Warforged Feats [Archive] - Wizards Community

Warforged Feats [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
MoonlitKnight
08-29-07, 03:56 PM As a brand new player to DnD I must first say that I LOVE this game and wish I had started years ago. That being said I am looking for a little guidance here. We are starting an Eberron campaign and I am creating a Warforged. I think I may start as a Barbarian (for the speed bonus) and then switch to fighter. Suggestions please on what feats would best suit this type of character. I think I am going with two handed weapon style fighting. Thanks in advance for your input!
naturax
08-29-07, 04:00 PM I just built a warforged barbarian and I started with Mithril Armor. Then it really depends on your playing style, but I think going into Improved Sunder is a lot of fun.
glug
08-29-07, 04:15 PM How far are you planning to take barbarian?

As a fighter, your armor is important to you. Recommended feats might include adamantine body (which must be taken at level 1), giving you a much sturdier base armor, and also a Damage Reduction that would *NOT* stack with your barbarian DR that you begin to see at level 7.

Your fast movement is limited to less-than heavy armor. As a fighter, that would be limiting. A basic warforged is considered to be wearing light armor, with AC2, which would not do for a fighter. Your first level feat should be Mithril Body if you want that speed bonus, as it's AC5, which is nice. But as a fighter, you'd prefer that AC8, DR2/adamantine that you get with Adamantine Body... but you'd lose that speed bonus.

Uncanny dodge is nice, and rage at 4th isn't too bad at all. However, if the main reason for taking barbarian levels is that speed bonus, and you plan to essentially be a warforged fighter, then perhaps there are other options.

Boots of Striding and Springing at 10' to your speed. You can get a comparable item that takes up the 'boot' slot on a warforged for the same price. There are a number of other items in the Magic Item Compendium that also allow similar effects.. not the 10' all the time bonus, but rather, short teleports 3/day, or increased speed for 3 rounds/day. These might be cheaper alternatives to the boots, somewhat more versatile in combat, and still allow you to take that adamantine body feat.

I'm not trying to say you shouldn't be a warforged barbarian. However, while there is nothing for WF Barbarians in the Races of Eberron book, there are some substitution levels for fighters. At first level, you can take 'battle hardened' instead of your fighter bonus feat, giving you +3 initiative, and +3 save vs fear. At second, you'd have the option to take a warforged-specific feat instead of a fighter-specific bonus feat. And at 4th, you could choose +2 damage on slam attacks, or any attached-weapon attacks rather than the fighter bonus feat.

Even though that's not a very pro-barbarian post, I hope it helps.
MoonlitKnight
08-29-07, 04:22 PM Ty Glug,,,,,I think after reading your post, I will abandon My barbarian ways and just stick with fighter. I am, as it were, a babe in the woods, just learning how to play. Therefore I seek sage counsel on how to make my WF an effective fighter in a party lacking fighters. A half orc barbarian and my wf will be the tip of the spear as it were and I want that spear to be sharp.
LoneStranger
08-30-07, 12:51 AM Improved Resiliency and Improved Damage Reduction are two to get ASAP (immunity to non-lethal/fast healing and regeneration as well as immunity to crits and sneak attacks/healing respectively). Another one to look at is Improved Damage Reduction (really helps if you take Adamantine Body at 1st).

Basically this combination of feats is all about denial of damage. The rogue's jaw drops as his sneak attack dice don't get used, the opposing swashbuckler who tends to crit often gets deflated when his crits don't matter, and they all hate the fact that 10 points of damage becomes 8 or 6 or even less.

Another thing to look at is the Armblade, it's a component that attaches to the arm and is a Bastard Sword. Normal fighter feat tree leading to Weapon Supremacy is also good.

I'm playing a Warforged Fighter right now myself and this is all what I'm doing currently, trust me it helps.
Ravenstein
08-30-07, 09:17 AM Considering you are going straight fighter now, you might look into the Warforged Juggernaut prestige class. It pretty much makes you the ultimate war machine.
Garden_State_Gamer
08-30-07, 09:23 AM And if you can get the Warforged Racial Fighter classes from the Races of Eberron book, so much the better.

