly free warforged and some of
their attempts to develop communities. Building on
this idea, several utopian changeling communities
led by reality seekers have formed in various parts
of Khorvaire.
Roleplaying Applications: The quest for Truth
and the Perfect Form can manifest in a wide variety
of ways. Any of the feats suited for changelings (see
Chapter 6) make a good choice for a reality seeker.
Decide how you view deception and deceptive acts.
The minor shape change ability is a natural part of
the changeling nature and one that all reality seekers
acknowledge. This ability gives the changeling a great
deal of power to deceive. When is doing this acceptable?
Do you act without guile in dealings with everyone?
Only with other changelings? With changelings and
your fellow party members? Just with your closest
friends and associates?

CHANGELING LIFE
No one guiding principle is common to all changelings.
The most significant factor determining how a
changeling leads his life is that of his guiding philosophy.
As a changeling, every aspect of one’s upbringing
and aspirations varies based on one’s worldview.

IDENTITY
“I know you are, but who am I?”
—Frit, changeling rogue
Central to how a changeling behaves is his self-concept.
Does he think of himself as a female half-elf, many
different people of either gender, or as a thin, gray,
genderless creature?

Passers
Passers act to hide their changeling nature. They do
not want the conflict and challenges associated with
the species.
A passer adopts a single identity, including race
and gender, and endeavors to live his life in this way,
without change. The passer lives in constant fear of
discovery. Most communities that discover they’ve
been harboring a passer react harshly, occasionally
even violently, against the changeling.

Becomers
A becomer knows that he has multiple identities inside
him. He brims with the potential to become a young
male elf, an old female half-orc, a middle-aged male
gnome, and many, many other personas.
A becomer wants to explore and stretch these multiple
identities. He likes to sample the grand variety
of humanoid life as if eating from a grand banquet
table, adopting one role after another. Some of these
assumed identities become favorites, to be returned to
many times; other personas are discarded after only
short trials.

Reality Seekers
A reality seeker may adopt other forms but is first and
foremost a changeling with his own true form. The
concept of ideal form and ultimate truth occupies
a treasured place in a reality seeker’s identity. Each
reality seeker adopts a personal code of conduct that
defines these concepts and then strongly adheres
to it.

GENDER AND SEXUALITY
An important aspect of a changeling’s identity is the
issue of gender. Unlike doppelgangers, which are
entirely genderless, a changeling does have a default
gender that manifests in adolescence, but each changeling
can adapt his or her form to be of either gender,
hermaphroditic (both genders simultaneously), or
entirely genderless. A changeling can alter his or her
gender (and reproductive abilities) as part of using the
race’s minor shapechange ability.

Changeling Reproduction
Two changeling parents breed a changeling child. A
changeling and a humanoid can mate to produce an
offspring with the child having a 50% chance to be
of either race. If a changeling with the Racial Emulation
feat (see page 110) matches its subtype to that of a
partner, a child resulting from the union will always
be of that humanoid subtype.
If a changeling in a female form conceives a child,
she loses the ability to change her gender until after
the child is born.

Passers
Passers always choose one gender and feel very odd or
uncomfortable at the thought of not being that gender.
They follow the sexual norms of their portrayed races
but often live celibate lives.
They find the gender-flexible becomers disgusting
perversions, and the often genderless reality seekers
even more disquieting.

Becomers
Becomers usually feel comfortable switching between
genders. A becomer tends to adopt whatever gender
most suits his role of the moment.
Becomers so thoroughly adopt the multiplicity of
personas they represent that it can cause incredible
confusion in relationships. Take, for example, the tale
of Bin the Legendary Lover.
Bin was a becomer who held many different identities
and was extremely true to them all. The changeling
was Fitron Trueheart, a male dwarf merchant devoted
to his dwarf wife and staunchly adhering to their
vows of monogamy. Fitron was away from home quite
a bit for reasons of “business.” Alternatively, Bin was
Loopmottin “Stumbleduck” Nackle, a female gnome
who occasionally worked at a brothel in Sharn. At other
times, Bin visited Rainhaven to meet with her mate
as a shifter named Carson.
Identity after identity unfolds, and tale after tale
is told of this changeling hero and his many loves
and escapades. Most show Bin on the edge of being
discovered and tell of how he cleverly manages
to conceal his identity. The longest version of the
popular tale links Bin to more than fifty different
long-term relationships and hundreds of other more
casual liaisons.

