Warforged Favored Class [3.5]

[Kansaschaser]

Is there any way to change the favored class of the Warforged to something else? I like the Warforged, but I don't really like the Fighter class.

[Psyren]

No, but your DM shouldn't be enforcing multiclass penalties anyway - it's a lame rule that does nothing but punish creativity. (Or at least, adopt the much better Pathfinder version that provides incentive for various combinations instead of penalizing others.)

If s/he insists on penalizing you though, just stay single-classed or stick to PrCs.

[Menteith]

Yes (http://dndtools.eu/feats/unearthed-arcana--90/additional-favored-class--37/). Unearthed Arcana, page 100.

[Kansaschaser]

No, but your DM shouldn't be enforcing multiclass penalties anyway - it's a lame rule that does nothing but punish creativity. (Or at least, adopt the much better Pathfinder version that provides incentive for various combinations instead of penalizing others.)

If s/he insists on penalizing you though, just stay single-classed or stick to PrCs.

We have some weird rules in this game. One of them is that you must play the favored class of the race you select.

[Worira]

That's... an incredibly terrible rule. It's basically mandating cookie-cutter characters.

EDIT: Plus it pretty much makes humans the only race worth using ever.

[Kansaschaser]

Yes (http://dndtools.eu/feats/unearthed-arcana--90/additional-favored-class--37/). Unearthed Arcana, page 100.

Awesome! So all I have to do is spend my first level feat in order to take something else as my favored class. :smallsigh: Oh well, I guess it can't be helped.


That's... an incredibly terrible rule. It's basically mandating cookie-cutter characters.

EDIT: Plus it pretty much makes humans the only race worth using ever.

Yeah, we are all playing Humans. There is one Half-Elf. I just wanted to make something different for my next character.

[Amoren]

Plus it pretty much makes humans the only race worth using ever.

You mean that isn't the case already? :P

[Worira]

Nah, dwarves have sweet beards.

[Soranar]

Forcing people to play their favored class would actually make elves worth playing, what a terrible idea.

[Novawurmson]

There's always Elans, right?

But more seriously, I think there's a way to get your Warforged's favored class changed to artificer...I've been reading a lot of Eberron material lately.

[Soranar]

Here's a few powerful options (though i doubt your DM would allow most of them)

for any : humans, synad, illumian

Barbarian: Water Orc
Cleric: Raptoran, lesser drow (female)
Druid: anthropomorphic bat, painted elf (easier to pass through DM fiat)
Psion: Elan
Sorcerer: Jungle Kobold (only good due to kobold only options)
Wizard: Snow Elf (no CON penalty, +2 DEX), gray elf (CON penalty but +2 to INT and DEX)

[Menteith]

Dragonborn of Bahamut changes favored class to Fighter, which isn't helpful in this case, but is worth noting if you're going to keep playing with this house rule. If Dragon Mags are fair game, the Magic-Blooded template is LA+0 and changes your favored class to Sorcerer. Wild and Desert templates both change FC to Ranger. That's all I got, sorry.

[Curmudgeon]

Dragonborn of Bahamut changes favored class to Fighter
That's actually incorrect. The Dragonborn Ritual of Rebirth adds a favored class without changing the old one. See Races of the Dragon on page 10.

Some templates will replace your favored class. The following are just examples, since neither will apply to Warforged.

Wild inherited template for any PH race (Dragon # 306, page 65): Ranger (LA +0)
Feral inherited template for any corporeal Humanoid or Monstrous Humanoid (Savage Species, page 116): Barbarian (LA +1, plus 1 HD of Monstrous Humanoid)

A bunch of regional feats (which Warforged also don't qualify for) add an additional favored class. One that you could qualify for (if you're from any sort of Wastes terrain) is Judged By Aurifar (Sandstorm), which adds Cleric as a favored class. Sandstorm has other, similar feats, but requirements of skin, birthmarks, & c. won't work with forged rather than born characters.

[Urpriest]

Note that a single level of Fighter is not exactly the end of the world. Grab a feat, take advantage of the fact that it's your favorite class so you don't get an XP penalty for dipping it, and then take another class.

Now, if you aren't allowed to multiclass, then your DM is a child and should be replaced.

[IthroZada]

Yeah, we are all playing Humans. There is one Half-Elf. I just wanted to make something different for my next character.