You don't get the bonus feats at 1,2 and 4, but you get d12 HD, and one feat that gives you +3 to Init and save vs Fear, an extra warforged feat, and I forget what you get at 4th.
Ravenstein
08-30-07, 01:08 PM And don't forget the excellent racial feats from Races of Eberron as well. I was gonna mention the book before, but didn't want to go overboard. But then again, why not?

Also being new, that book'll help you understand the mindset of a warforged really well.
Garden_State_Gamer
08-30-07, 04:11 PM if it's no holds barred, my money for sheer tank magnitude is Knight X/Warforged Fighter 2/Juggernaut X. Full D12 HD, Adamantine Armor and class abilities that make you the Barrel of HP Soaking.

But we're not talking optimization.

I also recommend Warforged Components, found in ECS, Races, and Magic of Eberron.
LoneStranger
08-30-07, 11:47 PM Yeah I gotta agree about the components. An Armblade is great for melee while the Armbow is good for range.

Also look into a Behemoth Belt from Secrets of Xen'drik, lets you grow to large size for a while each day (controlled by you).

Plus I'm sure you can find a few other things your character can use, just remember some of it gets kinda expensive.

However how helpful is all this? Feeling overwhelmed? Feeling like you're being pointed in a direction you like?
Drag0nUL
08-31-07, 03:11 AM I think warforged barbarian is a good idea. One of the biggest drawbacks of barbarian rage is the fact you get fatigued after you use it. But warforged are immune to fatigue so that's a big advantage. A build that I have found to be pretty effective is Barbarian 1/fighter 4/ Juggernaut 5/Artificer 5/Spellcarved Soldier 5. Still, as you say you are new to the game I would recommend something simpler (Artificer is a pretty complicated class). You could try: Barbarian 1/Fighter 4/Juggernaut 5/fighter or barbarian 10. Fro feats I recommend: Adamantine Body, Weapon focus and Weapon specialization with your chosen weapon., Power attack, Leap attack, Imp. Bull Rush, Shock Trooper and Extra Rage.

As for what other people have said before, I don't think Improved Resiliency and specially improved damage reduction are really worth it.

Negating critical hits is nice, but most weapons crit about 5-10% of the time (with a max of 25% for keen falchions/rapiers/kukris/etc.). So, is it worth wasting a feat slot for something that would be useful less than 25% of the time? Still, if you want critical immunity, there are other ways to get it, like the Juggernaut Prestige Class or some artificer infusions, or armor enhancements.

As for Improved Damage reduction, I don't think it's worth wasting a feat for an extra DR 1/adamantine. And Dr tends to count less \nd less as you advance in the game. Saying that instead of 5 damage you take 2 damage looks pretty. Saying that instead of 70 you take 67, not so much.
Closet_Nerd
08-31-07, 11:05 AM Reaping mauler would be an interesting prestige class for a warforged. I've had a character concept that i've been thinking about playing- a warforged fighter with a concentration on harpoons. then eventually prestige classing in to reaping mauler.

A 400lb harpoon slinging, wrestling construct. Yeah.
MoonlitKnight
08-31-07, 01:40 PM LoneStranger, everything I have read here is very helpful. I am struggling which way to go, straight fighter...barbarian....or say sod the lot and just go Juggernaut! I will talk it over with my DM who has years of expierence and hopefully we can "forge" a solution. My thanks to all who have added their input. I am taking notes
LoneStranger
08-31-07, 10:30 PM Glad to hear this is helping MoonlitKnight, I will say that Barbarian and Fighter would be the two best classes to take to get to Juggernaut considered what you need to get in. However don't forget some of the other classes and things you can do with them as well. In fact here are a couple of ideas I've had:

A Warforged Swashbuckler named Captain (thought up after watching Dead Man's Chest)

A Warforged with the Master Linguist feat (let's you speak an additional language every level) named Translator (gold outer covering optional)

A Warforged Wizard (not artificer, but straight wizard) named Blaze, specializes in evocation magic.

Just remember that anything you can do with another race you can also do with a Warforged, in some cases you just clank around a lot more while doing it.

