Frontiers of Eberron: New Species

Frontiers of Eberron is available now on the DM’s Guild, in PDF and print on demand! Frontiers focused on the region that lies between the heart of Droaam and Breland, and one aspect of this is that species often considered to be “monsters” are part of everyday life. Because of this, Frontiers includes a number of new playable species, and I thought I’d give a quick glimpse into each of those species and how we approached them. One basic philosophy is the idea that the abilities certain monsters possess in the Monster Manual reflect a mature member of that species who has honed that ability—but that when you get into the overall culture of those creatures, you will find that younger or less experienced members of the species possess a weaker form of that gift. So all medusas have a deadly gaze and all harpies have an enchanting voice—but the starting adventurer from one of these species has a weaker form of that gift than the standard medusa in the Monster Manual. So keeping that in mind, let’s consider the playable species introduced in Frontiers of Eberron

GARGOYLES are creatures of elemental stone. They don’t eat or drink and they don’t sleep or breathe. Their stone substance gives them a high natural armor class. They don’t innately possess wings, but they can sculpt wings by acquiring a general feat. The most common gargoyles are the denizens of Grimstone Keep, which have the classic horned look seen here—but gargoyles sculpt their children, and you could play a gargoyle that’s a statue of King Boranel!

GNOLLS are shaped by fiendish powers and made to be feral warriors, but the gnolls of the Znir Pact have broken the hold of these evil forces and built their own culture. Gnolls can be found in Exploring Eberron, but they play an important role in Droaam and the frontier and are included here as well, updated for the 2024 format.

HARPIES are passionate winged folk who dwell in the high peaks of Droaam. In addition to the gift of flight, the voice of a harpy has power, manifesting initially as proficiency in Performance and the effect of Friends—but feats can allow a harpy to build on the power of their voice to influence and enthrall.

MEDUSAS have serpentine hair and a deadly gaze that can turn a foe to stone. Initially this Gray Gaze is a relatively weak bonus action; a glance slows and harms a victim, but it may take a number of glares before they are petrified. However, like the harpy a medusa can acquire feats that increase the power of their gaze until they can indeed petrify with a single glance.

TIEFLINGS play two roles in this book. As most tieflings in Eberron are created by the influence of the Planes, Frontiers provides Fiendish Legacy options for the relevant planes of Eberron. In addition, it takes a closer look at the Venomous Demesne, a mystical city-state rules by noble houses of hereditary tieflings shaped by ancient pacts and experiments.

WORGS are sentient canids with the power of speech. Possessing speed, keen senses, and a deadly bite, a worg can be a cunning ally or a fearsome foe. Frontiers delves deeper into the history of the Great Pack of Droaam and their role on the frontier. If you want to be a bounty hunter who’s actually a dog, or just to be the best boi ever, the worg is the way to go!

In addition to these Droaamite species, Frontiers presents 2024 interpretations of two classic Eberron options: warforged and dragonmarks. Our version of dragonmarks involves backgrounds and origin feats, offering more flexibility than the species approach taken in Eberron Rising From The Last War—it’s a basic approach that doesn’t deal with Siberys Dragonmarks or Greater Dragonmarks.

If one of these sounds like the next character you want to play, check out Frontiers of Eberron on the DM’s Guild! Frontiers also includes six new subclasses and sixteen feats, along with magic items, monsters, an adventure that will take characters from first to fifth level, and much much more! Thanks to artist Matthew Johnson for the amazing artwork seen here (and in Frontiers!).

12 thoughts on “Frontiers of Eberron: New Species

  1. These all look awesome! Reskin goliaths as ogres and we’ve got all the major Droaam species! I’m excited to see the Venomous Demense given a bit more depth- Frontiers may focus on eastern Droaam, but the Demense’s society has always intrigued me.

    • Lol, I see CoE and ExE have outsold the original Tomb of Horrors.

      I’m bemused by the fact they also outsold Castle Amber, Sinister Secret of Saltmash, and Isle of Dread, which are languishing in Mithral territory. Seriously, Isle of Dread is a very Eberron module, and the Saltmarsh series is begging to be run in Q’barra (it would be even harder because of the difficulties in communicating with lizardfolk, though). They are great modules and should get more love.

  2. Gargoyles look neat.

    would there be different feats for different movement options?
    i.e a gargoyle deciding that they would prefer Fins for swimming (take advantage of the “not needing to breathe” thing) instead of wings?
    or one that wants digging claws?

    • would there be different feats for different movement options?

