Why can't warforged wear armor?

[gurgleflep]

Seriously, why can't they? They've got the human shape, so they could get armor made for them quite easily. I know you can upgrade them somehow, but it seems rather pointless to me.
Are there are warforged that can wear armor?

[LOTRfan]

Yeah. Warforged with the Unarmored Body feat can equip armor as regular characters can. The feat can only be taken at first level, and removes the benefits of the composite plating.

[Waker]

Warforged can't wear armor as the space is occupied by their composite plating. In order to benefit from armor, a warforged needs to take the unarmored body feat from Races of Eberron.

[gurgleflep]

Yeah. Warforged with the Unarmored Body feat can equip armor as regular characters can. The feat can only be taken at first level, and removes the benefits of the composite plating.


Warforged can't wear armor as the space is occupied by their composite plating. In order to benefit from armor, a warforged needs to take the unarmored body feat from Races of Eberron.

Thank you both for telling me about this feat, this will help me out quite a bit both as a player and a DM.
Do shields count towards their armor?

[Stone Heart]

Don't forget about the other body feats.

Especially if you are looking for Heavy armor as the Adamantine body feat gives you a +8 armor bonus to ac and DR 2/adamantine. Edit: For no gp cost either, so thats cool.

The others are nice as well for various classes.

[Waker]

Thank you both for telling me about this feat, this will help me out quite a bit both as a player and a DM.
Do shields count towards their armor?

Nope, shields occupy a different body slot than armor does.
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/magicItemBasics.htm#magicItemsOnTheBody
There is an explanation of the different slots that an item can occupy. Weapons and shields are limited based on the number of limbs that a creature has.

[gurgleflep]

Don't forget about the other body feats.

Especially if you are looking for Heavy armor as the Adamantine body feat gives you a +8 armor bonus to ac and DR 2/adamantine. Edit: For no gp cost either, so thats cool.

The others are nice as well for various classes.

Are all of these feats in the Races of Eberron book as well?


Nope, shields occupy a different body slot than armor does.
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/magicItemBasics.htm#magicItemsOnTheBody
There is an explanation of the different slots that an item can occupy. Weapons and shields are limited based on the number of limbs that a creature has.

Thank you for linking to that. It ought to come in handy for both me and the new players joining the party. :smallsmile:

[Waker]

Are all of these feats in the Races of Eberron book as well?
Yep, though admantine body and mithril body are also in the Eberron Campaign Setting as well.

[Shining Wrath]

The reason WF can't wear armor is to avoid having to give them a LA, as they have many benefits (immune to many common effects, don't sleep or breathe, ...). I know this because they also can't wear magical robes, which absolutely completely totally in every way imaginable could be made large enough to fit over body plates. Seriously, a 6'5" 300 pound chubby wizard can wear a robe, but a 6' 2" 200 pound mithral-body WF cannot? SERIOUSLY? Mmmmm, OK, play balance, gotcha.

[Andreaz]

Thank you both for telling me about this feat, this will help me out quite a bit both as a player and a DM.
Do shields count towards their armor?My recommendation is to ditch the feat though. One could simply make the guy without the damn plate in place.

[Squirrel_Dude]

Yeah, Warforged are fun, but the whole built-in-armor deal with them ends up being a feat tax for just about every class that plays them. Just about every melee/martial class wants more armor so they have to drop it or change their body. Arcane casters don't want any armor.

I guess rogues could go without changing it?

[Prime32]

Yeah, Warforged are fun, but the whole built-in-armor deal with them ends up being a feat tax for just about every class that plays them. Just about every melee/martial class wants more armor so they have to drop it or change their body. Arcane casters don't want any armor.

I guess rogues could go without changing it?Monks love the default armor for not disabling their class features (battlefists let them unambiguously enchant their unarmed strike to boot), and Adamantine Body is very potent at low levels.

[Shining Wrath]

Yeah, Warforged are fun, but the whole built-in-armor deal with them ends up being a feat tax for just about every class that plays them. Just about every melee/martial class wants more armor so they have to drop it or change their body. Arcane casters don't want any armor.

I guess rogues could go without changing it?

Yes to feat tax. Most melee WF will want either Mithral or Adamantine Body as their level 1 feat. Which delays Power Attack to level 3.

It is mitigated by the fact that you can enchant the body plates as though they were armor. It is also mitigated by the fact that your armor is part of your WF body, and thus does not count toward your weight carried. Therefore a Mithral body feat gives you the equivalent armor of a Mithral breastplate that weighs nothing and costs no GP. That's not a bad feat for level 1. If you're playing a Warblade or a Swordsage or a Barbarian charger, you may prefer to not have the higher AC or move penalty of Mithral full plate, so a Mithral breastplate is as good as it gets for you.

Worth noting is that the feat "Mithral Fluidity" is not as good as the +1 bonus "Nimbleness". MF gives you +1 to max dex and reduces armor check penalty by 1. Nimbleness gives you +1 to max dex and reduces armor check penalty by 2.

[Sgt. Cookie]

Yep, though admantine body and mithril body are also in the Eberron Campaign Setting as well.

MMIII too.

