Why are Warforged so bad?

[Von Ether]

Have to agree

Ditto

 

[jgbrowning]

Me too!

joe b.

 

[Quasqueton]

My problem with the warforged, as I alluded to earlier in this thread, is the fact that these animated pieces of wood and metal have a Constitution score. Interestingly, though, everything that score means is taken out of the equation with their immunities and such. They are not "living", really. They are sentient, yes, but not alive.

I'm fine with the concept of the warforged, and can see no problem with having one in a D&D campaign. But when the designers give them a Con score, my brain derails and crashes. Does not compute.

Quasqueton

 

[Desdichado]

I'm fine with the concept of the warforged, and can see no problem with having one in a D&D campaign. But when the designers give them a Con score, my brain derails and crashes. Does not compute.

I'm not sure why. Con is just an arbitrary ruling by the structure of the game, really; an ability score that grants a certain bonus to hit points, Fortitude saving throws and certain skills. Without a CON score, constructs must have a d12 hit dice and no con modifier to anything. This would make warforged taking levels in a class cause similar derailment and crashing. Either way, its an attempt to get around something that wasn't originally intended by the rules. Personally, I think the idea of warforged being somewhere between a construct and a "regular" creature, including having a CON score, seems like the best compromise solution, at least until the rules are substantially revised away from something that resembles D&D with its traditional ability scores.

 

[Pseudonym]

This is why I do not allow Half-orcs in my games. I get tired of the same ol' mother was raped by an orc yada yada yada backstory.

Every time I have deviated from that I've gotten weird looks or resistance. I had a half-orc character who's parents were former adventurers. His mother died and was reincarnated as an orc. The DM told me that it was to improbable. I didn't last long with that group.

The other time I had a half-ogre, with the backstory starting with "Mom was an ogre, dad was a freak." That one was fun.

 

[Ysgarran]

In my new campaign, roughly based on Eberron, all the players were scared away by the healing requirement of the warforged. They all thought it was a pretty cool idea but none of them wanted to deal with the reduced healing prospects.

OTOH, we do have a changling and a shifter in the party.

later,
Ysgarran.

 

[Desdichado]

OTOH, we do have a changling and a shifter in the party.

In my Eberron game (of five players) we have two humans, a warforged fighter, a kalashtar rogue/psion and a shifter ranger/barbarian (me). The player of the warforged fighter and the GM, looking over the rules, decided before play that they thought the warforged was underpowered if anything, but not by much. As a slight compensation, they gave him darkvision 60'. Through a few sessions of play, I think they've decided that he didn't really need it, but that he's still not overpowered with it either.

 

[Wild Gazebo]

Quasqueton, I think I know where you are coming from. The first time I read about the warforged I got a bad taste in my mouth. I hate the way it is so obviously juryrigged into a PC race. Why not just add a level adjustment? Why compromise a good idea for the sake of a couple of levels? I feel it should have been a full-blown construct with no Con score...but I have come to accept the race, as is, and have absolutley no problems DMing or playing it. What I do have a problem with is the cost and reason behind there creation--I've changed some basic buildingblocks of their history to suit my predjudices.

 

[fanboy2000]

Why not just add a level adjustment?

Because all level adjustments, LA +1 in particular, suck.

Why compromise a good idea for the sake of a couple of levels?

If I had to guess, and I do, I'd say it was because most people don't like level adjustments. I like to start my games at level one. Races with level adjustmets would be unavailable at those level, and I prfer to have all playable races available at 1st level. Level adjustments are a great game mechaic, but they cause persistent problems for PCs because, it a way, they are always behind. I've DM many PCs with LA adjustmets and the only ones that worked were the +1 adjustments that I ignored.

I feel it should have been a full-blown construct with no Con score

See, I don't have a problem with that. Of course, I don't understand why constructs don't have a Con score in the first place. By my way of thinking, constructs should have a bonus to their Con. This dosen't bother me enought to re-design every construct in the MM, though.

 

[Gez]

<praise>

Thanks! Took a bit of time, but having a nicely organized char-sheet is worth it.