Warforged and negative levels

[AuraSeer]

Warforged are listed as being immune to energy drain. Does that apply only to attacks listed as energy drain, or does it apply to all negative levels?

The situation I'm concerned about is when a character wields an opposite-aligned weapon. If a CE warforged uses a +1 holy lawful longsword, do the negative levels affect him at all, or does that count as "energy drain" to which he is immune?

 

[kayn99]

Yes the negative level would effect him.

kayn

 

[the Jester]

Hmm, good question.

Where's the smurf? He prolly has some good evidence one way or another....

 

[werk]

Ability Damage and Ability Drain are different than Energy Drain which results in Negative Levels and possible Level Loss.

Warforged would need to be immune to Energy Drain in order to avoid level loss.

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

Hmm. I'd say that if they were immune to negative levels, it would say they are.

Energy drain is a specific attack form that Warforged are immune to. Since the incompatible weapon alignment penalty has no risk of becoming permanent, it doesn't even particularly resemble energy drain.

 

[AuraSeer]

Energy drain is a specific attack form that Warforged are immune to. Since the incompatible weapon alignment penalty has no risk of becoming permanent, it doesn't even particularly resemble energy drain.

My first guess was that this would be the case, but it's not clear that the rules make such a distinction. In the "Special Abilities and Conditions" section of the SRD, the two are always listed together. Under abilities they have a combined subsection, "Energy Drain and Negative Levels." The condition of someone who has negative levels is listed as energy drained.

The rules seem to imply that negative levels are always a product of energy drain in all cases, but I can find no text that says for sure whether one can exist without the other. Hence my question.

 

[reveal]

Here's the way I look at it:

Negative Levels are caused by Energy Drain (as presented in the SRD) + Warforged are immune to Energy Drain = Warforged cannot "gain" Negative Levels.

 

[kayn99]

No all negative levels are caused by energy drain, it is just the most common effect that causes it. It says in the description of warforges, immune to energy drain and only to energy drain. If it was to all negative level effects it would have said that.


Kayn

 

[Artoomis]

Here's the way I look at it:

Negative Levels are caused by Energy Drain (as presented in the SRD) + Warforged are immune to Energy Drain = Warforged cannot "gain" Negative Levels.

Actually, per the SRD, their appear to be many ways you can get negative levels, but they all seem to fall pretty much into three basic categories.

1. Energy Drain causes them, in which case they may be permanent.
2. A spell (Enervation or Energy Drain spells) in which case they are temporary.
3. An item, in which case it is temporary (I think in all cases).

Clearly number (1) above is covered by the immunity.
Pretty much just a clearly, number (3) is not.

Number (2) is a little more interesting - but only because the name of one of the spells in Energy Drain.

The way I see it, you could play this as :

A. No immunity.
B. Immune only to the Energy Drain spell and not Enervation.
C. Immune to both because they are similar in effect and Energy Drain is specifically mentioned for Warforged.

I tend to go with (A) because I think that the immunity is meant to protect from Energy Drain from undead, not the temporary effect from the spell.

 

[reveal]

No all negative levels are caused by energy drain, it is just the most common effect that causes it. It says in the description of warforges, immune to energy drain and only to energy drain. If it was to all negative level effects it would have said that.


Kayn

EDIT: I see your point. I guess I would look to see if the weapon in question actually drained energy or if it bestowed negative energy onto the handler.