[Greenish]

I know this because they also can't wear magical robes, which absolutely completely totally in every way imaginable could be made large enough to fit over body plates. Seriously, a 6'5" 300 pound chubby wizard can wear a robe, but a 6' 2" 200 pound mithral-body WF cannot? SERIOUSLY?By that argument, you could also wear magic robes over full plate. :smallamused:

[Squirrel_Dude]

Yes to feat tax. Most melee WF will want either Mithral or Adamantine body as their level 1 feat. Which delays Power Attack to level 3.

It is mitigated by the fact that you can enchant the body plates as though they were armor. It is also mitigated by the fact that your armor is part of your WF body, and thus does not count toward your weight carried. Therefore a Mithral body feat gives you the equivalent armor of a Mithral breastplate that weighs nothing and costs no GP. That's not a bad feat for level 1.

Worth noting is that the feat "Mithral Fluidity" is not as good as the +1 bonus "Nimbleness". MF gives you +1 to max dex and reduces armor check penalty by 1. Nimbleness gives you +1 to max dex and reduces armor check penalty by 2.Yep, recently drew up a warforged warblade. Made sure to take mithral body at level 1.

It should be noted that the problem can be slightly mitigated by taking flaws. For example, I took the flaw vulnerable in order to get mithral body and power attack at level 1.

[Shining Wrath]

By that argument, you could also wear magic robes over full plate. :smallamused:

Yes, you ought to be able to wear robes over plate. A garment can be made to fit characters from gnomes to minotaurs, but not fit over plate armor? Really?


Yep, recently drew up a warforged warblade. Made sure to take mithral body at level 1.

It should be noted that the problem can be slightly mitigated by taking flaws. For example, I took the flaw vulnerable in order to get mithral body and power attack at level 1.

My DM doesn't much like flaws. They do tend to smell of cheese.

[Greenish]

Yes, you ought to be able to wear robes over plate. A garment can be made to fit characters from gnomes to minotaurs, but not fit over plate armor? Really?Also, you should be able to wear a headband under a hat or helmet, and anklets above shoes, and a dozen necklaces at least on your neck, and way more than two rings, and at least half a dozen shirts (popped collars optional)… :smalltongue:


My DM doesn't much like flaws. They do tend to smell of cheese."Cheese" is relative, so I wouldn't go a-raggin' other people's games just because they play differently. :smallamused:

[DiscipleofBob]

Yes, you ought to be able to wear robes over plate. A garment can be made to fit characters from gnomes to minotaurs, but not fit over plate armor? Really?

Because it gets to the point where technically you could just tailor several layers of different kinds of armor and try to get their bonuses and properties to stack.

You could still fit robes over armor or armor over a warforged from a purely flavor perspective, but they can't start stacking bonuses or else you quickly have a lot of very warmly dressed munchkins.

[Deadline]

Yes, you ought to be able to wear robes over plate. A garment can be made to fit characters from gnomes to minotaurs, but not fit over plate armor? Really?

Of course you can wear robes over armor (there was even a specific type in 2nd edition d&d, I want to say it was called something like a slop?).

However, trying to wear two magical items in the same space causes the magic auras to disrupt one another and cause neither item to work because magic.

[Shining Wrath]

Also, you should be able to wear a headband under a hat or helmet, and anklets above shoes, and a dozen necklaces at least on your neck, and way more than two rings, and at least half a dozen shirts (popped collars optional)… :smalltongue:

"Cheese" is relative, so I wouldn't go a-raggin' other people's games just because they play differently. :smallamused:

At some point you just wave your hands and say "Magic doesn't do that" and therefore the Mr. T look doesn't work with the necklaces. Or the multi-ring bit. Et cetera. So, maybe magic robes don't work if there's too much metal inside them yada yada.

It's verisimilitude, not realistic. :smallsmile:

Didn't want to accuse the Squirrel of playing badly, just noting that flaws aren't always available. Come to think of it, neither are Warforged.

[Telonius]

Yeah, I'd have no problem with a mundane/mundane overlap for robes and armor, or a magic/mundane for either one. Can't remember where it is in the rulebook at the moment, but I'm fairly certain that "messes with the magical auras" is the reason why the two magic items can't be in the same place.

[Drackstin]

the good thing about warforged armor feats is, it still counts as armor and can be enchanted, the only reason you would ever want to wear armor is if you find a cool set, but you can enchant yourself better

[Talderas]

Nope, shields occupy a different body slot than armor does.
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/magicItemBasics.htm#magicItemsOnTheBody
There is an explanation of the different slots that an item can occupy. Weapons and shields are limited based on the number of limbs that a creature has.

Multiple shields is detrimental. Shield bonuses to AC do not stack but you still take the ASF and ACP of each shield you have equipped.

[Rubik]

You can also remove warforged plating by taking the +0 LA Dragonborn of Bahamut template, from Races of the Dragon. It takes away your plating and your slam attack, as well as gives you a -2 Dex penalty, but it does nothing to your Living Construct subtype (which is where all the best warforged abilities are) and it grants you +2 Con, the Dragonblood subtype, and either low-light vision/darkvision, wings, or a breath weapon (any of which can be exceedingly helpful).