Oh and Drag0nUL, taking Improved Damage Reduction is a worthwhile thing I think. It could mean the difference between striking that last blow to take down the opponent, and being knocked out of the fight. But that's just my opinion.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
MoonlitKnight 08-29-07, 03:56 PM	As a brand new player to DnD I must first say that I LOVE this game and wish I had started years ago. That being said I am looking for a little guidance here. We are starting an Eberron campaign and I am creating a Warforged. I think I may start as a Barbarian (for the speed bonus) and then switch to fighter. Suggestions please on what feats would best suit this type of character. I think I am going with two handed weapon style fighting. Thanks in advance for your input!
naturax 08-29-07, 04:00 PM	I just built a warforged barbarian and I started with Mithril Armor. Then it really depends on your playing style, but I think going into Improved Sunder is a lot of fun.
glug 08-29-07, 04:15 PM	How far are you planning to take barbarian? As a fighter, your armor is important to you. Recommended feats might include adamantine body (which must be taken at level 1), giving you a much sturdier base armor, and also a Damage Reduction that would NOT stack with your barbarian DR that you begin to see at level 7. Your fast movement is limited to less-than heavy armor. As a fighter, that would be limiting. A basic warforged is considered to be wearing light armor, with AC2, which would not do for a fighter. Your first level feat should be Mithril Body if you want that speed bonus, as it's AC5, which is nice. But as a fighter, you'd prefer that AC8, DR2/adamantine that you get with Adamantine Body... but you'd lose that speed bonus. Uncanny dodge is nice, and rage at 4th isn't too bad at all. However, if the main reason for taking barbarian levels is that speed bonus, and you plan to essentially be a warforged fighter, then perhaps there are other options. Boots of Striding and Springing at 10' to your speed. You can get a comparable item that takes up the 'boot' slot on a warforged for the same price. There are a number of other items in the Magic Item Compendium that also allow similar effects.. not the 10' all the time bonus, but rather, short teleports 3/day, or increased speed for 3 rounds/day. These might be cheaper alternatives to the boots, somewhat more versatile in combat, and still allow you to take that adamantine body feat. I'm not trying to say you shouldn't be a warforged barbarian. However, while there is nothing for WF Barbarians in the Races of Eberron book, there are some substitution levels for fighters. At first level, you can take 'battle hardened' instead of your fighter bonus feat, giving you +3 initiative, and +3 save vs fear. At second, you'd have the option to take a warforged-specific feat instead of a fighter-specific bonus feat. And at 4th, you could choose +2 damage on slam attacks, or any attached-weapon attacks rather than the fighter bonus feat. Even though that's not a very pro-barbarian post, I hope it helps.
MoonlitKnight 08-29-07, 04:22 PM	Ty Glug,,,,,I think after reading your post, I will abandon My barbarian ways and just stick with fighter. I am, as it were, a babe in the woods, just learning how to play. Therefore I seek sage counsel on how to make my WF an effective fighter in a party lacking fighters. A half orc barbarian and my wf will be the tip of the spear as it were and I want that spear to be sharp.
LoneStranger 08-30-07, 12:51 AM	Improved Resiliency and Improved Damage Reduction are two to get ASAP (immunity to non-lethal/fast healing and regeneration as well as immunity to crits and sneak attacks/healing respectively). Another one to look at is Improved Damage Reduction (really helps if you take Adamantine Body at 1st). Basically this combination of feats is all about denial of damage. The rogue's jaw drops as his sneak attack dice don't get used, the opposing swashbuckler who tends to crit often gets deflated when his crits don't matter, and they all hate the fact that 10 points of damage becomes 8 or 6 or even less. Another thing to look at is the Armblade, it's a component that attaches to the arm and is a Bastard Sword. Normal fighter feat tree leading to Weapon Supremacy is also good. I'm playing a Warforged Fighter right now myself and this is all what I'm doing currently, trust me it helps.
Ravenstein 08-30-07, 09:17 AM	Considering you are going straight fighter now, you might look into the Warforged Juggernaut prestige class. It pretty much makes you the ultimate war machine.