Reality Seekers
Reality seekers prefer other reality seekers as their
romantic companions or mates. For them, the most
important aspects of a relationship with another
changeling are truth, honesty, and trust. Their worldview
includes the concept of sharing themselves with
multiple partners and even group marriage. They are
open with each other in issues of gender.
Roleplaying Application: Consider which gender
is most comfortable for your character. How much of
your time do you spend in that form? How comfortable
is your character with changing gender?
What type of person is an ideal romantic partner
for you? Are you actively seeking a life mate, or do you
avoid romantic entanglements entirely?

CHILDREN
Changeling babies behave much as all other humanoid
babies. When playing with an adult or older child,
a baby mimics and imitates the gestures and expressions
of the person interacting with it. Changeling
babies also reflexively endeavor to duplicate the facial
features of their playmates. For their first two years
of life, when they are asleep, their features relax
into the soft, bland features of a changeling in its
natural form.

Passers
Passers endeavor not to have changeling children. A
shapechanging child dramatically endangers a cover
identity in an adopted society. Some do fall in love with
other humanoids and take the risk that the child will
be a changeling.
Changeling children born to passers are sometimes
abandoned, given up for adoption, or, in rare
instances, killed. Another possibility is that a mother
may go to another community and try to swap her
child for another infant of the appropriate humanoid
subtype. The fate of a changeling left in place of a
nonshapechanger baby is often a sad one.
When a passer keeps a changeling child, the infant
is taught from birth to repress its shapechanging ability
and adopt the race portrayed by the parent. These
children are often isolated until they gain control
over their shapechanging ability (usually about the
age of two).

Becomers
Becomers exhibit the most varied array of childbearing
and childrearing options among all changelings.
A becomer’s partner might be another changeling
or some other humanoid. Some of these unions
produce children. A pregnant becomer often feels
restricted and ill at ease because she is unable to
change gender and often responds to this restriction
by changing form more often (while retaining
her gender).
A child born to a becomer is welcomed, loved, and
accepted by its parents whether or not it’s a changeling.
Nonchangeling offspring, though, are often treated by
changeling parents as if they have some impairment or
limitation. It feels odd to the adult that the child will
never be able to experience a rich variety of lives and
forms. These children are encouraged to overcome
this perceived “disability” by pursuing endeavors that
enable them to change form, such as becoming a druid
or a transmuter.

Reality Seekers
These changelings desire their children to be changelings
as well, able to understand the mysteries of
the changeling form and perhaps achieve ultimate
truth. Youngsters are encouraged to explore their
shapechanging abilities and also their more relaxed,
featureless forms.
These changelings prefer to raise children in an
open community of reality seekers. Every adult takes
an active role in raising children. The children are
taught to value their natural changeling forms but
also to practice adopting other guises to hone the
shapechanging aspect of their heritage.
Roleplaying Application: The spectrum of
potential experiences of changeling children is
broad. Who were your parents? Were they passers,
becomers, reality seekers, or an unusual mix? Did
you grow up to follow their philosophy, rebel against
it, or simply choose another path? How do they feel
about your lifestyle?

LEISURE
“You can be poor and miserable or rich and miserable.
Only a fool would think that there isn’t a choice in that
statement. The wealthy can afford to be comforted in
their misery.”
—Changeling adage

Almost all changelings would prefer to live a life of
ease. They work just as hard as they need to in order
to ensure fine comforts they crave. Changelings
enjoy fine food, drink, clothing, equipment, and
accommodations. Why make do with just the necessities
when you can have luxury? When possible,
changelings live in the finest style available, often
gaining things on credit (their own or that of an
assumed identity).

