Self-Healing Tank Warforged?

[Rossebay]

We have no dedicated healer in our party. Rather, we have no healer at all.
So don't worry about the divine stuff. I need a warforged that can preform efficient self-heals.
My general idea is a Warforged Fighter 2/Paladin of Freedom 7 (We're level 9, obviously).
With substitution levels, I can heal myself 50 points of damage per day with Lay-On hands. Secondarily, with Combat Focus, Combat Vigor, and another combat form feat, that's Fast Healing 4 for 13 rounds.

He does need to be able in combat, though. Strength and Constitution are both 22, so I'm content with that.

Now, he's got a Fullblade, and I'm focusing on PA+Cleave. The fullblade is Monkey Gripped for an extra D8. He's also got Adamantine Body and Improved Fortification, since I don't need to worry about missing healing from anyone.

Any suggestions? We're using flaws, and I've already taken both of mine: Shaky and the -3 to reflex one.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Replace Fullblade with greatsword. Take weapon focus. +1 attack is better than +1 damage.

Second, if you have high charisma, take two paladin levels and have the rest be crusader, or take four paladin levels and three crusader levels, heading for ruby knight v(w)indicator. If you don't have high charisma, just replace all paladin levels with crusader levels.

[Thurbane]

You could also go Binder 6/KotSS (Buer) 3 - this will get you unlimited out of combat healing for yourself and for your party. It will be a bit less effective on yourself than usual, due to warforged resistance to Su healing abilities, but it will still work.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

How did you get so many levels of Paladin of Freedom so fast? It doesn't have a trade-in option like Blackguard does.

Personally, I'd just go Crusader, since Lay on Hands doesn't work so well on Warforged.

Monkey Grip, unfortunately, does not work like that. Not that it would make the feat suck any less, it's a very sub-optimal way to spend a feat.

Pick up a stance so that you are healing every time you hit an opponent, then go for Area Denial with a Spiked Chain and a way to get Large size. Then go War Hulk for truly massive numbers of hits, and thus massive amounts of healing.

Then go with Stone Power to negate the first 10 damage per round, and Shards of Granite so you also ignore DR and Hardness at the same time.

You don't get hurt. When you do get hurt, you don't feel it, and do more damage. Then you heal the minimal amount of damage you took last turn. And in return, you dish out a few hundred damage a hit with Power Attack + Shock Trooper + Leap Attack.

[Rossebay]

Replace Fullblade with greatsword. Take weapon focus. +1 attack is better than +1 damage.

Second, if you have high charisma, take two paladin levels and have the rest be crusader, or take four paladin levels and three crusader levels, heading for ruby knight v(w)indicator. If you don't have high charisma, just replace all paladin levels with crusader levels.

I need repair spells, not healing spells. The character is literally immune to healing spells.
My charisma is somewhere around 10. It's not an important score for me, since Repair Damage (Warforged Lay-On Hands) is Constitution based.
Also, I'm more focused on higher BAB, so Crusader would only move to punish me there.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Also, I'm more focused on higher BAB, so Crusader would only move to punish me there.

What? Crusaders get full BAB. :smallconfused:

Also, you recover half HP from healing spells.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

I need repair spells, not healing spells. The character is literally immune to healing spells.
My charisma is somewhere around 10. It's not an important score for me, since Repair Damage (Warforged Lay-On Hands) is Constitution based.
Also, I'm more focused on higher BAB, so Crusader would only move to punish me there.

Crusader is a full BAB class. How would this hurt you? It also has non-conjuration-based healing, which is fully effective on Warforged. If you are talking War Hulk, that's more of a 'if you want to completely go over the top' option, and they get better than BAB.

[Rossebay]

Oh, they do?
Wait, are we talking about the Cleric variant from Dragon, or a separate base class?

Edit :
OHHH. Tome of Battle. Yeah... The DM doesn't use that. He doesn't like the easy-optimization there.
Sorry. I completely forgot about the book.

[TroubleBrewing]

How did you get so many levels of Paladin of Freedom so fast? It doesn't have a trade-in option like Blackguard does.

Paladin of Freedom is just the CG Paladin variant in UA, unless I'm mistaken... I don't think it's a PrC.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Oh, they do?
Wait, are we talking about the Cleric variant from Dragon, or a separate base class?

