Warforged Envy

[Mistah J]

I have a player whose character concept includes the desire to emulate the mechanical. It's kind of like, because they embrace the ideals of Law and a mechanical nature of the body and the universe on the inside (they are a cleric), they want to show it on the outside. If that makes sense.

We have looked at the half-golem template, the rules for grafts, a few Dragon Magazine articles that describe implanted magic items and a few other body-modification type things. They are all close, and we may use some to round it out but they are not.. "meaty" enough to serve as the core.

The best thing we have found for that are the warforged feats like Mithril Body and the rest. The trick is, the character is not a warforged - they are human.

Now, I'll let the player look over the racial stats of the warforged and if she likes, she can play one crunch-wise and still be a human fluff-wise. However, there is a lot to the warforged that I don't think will fit; -2 Wis, -2 Cha and no natural healing make some hefty dings to a functioning cleric.

So, what do you think would be an acceptable cost for a character to gain the "Composite Plating" racial trait of the warforged - and subsequently, access to the feats that develop it? Should it be a feat? Perhaps a home-brewed graft? a level adjustment?

It's a first level character, and while putting the aquisition of this ability off until higher levels would not be the worst in the world, I don't want the player to become disillusioned.

Thoughts?

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Thoughts?

Renegade Mastermaker PrC; Magic of Eberron, pg. 81

 

[Shin Okada]

It's not cleric, but Warforged Paladin racial substitution levels in Races of Eberron P.130 allow you to make efficient warforged paladin (thus, divine character).

It's a LA+1 race, but Planetouched Mechanatrix in Fiend Folio is actually a race related to Mechanus. Their ability scores are not perfect for cleric or paladin (low CHA), but acceptable. And they look like characters from cyberpunk novels and have some interesting racial features.

Also, I recommend you to check Mechanus domain in Planar Handbook.

 

[concerro]

I have a player whose character concept includes the desire to emulate the mechanical. It's kind of like, because they embrace the ideals of Law and a mechanical nature of the body and the universe on the inside (they are a cleric), they want to show it on the outside. If that makes sense.

We have looked at the half-golem template, the rules for grafts, a few Dragon Magazine articles that describe implanted magic items and a few other body-modification type things. They are all close, and we may use some to round it out but they are not.. "meaty" enough to serve as the core.

The best thing we have found for that are the warforged feats like Mithril Body and the rest. The trick is, the character is not a warforged - they are human.

Now, I'll let the player look over the racial stats of the warforged and if she likes, she can play one crunch-wise and still be a human fluff-wise. However, there is a lot to the warforged that I don't think will fit; -2 Wis, -2 Cha and no natural healing make some hefty dings to a functioning cleric.

So, what do you think would be an acceptable cost for a character to gain the "Composite Plating" racial trait of the warforged - and subsequently, access to the feats that develop it? Should it be a feat? Perhaps a home-brewed graft? a level adjustment?

It's a first level character, and while putting the aquisition of this ability off until higher levels would not be the worst in the world, I don't want the player to become disillusioned.

Thoughts?

If they are willing to give up all benefits of being human, skills and the feats, and take everything the warforged has then let them do it. You or the player can always make a background story to fit the character.

 

[Shin Okada]

Another approach. Check Green　Star Adept in Complete Arcane. Then change the fluff and change the prestige class from an arcane class to a divine class. This way, she can start as a human (or whatever race she like) and then change into a metallic construct.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Green Star Adept

That's a pretty good idea.

Another path would be to do it like the Monster Levels & templates of Savage Species or, better still, the Racial levels of AU/AE.

Figure out where you want to set the ultimate level- Warforged equivalent? Clockwork something? Iron Golem?- then work backwards.

That way ANYONE can start off as ANY race, then adopt the Path of Steel and Gear.

 

[Thanael]

renegade mastermaker prc; magic of eberron, pg. 81

+1.

One of the prestige classes presented is based in the concept that flesh is imperfect: the Renegade Mastermaker. Potentially any spellcaster, but most likely an Artificer or Wizard, with this belief can become a Renegade Mastermaker in an attempt to convert himself into Warforged. The obvious question is: “If you want to play this combination, why not start as a Warforged Artificer?” There are multiple reasons why this prestige class is better.

First, there are all the options for how to roleplay such a character. A Renegade Mastermaker can be a Dr. Frankenstein, turning his efforts inward, ignoring the morality and laws of the lesser minds that surround him; a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, interspersing levels of barbarian as you advance; a quiet, contemplative crafter, obsessed with personally exemplifying the perfection of his own craft; someone so afraid of old age that the transformation is less scary than the physical degradation of his body; or perhaps your character starts down the path because of an insatiable curiosity, and then abandons the path without completing the transformation.

Since a Renegade Mastermaker suffers almost no loss in capability from his spellcasting class, getting eight caster level advancements in the ten prestige class levels, his role in the party can remain almost unchanged. Almost, because his melee capabilities increase in ways never expected by his spellcasting class. The Renegade Mastermaker’s Battlefist increases in power with the prestige class level, eventually becoming a +3 natural weapon that can be used multiple times in a round based on the standard base attack bonus attack iteration. Since Craft Magic Arms and Armor is a prerequisite for becoming a Renegade Mastermaker, and generally Renegade Mastermakers have spells or infusions to use, the Battlefist can be enhanced well beyond the class-based bonuses. An Artificer/Renegade Mastermaker can self-buff beyond anything a pure Cleric could hope to match, and doesn’t require any external weapons or holy symbols to do so.

A Renegade Mastermaker gets better base attack bonuses, save progressions, and even more hit points than a straight Artificer or Wizard could obtain, but he loses the special abilities improvements based on class level as well as access to those abilities granted at later levels in those classes. For example, most Artificer/Renegade Mastermakers won’t have Metamagic Spell Trigger or Metamagic Spell Completion, and a Wizard/Renegade Mastermaker will stop getting the bonus Metamagic or Item Creation feats, and his familiar will stop becoming more powerful.

from http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=rpga/hq/poly10a

 

[Mistah J]

Awesome!

Thanks for the replies, they really helped out. After looking at all the options, the player decided that being a full-blown construct (living or otherwise) was too much.

But it's ok! Because apparently, Faiths of Eberron has Construct grafts tucked away in the back. She is now the proud owner of warforged arms complete with a set of magic thieves tools as an embedded component. For extra fun I let her use the rules for hidden spaces and weapons in Complete Scoundrel to install a few other tricks in them as well.

Thanks again!