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!).
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