Did 'Dungeons & Dragons' Just Add Transformers to The Game?

Dungeons & Dragons' newest publication has some fans joking about a potential loophole that allows sentient robots to transform into vehicles...just like the popular Transformers toy franchise.

Earlier this week, Dungeons & Dragons published Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron, a new digital publication designed to re-introduce the popular campaign setting of Eberron for Fifth Edition play. Eberron is a world filled with airships, magic-propelled trains, and magic streetlamps, all made possible thanks to an abundance of low-level magic users.

We reported that Wayfarer's Guide to Eberron added the Warforged, a race of sentient magically-powered robots. The Warforged were a popular character race in past editions and many players were excited to see them return. However, some players believe that an ability for one of the Warforged subclasses can be interpreted to allow them to transform into land, air, or sea vehicles.

Envoy Warforged benefit from their "Specialized Design" ability, which grants them a bonus proficiency for one tool of their choice. Tools are typically small kits that give players a proficiency bonus for certain types of checks. Thieves' Tools gives a player a bonus on picking locks, while Cobbler's Tools allows a player to fix their companion's shoes and prevents them from getting exhausted while traveling long distances.

Most tools are small items, but players can also choose to be proficient in certain types of vehicles. For instance, a person proficient in land vehicles gets to add their proficiency bonus to a vehicle's AC in order to dodge attacks, and their investigation of vehicles may turn up something that others would have missed.

Letting Envoy Warforged choose Vehicles as their Specialized Design Proficiency might not seem like a big deal, but the "confusion" comes from the "Integrated Tool" ability that this subrace also has. The Integrated Tool feature allows an Envoy Warforged to integrate one tool they're proficient with into their body, granting them a whopping double proficiency bonus when making checks with that tool.

The rule is intended for a Envoy Warforged to have a set of lockpicks inside its finger, or being able to disguise itself using a built in disguise kit. However, vehicles are listed as tools, too - which means that some players think that the "Rules As Written" means that a Warforged can actually have a vehicle integrated into their body somehow. That makes the Warforged the D&D equivalent to a Transformer...which we should point out is also owned by D&D parent company Hasbro.

On a practical level, this "loophole" is ridiculous and likely doesn't actually exist. While Xanathar's Guide to Everything does mention that a player can be proficient in vehicles as a tool proficiency, the Player's Handbook does NOT list vehicles as a tool. And when trying this loophole out on D&D Beyond's character builder, it doesn't allow players to choose vehicles as an option for picking their integrated tool set. D&D Beyond works closely with D&D - so the game (or D&D Beyond) designers likely knew of this loophole and took pre-emptive steps to shut the loophole down.

Still, it's hilarious to think that a Warforged can turn itself into a boat, a bicycle, or even a drone of some kind. And while a Transforming Warforged might not be practical in a serious game of D&D, I could definitely see a few DMs allowing a paddleboat Warforged for the laughs. As D&D developers have pointed out when other ridiculous loopholes have been found in the rules, these things ultimately come down to the discretion of the person running your game.

So what do you think, D&D fans? Should Warforged be the D&D version of Transformers? Or is this just a willfully misinterpreted reading of the rules? Let us know in the comment section or shoot me a tweet at @CHofferCbus on Twitter!