Warforged DR Fighter

[tricktroller]

So I decided I wanted to play a warforged fighter with high dr.

Stats
Str 17
Dex 12
Con 20
Int 16
Wis 14
Cha 10

(I rolled an awesome stat set. Feels like waste to put it on a fighter lol)

Takes 2 flaws
vulnerable and Shaky or vulnerable and unreactive.

Unreactive would be if I wanted more RP stuff.

Feats
1st Adamantine Body
Flaw 1 Roll with it
Flaw 2 Roll with it
Fighter 1 Toughness
War Forged Fighter 2 Improved DR
3rd Roll With it
Fighter 4th Power Attack
6th Roll with it
Fighter 6th Cleave
Fighter 8 Great Cleave
9th Roll with it
Fighter 10th Imp Bull Rush

So basically at first level you have dr 6/adamantine and 18 HP making you extremely survivable. 2nd level nets you average of 11 hp and 1 more dr bringing you to 29 and DR 7. At 9th level with average of 11 hp a level you are at 106 HP with DR 13 adamantine.

Anyone know of a better way to make a crazy high DR fighter? What would mineral warrior look like like this?

THey get DR 8/ Adamantine right? Can you make a mineral warrior warforged?

[Shining Wrath]

So I decided I wanted to play a warforged fighter with high dr.

Stats
Str 17
Dex 12
Con 20
Int 16
Wis 14
Cha 10

(I rolled an awesome stat set. Feels like waste to put it on a fighter lol)

Takes 2 flaws
vulnerable and Shaky or vulnerable and unreactive.

Unreactive would be if I wanted more RP stuff.

Feats
1st Adamantine Body
Flaw 1 Roll with it
Flaw 2 Roll with it
Fighter 1 Toughness
War Forged Fighter 2 Improved DR
3rd Roll With it
Fighter 4th Power Attack
6th Roll with it
Fighter 6th Cleave
Fighter 8 Great Cleave
9th Roll with it
Fighter 10th Imp Bull Rush

So basically at first level you have dr 6/adamantine and 18 HP making you extremely survivable. 2nd level nets you average of 11 hp and 1 more dr bringing you to 29 and DR 7. At 9th level with average of 11 hp a level you are at 106 HP with DR 13 adamantine.

Anyone know of a better way to make a crazy high DR fighter? What would mineral warrior look like like this?

THey get DR 8/ Adamantine right? Can you make a mineral warrior warforged?

You don't want Great Cleave, it's a trap. Given the number of HP you're getting, the 3 from Toughness aren't necessary. If you take Warblade rather than Fighter you won't get the bonus feats, but you will get a D12 HD.

[tricktroller]

toughness is a prereq for Roll with it.

In the group I play in usually we allow improved toughness to qualify but I would have to make sure the DM is ok with that and with roll with it.

[Magesmiley]

I generally go with a dwarf for a DR fighter, with the plan being to take levels in dwarven defender to increase the amount of DR a bit more than just from Roll With It.

Your DR is a little lower in the beginning, but it ends up being - rather than admantine. You can also take the dwarven fighter substitution level from RoS at 1st level to end up with 20 HP and 4/-.

[KillianHawkeye]

In the group I play in usually we allow improved toughness to qualify but I would have to make sure the DM is ok with that and with roll with it.

That would be a much better feat investment if the DM is okay with it.

[tricktroller]

I'd rather go with warforged. Played plenty of Dwarves.

I agree. I would much rather get an extra HP per level giving me 12 a level on average.

[Big Fau]

Out of curiosity, is there a reason you are taking Improved Bull Rush without Dungeoncrasher?

[kardar233]

Out of curiosity, is there a reason you are taking Improved Bull Rush without Dungeoncrasher?

Maybe he's going for Warforged Juggernaut?

[Amphetryon]

GENERAL DISCLAIMER: While DR 8/Adamantine looks gnarly, you're aware that it's fundamentally not an issue for most appropriate CR enemies by the time you get it, right? While there are niche cases where it will help (multi-armed claw attacks for small damage, for example), for the most part, they'll either be THF-ing it for so much more damage than 8 that the amount of protection gained is usually not noticeable, or they'll be using magic or otherwise attacking through methods that ignore the DR wholesale. This includes grabbing a handy Adamantine weapon - particularly as your Character becomes powerful enough to warrant the attentions of high-level adversaries.

[supermonkeyjoe]

Unfortunately the mineral warrior (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20031003e) idea is right out, it can't be applied to warforged as they are constructs.

[Rejusu]

It sounds like a fun idea but I can't see it being that great to play. Those defences are easily bypassed by a lot of things and you're burning so many feats on increased HP and DR that you're missing out on the feats that make fighters fun in combat.

[tricktroller]

Really all the fighter feats I have no idea what to do with. Also the 2nd level feat that I can take as a warforged feat can be a regular fighter feat.

With keeping this same concept in mind can anyone come up with a build? I want ot play a THFer that soaks damage not through ac but through DR.