We're talking about the base class from Tome of Battle, Book of Nine Swords.


Paladin of Freedom is just the CG Paladin variant in UA, unless I'm mistaken... I don't think it's a PrC.

You're right, my bad. I was thinking Holy Liberator from CDiv...

[Hiro Protagonest]

Oh, they do?
Wait, are we talking about the Cleric variant from Dragon, or a separate base class?

Separate base class, from ToB.

[Rossebay]

To repost:
OHHH. Tome of Battle. Yeah... The DM doesn't use that. He doesn't like the easy-optimization there. Sorry. Forgot that book existed.

Edit: And on the War-Hulk thing, I'm looking for a way that won't make the party go :smallconfused: every time combat begins and ends in a few seconds.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Besides, clerics DO have a full BAB, once they get Divine Power, and DMM Persist. In fact, it makes ALL your classes a full BAB class, since your BAB is defined as your Character Level (which makes for one of the weakest of lulzworthy cheats in Epic levels, because even a full BAB class has 1/2 BAB after level 20, but Divine Power still gives you BAB = Character Level).

To repost:
OHHH. Tome of Battle. Yeah... The DM doesn't use that. He doesn't like the easy-optimization there. Sorry. Forgot that book existed.

Ahh, one of the 'melee can't have nice things' people. Gotcha.

In that case, here's my suggestion:

You want to be a tank who can heal himself? How 'out of the box' do you want to go? I can give you a full caster who is harder to kill, with the ability to heal himself even better than your build, and has an easier time of doing it at the same time. It's called Dread Necromancer. He's got unlimited self healing with either a single feat, or being undead... with Profane Lifeleech, you've got better healing (that damages opponents at the same time), you're using touch spells, so you can't miss, with your respectable 3/4 BAB, you can get access to Divine Power if you want to go those kinds of shennanigans, and you've got d12 HD by going Necropolitian.

But that's if you want to really make a point about it. If you just want to play a Warforged Tank That Auto-Repairs, my suggestion would be:

Artificer. Tailor made for that job. Infusions that self-heal upon being hit. Crazy weapons you can craft for free that do stupid amounts of damage. Whole nine yards.

[Hiro Protagonest]

To repost:
OHHH. Tome of Battle. Yeah... The DM doesn't use that. He doesn't like the easy-optimization there. Sorry. Forgot that book existed.

So he fully supports wizards breaking the game because it requires the player to be a total munchkin, but he doesn't support something that a new player can pick up so they don't lag behind?

[Rossebay]

Hahaha. I never realized that. (Epic level Divine Power)

When you put it that way... (wizards game-breaking)
But, the party Wizard isn't much of a powergamer. He recently switched to a monk. Only caster we have is a Warmage/Fighter and a Sorcerer/Rogue/Arcane Trickster that isn't taking Evocation spells for RP reasons.

[Dusk Eclipse]

Another option is dipping Shaper Psion for repair X damage, and then buying a lot of manifesting arrows (5 PP per arrow, which IIIRC are renewed every day)

[Rossebay]

The point of this build is to be front-lines and soak up damage while self-healing so the rest of the squishy party doesn't get ripped to shreds.
Should have prefaced it with that, I guess.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Hahaha. I never realized that. (Epic level Divine Power)

When you put it that way... (wizards game-breaking)
But, the party Wizard isn't much of a powergamer. He recently switched to a monk. Only caster we have is a Warmage/Fighter and a Sorcerer/Rogue/Arcane Trickster that isn't taking Evocation spells for RP reasons.

Well, the arcane trickster sounds pretty nasty anyways.

Artificer does everything you want it to do. Infusions are wonderful things, and your body counts as magic items to infuse. automatic healing? Check. Weapons that do 12d6 damage without costing you any xp or gold to craft? Check. impossible-to-hit ability? Check (Greater Mirror Image + Displacement + SHield + Mage Armor).


The point of this build is to be front-lines and soak up damage while self-healing so the rest of the squishy party doesn't get ripped to shreds.
Should have prefaced it with that, I guess.

Both builds I propose can fill this nitch. Heck, the Dread Necro has a d12 HD, so he'll likely end up with MORE HP than your build did...

[Rossebay]

Well, the arcane trickster sounds pretty nasty anyways.