Pets: Changelings of all types tend to have pets
that change their forms. Creatures such as frogs and
caterpillars fascinate them.

Collections: Most changelings
manifest their individual passions
and proclivities in collections of
items. Some like quantity; others go
to great lengths to acquire specimens
of the best quality. Almost every
changeling has something that he
prizes and for which he is willing to
make sacrifi ces.
For example, Fel collects shoes and
keeps a sizable collection on display,
decorating his two-story home. He
owns more than two hundred fi fty
pairs. While he prefers a male form
most of the time, he will change his
gender for the sole purpose of showing
off some of the daintier and more
feminine shoes in his collection to
the best advantage.
Roleplaying Application: Pick something
to collect. It could be a single
feather from many different types
of birds (leading you to seek out
achaierai and rocs), jewelry (driving
you to find long-lost heirlooms),
or books (inspiring you to build a
huge stronghold just to store your
impressive library).

Experiential Indulgences: In
addition to possessing the fi nest
things, changelings enjoy supremely
extravagant activities. Hot, herbstrewn
baths, relaxing massages, stylish
haircuts, manicures, pedicures, servants,
and any other life-enhancing
services are sought and enjoyed.
Changeling adventurers would rather
not camp “in the rough.”
Roleplaying Application: Why camp
in the woods if an inn is an option?
Why eat trail rations if a restaurant
is nearby? Indulge yourself as often
as you can. Life is short; fill it with
good things.

The “I’m You!” Game: Almost all
changeling children have played the
“I’m You!” game. It’s such a universal,
natural game for members of the race
that it can be found even among
isolated groups or communities
of changelings.
A child uses his minor change
shape ability to impersonate someone
else. Usually, the game begins
with impersonating a peer, such as going to a friend’s
home for dinner disguised as the friend and trying to
fool the adults or other children not in on the deception.
Knowing the other child well, the changeling
finds it easy to play the part for short durations. Success
tends to embolden the child into impersonating one of
his parents. This often leads to stressful encounters and
repercussions, even if the exact nature of the deception
isn’t found out.
Passers strenuously discourage children from playing
this game. It puts the passer’s life in jeopardy. Often,
a child will be punished or even sent away for a time
until he outgrows the urge.
Becomers and reality seekers both encourage their
children’s experimentation with assumed identities. A
becomer parent views this type of game as a manifestation
of growth toward adulthood. The becomer adult
uses the skills the game teaches as part of his daily
life. One might even say that an adult becomer plays
a version of the “I’m You!” game every day of his life.
A reality seeker parent regards a game such as this as
part of a child’s immature phase, rather like the activity
of playing with dolls.
Roleplaying Application: When playing a becomer
or a reality seeker, occasionally impersonate an ally
or one of your ally’s friends. This is usually done in a
spirit of fun and generally without maliciousness and
in circumstances that would not cause harm. Why not
take advantage of an invitation to a party that your
ally turned down? If you have a shy friend, why not
break the ice by having a first date with a prospective
romantic partner for the friend? Of course, it can be
quite convenient to visit exclusive places to which your
ally (or enemy) has a membership.

ARTS AND CRAFTS
Changelings enjoy the finer things of life, including
art. They appreciate the aesthetics of many different
styles but prefer media able to express nuances and
change. Most of these forms of artistic expression are
temporary and experiential.

Baked Goods: The changes that occur as ingredients
come together to form intricate bakery products often
intrigue changelings. Basic ingredients such as flour,
yeast, sugar, eggs, and milk can be combined in many
different ways to produce dishes that look and taste
very different from one another.

Fabrics: Textiles that shimmer and shift color
when the wearer moves are very popular among
changelings.

Performance Art: As creators of art, changelings
invest much of their artistic energy in dynamic
performances. Improvisation is a trait of most changeling
bards’ singing, storytelling, and music making.
They enjoy the challenge of adapting their skill to meet
the needs of their audiences and fellow performers.