Why even have the rule that you must play your favored class when everyone but you is playing a race that has any favored class they want?

[Griffith!]

Why even have the rule that you must play your favored class when everyone but you is playing a race that has any favored class they want?

Seems silly to me. In my group we ignore favored classes and just multiclass as we please. It leads to some cheese and overpowered characters, but more often it just results in broken butt-monkeys. There's like, one optimizer in the group.

Well, two, but I'm the DM and thus don't count.

[Thurbane]

Now, if you aren't allowed to multiclass, then your DM is a child and should be replaced.
A little harsh, don't you think?

The DM is trying out a houserule, presumably to shake up the play style of the group a little. The more reasonable response would be to either A.) play within the DMs strictures, or B.) if the group as whole isn't happy playing under this rule, approach the DM and express your concerns like civilized human beings. If he throws a hissy fit and says he won't run the game without this rule, then he is being petulant (a better choice of word than child, I think, as there is nothing inherently wrong with being a child. A large number of people who play the game are, in fact, children).

[Urpriest]

A little harsh, don't you think?

The DM is trying out a houserule, presumably to shake up the play style of the group a little. The more reasonable response would be to either A.) play within the DMs strictures, or B.) if the group as whole isn't happy playing under this rule, approach the DM and express your concerns like civilized human beings. If he throws a hissy fit and says he won't run the game without this rule, then he is being petulant (a better choice of word than child, I think, as there is nothing inherently wrong with being a child. A large number of people who play the game are, in fact, children).

Perhaps a bit harsh. But I can't think of any motivation for that sort of rule besides making characters of various races fit their races' "theme". If someone is that thoroughly bound by tropes then they likely aren't the sort of person who should be doing creative work.

If the DM was just trying to shake things up or do a silly campaign, then the OP likely would not be asking us how to get around the rule. So while it's possible that the DM's instincts are sound, from what we've been told it really doesn't sound like the DM is someone who should be DMing.

[Thurbane]

Fair enough. I still think the best approach, if the group is not happy with the houserule, is to approach the DM and voice your concerns.

I found myself in a similar situation a year or so back - I'm part of a regular weekly 3.5 group that's been playing for maybe 5 years or so, and we take it in turns DMing (each DM runs a campaign, anywhere from a couple of months to a year+). Anyhow, it got to the turn of one of the guys to DM, and he told us in advance he would be running a game with houserules.

Houserules turned out to be a massive understatement - the game was a mishmash of 3.5, AD&D 1E and a lot of houserules thrown in too. Some of the "highlights" were - no feats, no multiple attacks ever (even at BAB 6+) and discarding initiative in favour of everything in a round happening "simultaneously".

On top of all this, we were each asked to run three characters, and basically told which of his houseruled base classes they needed to be. Casters were nerfed to within an inch of their life (which doesn't sound so bad, except that melee types were similarly nerfed).

Then the kicker - the adventure was so incredibly linear, PC decisions had almost no impact on the storyline. The story was also split into two, with half of the PC characters in one story arc, and half in the other.

To be fair to this DM, while the gameplay wasn't all that great, the homebrew world he had made, along with the storyline, was very detailed and quite interesting...

So, long story short, none of the six players were really happy with the game, and after trying to give it a fair go for a couple of months, we started voicing concerns to the DM, and suggested ways in which he might bend or change his houserules so it would be more fun for the players. Unfortunately, he took our suggestions as attacks on his DMing, and after a couple of sessions which ended up in some heated exchanges, he finally quit DMing, and left our group (to this day he hasn't come back).

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's a fine line in trying to voice a concern about a game, and not have it come across as an attack on someone's DMing style.

[Namfuak]

*snip*

One thing to remember is that when you are suggesting that someone do something differently, use the "Uh-Oh Oreo" approach. Start with the cookie - something like "I really like the idea of having a character's race determine part of their class (or replace this with something else if you don't like the idea at all, above all don't lie to make him feel good)," middle is the cream "but I feel like it could be restrictive. What if we gave races that have only one favored class a few possible favored classes instead that fit with the theme of their race" and then the other cookie "I think that the campaign is going to be fun though!" (replace as necessary).

*Note: I prefer "Uh Oh Oreo" rather than simply an Oreo because I think white fits better for compliments and black for constructive criticism.