What balances the Warforged?

[shilsen]

I would say that knowing common plus as many languages of your enemies and allies as possible would make more sense. If you can understand the enemies orders then you are better able to deal with what happens after all.

Sure. And building all warforged with four levels of fighter, two levels of wizard and a flamethrower would make them more effective. That doesn't mean it's easy to do.

Anyway, different strokes. The "only Common" clause fits well with the warforged background, IMNSHO. YMMV, and apparently does.

 

[Klaus]

Yup, IMHO they're up there with Dwarves. Strong.

But IMHO that contrast weakens them a bit -- see, there's already a strong Fighter choice (the Dwarf). So having another strong Fighter choice isn't really changing the game all that much. It's not like they're a better Wizard than a Halfling, Gnome or Dwarf. They're as good as a Dwarf at being a Fighter, but so what? Dwarves already did that.

Cheers, -- N

The best class for warforged is Artificer. The favored class: Fighter allows you to add a level or two of Fighter and then go Artificer all the way. This character would be pretty much self-sufficient.

 

[Slaved]

Sure. And building all warforged with four levels of fighter, two levels of wizard and a flamethrower would make them more effective. That doesn't mean it's easy to do.

Anyway, different strokes. The "only Common" clause fits well with the warforged background, IMNSHO. YMMV, and apparently does.

Well, the first point is certainly irrelevant. Especially as it is not a very good combination. Warforged are already all class level which is uncommon for most other races which shows that they have the special training and drive that not everyone has.

I suppose that limiting warforged to only being able to take levels in fighter and giving them no skill points would also be in their background.

Any of those make for a bad choice for a character though. Limiting the warforged in languages like that is a stupid little nerf as much as saying that they are dissallowed from taking levels in wizard or some other class. Apparently warforged during their very intense training period are unable to learn languages even though they can learn everything else and other races are not so limited? Right. Sure. Whatever.

 

[Deadguy]

Remember that in Eberron all Warforged come from the same source: they were all created and trained by House Cannith. I imagine a pretty standardised regimen for training, at least until specialist (class) training was undertaken. So sticking to a single common language throughout follows naturally from that standardisation. Later if their purpose requires it they can be taught additional languages (and spend skill points on buying them).

As regards their role as soldiers, I would suggest that just as important as their sheer resilience is that they bypass one of Eberron's key demographic limits. Remember that very few people in the world have the potential to develop PC classes; most folk are Commoners, with smatterings of other NPC classes. All Warforged have the ability to become PC-classed - frequently Fighter. This already puts them head and shoulders over the normal conscript, who is lucky if he gets levels of Warrior. Bearing this in mind, no bonus to Strength is a small thing.

 

[Notmousse]

Chiming in a bit late here...

Warforged are meant to be the 'grunts' of the millitary. Given that I don't see much use in spending time giving them languages of smaller footprint than Common (or the creators' language when Common's not plausible).

When storming a village there's little need to know what the peasants are thinking, only that they are the target and will be slain. This is the order, this is all that matters. Contemplation is a defect to be expunged.

 

[Slaved]

Which is great for the grunt types created with 10 intelligence or less, that is what they are there for.

What about those who were created with the no body armor feat, have an 18 intelligence, and have a personality matrix based on knowing everything they can about creatures and their societies? The lack of languages seems like a cheap hit for no good reason.

Those that are designed to not have lots of languages? They will not either way. Those that are built with the intelligence for it? They have the option stripped. Bad game design.

 

[Klaus]

Which is great for the grunt types created with 10 intelligence or less, that is what they are there for.

What about those who were created with the no body armor feat, have an 18 intelligence, and have a personality matrix based on knowing everything they can about creatures and their societies? The lack of languages seems like a cheap hit for no good reason.

Those that are designed to not have lots of languages? They will not either way. Those that are built with the intelligence for it? They have the option stripped. Bad game design.

Chalk it up to balancing the warforged. If the 'forged needs languages badly (for a spy-type or something), give it Bard or Expert levels and take ranks in Speak Language.

 

[Notmousse]

The 'forged aren't exactly what you could call good infiltrators.

'Hey Johnson, isn't that one of those Cannith house killing machines?'
'Yeah, wonder what it's doing over here.'
'Dunno, but I say it's dead within the first five rounds.'
'Look Jefferson, we got Heinrich downstairs, if it lasts more than two then I'll eat a kobold crap sandwhich.'

 

[Solarious]

There are a lot of unknowns with Warforged, because Cannith didn't actually build them up from the ground up, but rather used designs of the Creation Forges and Creation Patterns they cribbed from the ruins in Xen'drik. Cannith doesn't understand the entirety of Giant Magic, mostly because it's Epic Level stuff the giants themselves learned from the Dragons, but they instead found that they could bypass understanding it with the Mark of Making; which is why you have to have a Mark of Making to operate a Creation Forge. Or you can be Epic level, learn Giant Magic, and work them legitimately. It would be a first in millenia, but this is DnD we're talking about, we all know we want those epic storylines.

The point is that no one really knows how exactly Warforged get their intelligence, their souls, or even the ability to taste and smell (which really has no practical purpose). There are plenty of black boxes in Warforged, and Cannith was just beginning to test the true limits of Warforged creation when Cyre went kasploot. Cannith lost a lot of resources and leaders in Cyre (unlike Phiarlan, which was also based in Cyre, but all their leaders were conviniently away when things went pear-shaped), and by the time they began to pick up the pieces, the Treaty of Thronehold swooped in banning the creation of Warforged and ordering the dismantling of the Creation Forges. If you want more answers about why Warforged are the way they are, you'll be best off asking Baron Merrix d'Cannith. But then, he might think you know about the Creation Forge he illegally operates, and send his construct assasins after you...

And I respectfully disagree that Warforged don't make good infiltrators. Can ordinary infiltrators stay submerged underwater for any length of time without special equipment? Can they survive without any food or water, or stealing some? Do ordinary infiltrators need to sleep? Infiltrators are meant to be unseen and unnoticed... and for those times when you can't avoid being seen, Warforged were purchased by every nation to supplement their forces. Just kill one, hide the corpse, impersonate it/him/her with magic or mundane disguises, and be on your way.

 

[Notmousse]

You mean a reed, a ring of sutenence, and another ring of sustenence (ok, 2 whole hours of downtime a day)? I'm not sure how much a warforged goes for, but I have a feeling it's over 10k.

You do know that Disguise is a Cha skill, and even though a minor penalty it still makes one less able than their equal without the penalty (doubly so when you add in Bluff checks for acting in character).