Sculpture: Solid, immutable materials, such as
marble, rarely hold the interest of a changeling for
long. Most interesting to a changeling is any material
that changes form. Material such as ice provides an
interesting medium whose changes an artist must
consider. The master ice sculptor not only creates a
figure that will be beautiful when it is placed on the
banquet table but also one that transforms as it melts,
creating new, interesting, and pleasing shapes.

Visual Arts: Changelings prefer visual arts that
change when looked at in different lights or under
different conditions. A portrait that appears to be
smiling when viewed from one angle and frowning
from another vantage point would be a success
among changelings. Optical illusion images, such as
a picture that appears to be a vase when considered
in one way or two faces when considered in another,
provide amusement.
Roleplaying Application: A changeling’s reaction
to arts and crafts is often to contemplate what it was
originally or what it will be tomorrow. You hold values
that differ from those of other races. For instance, a
dwarf might speak of a building with grand architecture
that will last a millennium; you would wonder
how bored people would get seeing the same thing
day after day.

TECHNOLOGY AND MAGIC
Changelings respect and admire the power of technology
and magic to create change.

Passers
Whatever can help a passer carry on his ruse is a good
thing. Those aspects of technology or magic that strip
away illusion or falsehood are avoided.

Becomers
Some becomers use magic as a means of sharing their
philosophies and vision with other races. How better
to show your human barbarian friend the joy of being a
changeling than to foster her appreciation for a changeable
form with an enlarge person spell?

Reality Seekers
Many reality seekers believe that the Perfect Form
is one achieved purely through one’s own skills and
abilities without the aid of technological or magical
crutches. They are useful aids while one is on the path
to ultimate enlightenment, however.
Roleplaying Application: You like magic items
that produce change in some way. These could be
items that have a variable effect, such as a rod of wonder;
that alter their substance, such as a figurine of wondrous
power; or that change the appearance of something
else, such as dust of illusion.

WAR
Members of the changeling race are scattered in
every country. They have no one unifying cause or
identity. Changelings consider their world-shaping
philosophy much more important than any allegiance
to temporal powers.

Passers
A passer fervently follows whatever patriotic spiel is
the dominant one for his adopted identity. Passers
often feel as though they have to prove themselves and
earn their fabricated places in society. They tend to get
caught up in the rhetoric of war and eagerly adopt the
“us versus them” mentality. They happily follow where
the generals lead for whatever cause is the popular one.
They participate as patriots in war with zeal bordering
on fanaticism.
War is extremely dangerous for a passer. He faces
peril from both the enemy and his own allies. If a
changeling with an assumed identity is found in the
ranks, he will almost certainly be killed as a spy, no
matter how innocent or loyal a citizen he is.

Becomers
War for a becomer is an individual decision based
on personal experiences and desire. In general, the
regimen and discipline of standard military service
hold little appeal for the change-loving becomer.
A becomer may well choose to serve queen and
country, but most frequently does so as a spy or
information gatherer.

Reality Seekers
By the nature of their philosophy, reality seekers
oppose war. War’s violence and destruction deviate
from the quest for reality and perfection. While truth
might be found through the conflict of challenged
beliefs, it is not found in violence and warfare.
At best, war is a distraction from one’s pursuit of
truth and should be avoided. At worst, it’s a senseless,
idiotic slaughter of other changelings. Killing other
changelings is depriving them of the ability to find
truth. That is perhaps the only “sin” for a reality seeker.
Because most changelings who participate in war
are disguised, it’s impossible to be sure you’re only
killing nonchangelings.
All reality seekers opt out of war. If conscripted, the
changeling leaves and adopts a disguise to facilitate
his freedom.

CHANGELING SOCIETY
AND CULTURE
Changelings live within other races’ societies and
cultures. Both passers and becomers fit themselves
into the established norms of the community.
Recently, reality seekers have sought to form purely
changeling communities with their own societies
and cultures. Some feel they are establishing an
ideal environment, others that they are discovering
suppressed truths. Either way, the reality seekers
are the only subgroup of changelings to create
distinctive communities.

