Post/Author/DateTime	Post
BlackRequiem 01-26-08, 05:26 PM	I'm making a Druid Warforged using the Shapeshifter variant rules in PHB2. As they say;with great cheese comes great responsibility but that got me wondering how would a Warforged character actually progress in such a spiritual bond with nature? The world I am playing the Warforged in is not Eberron but the DM green lit me to work mine in there, either as an individual creation by some mad wizard or the product of imperial ambitions left unused from a war that never happened, like a superweapon that's more bark then bite. The story I've written so far began with my character first awakening in a swamp, it's mind distilled from any conveintional languages and knowledge of it's former masters. Sentient flora and fauna are unknown to it and through observation of local wild life it tries to communicate with other species ( and fails comically ). This goes on for who knows how long but it's time spent stalking the wilds and trying to imitate the lifeforms it sees as 'superior hunter-species' has an immense impact on the character. Where the divine magic part of this kicks in is what stumps me. Maybe a wayward court of Druids finds this weird construct exhibiting behavioural aspects of the animals living there and captures it for further examination ( and reeducation )?
JulesCARV 01-26-08, 05:40 PM	Bear in mind that druids can take craft construct. (Especially if they're shapeshifting druids who don't need to take natural spell at 6th, and thus can take craft wondrous item at 3rd, craft magical arms and armor at 6th, and craft construct at 9th). It could have been created not by some wizard or imperial army, but by some druids, in an attempt to create the perfect embodiment and defender of nature. They could have tried to imprint their knowledge into it before awakening it. Perhaps they screwed up on their first try, finding that they had made a construct with tendencies toward low wisdom, an inability to benefit fully from natural healing, and lacking some nifty features they wanted to bestow on its like darkvision, so they discarded their first into the swamp in an attempt to start anew on something that would be wiser, able to fully benefit from natural healing, etc. You were that failed first attempt. Except some weird bit of magic somehow awoke you even though the druids had left you as no more than some well-carved livewood. You found yourself alone, but somehow with druidic knowledge imprinted into your mind.
I_roll_ones 01-26-08, 06:04 PM	Is he made of metal? Maybe a druid made a wooden machine-LIKE construct to protect the woods. Then he is bound to nature, and regards nature as the force that spawned him, might even go for a mother-type nature religion. Alas, the druid who made him was killed, and the construct defeated for a while, awaiting to be repaired. A fey, curious as to what the thing is or does, repairs it via druidic magic, but flees, not knowing what to make of it. The construct leaves the fey's domain(So the fey might be a nymph who doesn't want to travel too far, and is suspcious of non-fey), so the fey did not reveal itself to the construct. Alone, bewildered and perhaps missing his memory, the construct instinctively protects nature, through he is aimless and wondering why he exists. Another druid recognizes the magic(Or maybe someone wrote druidic runes on him.) and seeks to both study and educate the construct, eventually respecting it as another one of nature's creations and a boon to the defenders of nature. Teak is a good name, I think.
BlackRequiem 01-26-08, 06:27 PM	Sweet stuff guys! I had no idea Druids could take Craft: Construct. That in it's self is pretty cool and adds a whole other dimension to his story..
I_roll_ones 01-26-08, 07:15 PM	Actually, maybe stone is a better material, since you can't really heal stone. And then he could have pretty gems for eyes(Such as malachites, or agates) and the names are a bit easier.
JulesCARV 01-26-08, 07:30 PM	According to ECS, warforged are "molded from a composite of materials -- obsidian, iron, stone, darkwood, silver, and organic material." Overall, they're not the first thing to come to mind when you think of druids, but their construction doesn't sound as blatantly contrary to ordinary druid magic as, say, an iron golem. I'm assuming here that this guy isn't going to be taking adamantine body or mithral body, in which case it would have a significantly metal-based body that seems out of step with a druidic construct-crafter. Taking adamantine or mithral body, of course, would be a terrible idea anyway, given that it would mean being unable to use the druid's supernatural abilties.
CrimsonDeath 01-26-08, 09:51 PM	In Eberron, the Cannith artificers used "creation forges" to craft the Warforged. With Druids making them, I'm picturing a secluded grove where they're grown...
Terjon of the Blue Rose 01-27-08, 01:45 AM	I'm thinking you need ironwood body since the composite plating violates a druid's oath. Beyond that have you considered the possability of you're having occured (or at least given life) naturally. For example... In the kingdom of _______ the king was a much loved man. He maintained the balance of freedom and security with great precision and held together fractious aspects of the many rivaled powers in his nation with a truly nuetral stance and exceptional diplomatic skills. As he grew older many came to fear what his death might mean. He had no heir and without the king there would be many vying for power again. The nation might tear itself apart. And so the mages decided that the king must live. They began their research into the nature of life and developed a construct body which could house his soul. Working with a local druid circle they prepared the construct to be given a primitive form of life that it could house the king's mind and soul without corrupting them. Then the king died. The construct was as yet incomplete and was never intended to be finished. There was too much strife elsewhere in the nation that had to be ended to worry about simple theory, not matter how much potential it held. The druids kept your form so that in time the research might be finished. You held a spark of life in you that had not yet been awakened and they desired to know what you would become, though none amongst them had the knowledge to complete you. In time, however, the magic on the menhir they buried you under seeped into your body. It infused you with the divine touch of the natural world and awoke the spark in your body. You pulled yourself from the ground and were "born". Unfortunately the druids had since gone off to aid in defending other parts of the kingdom. You had an instinct for nature from the circumstances of your birth but no teacher.
CrimsonDeath 01-27-08, 02:18 AM	I'm thinking you need ironwood body since the composite plating violates a druid's oath. Not really. It doesn't interfere with a Monk's class features either. Now, Mithral Body and Adamantine Body would cause problems, and Ironwood Body would be stylish, but the default composite plating of a Warforged is perfectly fine for a Druid.
