Warforged are living constructs originally created as weapons for the Last War in Eberron. They are made from a combination of wood, stone, metal, and magic, but unlike your average suit of animated armor, they are fully sentient people who can think, feel, make their own decisions, and presumably get very tired of people asking whether they are technically a robot.
The newest version of the Warforged comes from Eberron: Forge of the Artificer. The older version from Eberron: Rising from the Last War is now considered Legacy content, so I’ll be using the updated rules for this guide.
Appearance-wise, Warforged can vary quite a bit depending on what they were originally built to do and how much they have modified themselves since. Their bodies are usually made from wooden or root-like fibers wrapped around a frame of metal or stone, with armored plates covering the outside. Some Warforged still look very obviously like military machines, while others customize themselves with different materials, colors, clothing, carvings, or whatever else helps them build an identity of their own.
And that last part is probably the most interesting thing about playing one.
Warforged were literally made for a purpose, usually war, and then gained the freedom to figure out what they actually wanted to do with their lives. Your character could be perfectly happy remaining a soldier, but they could also become a chef, priest, detective, wizard, artist, or guy who discovers fishing and decides this is clearly what they were manufactured for all along.
If you’ve ever wanted to play a character who is extremely durable, doesn’t need normal sleep, can shrug off a bunch of environmental problems, and gets to explore what happens when a living weapon suddenly gets to choose its own purpose, Warforged are a really fun option.
Warforged Traits
Warforged can be Small or Medium and have a walking speed of 30 feet. More importantly, the updated Warforged is a Construct instead of a Humanoid.
That can occasionally change how spells and abilities interact with you since some of them specifically target Humanoids. However, don’t treat this like you suddenly have all the immunities of a random robot monster from the Monster Manual. You are still a player character and can be healed normally by effects that target creatures.
Your first major trait is Construct Resilience.
You have resistance to Poison damage and Advantage on saving throws made to avoid or end the Poisoned condition.
This is a pretty solid defensive feature. Poison shows up in traps, spells, monster attacks, gases, weird mushrooms your party absolutely didn’t need to eat, etc. Taking half damage from it and being harder to Poison will come in handy sooner or later.
You also get Integrated Protection, which gives you a +1 bonus to your Armor Class. If you put on armor, it also can’t be removed against your will while you’re alive.
Honestly, the +1 AC is probably the biggest reason Warforged work with so many classes. It isn’t flashy, but Armor Class comes up constantly. An enemy missing you by exactly one point because you’re made out of metal is going to feel much better than it sounds while reading the character sheet.
Older Warforged had to spend an hour incorporating armor into their bodies, but that restriction has been removed in the newest version. You can just wear armor normally now.
Sentry’s Rest covers the whole “do robots sleep?” question.
No, basically.
You don’t need to sleep, and magic can’t put you to sleep. When taking a Long Rest, you can spend six hours motionless and inactive instead. You still remain conscious during this time.
This makes you pretty damn good at keeping watch.
While the elf is meditating, the human is asleep, and the barbarian is snoring loud enough to ruin any chance of an ambush anyway, you can just sit there staring into the darkness for six hours.
That is either extremely useful or incredibly creepy depending on which side of the campfire you’re sitting on.
Warforged also get Specialized Design, which gives you proficiency in one skill and one tool of your choice.
This is a nice little feature because it can represent what your character was originally designed to do. A battlefield medic might know Medicine and Herbalism Tools. A scout could take Stealth and Thieves’ Tools. An engineer might go with Investigation and Smith’s Tools.
On the other hand, you don’t have to connect it to your original purpose at all. Maybe your former soldier discovered painting after the war and decided they would rather become really good with Painter’s Supplies. Who am I to tell a seven-foot metal person how to enjoy retirement?
Finally, you get Tireless.
You don’t gain Exhaustion from dehydration, malnutrition, or suffocation.
This basically means things like food, water, and breathing aren’t going to wear you down the same way they would other adventurers. This can be extremely useful in specific situations like underwater exploration, deserts, toxic environments, or getting buried somewhere without air.
It’s one of those traits that might do absolutely nothing for five sessions and then suddenly make your character the only person who isn’t having a very serious problem.
You Don’t Have to Play a Robot
The biggest roleplaying trap with Warforged is probably going full “emotionless robot.”
You know the character.
“What is… love?”
“I do not understand humor.”
“BEEP BOOP. INITIATING FRIENDSHIP PROTOCOL.”