Reality Seekers
The concept of a purely changeling community had
been considered and contemplated for many, many
years. Many changelings viewed it as a grand idea
and talked about it, but no one set about making this
wildly idealistic theoretical endeavor a reality—until
the Last War ended.
Now, much of the societal order of Khorvaire is
being reexamined in practical ways. For example, the
Treaty of Thronehold recognized warforged as free
and living beings. Some warforged set up camps and
small communities and started to establish a common
culture—actually doing what the changeling race had
long talked about!
Spontaneously around the continent, small numbers
of changelings have begun to form changeling
communities. Most of these hold to the reality seeker
philosophy and want to explore what it means to be
a changeling. These groups are usually small, numbering
from four to fifty changelings, and function
independently of each other.

CHANGELING SOCIETAL ROLES
Changelings lack any true culture or society of their
own and hence do not have clear roles and duties in
a community. Most live as aliens among other races.
The changeling communities referred to above are
too newly formed for clear roles and responsibilities
to have emerged.

RELIGION
Religion, like much else about changelings, is a highly
individualized matter, strongly influenced by the three
changeling philosophies. Most changelings honor the
Traveler, one of the Dark Six.

Passers
A passer openly worships whatever is the most suitable
deity for her chosen disguise. In times of stress or if
their cover identities are threatened, most passers
will offer silent prayers to the Traveler, the master
of deception.

Becomers
Becomers admire the duplicity of the Traveler. A god
who is said to roam the land in a thousand disguises
is the ideal god for a becomer. Some changelings who
follow the becomer philosophy indulge in the worship
of Kol Korran or Olladra because of their emphasis on
wealth or good fortune.

Reality Seekers
A reality seeker tends to be more devoted to the ideal
of Truth or of the Perfect Form than to a specific
pantheon or deity. Most reality seeker clerics choose
to serve their philosophy rather than an established
religion. The few who follow a religion tend to choose
the Traveler, though some worship Aureon.

CHANGELING HOLIDAYS
The Feast of the Traveler is celebrated by changelings
and nonchangelings alike. It is a day to honor the most
mysterious member of the Dark Six. The focus of the
event is offering kindness to strangers, for the Traveler
can walk the land in any one of a thousand guises. This
is the day to celebrate and share.
In most communities, this holiday becomes a grand
street festival with everyone bringing food and drink to
be distributed and enjoyed. No business is conducted
and nothing is given with expectation of gain. This is
a day when people relax and give gifts. The recipient
of a present receives it, laughingly quoting the proverb
“Beware the gifts of the Traveler,” and raises a glass to
toast the Dark Six.

Passers
A passer faithfully observes all the holidays that
are celebrated by those belonging to the race of his
adopted identity.

Becomers
Becomers celebrate all sorts of holidays. They often
think nothing of disguising themselves and joining
other people’s parties and festivities. They have little
in the way of unique changeling holidays, but in any
given week, they have usually been part of some festival
or organized merriment.

Reality Seekers
The experimental communities recently formed
by reality seekers usually commemorate the date of
their founding. The individuals are also important to
the larger group, and as such every person has at least
one special day of celebration. This date is variable.
For some, it is the day they mastered some aspect of
their minds or bodies (generally when one acquires
a new feat tailored to changelings). For others not
raised with the philosophy, it is the day they decided
to become reality seekers.

