'Dungeons & Dragons' Brings Back Its Misunderstood Race of Shapeshifters
Dungeons & Dragons is bringing back another popular race, a group of misunderstood and mistrusted [...]
Dungeons & Dragons is bringing back another popular race, a group of misunderstood and mistrusted Changelings.
Earlier this week, Dungeons & Dragons released Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron, a new digital publication that updates the campaign setting of Eberron for Fifth Edition play. Eberron was a popular setting in previous versions of the game, a war-ravaged realm where magically-powered trains sped across continents and strange new races emerged from the shadows.
Wayfarer's Guide also re-introduced four new playable races, all of which were revamped for the new version of the game. We previously covered the nuances of the Warforged, a race of sentient magically-built robots, but another amazing new race are Changelings, a race of natural shapeshifters.
There are plenty of ways that a player can disguise themselves in Dungeons & Dragons. Certain classes and races can use spells like "disguise self" or "polymorphs," and bards and rogues can use a disguise kit to assume a temporary new identity. However, a changeling's shapeshifting ability is on a totally different level - they can change their entire form with a single thought.
In Eberron, changelings are a hidden people that largely live in secret among humans. Their natural abilities make them excellent spies and assassins, which has led to outsiders mostly mistrusting them.
In their natural forms, changelings are pale-skinned with silver hair and a mostly docile nature. However, they can change their forms in an instance, creating elaborate alternate personas to be used in different situations. A changeling might adopt the form of a rough-looking soldier when needing to interrogate someone, only to change into a kindly old woman when needing to comfort a child or stranger.
This core shapeshifting ability does have a few limits - a changeling only shifts their form, not their clothing or weapons. But it also comes with a few extra advantages. For instance, a changeling can create an Unsettling Visage when attacked that causes their opponent to have disadvantage on their attack roles. They can also gain extra proficiency with a tool when using a divergent persona, giving them extra abilities that non-changelings wouldn't have.
Although changelings aren't fighting powerhouses like Warforged, they will likely become a favorite race for characters who like the role-playing aspects of Dungeons & Dragons. A Changeling can assume dozens of personas, each of which has its own (made up) backstory and personality quirks. These aren't just fake identities - personas are a changeling's way of expressing certain emotions or utilizing certain skills. And with those personas come plenty of room for inter-party intrigue. What if another PC falls in love with a changeling's persona?
You can check out changelings and other new Eberron content in Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron, which is available now on DMs Guild. And let us know what you think about changelings in the comment section, or shoot me a tweet at @CHofferCbus!