Garden_State_Gamer 08-30-07, 09:23 AM	And if you can get the Warforged Racial Fighter classes from the Races of Eberron book, so much the better. You don't get the bonus feats at 1,2 and 4, but you get d12 HD, and one feat that gives you +3 to Init and save vs Fear, an extra warforged feat, and I forget what you get at 4th.
Ravenstein 08-30-07, 01:08 PM	And don't forget the excellent racial feats from Races of Eberron as well. I was gonna mention the book before, but didn't want to go overboard. But then again, why not? Also being new, that book'll help you understand the mindset of a warforged really well.
Garden_State_Gamer 08-30-07, 04:11 PM	if it's no holds barred, my money for sheer tank magnitude is Knight X/Warforged Fighter 2/Juggernaut X. Full D12 HD, Adamantine Armor and class abilities that make you the Barrel of HP Soaking. But we're not talking optimization. I also recommend Warforged Components, found in ECS, Races, and Magic of Eberron.
LoneStranger 08-30-07, 11:47 PM	Yeah I gotta agree about the components. An Armblade is great for melee while the Armbow is good for range. Also look into a Behemoth Belt from Secrets of Xen'drik, lets you grow to large size for a while each day (controlled by you). Plus I'm sure you can find a few other things your character can use, just remember some of it gets kinda expensive. However how helpful is all this? Feeling overwhelmed? Feeling like you're being pointed in a direction you like?
Drag0nUL 08-31-07, 03:11 AM	I think warforged barbarian is a good idea. One of the biggest drawbacks of barbarian rage is the fact you get fatigued after you use it. But warforged are immune to fatigue so that's a big advantage. A build that I have found to be pretty effective is Barbarian 1/fighter 4/ Juggernaut 5/Artificer 5/Spellcarved Soldier 5. Still, as you say you are new to the game I would recommend something simpler (Artificer is a pretty complicated class). You could try: Barbarian 1/Fighter 4/Juggernaut 5/fighter or barbarian 10. Fro feats I recommend: Adamantine Body, Weapon focus and Weapon specialization with your chosen weapon., Power attack, Leap attack, Imp. Bull Rush, Shock Trooper and Extra Rage. As for what other people have said before, I don't think Improved Resiliency and specially improved damage reduction are really worth it. Negating critical hits is nice, but most weapons crit about 5-10% of the time (with a max of 25% for keen falchions/rapiers/kukris/etc.). So, is it worth wasting a feat slot for something that would be useful less than 25% of the time? Still, if you want critical immunity, there are other ways to get it, like the Juggernaut Prestige Class or some artificer infusions, or armor enhancements. As for Improved Damage reduction, I don't think it's worth wasting a feat for an extra DR 1/adamantine. And Dr tends to count less \nd less as you advance in the game. Saying that instead of 5 damage you take 2 damage looks pretty. Saying that instead of 70 you take 67, not so much.
Closet_Nerd 08-31-07, 11:05 AM	Reaping mauler would be an interesting prestige class for a warforged. I've had a character concept that i've been thinking about playing- a warforged fighter with a concentration on harpoons. then eventually prestige classing in to reaping mauler. A 400lb harpoon slinging, wrestling construct. Yeah.
MoonlitKnight 08-31-07, 01:40 PM	LoneStranger, everything I have read here is very helpful. I am struggling which way to go, straight fighter...barbarian....or say sod the lot and just go Juggernaut! I will talk it over with my DM who has years of expierence and hopefully we can "forge" a solution. My thanks to all who have added their input. I am taking notes
LoneStranger 08-31-07, 10:30 PM	Glad to hear this is helping MoonlitKnight, I will say that Barbarian and Fighter would be the two best classes to take to get to Juggernaut considered what you need to get in. However don't forget some of the other classes and things you can do with them as well. In fact here are a couple of ideas I've had: A Warforged Swashbuckler named Captain (thought up after watching Dead Man's Chest) A Warforged with the Master Linguist feat (let's you speak an additional language every level) named Translator (gold outer covering optional) A Warforged Wizard (not artificer, but straight wizard) named Blaze, specializes in evocation magic. Just remember that anything you can do with another race you can also do with a Warforged, in some cases you just clank around a lot more while doing it. Oh and Drag0nUL, taking Improved Damage Reduction is a worthwhile thing I think. It could mean the difference between striking that last blow to take down the opponent, and being knocked out of the fight. But that's just my opinion.