Why are Warforged so bad?

[ThirdWizard]

For the life of me, I cannot tell why warforged are not LA +1 or +2.

Pros:
+2 Con
Built in armor (can be enhanced)
25% negation to sneak attacks and criticals
immune to poison, sleep, paralysys, disease, nausia, fatigue, exhaustion, and energy drain
immune to "person" spells
auto-stablize, doesn't take damage from exertion at 0 hp
doesn't eat, sleep, or breathe, but can if it wants to

Cons:
-2 Wis
-2 Cha
cannot heal damage naturally
cure spells are 1/2 effectiveness

Inability to heal is almost a non-issue (except in the case of ability damage, but then still almost a non-issue). Biggest con, is 1/2 on heals. But, I can't see that equalling out all the other stuff.

 

[Crothian]

Inability to heal is almost a non-issue (except in the case of ability damage, but then still almost a non-issue). Biggest con, is 1/2 on heals. But, I can't see that equalling out all the other stuff.

I disagree. Magical healing can be very hard to find at times. I don't think that it should be assumed a warforged will always beable to magically heal. By saying it is a none issue, you are saying that magical healing will always be availible to them.

 

[ThirdWizard]

I disagree. Magical healing can be very hard to find at times. I don't think that it should be assumed a warforged will always beable to magically heal. By saying it is a none issue, you are saying that magical healing will always be availible to them.

Past level 5 I have never seen a party of PCs sit around waiting for their wounds to heal. And, if the party has noone who can heal... then that makes 1/2 healing a non-issue.

 

[Crothian]

Past level 5 I have never seen a party of PCs sit around waiting for their wounds to heal. And, if the party has noone who can heal... then that makes 1/2 healing a non-issue.

Good point, so should they blaance the race knowing at low levels the ability can be deadly if a Warforged has no magically healing? Or do they balance the race thinking that at the mid to high levels imagic trumps the weakness? That's an interestign game design question.

 

[Victim]

The lack of natural healing is pretty much a non issue without even considering magical stuff. Warforged don't need to sleep, so they can repair themselves while the party rests. Basically, the idea seems to be that Warforged heal differently.

 

[ThirdWizard]

Good point, so should they blaance the race knowing at low levels the ability can be deadly if a Warforged has no magically healing? Or do they balance the race thinking that at the mid to high levels imagic trumps the weakness? That's an interestign game design question.

Of that, I'm not sure.

Warforged arn't "overpowered" in the normal sense, I suppose. They're just immune to many things that plague normal adventurers. There are just so many things they're immune to or bypass. Barbarian warforged don't get fatigued after a rage, and none of them are subject to the fatigue/exhaustion spells. They can stay on watch all night. They can swim, but don't need to breathe. You can't cast charm person or dominate person on them. They can't bleed to death (which is helpful at low levels, and at high levels won't come up). And a bunch of other little things that add up to make one really really good character.

I compare to LA +1 races, and they just look better to me. Especially with the construct cures, which appear in the Complete Arcane as well.

 

[Testament]

You left out the two-edged nature of the built in armour. It's not that great, unless you burn your first level feat to change your forging. Loss of the "robe" magic item slot is also a nuisance, and the fact that you can be target by object spells is also a sting.

I personally see them as LA +0.5

 

[Von Ether]

Now that Eberron has started to heavily focus on the drow, it has jumped the shark. Now we will have drow stuff in every Eberron product, be it a sourcebook, and adventure, or a magazine article. Don't complain later, you were warned!

I'm also lucky that everyone in my group agrees with me and no one want to play a drow-- but be strong. Grab the knife and start cutting like I did. Drow do not exist in my Eberron.

I replaced them with something more pulpy ... talking apes with spellware.

No, really I did.

 

[fanboy2000]

Well, I use it as an idea mine, and my world is definitely different (see above for the planar warforged, for example).

I just won't mine anything related to drow. My setting is clean and pristine, untouched by the foul drowtaint.

What's wrong with Drow? Yeah, there overused, but they make fine bad guys. Ok, you have to divorce them from the whole "Dominatrix Spider Worshipers" thing, and D-what's-what's-his-name from that other campign setting sets a bad example, oh, and there's a lot of conraditory material out there, and....

Ok, so it seems I've answered my own question.

 

[Andor]

I'm going to steal this word. I'm going to use it and pretend Eberron always been called "spellpunk."

Well, I think you could play Eberron as 'spellpunk', especially in Sharn, it more designed to be 'spellnoir'. Take a look at the suggested viewing/reading list in the front of the book.

Punk is not a word that springs to mind when I think of The Name of the Rose, or The Maltese Falcon.... Wow... I just pictured Peter Lorre as a Goblin Henchman.... That is so going in a game.