      It’s a logical concept, but the book is already out and we didn’t include any such feats in it. But it’s certainly something you could add as an option for gargoyles in your campaign — the IDEA makes sense.

  3. pre ordered the pdf bought the pod, absolutely loving it! But I gotta ask, can a worg wield an Arcane Focus? would they use there paws or jaws to do so, and can they manipulate anything while wearing those steel jaws? sorry for the rapid fire, i didn’t expect to love the worgs as much as I do when I bought the book, but now that i’ve read it and I do I HAVE QUESTIONS about them.

    • I’ve discussed this with Imogen, and we agree that a worg CAN use an arcane focus. Reviewing the text:
      You cannot hold items in your paws, and you cannot wield weapons or a Shield unless otherwise noted in the weapon’s description.

      A worg cannot hold ITEMS in its paws, and this includes arcane foci. It cannot wield WEAPONS or SHIELDS; an arcane focus is neither of these things. But a worg can absolutely hold a wand in its mouth. I’d also allow a worg to turn a door knob with its mouth. The text specifies that “You have Disadvantage on ability checks that require fine manipulation“—because most of the time you’re doing these things with your teeth. But holding a wand doesn’t require fine manipulation. Steel jaws don’t specify that they prevent this.

      Personally I’d say that it would be extremely difficult for a worg to use a staff, but I’d allow a wand or orb. The main issue here is verbal components; given that we don’t say they CAN’T cast spells under these circumstances, I’d argue that a worg’s verbal components could take the form of growling or whining, and as anyone who’s playing tug of war with a dog knows, canids can growl while they have something in their mouth. The main point is that they wouldn’t just sound like normal growling; it would be very clear to anyone in the vicinity that the worg is casting a spell. But they don’t have to do it using the same verbal components a human or elf would.

      • Thank you so much for your response, all amazing info! Unfortunately I thought of more questions for worgs.

        1. Mounted combat + sneak attacks,
        If a worg and rider(rogue) are in melee does the worg count as “an ally within 5 feet of the target” to qualify for sneak attack? same question for if the rider counts for the worg(rogue) sneak attack?

        2. Mask of the Wielder + steel jaws,
        if a worg wears a Mask of the Wielder and wields steel jaws, does the worg have to unequip the steel jaws to wield another type of weapon through the Masks effect?

        3. Worg + mage hand + fine manipulation,
        If a worg uses mage hand to perform a task requiring thumbs do they still have disadvantage if the task falls under “fine manipulation” (same question for sleight of hand checks or tool use)

        Again sorry for all these questions, I am just so hyped for these guys. Their design is so different from 5e’s usual, I just want to know everything I can do with them!

        • 1. Yes, in the case of a worg with a rider both worg and ride are considered to have an ally within five feet. I’d make the same ruling for any sentient mount.

          2. I discussed this with Imogen, who designed the Mask of the Wielder. Her ruling is that you could wear both at once, but you can’t make attacks with Steel Jaws while you are wielding another weapon.

          3. Both Imogen and I feel that you can’t USE a mage hand for fine manipulation unless you are specialized with its use, IE an Arcane Trickster Rogue with Mage Hand Legerdemain. Mage hand isn’t an exceptionally precise tool, which is why Mage Hand Legerdemain exists. If you are an Arcane Trickster Rogue, then you would not suffer disadvantage when making checks using the mage hand.

          • Wonderful! Once again I greatly appreciate both yours and Imogens replies! (send her my appreciation). I have only come up with one more question on worg mechanics:

            1. Mask of the Wielder & ranged/thrown weapons,
            worgs are already limited in weapon choice and even with the Mask they seem limited to melee, but I would like some clarification. could a worg with the Mask use the thrown property of a melee weapon like a handaxe or spear? What about ranged weapons like darts (which have Thrown), slings (no thrown trait but still) or blowguns (held in mouth, powered by lungs, but can you aim without hands?)(for slings and blowguns there’s also the matter of reloading)

            next is a roleplay question!
            2. In a lot of fantasy centaurs are very particular if not HOSTILE about people riding them. Given the worgs agreed to let the Dakhaani ride them in the past and have mechanics specifically for being a mount, what are the worgs feeling about taking – or ALLOWING – a rider? social/cultural traditions, expectations or requirements for there riders?

            I have appreciated every response to my questions you’ve given me and hope these last two aren’t a bother. the only things left I can think to ask are all bits of roleplay and worldbuilding minutiae so these might be the last question I have for the wuura’gaa.

            Thank you in advanced for any answer you can give me!

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