I understand that at a certain level DR/adamantine becomes DR/lame but we usually only play to 12th level. I think this guy would be a lot of fun from level 1-8 at the very least because he will soak tons of damage by DR alone.

Can you take warforged juggernaut and 2 levels of reforged to get construct type and be able to be healed by normal magic? I know the reforged isn't the best of classes but natural healing and magical healing is really nice. DR 8 with lesser vigor means that anything 9 or less damage a round is basically nothing at all.

[Shining Wrath]

GENERAL DISCLAIMER: While DR 8/Adamantine looks gnarly, you're aware that it's fundamentally not an issue for most appropriate CR enemies by the time you get it, right? While there are niche cases where it will help (multi-armed claw attacks for small damage, for example), for the most part, they'll either be THF-ing it for so much more damage than 8 that the amount of protection gained is usually not noticeable, or they'll be using magic or otherwise attacking through methods that ignore the DR wholesale. This includes grabbing a handy Adamantine weapon - particularly as your Character becomes powerful enough to warrant the attentions of high-level adversaries.

DR 6 at first level, DR 13 at 11th. At first level DR 6 counts for a whole lot, as you can pretty much walk into a crowd of mooks and let them beat on you with small weapons (short swords, clubs) with no damage at all.

[Tulya]

Even when the originally posted build ends up fighting DR X/Adamantine piercing enemies, it's only going to reduce the damage reduction by 3. All of the rest is DR X/- from Roll With It. Its unique capacity to stack with any other source of damage reduction doesn't have a clause that converts it to those types.

[Drackstin]

lets have everyone remember, damage reduction adamantine counts as DR/-, ruling is in the DMG, later books say this as DR/adamantine, but the original source makes it DR/- so this being said, your damage reduction is pritty good, but i wouldn't waste a feat on improved DR since its only one, and roll with it is 2, greater cleave is not really worth it, swap it out for your roll with it and take sturdy footing for your warforged feat, or keep the imp DR, but its up to you

[Greenish]

Also, if you find yourself fighting DR/Adamantine piercing enemies often, rejoice, for the fight is sure to yield great loot in form of adamantine weaponry.


Still, DR 9/foo at ECL 12 or so is basically nothing, unless you're facing lots of multiattack/multiweapon-fighting/TWF enemies.

[Tulya]

lets have everyone remember, damage reduction adamantine counts as DR/-, ruling is in the DMG, later books say this as DR/adamantine, but the original source makes it DR/-

Where is this? The only passage I can see that's similar is in the Special Materials section (283) where it states that armor constructed from Adamantine gives DR X/-, which is a general rule that would be overridden by specific statements to the contrary.
Additionally, effects like Stoneskin spell are pretty suggestive that DR X/Adamantine is meant to exist as a unique form of pervious damage reduction.

The Improved Damage Reduction feat replaces a Fighter bonus feat, through the Warforged Fighter racial substitution level.

[Drackstin]

Where is this? The only passage I can see that's similar is in the Special Materials section (283) where it states that armor constructed from Adamantine gives DR X/-, which is a general rule that would be overridden by specific statements to the contrary.
Additionally, effects like Stoneskin spell are pretty suggestive that DR X/Adamantine is meant to exist as a unique form of pervious damage reduction.

The Improved Damage Reduction feat replaces a Fighter bonus feat, through the Warforged Fighter racial substitution level.

as per the damage reduction in the rule compendium states DR/- can not be overcome, and with the original source rule, adamantine counts as DR/- from the ruling on pg 283 of the DMG.

also i would suggest not taking the warforged substitution level, and just taking another roll with it, for 14 DR/-

[tricktroller]

Ok thanks for all the suggestions folks.

One big thing. You cannot take Roll with it in a fighter feat slot. So Improved DR is being taking as a warforged feat using the warforged fighter substitution level that lets you take a warforged feat in place of a fighter bonus feat.

DR is never useless, it may become less useful but it is never useless. Plus all the way up to 12th level I will be a tank of doom. No pc has DR so early or so much. The other thought I had was take the first level feats as I have them but the make him a THFer power attacker of doom.

[gorfnab]

You could consider Psychic Warrior instead of Fighter if you switch your Int and Wis scores. Psychic Warrior gives some tasty options for an armored melee combat build.

[Tulya]

as per the damage reduction in the rule compendium states DR/- can not be overcome, and with the original source rule, adamantine counts as DR/- from the ruling on pg 283 of the DMG.

283 says exactly:

Armor made from adamantine grants its wearer damage reduction 1/- if it's light armor, 2/- if it's medium armor, and 3/- if it's heavy armor.

It's a list of benefits for armor crafted from Adamantine. No part of that quote, nor any prior or later portion of the Adamantine subsection, suggests that it defines Damage Reduction X/Adamantine as synonymous with Damage Reduction X/-.

Damage Reduction X/Adamantine exists to be selectively pervious to Adamantine weaponry, and is especially common on substances that are meant to be softer than Adamantine, such as the stone sheath bestowed by the Stoneskin spell, and the starmetal-infused flesh of a Green Star Adept. Why the adamantine plate given by Adamantine Body was made vulnerable to Adamantine, I've no clue, but it is as it is.