HISTORY AND FOLKLORE
Long ago, a changeling legend says, the Traveler decided
to create a new race. Why he did, no one knows, and
even powerful divination magic produces ambiguous
answers to the question. Was it a passing whim? A
retaliation for some conflict among the Dark Six? The
first move in an ingenious, far-reaching plan?
What is known is that the Traveler channeled his
will and desires through doppelgangers, granting
them additional powers for a time while he sent them
out to create his new progeny by interbreeding with
humans and other humanoids. The offspring became
the first changelings.
In addition to this origination story, changelings
have a wide variety of inventive, unverifiable tales
and heroes. Some make wild claims, such as that
King Galifar I was a changeling, a story researched
and refuted by sages but persistent as a changeling
urban legend.
In truth, most of the changelings who have contributed
most dramatically or profoundly to the events
of history did so in the guise of other humanoids,
and only a few notable personalities, such as Bin the
Legendary Lover, feature openly as changelings in
historic folk tales.
A fair number of legends and tales about changelings
have surfaced in the folklore and superstitions of other
humanoid races.

Passers
Some parents tease their children by declaring that
they are not their offspring, but instead are changelings
who were substituted for their own flesh and blood.
Occasionally, an irked parent threatens to trade a misbehaving
child to the changelings. These tales contain
some grains of truth.

Becomers
When tales of changelings are told, they are usually
about Becomers. A large number of stories are urban
legends focusing on changelings. They all feature a
member of the race in disguise, duping someone who
later finds out that what happened couldn’t have been
true. Most are couched in very dubious frameworks,
such as “the cousin of a friend of my sister knows a
man who swears that . . .” Perhaps the most popular
tale after Bin the Legendary Lover is that of Madam
Mas and the Bard.
Madam Mas was a wealthy female half-elf who lived
in Sharn, the City of Towers. Society accepted her as
a member of the newly rich who ran some local businesses
and had made her fortune through striking a
deal with some of the pirates in Shargon’s Teeth, thus
allowing her merchant ships to sail through unmolested.
(The tale doesn’t say what the pirates received
in return.)
To celebrate the ships’ safe return to port in
Stormreach, Madam Mas threw a party to which
more than one hundred people were invited. She
introduced her guests to her new fiancé. Throughout
the party, she also made introductions for his very
large, extended family of four siblings, two parents,
three grand parents, five aunts, and two uncles. As
the evening drew to a close, Madam Mas told of
the little joke she had pulled on her guests. Her
“fiancé” was really a changeling bard hired to provide
amusement for the occasion. He had played that part
well, everyone agreed. The party was stunned into
silence as he demonstrated how there wasn’t any
“extended family” in attendance.
He had played
every role!
Another story tells of a woman who returned home
from running errands and had a nice, peaceful conversation
with her usually quarrelsome mother. As
the story goes on to point out, the mother could not
have had the chat with her daughter—because she was
lying dead in the next room. Some who hear the story
assert that the mysterious fi gure was a ghost; others
insist it was a changeling.

Reality Seekers
One of the few bits of humanoid folklore that
speak of reality seekers relates the story of a small,
remote town that was suffering from an outbreak
of a debilitating disease. The healer was among the
fi rst to succumb and she lay delirious, unable to help
her friends and neighbors who were soon weakened
by the illness.
Just when nearly everyone had been stricken with
the illness, a strange-looking creature walked into
town—a changeling in its featureless form. It looked
strange and spoke not at all. If the townsfolk were well,
they might have attacked it to drive it off.
The creature looked around, then went into the
healer’s home and touched her on the shoulder.
Immediately, the disease left her and her mind cleared.
She tried to thank the stranger, but the changeling
simply left. The healer was able to nurse the rest of
the small community back to health. The featureless
creature was never seen again. An antichangeling
version of the story alleges that the changeling caused
the sickness in the first place, merely so it could
cure it.
The most knowledgeable bards may know that the
changeling was actually a reality seeker paladin who
found the town dying and used its remove disease ability
to cure the healer, who was then able to help large
numbers of other people.

CHANGELINGS AND
OTHER RACES
As a race, changelings have no bonds with members
of other races, who are viewed with suspicion and
distrust. That said, certain groups of halflings and
changelings have recently displayed attitudes of cooperation
with, or at least tolerance for, members of the
other group (see below).
Changelings often view each other with the same
prejudice they feel for other races. Most live as a
minority among other races and go about in disguise.
Those who choose to reveal themselves as changelings
are rare and have only recently been forming
their own all-changeling communities removed from
other settlements.