That can be funny for a session, but Warforged aren’t machines pretending to be people. They are people who happen to have been manufactured.
They can feel fear, anger, happiness, sadness, love, curiosity, jealousy, and everything else. The interesting part is that many of them may be experiencing those things while trying to understand what kind of person they actually want to become.
Maybe your Warforged was built as a soldier and genuinely misses the structure of military life. Maybe they hated every second of it. Maybe they were built to protect someone who is now dead and have no idea what to do next.
Or maybe they aren’t having some massive existential crisis at all.
Maybe they finished fighting, opened a bakery, and are having a pretty decent time.
You can still have some fun with the constructed body, though. Maybe your Warforged takes sayings literally because they grew up around soldiers. Maybe they collect little decorations and bolt them onto themselves. Maybe they have absolutely no understanding of why everyone gets so upset when they sit completely motionless in the corner all night with their eyes open.
Just don’t feel like every Warforged has to slowly learn the concept of friendship like they’re the protagonist of a sci-fi movie.
Best Classes to Play as a Warforged in DnD 5e
Warforged are one of those species that can work with basically anything. The +1 AC is useful for every class, poison resistance is always nice, and ability score increases come from your background under the current rules.
Still, there are a few classes that fit especially well.
Artificer is probably the most obvious choice.
I mean, come on.
You’re playing a magical construct in the book called Forge of the Artificer. We’re not exactly breaking new ground here.
Mechanically, it works great too. Artificers already tend to have good defenses, and Integrated Protection makes them even harder to hit. Specialized Design also gives you another tool proficiency, which fits the class perfectly. For roleplay, you could even have a Warforged Artificer who modifies and repairs their own body over time.
Fighter is another excellent choice. Warforged were originally built for combat, so playing one as a Fighter makes perfect sense. The extra AC helps you stay on the front line, while poison resistance and your other defensive traits make you harder to put down.
Battle Master works especially well if you want to play an experienced soldier who was literally designed to understand combat. Eldritch Knight is also a fun option if you want to mix that military background with magic.
Paladin is probably my favorite choice from a roleplaying perspective.
A Warforged Paladin choosing an oath is basically choosing what they believe their purpose should be now that nobody else gets to decide it for them. That’s a really easy character hook to work with.
Maybe they were created to kill and eventually swore to protect instead. Maybe they still believe in duty but now choose who deserves their loyalty. Or maybe they have simply transferred the whole “I need orders” thing from an army to a god, which might be something worth unpacking eventually.
Barbarian also works really well mechanically. You already want to be tough, and Integrated Protection makes you even harder to hit. There is also something very fun about a Warforged going into a Rage. It doesn’t have to be frothing anger either. Maybe Rage is an old combat mode kicking back in.
“Why are his eyes red?”
“Oh. Run.”
Wizard is actually a pretty good choice too. The +1 AC is especially useful on classes that normally aren’t very durable, and Specialized Design can give you another useful knowledge skill or tool.
It also opens up some fun character ideas. Maybe your Warforged spent years as a simple soldier before discovering magic and becoming obsessed with learning. For a character who was created with one purpose, becoming a scholar because they chose to is a pretty nice change of direction.
Rogue is another interesting option. Warforged don’t exactly scream “sneaky,” which is part of why I like it. Specialized Design can give you useful skills or Thieves’ Tools, while Integrated Protection gives you a little extra defense if things go wrong.
You can play a Warforged built for infiltration, an old military scout, or just a huge metal bastard who is somehow extremely quiet.
Cleric also deserves a mention because there is some really good roleplay potential there. Does a created being have a soul? Your Cleric presumably has some opinions on the subject.
A Warforged discovering religion after gaining freedom can go in all sorts of directions. Maybe faith gave them purpose after the war. Maybe they’re fascinated by the idea of gods because they already know exactly who physically created them. Or maybe they’re annoyed that everyone keeps asking them philosophical questions when they’re just trying to heal the Fighter.
There really isn’t a bad class here, though. Warforged traits are mostly defensive and practical, so they’ll help almost anything you want to play.
In my opinion, Artificer and Fighter are the easiest combinations, while Paladin probably gives you the most interesting roleplaying opportunities.
Warforged are already strong mechanically, but I think their biggest appeal is the character concept. You were literally built to do something, and now nobody can force you to keep doing it.
You can keep fighting. You can find a completely different purpose. You can spend the entire campaign trying to figure out what you actually want.
Or you can become a Bard.
Apparently somebody had to invent heavy metal.