JulesCARV 01-27-08, 02:50 AM	BTW, there's a dragonshard (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebds/20051024a) that includes some information on warforged druids. (Composite plating is said to be allowed) It's from an Eberron perspective, and includes some outdated stuff from when wildshape was polymorph-based, but since you're not using wildshape, I guess that doesn't matter. I'd be inclined to stick to composite, because it saves a feat and allows you to use a monk's belt once you can afford one (composite plating + monk's belt ties with ironwood body in AC at 14 wisdom). Of course, if your DM is running a limited-wealth campaign, has banned monk's belts, you don't expect the campaign to get to levels where monk's belts are affordable, or you simply find them distasteful, then ironwood might be better.
Ironblue 01-27-08, 11:01 PM	I'm making a Druid Warforged using the Shapeshifter variant rules in PHB2. Warning, obnoxiously long post, scroll at your own risk! Another Warforged Druid? So I'm not the only one? :D I used a green machine in a one-off game the other night, I really liked how he handled and plan on using him again in the future... Granted, it was a level 8 game, so I had a reasonable number of spells and things, though I didn't beat myself up about optimizing him too much... but he was fun nonetheless. The backstory I wrote up for that guy was Eberron-specific, but as I'm sure you've found, that's pretty easily reconfigured to fit in most any kind of campaign world. Either way, I won't bore you with the all the details, as it's a long story (that's a lie, I probably will), but I will tell you how I rationalized the casting spells bit, since you seemed to run into a problem there. My character's name is Wander, and he was created with the Ironwood Body feat. I figure that towards the end of the Last War, there was probably need for a cheaper, more agile model of Warforged. Adamantine and Mithral are obviously expensive and high-end, maybe composite plating required too much maintenance, or maybe generals had need of a warforged that could move quickly and reliably through woodlands... Just about anything here works. The point is, there was a production line for a lower-end model of warforged, and Ironwood fit the bill. So no Warforged was created for the express purpose of being a druid. Either way, Wander was part of a reserve regiment that never actually took part in any heavy fighting, but was in the unique position of being able to witness from afar some of the bloodiest final battles in the War, whether being held as a rearguard unit, or in a tactical reserve capacity, or any number of roles that do realistically make sense. Again, there he witnessed some of the bloodiest battles of the War. For Wander, violence and beauty were inexorably bound together, because what with all the magic, airships, and robots kicking the crap out of each other, it must have looked mighty impressive. Later on, when the war was over and he wandered the land (I know, too obvious?), I think he saw much the same kind of beauty in nature, what with the breathtaking environments, coupled with the ruthless hunting by beasts, and cycle of nature, so on, so forth. So in his mind, Nature reminds him of the Last War, which is a comforting normality for a creature born into such a state. Wander is not an innately violent character, but I imagine anybody would feel comfortable and at home in a place that reminded him of his first experiences in the world. Does that make sense? Continuing on, when the War ended, the human commander had to show up and order all the warforged to disperse (as described in Races of Eberron), and Wander took this final order a little too literally, immediately throwing down his armament and walking off in a randomly determined direction. He quite literally wandered off into the wilderness. After a while, the obedient impetus that had prompted this action began to wear off, and Wander started to think of the concept of living freely. I can see him wearing a torn cloak, a few oddball bits of ragtag clothing he picked up, and using a sturdy tree sapling as a walking stick (doubling as a quarterstaff, of course). He travelled aimlessly indefinitely, never tiring, always content to drink in his surroundings, until he came to a rural human farming community. Being a little wary of all other human and sentient races (after years of seeing them kill each other), Wander watched at a safe distance and so saw a lone wolf eating chickens and sheep. The wolf had, for some reason, lost the rest of it's pack, whether killed by orcs, or estranged from it's fellows somehow, it's not important. The Warforged observed the wolf, understood that it did what it did for food and survival, and found that there were quite a few traits he could admire in the wolf. It was capable, clearly self-sufficient, prideful, a vicious warrior, all qualities a warforged could appreciate. He also perhaps saw the loneliness in the creatures eyes, and their obvious similarity in being lost and adrift, one cut off from his pack, and the other ordered to abandon his regiment. So ensues a lengthy period where he tries to gain the wolf's trust, you can clearly see how this plays out. For instance, one time, Wander tries posing as an inert statue to appear unthreatening, and the wolf totally ignores him and winds up peeing on his leg. Fun little anecdotes like that. ;) So they end up together (Didn't see that one coming!). Okay, this is the important bit. Wander gains his powers by pretty much earning the attention of the nature spirits of the land, whether primal, elemental forces, or minor fey spirits, or even the agents of Obad-hai or something like that. Owing in no small part to the way he easily befriended the wolf, and his powerfully neutral, inquisitive, and contemplative spirit, somehow he is granted the attention of the spirits and blessing of the deities of nature. Wander soul is judged favorably, and is chosen as a foci for the powers of nature. he becomes an avatar of the natural world, a servant to help maintain the balance of nature. Now his doesn't mean he gains spellcasting ability. In actuality, Wander can't cast spells, and yet his faith, not in a deity, but in his own heart and the hearts of all living things, causes things to happen around him that some might call miracles. The spirits of nature watch over him and essentially make spells happen for him. Wander does not cast spells, but where he walks, animals follow, curiously, almost reverently. When he turns his compassion to another wounded living being, his touch can re-knit torn flesh and mend ills. And when he is angered, storm clouds brew in the distance, the very plants and animals turn on his foes, winds around him pick up, and his wrath can call lightning bolts from the sky. Does it work? I don't mind if you cherry-pick nice bits from my story, or steal it wholesale. That's my interpretation of a Warforged Druid. :D