Halflings: Halflings are truly the most accepting
and tolerant of races. The halfling values of independence
and individuality make them good potential
allies for changelings. They tend to see changelings
as curiosities and challenges. In urban settings, they
often share interests and partnerships in illegal or
underworld activities. The reality seeker changelings
who have recently founded their own communities
have often chosen to erect their settlements in halfling-
controlled areas because they expect little if any
objection or resistance from the halflings.

CREATING CHANGELING
CHARACTERS
Passers are mostly NPCs who wish nothing more than
to live their lives in their adopted identities.
The most player-character-friendly of the
changeling philosophies is that of the Becomer.
When playing a Becomer, you may want to have multiple
miniatures and cover identities ready to adopt as
situations warrant.

SPECIAL CHANGELING OPTIONS
As a changeling, your character qualifies for some
racial feats and changeling-oriented prestige classes
unavailable to PCs of other races. The feats and prestige
classes listed below are described in Chapters 6 and
7, respectively.
Feats: Disturbing Visage, Mutable Body, Persona
Immersion, Quick Change, Racial Emulation.
Prestige Classes: cabinet trickster, recaster.

CHANGELINGS AS CHARACTERS
Most changelings prefer classes that allow them to use
their powers of deception.

Bard: The life of a bard appeals to both passers and
becomers. A passer might become a bard because it
provides skill to maintain the cover the changeling has
created. Becomers enjoy the opportunity to perform
formally and informally while playing many different
roles. A bard’s life offers nearly endless variety and
diverse opportunities. The soft persuasive powers
appeal to changelings who like to influence people
and manipulate thoughts.

Cleric: Changeling clerics prove interesting and
complex characters. Passers tend to devoutly worship
gods or philosophies favored by their adopted communities.
Becomers frequently worship the Traveler.
Some reality seekers give homage to the Traveler, but
many follow their own path toward perfection and
truth. The latter choose any two cleric domains but
frequently select Transformation or Truth (see page
180) and rarely choose Artifice, Shadow, or Trickery.
(The Artifice and Shadow domains are described in
the EBERRON Campaign Setting.)

Fighter: Few changelings become fighters. Some
passers study the warrior arts in their pure form.
Psionic Classes: If you use the Expanded Psionics
Handbook in your game, the changeling’s racial skill
bonuses mesh well with the class skill lists of the seer,
shaper, and telepath disciplines of the psion class.
Thematically, the changeling also takes well to the
egoist discipline of the psion class, which consists of
powers that alter the psion’s psychobiology (or that of
creatures near him).
For alternative options for the changeling egoist, see
the changeling racial substitution levels, page 121.

Rogue: Changelings of every philosophy find a
rogue’s skill set useful; it’s not at all surprising that
rogue is a changeling’s favored class. Rogues can be
skill-sampling jacks of all trades, or specialize into
many different archetypes. The deceptive rogue
emphasizes skills such as Bluff and Disguise and
takes feats such as Improved Feint and Improved
Trip. The information seeker maximizes ranks in
Diplomacy, Gather Information, Knowledge (local),
Listen, and Sense Motive and often selects Alertness,
Investigate (see the EBERRON Campaign Setting), or
Investigator as feats. Those more interested in being
thieves or support for dungeon-based adventuring
parties choose to concentrate on Disable Device,
Hide, Move Silently, Open Lock, Search, Sleight of
Hand, and Spot.
For alternative options for the changeling rogue, see
the changeling racial substitution levels, page 122.

Sorcerer: Sorcerers emphasize a tie to draconic
blood. Changelings generally focus on their doppelganger
heritage, so few become sorcerers.

Wizard: Changelings like magic and its ability to
manipulate or reveal. Most choose to specialize in
divination, illusion, or transmutation magic.
For alternative options for the changeling wizard, see
the changeling racial substitution levels, page 123.

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