What balances the Warforged?

[Sejs]

EDIT: Also, we're starting at level 1. Is the Adamantine full plate really balanced there?

Adamantine Body is an advantage at level 1, no two ways about it. It quickly falls in line, though, by level 2 or 3 easily.

Plus you can never take it off. As has been said - hope you don't need to work with finesse at any point, because man then you're in trouble.

 

[0-hr]

I'm looking at #317 and it has everything but warforged. I tried Paizo's site but (as usual) it's broken.
If the warforged issue is quite a bit later than #317, that would support my theory.

 

[Slaved]

In my game, I'm simply creating a much larger number of anti-warforged spells, abilities, and magic items.

Sadly, all you need is to include the occasional bad guy with the Warforged domain. That basically makes the player and the party regret the warforged choice and might even make the player change characters.

Stupid warforged domain.

 

[Overkill_Engine]

The adamantine armor upgrade isn't free you see- it costs the WF player a feat.

A feat they could have used otherwise to get into a PrC that much sooner, or to qualify for a nice feat chain.

In return for armor they can never take off- which is more a mechanical restriction than you'd think, considering that it can totally bugger your chances at making or even allowing you to make many skill checks at all.

Getting healed in a party unprepared to support a WF is a big pain too.

 

[Patlin]

I honestly believe that the warforged mechanics were designed to hit that demographic of player who does nothing but fight; the one who is silent at the table unless initiative has been rolled; the one who wants to be on every watch, uses Charisma as a dump stat, and tries to be armed, fully armored, and on guard literally every second. I'm not saying that is necessarily a bad thing (I play that way often enough myself). But I've never seen the style so specifically pandered too before this.

I'm playing a 'forged in pbp, "Anvuss" in my sig. This is so far off from an accurate description of my warforged PC that it's silly. Warforged can be played in a variety of ways, just like any race. While the Charisma penalty certainly discourages this choice of race if Charisma is your main goal in life, my character's Charisma is nevertheless surpassed only by his intelligence and constitution. He is active both in and out of combat, and is far too absent minded and contemplative to be much help on watch.

As others have stated, losing a feat at first level is painfull.

Losing the ability to wear armor or robes is pretty limiting too, and it hasn't been my experience that warforged specific items are either common nor particularly exceptional... furthermore, the variety of items in D&D is so great that any character should be able to find plenty of stuff to spend their loot on. Further, I'm looking forward to getting the magic item compendium, and without having seen it I'd still be willing to bet that there will be a lot more items unusable by warforged in it than items usable only by warforged.

Half benefit from healing spells is a significant blow in most parties, and I'd really like to be able to take advantage of nice low level spells like enlarge person or alter self... I'm not aware of any construct form worth altering into, are you?

Anyone who's ever had a PC remove their armor in order to more easilly climb or swim might find the inability to do so an unexpected downside to being warforged. And what other PC race needs to spend skill points in order to take advantage of the equivalent of natural healing?

Warforged are cool, and there are plenty of circumstances in which they provide a benefit, but they aren't as uber as you are making them out to be. Doing a quick census, since the warforged have been available new warforged PCs in my face to face group have remained a very unpopular choice. Humans (massively the most popular), shifters, elan, halfling and xeph are all getting substantial time at the table. The only warforged PC to make a showing was abandoned by its player after 3 sessions as ineffective.

In my opinion, the best sign an option is broken is when everyone wants to use it. I've seen no sign that 'forged fit the bill here.

 

[Sejs]

Sadly, all you need is to include the occasional bad guy with the Warforged domain. That basically makes the player and the party regret the warforged choice and might even make the player change characters.

Stupid warforged domain.

For those of us unfamiliar with the Warforged domain - what's it do?

 

[Patlin]

I think you can find some grafts in "Magic of Eberron" too.

 

[Slaved]

For those of us unfamiliar with the Warforged domain - what's it do?

Sorry about that.

The granted ability is like the fire, earth, wind, water, plant, etc domains. It allows you to turn, rebuke, bolster, command warforged a number of times per day.

 

[Jeff Wilder]

The granted ability is like the fire, earth, wind, water, plant, etc domains. It allows you to turn, rebuke, bolster, command warforged a number of times per day.

That rocks. Faiths of Eberron, I take it? (It's still on my Unread shelf.)

 

[Sejs]

Sorry about that.

The granted ability is like the fire, earth, wind, water, plant, etc domains. It allows you to turn, rebuke, bolster, command warforged a number of times per day.

Oh. Oh ho.

Well then, there's a villain forming already. Eeeeexcellent.

Cheers.