[Slipperychicken]

Isn't DR bypassed by pretty much any magic or energy attack? That makes even high DR much less useful than it looks.

[tricktroller]

Would he be able to use psionics in adamantine full plate? Would I need to take psiforged body? Should I take psiforged body? I don't know much about psionics.

[Crake]

Someone should probably point out that toughness isnt a fighter bonus feat, so you can take at most one use of roll with it for DR2/adamantine and DR2/- (stacking) at 1st level. Ontop of that toughness is a ****ty feat

[Tulya]

Would he be able to use psionics in adamantine full plate? Would I need to take psiforged body? Should I take psiforged body? I don't know much about psionics.

Psionic powers never require somatic or verbal components to manifest. You can manifest wearing full plate and dual-wielding tower shields, or even incurably paralyzed and silenced without issue. I believe there's some kind of joke about an inanimate psionic sandwich to that effect?

[tricktroller]

Hmmmmm toughness isn't a fighter feat... Well that's awkward. I thought it was. Well that's fine its just 2 DR less.

So show me psionic sandwich warrior built like this?

[Fouredged Sword]

Just go warforged Psychic Warrior, aiming for the crystal master PRC from mind's eye web enhancement.

The Peridot gem adds 10 points of DR that is only ignored by magic weapons that have a enhancement bonus bigger than your con modifier (just push that over 10.)

Warforged Psychic Warrior 8 / crystal master 10 / Psychic Warrior 2

1st - Adamantine Body
flaw - Toughness
flaw - roll with it
BF1 - Encode stone
BF2 - Psycrystal
3rd - roll with it
BF5 - Improved DR
6th - roll with it
BF8 - Improved DR
9th - roll with it
12th - roll with it
15 - roll with it
18 - roll with it

DR per level
1 - 5/Adamantium
5 - 8/Adamantium
10 -12/+con magic item
15 -20/+con magic item
20 -24/+con magic item

Rock out share pain / vigor with your psicrystal and any damage that does get through your DR is cut in half. Deck yourself out in energy resistance gear and resistance powers and go to town with expansion for hugeness.

[tricktroller]

Peridot: The crystal master gains damage reduction of 1/--. This is increased by 1 for each additional embedded gem.

it would only be worth dr 5 right?

[Greenish]

Isn't DR bypassed by pretty much any magic or energy attack?In 3.0, yes. In PF, yes. In 3.5, no, DR is only pierced by the stuff that's listed as piercing the DR (and some ToB maneuvers).

[Fouredged Sword]

It looks like I was looking at the 3.0 version of the class.

I would take it anyway. Just revise away roll with it for psicrystal containment and drop the level 20 DR by 5.

You are still rocking expansion and Share pain for very high durability. +5 str, con, power resistance, and other cool stuff.

You can get in sooner as well, so that is a boon (manifester level 5 req rather than the 3rd level power req)

Psiwar 5 / Crystal master 10 / Psywar 5

1st Adimantine body
flaw - toughness
flaw roll with it
BF1 - psycrstal aff
bf2 - improved DR
3rd - roll with it
bf5 - psicrystal containment
6th - roll with it
9th - roll with it
12th - roll with it
15th - roll with it
18th - roll with it
bf7 - improved DR

1st - 5/adi
5th - 8/adi
10th - 12/adi 11/-
15th - 18/-
20th - 20/-

Other crystals
Str +5
Con +5
Power resistance 25
+5 AC, +5 to saves

Manifest expansion for +4 strength, +6 item, 14 base.

You are tough, and hard to kill.

[tyckspoon]

In 3.0, yes. In PF, yes. In 3.5, no, DR is only pierced by the stuff that's listed as piercing the DR (and some ToB maneuvers).

Nah, the post you quoted was correct. DR does not apply against energy attacks or magical attacks (although with the typical lack-of-thesaurus issue of D&D, that has to be clarified: DR does not apply against spells, spell-like, and Supernaturally-sourced damage, even if said spells use a damage type that would normally be subject to DR. An attack with a magic weapon is magical, but does not ignore DR.. unless it's DR/magic, of course. A summoned magical weapon, however, is a spell attack, and does ignore DR. Unless the spell says it is subject to DR. Confused yet? -_-)

[tricktroller]

Is there a better path to take than that one? It is an interesting concept but if the DM nixes web content I'd be up paddle creek without a sh*t.

[Fouredged Sword]

Actually you would still have the DR adimantium from your armor, just 3 points less and not DR/-. Whenever someone actually manages to wave an adimantium weapon at you just manifest Biofeedback for DR2/- to kick off unbreakable DR.

[Mato]

1: Boost your Saves.
2: Wear Shadow Hand Gloves(any blink maneuver).
3: Torture your self in a Shriver.
4: Cast Favored of the Martyr.

If damage dealt to you isn't both Good & Chaotic, you don't take the damage at all. And if it was, you Regenerate 5 HP per round anyway.