Heal and harm with this stony dwarvish species from D&D: World of Warcraft.
Earthen are what Dwarves once were. Formed of living stone, they look very much like hardened Dwarves. In fact, Dwarves are what become of Earthen that succumb to the flesh curse. They possess an enhanced version of a Dragonborn’s breath weapon and have a decent amount of resilience too making them a great option for melee builds.
The Earthen is a brand new species from D&D: World of Warcraft. Below, I’ve analysed the new species, giving guidance on how best to use an Earthen and which classes work well with it.
Is an Earthen the right species for me?
Choose an Earthen if you want…
- An AoE attack
- Some healing abilities
- Extra resilience
An Earthen might not be for you if…
- You don’t want to be in melee
- Have a low constitution
Earthen traits
| Creature Type | Humanoid |
| Size | Medium |
| Speed | 30ft |
| Traits | Azerite surge, darkvision, earthen resilience, ingest minerals, quiet contemplation |
| Resistances | Poison, poisoned |
| Proficiencies | None |
| Darkvision | Yes |
| Innate spellcasting | None |
| Book found in | D&D: World of Warcraft |
Azerite surge – 5/5
So this is basically a Dragonborn breath weapon, but with a couple of important differences. First, it heals allies caught in the AoE, which is considerably better than the Dragonborn as it also means no friendly fire. You don’t have a choice of damage type though, but radiant is generally a good damage type to use. There’s also no option for a line, but the cone was generally better anyway.
It requires constitution for the DC which is generally good across most classes, but usually, melee builds are going to get the most out of this due to the close-proximity to enemies required and as they tend to have a better constitution.
Darkvision – 3/5
Darkvision is often useful and beats using torches or spells to see.
Earthen resilience – 4/5
Resistance to the most common damage type in the game is pretty good and resilience to one of the more common conditions makes this even better.
Ingest minerals – 1/5
Many tables don’t deal with food or supplies and those that do often ensure they have the supplies they need. As such, this is highly situational.
Quiet contemplation – 2/5
A little bit of extra healing on a short rest is welcome. If you’re really battered, it might save you a hit die every now and again. Better for groups that use longer adventuring days, but typically, I find a lot of groups don’t get through all the hit dice they have anyway so this may not be that impactful.
How good is the Earthen?
This species is worth it just for azerite surge which is excellent, especially on melee builds who often don’t have AoE options in their repertoire. It also doesn’t use all their attacks.
Earthen resilience is also one of the better resilience features out there and darkvision is always useful. The other 2 features aren’t hugely helpful, but the previous features already make this one of the better species around.
Score: 5/5
Choosing a class for your Earthen
Below I’ve scored how well each class works with an Earthen. I’ve used the renamed class reskins in D&D: World of Warcraft, but these change little mechanically from the typical classes in the Player’s Handbook so you can use the same guidance below with the original versions of these classes if you happen to not be playing in a Warcraft setting:
Demon hunter: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Death knight: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Druid: ⭐⭐
Evoker: ⭐⭐
Hunter: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mage: ⭐⭐
Monk: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Paladin: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Priest: ⭐⭐⭐
Rogue: ⭐⭐
Shaman: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Warlock: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Warrior: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
*Star ratings scored out of 5
Best classes for an Earthen
As mentioned, Earthen work best on melee builds due to their increased resilience and close range AoE damage/healing. This makes them a great choice for demon hunters, paladins, death knights, shamans, monks, hunters and warriors, especially as their azerite surge doesn’t get in the way of their other attacks.
Worst Earthen classes
Any class that won’t be getting into melee range is going to get less from this species (though no one gains nothing). Rogues may struggle to swap out their single sneak attack for an azerite surge. Druids will likely either be in wild shape or staying away from danger so also get little from this species. Similarly, mages and evookers may struggle to get the most out of the species too.
About Earthen
Appearance
Earthen are similar in appearance to Dwarves with a short, stocky frame. But instead of flesh, they are made from living stone. They even grow mineral structures that appear like hair and beards. Earthen don’t need to eat, but can consume minerals to alter their appearance.
History
Earthen were created eons ago by the titans and helped shape the world of Azeroth. In particular, they helped carve out the cavernous regions beneath the ground. While many succumbed to the curse of flesh and became Dwarves, many remained as Earthen.
