D&D General Warforged? How Long Could One Live For?

tetrasodium

Legend
Supporter
Epic
How about that "alchemical fluid" that saturates their "cord" muscles? I imagine that's slowly used up, dirtied, or otherwise made less-than-usable for exactly the same reason that cars need oil changes, transmission fluid changes, etc. Stuff just wears over time. Given it's an alchemical fluid, perhaps it loses its alchemical potency. Recharging it could be something that only needs to happen every several years, again like transmission fluid, so it's not a major concern most of the time for PCs. But for a group trying to hole up nigh-indefinitely, this could be a key supply issue, whether they have the ability to make more of it.

Ones that can't get access to it would wear out their physical parts faster and eventually lock up or shut down. Whether they're still conscious after that would have a major impact on their net survival. If they essentially go dormant, then they might be fixable by having effectively gone into suspended animation pending "healing" of their parts. If they're awake and alert, they'd almost certainly go mad eventually from being unable to move or communicate.
Your car would be a construct. Warforge are not constructs though, they are "living constructs". This is one of those areas where 5e's oversimplifications complicate things in ways that pretty much remove it from relevance
living construct is a created being given sentience and free will through powerful and complex creation enchantments. Warforged are living constructs that combine aspects of both constructs and living creatures, as detailed below.
Features: As a living construct, a warforged has the following features.
—A warforged derives its Hit Dice, base attack bonus progression, saving throws, and skill points from the class it selects.
Traits: A warforged possesses the following traits.
—Unlike other constructs, a warforged has a Constitution score.
—Unlike other constructs, a warforged does not have low-light vision or darkvision.
—Unlike other constructs, a warforged is not immune to mind-affecting spells and abilities.
—Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, disease, nausea, fatigue, exhaustion, effects that cause the sickened condition, and energy drain.
—A warforged cannot heal damage naturally.
—Unlike other constructs, warforged are subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, stunning, ability damage, ability drain, and death effects or necromancy effects.
—As living constructs, warforged can be affected by spells that target living creatures as well as by those that target constructs. Damage dealt to a warforged can be healed by a cure light wounds spell or a repair light damage spell, for example, and a warforged is vulnerable to disable construct and harm. However, spells from the healing subschool and supernatural abilities that cure hit point damage or ability damage provide only half their normal effect to a warforged.
—The unusual physical construction of warforged makes them vulnerable to certain spells and effects that normally don’t affect living creatures. A warforged takes damage from heat metal and chill metal as if he were wearing metal armor. Likewise, a warforged is affected by repel metal or stone as if he were wearing metal armor. A warforged is repelled by repel wood. The iron in the body of a warforged makes him vulnerable to rusting grasp. The creature takes 2d6 points of damage from the spell (Reflex half; save DC 14 + caster’s ability modifier). A warforged takes the same damage from a rust monster’s touch (Reflex DC 17 half). Spells such as stone to flesh, stone shape, warp wood, and wood shape affect objects only, and thus cannot be used on the stone and wood parts of a warforged.
—A warforged responds slightly differently from other living creatures when reduced to 0 hit points. A warforged with 0 hit points is disabled, just like a living creature. He can only take a single move action or standard action in each round, but strenuous activity does not risk further injury. When his hit points are less than 0 and greater than –10, a warforged is inert. He is unconscious and helpless, and he cannot perform any actions. However, an inert warforged does not lose additional hit points unless more damage is dealt to him, as with a living creature that is stable.
—As a living construct, a warforged can be raised or resurrected.
—A warforged does not need to eat, sleep, or breathe, but he can still benefit from the effects of consumable spells and magic items such as heroes’ feast and potions.
—Although living constructs do not need to sleep, a warforged wizard must rest for 8 hours before preparing spells.
They have good and bad elements from both sides & were susceptible to a lot of spell most PCs never needed to worry about. On top of that there are literal references in the books about people hunting warforge for parts to use in spells alcheny equipment & replacement limbs for (non-)warforge.