Dragonborn warforged is an incredibly strong combo, and it saves you a feat on Unarmored Body, as well. Not to mention the fact that it doesn't prevent you from being warforged, which means you can still take warforged feats, use warforged components, qualify for warforged PrCs, and so on.

[Piggy Knowles]

Technically, a strict reading of Dragonborn of Bahamut says that a dragonborn warforged becomes a humanoid with the living construct subtype. Most of their immunities come from the construct type, not the living construct subtype (which actually just adds on vulnerabilities), so they actually wouldn't get most of the cool warforged goodies.

It's a silly reading but as far as I can tell it's RAW. Personally I've never seen a DM who would enforce that though.

[Rubik]

Technically, a strict reading of Dragonborn of Bahamut says that a dragonborn warforged becomes a humanoid with the living construct subtype. Most of their immunities come from the construct type, not the living construct subtype (which actually just adds on vulnerabilities), so they actually wouldn't get most of the cool warforged goodies.

It's a silly reading but as far as I can tell it's RAW. Personally I've never seen a DM who would enforce that though.You may want to check again. The subtype is what grants all the abilities, not the type, and you definitely keep the subtype.

[Jerthanis]

"Cheese" is relative, so I wouldn't go a-raggin' other people's games just because they play differently. :smallamused:

Flaws are an optional rule presented in a book of optional rules, and represent both 'something for nothing' and 'frontloaded benefits' and thus lead to the idea of them being cheesy. It's not bashing a playstyle to notice those qualities in a rule or express an expectation that they wouldn't be allowed by a hypothetical DM.

[Squirrel_Dude]

Yes, you ought to be able to wear robes over plate. A garment can be made to fit characters from gnomes to minotaurs, but not fit over plate armor? Really?

My DM doesn't much like flaws. They do tend to smell of cheese.Our GM who put the outlines on the character rules allowed 1 flaw. I understand the cheese fears, though. Many of the flaws are simply not nearly as bad as the others.

E.G.
-1 to AC < -6 to initiative
-1 to AC < -3 to any save
-1 to AC < -1 hit point every level

[Piggy Knowles]

You may want to check again. The subtype is what grants all the abilities, not the type, and you definitely keep the subtype.

Just checked, you're right - subtype includes the immunities. I had thought the subtype just gave the exceptions (living construct is vulnerable to mind-affecting, etc.).

[Phelix-Mu]

Just checked, you're right - subtype includes the immunities. I had thought the subtype just gave the exceptions (living construct is vulnerable to mind-affecting, etc.).

So, essentially warforged get the construct immunities twice (with exceptions as per the subtype)? Oh, loopholes.... Whacky writing for the win!:smalltongue:

[Flickerdart]

You may want to check again. The subtype is what grants all the abilities, not the type, and you definitely keep the subtype.

Given that Dragonborn are described as "humanoids who etc etc", there's a strong argument to be made against Warforged being able to even use the template.

[Marnath]

Given that Dragonborn are described as "humanoids who etc etc", there's a strong argument to be made against Warforged being able to even use the template.

As I recall, the FAQ/ Sage fielded this question and the template explicitly works on them.


As far as wearing armor, the plating only fills the magic item slot for your armor/robe. You can technically wear as many mundane armors as your ACP can handle. The composite plate doesn't stack with armor but it should overlap. I see no reason why you couldn't enchant your plate to +1 Acid Resistance or something and wear a mundane fullplate over top of that. The enhancement only applies to the plating if I understand correctly, so it would be 8 AC instead of 3 AC from the +1 composite.

[123456789blaaa]

Given that Dragonborn are described as "humanoids who etc etc", there's a strong argument to be made against Warforged being able to even use the template.

Yes but the prequisite section for the template doesn't mention having to be humanoid anywhere.

Its the same thing with the feat Inhuman reach. The fluff text above describes your arms becoming longer but the mechanics beneath just say that your reach increases by five feat (thus allowing your bite attack to gain reach as well).

[Squirrel_Dude]

As I recall, the FAQ/ Sage fielded this question and the template explicitly works on them.

As far as wearing armor, the plating only fills the magic item slot for your armor/robe. You can technically wear as many mundane armors as your ACP can handle. The composite plate doesn't stack with armor but it should overlap. I see no reason why you couldn't enchant your plate to +1 Acid Resistance or something and wear a mundane fullplate over top of that. The enhancement only applies to the plating if I understand correctly, so it would be 8 AC instead of 3 AC from the +1 composite.Although it's true it mentions that the armor bonus doesn't stack with other armor bonus (think bracers of armor), the text explicitly states that you can't wear armor or robes.


This composite plating occupies the same space on the body as a suit of armor or a robe, and thus a warforged cannot wear armor or magic robes.

[Marnath]

Although it's true it mentions that the armor bonus doesn't stack with other armor bonus (think bracers of armor), the text explicitly states that you can't wear armor or robes.

It was updated in Races of Eberron.


This composite plating occupies the same space on the body as a suit of armor or a robe, and thus a warforged cannot benefit from the effects of magic armor or magic robes.