Artificer does everything you want it to do. Infusions are wonderful things, and your body counts as magic items to infuse. automatic healing? Check. Weapons that do 12d6 damage without costing you any xp or gold to craft? Check. impossible-to-hit ability? Check (Greater Mirror Image + Displacement + SHield + Mage Armor).



Both builds I propose can fill this nitch. Heck, the Dread Necro has a d12 HD, so he'll likely end up with MORE HP than your build did...

I looked at the Artificer for a long time, because I thought it sounded really cool.
The thing is, it lacked full BAB (which infusions cover, I know), and I didn't much like the feel of the build. Meleeficier with some blastificier builds put in. I just couldn't go for it.

Dread Necro? Hahaha. Maybe the stats work, but you lose a lot of flavor.

[TroubleBrewing]

Dread Necro? Hahaha. Maybe the stats work, but you lose a lot of flavor.

Flavor in D&D, unlike in the real world, is whatever you choose to taste.

It makes no difference what the actual dish is made of, all that matters is how you choose to taste it.

[The Glyphstone]

Does your DM also hate psionics? Because if not, a Warforged Psychic Warrior 9 with Vampiric Weapon would do far better towards self-healing than the 50 HP/day of PoF. Strongarm Bracers with a Large Greatsword, then Expansion up a size category or two, and you're healing 10-20 HP on every hit you land.

Sure, it's not the full BAB you're hankering towards, but self-buffs can easily make up the attack bonus slack, and at level 9 you're still getting as many attacks/round as you would with 1-1 BAB.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Dread Necro? Hahaha. Maybe the stats work, but you lose a lot of flavor.

I take it you never played a Shadowknight in Everquest? Because that's exactly what they do, and they're considered to be a 'tank class'. In fact, they're still better than Fighters at single-target aggro-management.

"Go ahead and hit me. Because I shall simply draw on your life essence and leave you a dessicated husk while I go about my business."

Glyphstone's suggestion also has merit. With Empathic Transfer, Hostile, you can do pretty much the same thing.

[Rossebay]

Alright.
Well, you guys have given me a lot of information to go research. Sorry if I sounded too argumentative, but playing Devil's Advocate tends to get a lot more out of people.

Thanks a lot of your input. :]

[Dusk Eclipse]

Well a Psychic warrior 6 qualifies for slayer if you need full bab.

[The Glyphstone]

Well a Psychic warrior 6 qualifies for slayer if you need full bab.

Oh yeah, it does. Costs a ML, but that's not terrible.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Well a Psychic warrior 6 qualifies for slayer if you need full bab.

Fighter2/PsiWar4 if you only want to lose a single point of BAB, and want a couple of extra feats more than you want the extra PP.

[The Glyphstone]

Fighter2/PsiWar4 if you only want to lose a single point of BAB, and want a couple of extra feats more than you want the extra PP.

That's hitting you for 8 PP at level 9 (11 vs. 19), though, being ML6th with Fighter 2/PsyWar4/Slayer 3 vs. PsyWar6/Slayer3, before your bonus PP from Wisdom add in (which won't be exceptional due to Warforged Wis penalty).

Personally, I'd go Psywar8/Slayer 1. It's a 2-point BAB penalty, but maintains ML8 (a hit of only 4 PP), and gets another bonus feat.

[Dusk Eclipse]

Oh yeah, it does. Costs a ML, but that's not terrible.

I personally love Cerebral blind/immunity; plus the increase in skill points per level is nice.


Fighter2/PsiWar4 if you only want to lose a single point of BAB, and want a couple of extra feats more than you want the extra PP.

Hmm does being large grants you bonus to bull rush? cause that might make for an interesting Dungeon crasher build.

[Arbitrarious]

Or you could look at Ardent and customize a mantle to spec. Duskblade also isn't an awful choice since you can channel a Vampiric Touch to gain temp HP. Of course you could always go cleric with right domain.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Hmm does being large grants you bonus to bull rush? cause that might make for an interesting Dungeon crasher build.

+4 for every size category above Medium

[Dusk Eclipse]

Hmm sounds interesting

[Zonugal]

You could always try to pick up Draconic Aura (Vigor) at third level & beyond for a constant fast healing effect (well up to half hit points at least).