I'm pretty sure that "alchemical fluid" is referred to as "sap" in some places
 

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EzekielRaiden

Follower of the Way
Your car would be a construct. Warforge are not constructs though, they are "living constructs". This is one of those areas where 5e's oversimplifications complicate things in ways that pretty much remove it from relevance
living construct is a created being given sentience and free will through powerful and complex creation enchantments. Warforged are living constructs that combine aspects of both constructs and living creatures, as detailed below.
Features: As a living construct, a warforged has the following features.
—A warforged derives its Hit Dice, base attack bonus progression, saving throws, and skill points from the class it selects.
Traits: A warforged possesses the following traits.
—Unlike other constructs, a warforged has a Constitution score.
—Unlike other constructs, a warforged does not have low-light vision or darkvision.
—Unlike other constructs, a warforged is not immune to mind-affecting spells and abilities.
—Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, disease, nausea, fatigue, exhaustion, effects that cause the sickened condition, and energy drain.
—A warforged cannot heal damage naturally.
—Unlike other constructs, warforged are subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, stunning, ability damage, ability drain, and death effects or necromancy effects.
—As living constructs, warforged can be affected by spells that target living creatures as well as by those that target constructs. Damage dealt to a warforged can be healed by a cure light wounds spell or a repair light damage spell, for example, and a warforged is vulnerable to disable construct and harm. However, spells from the healing subschool and supernatural abilities that cure hit point damage or ability damage provide only half their normal effect to a warforged.
—The unusual physical construction of warforged makes them vulnerable to certain spells and effects that normally don’t affect living creatures. A warforged takes damage from heat metal and chill metal as if he were wearing metal armor. Likewise, a warforged is affected by repel metal or stone as if he were wearing metal armor. A warforged is repelled by repel wood. The iron in the body of a warforged makes him vulnerable to rusting grasp. The creature takes 2d6 points of damage from the spell (Reflex half; save DC 14 + caster’s ability modifier). A warforged takes the same damage from a rust monster’s touch (Reflex DC 17 half). Spells such as stone to flesh, stone shape, warp wood, and wood shape affect objects only, and thus cannot be used on the stone and wood parts of a warforged.
—A warforged responds slightly differently from other living creatures when reduced to 0 hit points. A warforged with 0 hit points is disabled, just like a living creature. He can only take a single move action or standard action in each round, but strenuous activity does not risk further injury. When his hit points are less than 0 and greater than –10, a warforged is inert. He is unconscious and helpless, and he cannot perform any actions. However, an inert warforged does not lose additional hit points unless more damage is dealt to him, as with a living creature that is stable.
—As a living construct, a warforged can be raised or resurrected.
—A warforged does not need to eat, sleep, or breathe, but he can still benefit from the effects of consumable spells and magic items such as heroes’ feast and potions.
—Although living constructs do not need to sleep, a warforged wizard must rest for 8 hours before preparing spells.
They have good and bad elements from both sides & were susceptible to a lot of spell most PCs never needed to worry about. On top of that there are literal references in the books about people hunting warforge for parts to use in spells alcheny equipment & replacement limbs for (non-)warforge.

I'm pretty sure that "alchemical fluid" is referred to as "sap" in some places
None of that really addresses the core point. Especially since, as noted, the "sap" is an alchemical thing, and alchemical materials demonstrably can lose potency over time. That would still be a perfectly reasonable lifespan-limiter without having to be a massive stretch.

As you say, "living constructs" have both good and bad elements of both sides of their nature. "The alchemical juice in you is wearing out" could easily be one of those bad elements.
 

tetrasodium

Legend
Supporter
Epic
None of that really addresses the core point. Especially since, as noted, the "sap" is an alchemical thing, and alchemical materials demonstrably can lose potency over time. That would still be a perfectly reasonable lifespan-limiter without having to be a massive stretch.

As you say, "living constructs" have both good and bad elements of both sides of their nature. "The alchemical juice in you is wearing out" could easily be one of those bad elements.
Incorrect. Warforged aren't visititing jiffylube for more sap, they regenerate it innately. The deeper lore matters, also it was previously mentioned how the wood rock and metal their bodies are made of can grow back or get replaced. They sometimes get hunted for parts because the wood rock and metal is living rather than inert. There was a PrC that involved embracing the construct nature, but it obviously was not the norm.

Your car analogy fails on its most basic level because the car does not regrow anything. Not being able to benefit from spells like heal cure light wounds cure moderate wounds & so on was a gigantic ouch under vancian casting☆ that balanced out a lot

☆5e is not vancian, but it also simplifies everything involved to such a degree that it offers little more than t "ask your gm". That makes it rather useless for discussion since anything that stems from there is simply how individual posters want to rule..
 

Zardnaar

Legend
My IP is kinda assuming the magic involved either regenerates thror bodies or they can replace bits.

Said Warforged doesn't have to be on Eberron either.
 

Incorrect. Warforged aren't visititing jiffylube for more sap, they regenerate it innately. The deeper lore matters, also it was previously mentioned how the wood rock and metal their bodies are made of can grow back or get replaced. They sometimes get hunted for parts because the wood rock and metal is living rather than inert. There was a PrC that involved embracing the construct nature, but it obviously was not the norm.

Your car analogy fails on its most basic level because the car does not regrow anything. Not being able to benefit from spells like heal cure light wounds cure moderate wounds & so on was a gigantic ouch under vancian casting☆ that balanced out a lot

☆5e is not vancian, but it also simplifies everything involved to such a degree that it offers little more than t "ask your gm". That makes it rather useless for discussion since anything that stems from there is simply how individual posters want to rule..
I think you are making some big leaps here.

The Car Analogy works fine, it’s not 100% literal.
 

tetrasodium

Legend
Supporter
Epic
I think you are making some big leaps here.

The Car Analogy works fine, it’s not 100% literal.
It works fine up until you factor in the fact that warforge don't need to visit jiffylube for a "fluid change" (see the "fluid changes " wording in post 29). Sure draining them dry in order to use it for something else (ie alchemy or whatever) would pose a problem from the resulting black market organ harvesting-like exsanguination draining, but that's a weird & bizarrely roundabout way to describe killing or murdering them even if it was done by mistake.
 
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cbwjm

Seb-wejem
I remember reading something ages ago that, even if you are immortal, something sometime will happen that will make you wish you weren't. How many warforged have been caught in a cave in and gone mad? Something will eventually get you and being immortal will be curse rather than a blessing
 

GrimCo

Adventurer
I remember reading something ages ago that, even if you are immortal, something sometime will happen that will make you wish you weren't. How many warforged have been caught in a cave in and gone mad? Something will eventually get you and being immortal will be curse rather than a blessing
That depends on whether or not warforged can put their OS into hibernation mode. If they can, then it's not really a problem. They "sleep" for millennia or two until seismic activity of planet clears them or someone unearths them, they reboot their OS and voila. If they can't, then such circumstances turn immortality from blessing to curse.

How immortal they are really depends on the DM-s lore. They could range from practically immortal to programmed inbuilt planned obsolescence circuit that limits them to X years.
 



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