Warforged questions

[shilsen]

I had a number of random questions about the warforged race from the Eberron campaign setting. Here goes:

(1) What type (light or one-handed) of weapon would you treat the armblade and battlefist components (pg.268, Eberron CS) as? It seems to me that both should be one-handed weapons. The armblade is essentially a bastard sword used one-handed (it even requires the EWP feat) and the battlefist's description makes it seem much larger than a spiked gauntlet.

(2) If both (or any) of the above weapons count as one-handed, would you allow a warforged character to use them two-handed for purposes of damage?

(3) Would you allow any items to be used in the hand on which the battlefist is? The armblade description specifically prohibits it, but the battlefist description does not. At the same time, the component is "completely covering the hand".

(4) Do warforged have a sense of smell? Since they don't breathe, I would assume not.

(5) The warforged strike me as a strong LA +0 race and a weak LA +1. Do you think it would make a good LA +1 race if it had an additional racial +2 Str bonus?

Thanks, in advance.

 

[Enforcer]

1. I assume they're one-handed weapons.

2. Hmm, I wouldn't allow it, but I could see a case being made.

3. I picture the battlefist as an immovable fist covering, with no finger manipulation being possible. I suppose you could see it as Hellboy's right hand of doom though if you wanted to.

4. My group had this exact same question (I play the Warforged). I have no idea.

5. I'm not good with the balance thing for races, but I'm guessing a +2 Str would push Warforged safely into +1 LA territory.

 

[Unseenlibrarian]

1: Well, the armblade is a bastard sword, so I'd assume one-handed. The Battlefist improves the damage of a natural attack (Either the slam attack or monk unarmed damage) All natural attacks are light weapons, so it'd probably therefore be light.

2: The Armblade, yes: Ever see Willow? Picture Mad Martigan two-handed fighting with that gauntlet sword he got from his dead friend. The Battlefist is an improvement on a natural weapon, so no.

3: The picture of the battlefist appears to be a giant spiked ball covering the hand, so I'd assume not.

4: According to the ask Keith Baker thread at WOTC: They've got a sense of smell -and- a sense of taste. Possibly something to do with the process by which they became living.

5: Adding +2 STR would definitely push it into a +1 LA if you didn't do anything to balance it.

 

[Methos of Aundair]

As to question #4 I would go with the Vampire the Requiem rules. Vampires in VtR obviously do not breathe and therefore have no sense of smell. But if the vampire chooses to make a conscience act of smelling they can only during that time. As in "My vampire character is going to take a deep breath and smell the air". During that turn the vampire can smell but as soon as the conscience act is stopped so does the act of smelling.

Just a thought.

 

[Egres]

As to question #4 I would go with the Vampire the Requiem rules. Vampires in VtR obviously do not breathe and therefore have no sense of smell. But if the vampire chooses to make a conscience act of smelling they can only during that time. As in "My vampire character is going to take a deep breath and smell the air". During that turn the vampire can smell but as soon as the conscience act is stopped so does the act of smelling.

Just a thought.

That's a good idea.

 

[Matafuego]

I always wanted to know if there was EVER a Warforged Raised from the dead.... Since they can, but nobody says they would...
But once again I don't have the book...

 

[Geoff Watson]

I had a number of random questions about the warforged race from the Eberron campaign setting. Here goes:

(1) What type (light or one-handed) of weapon would you treat the armblade and battlefist components (pg.268, Eberron CS) as? It seems to me that both should be one-handed weapons. The armblade is essentially a bastard sword used one-handed (it even requires the EWP feat) and the battlefist's description makes it seem much larger than a spiked gauntlet.

(2) If both (or any) of the above weapons count as one-handed, would you allow a warforged character to use them two-handed for purposes of damage?

(3) Would you allow any items to be used in the hand on which the battlefist is? The armblade description specifically prohibits it, but the battlefist description does not. At the same time, the component is "completely covering the hand".

(4) Do warforged have a sense of smell? Since they don't breathe, I would assume not.

(5) The warforged strike me as a strong LA +0 race and a weak LA +1. Do you think it would make a good LA +1 race if it had an additional racial +2 Str bonus?

Thanks, in advance.

1: Armblade is a one-handed weapon, Battlefist is a natural weapon.

2: I'd allow the armblade to be used two-handed.
As a lone natural weapon, a battlefist gets 1.5x Str anyway.

3: Yes, it's just a bigger hand.

4: I dunno. It doesn't say they don't smell, but it doesn't seem important.

5: They seem OK to me; don't forget their disadvantages with healing and armour. I don't think +2 Str is enough for a +1 LA.

Geoff.

 

[Methos of Aundair]

2: I'd allow the armblade to be used two-handed.

I would have to disagree on the account that the armblade states it fits over the hand and forearm. In order to use it two-handed it would require the warforged somehow holding on to the armblade well enough to inflict the additional strength damage as noted for a 2-handed weapon. I don’t see how it is possible, but that’s just my opinion.

 

[shilsen]

Looks like we have consensus on the armblade as one-handed, battlefist as light weapon, but on pretty much nothing else besides that. Somehow I'm not surprised, considering this forum

But thanks for all the opinions. I didn't know Keith had decided that they can smell. And here I was having fun with my warforged being confused about why the humans make such a big deal out of it.

 

[Spatula]

The thing to remember about warforged (that Keith Baker has reiterated over and over in the Q&A thread) is that warforged are not robots. They were created by barely-understood magic and so their capabilities don't necessarily make logical sense.