Warforged: Like them or loathe them?

[TheArcane]

I feel that the warforged would be out of place in a default fantasy setting, especially the currently implied one for 4e. I feel kind of the same about the already confirmed tiefling, but much less after thinking it over for a while. For me, the warforged is the "could be worse" in regard to the appearance of the tiefling.
A particular thing that worries me is that these radically different races seem to immediately attract new players attentions to the point that they are just playing a party of freaks. It happened to me in a FR campaign I ran once, and sure I could rule 0 against it, but I couldn't argue with the players and ruin the game, so we ended up a bunch of planetouched and a drow. Imagine this group waltzing heroically into their first generic small village, not to mention how the heck they all met each other... Now imagine having a warforged with them.

 

[Merlion]

I dont know if someone said this already. But if they make it into core you can always disallow them in your games.

I personally dont think they fit all that well for PHB core but then again we havent see the changes yet to say otherwise. When it launches they might work out and fit nicely.

Still, I think it is DM control. If you dont like it, dont allow it. very simple.

But then you have to deal with players being unhappy at the DM for choosing to disallow it.

For me its an issue of consistency and unity. If the core of D&D is going to be, thematically, pretty similar to how it has always been, then the Warforged would be out of sync with the rest. And its inclusion would tend to create possible problems. Thats why it not being included would be the better option, even though DMs can of course always disallow them.

 

[Mallus]

If the core of D&D is going to be, thematically, pretty similar to how it has always been, then the Warforged would be out of sync with the rest.

However, if you view the core D&D experience as a slightly absurd kludge of mismatched fantasy tropes, a kind of beautiful mess, then the Warforged fit right in.

Things like dignified, pseudo-angelic Tolkienesque elves are what's really out-of-sync with standard D&D.

 

[KarinsDad]

I dont know if someone said this already. But if they make it into core you can always disallow them in your games.

This is said in every thread where there is controversy.

I'm waiting for the thread where this totally obvious and unnecessary statement is not made.

 

[I'm A Banana]

My only gripe with them is binary mechanics, which 4e could give them an excuse to change.

Still, even I realize the value of putting them in their place. They don't really belong in a 4e PHB. Definately not if they're ditching gnomes.

 

[Tarek]

All I can say is, I no longer believe in the idea of "core" races with all the changes that they've let us know about in 4e.

I'm just wondering how they're going to mess with Humans.

 

[WhimsyTheFae]

My only gripe with them is binary mechanics, which 4e could give them an excuse to change.

Still, even I realize the value of putting them in their place. They don't really belong in a 4e PHB. Definately not if they're ditching gnomes.

Yeah, they've always seemed to be very 8-bit, to me. I guess that, as robots go, their 8-bit binary processing system may fit in a more primitive setting...

 

[WhimsyTheFae]

All I can say is, I no longer believe in the idea of "core" races with all the changes that they've let us know about in 4e.

I'm just wondering how they're going to mess with Humans.

I think that they're dropping Humans in order to make Kender a core race.

 

[Tewligan]

The Red Wizard of Thay class was specifically included in the DMG (not the PH, theres a difference) as an example to DMs of setting specific prestige classes.

Remember also though that the nature of the RWOT class is such that it could easily be used under another name as a "super specialist" prestige class in any setting.

Oh, tosh. If a prestige class is in the DMG, players are going to know it's there and want to have it as an option. The majority of players also have a pretty good idea of other available prestige classes, suggested wealth per level, and magic item prices, and those are in the DMG as well.

Also, how is renaming the Red Wizard any different than renaming the warforged?

(By the way, I just want to point out that I am ABSOLUTELY against having the warforged as a core PHB choice - I'm just saying that there's precedence for WotC putting setting-specific stuff into core books. I'm guessing that the warforged will most likely end up in the PHB, much to my chagrin - damn those robots!)

 

[I'm A Banana]

Yeah, they've always seemed to be very 8-bit, to me. I guess that, as robots go, their 8-bit binary processing system may fit in a more primitive setting...

I meant the way they're absurdly invincible to some things and absurdly vulnerable to others, but perhaps you knew that...