Animating Warforged [Archive] - Wizards Community

Animating Warforged [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Toombs79
01-04-08, 10:11 AM Can a Warforged be animated via the Animate Dead spell? I ran into this issue the other day when we took one out pretty cleanly and I wanted to animate it as a zombie warforged.

We went into the discussion of mechanics and all that, and a warforged is described as a living construct. The key word being Living as opposed to other constructs like.... well... others

Although I can see the argument of a Warforged being comprised of meicanical parts, my argument is that it doesn't matter what the parts are since the way Animate Dead works is it imbunes a creature with negative energy which animates its origional working parts. So the gears and such would be animated with the negative energy.

I hope someone can direct me to some errata or popular opinion on this.
Kouk
01-04-08, 11:12 AM The main FAQ says this:
Can a warforged be animated as or transformed into an
undead?
A warforged isn’t immune to necromancy effects, so it can
be animated as or transformed into an undead, as long as the
effect, template, or monster description doesn’t otherwise bar
it. For example, only humanoids and monstrous humanoids can
become vampire spawn (according to the vampire’s create
spawn special attack), so a warforged couldn’t become a
vampire spawn. Another example: The zombie template states that it “can be added to any corporeal creature . . . that has a
skeletal system.” (MM 265) A warforged is certainly a
corporeal creature, but it doesn’t seem like a warforged has a
skeletal system, so it couldn’t be animated as a zombie.
ArcTan
01-04-08, 02:40 PM Can a Warforged be animated via the Animate Dead spell? I ran into this issue the other day when we took one out pretty cleanly and I wanted to animate it as a zombie warforged.

People like to be RAW-heads on this, but *flavor*-wise, the Eberron setting makes it quite clear that no known forms of Undead can be made from Warforged. The fact that there's no such thing as an Undead Warforged is, in fact, a big factor in the major churches of the world claiming Warforged aren't true living things.

So flavorwise, no, no Undead Warforged. No ordinary mundane ones that any fool could make if it were possible, anyway, like Warforged Zombies. If Undead Warforged exist they're strange, new, terrifying kinds of beings (like the Woeforged described in, IIRC, Forge of War).
blade265
01-04-08, 11:01 PM Just as a matter of interest in the Warforged Description under racial traits it states that a warforged with 0 hit points is disabled like any normal living creature but when a warforged hit points are less than 0 and greater than -10 hit points they become inert, do they actually die. While they do and can die, RAW could say that they don't die but become inert and yes I realise that they mean below 0 and less than -10. To me greater than -10 means -11 and above, -11, -12, -13 etc. It's just an interesting thought and would like other's views on this.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Toombs79 01-04-08, 10:11 AM	Can a Warforged be animated via the Animate Dead spell? I ran into this issue the other day when we took one out pretty cleanly and I wanted to animate it as a zombie warforged. We went into the discussion of mechanics and all that, and a warforged is described as a living construct. The key word being Living as opposed to other constructs like.... well... others Although I can see the argument of a Warforged being comprised of meicanical parts, my argument is that it doesn't matter what the parts are since the way Animate Dead works is it imbunes a creature with negative energy which animates its origional working parts. So the gears and such would be animated with the negative energy. I hope someone can direct me to some errata or popular opinion on this.
Kouk 01-04-08, 11:12 AM	The main FAQ says this: Can a warforged be animated as or transformed into an undead? A warforged isn’t immune to necromancy effects, so it can be animated as or transformed into an undead, as long as the effect, template, or monster description doesn’t otherwise bar it. For example, only humanoids and monstrous humanoids can become vampire spawn (according to the vampire’s create spawn special attack), so a warforged couldn’t become a vampire spawn. Another example: The zombie template states that it “can be added to any corporeal creature . . . that has a skeletal system.” (MM 265) A warforged is certainly a corporeal creature, but it doesn’t seem like a warforged has a skeletal system, so it couldn’t be animated as a zombie.
ArcTan 01-04-08, 02:40 PM	Can a Warforged be animated via the Animate Dead spell? I ran into this issue the other day when we took one out pretty cleanly and I wanted to animate it as a zombie warforged. People like to be RAW-heads on this, but flavor-wise, the Eberron setting makes it quite clear that no known forms of Undead can be made from Warforged. The fact that there's no such thing as an Undead Warforged is, in fact, a big factor in the major churches of the world claiming Warforged aren't true living things. So flavorwise, no, no Undead Warforged. No ordinary mundane ones that any fool could make if it were possible, anyway, like Warforged Zombies. If Undead Warforged exist they're strange, new, terrifying kinds of beings (like the Woeforged described in, IIRC, Forge of War).
blade265 01-04-08, 11:01 PM	Just as a matter of interest in the Warforged Description under racial traits it states that a warforged with 0 hit points is disabled like any normal living creature but when a warforged hit points are less than 0 and greater than -10 hit points they become inert, do they actually die. While they do and can die, RAW could say that they don't die but become inert and yes I realise that they mean below 0 and less than -10. To me greater than -10 means -11 and above, -11, -12, -13 etc. It's just an interesting thought and would like other's views on this.