Warforged Warlock/Warshaper Morphic Weapons

[newsman77]

I'm playing a Warford Warlock mainly using Eldritch Claws in a very kick-butt game right now, and it's been suggested I dip into Warshaper to get morphic weapons. How does that work?

I'm allowed to take Humanoid Shape Inovcation from Dragonfire Adept... which gets me into Warshaper. Eldrtich claws lets you use a free action to make a pair of primary weapons to attack with each round. Here's where I'm confused:

1) Don't morphic weapons (more natural attacks or bigger damage dice) only work while you're in an alternate form?

2) I'm a Warforged with 18 STR, 20 Dex, 21 Con and the Adamantine Armored Body feat. (Enchanted with Weightless, Twilight). Won't I lose the AC Bonuses when I change my form... granted it's only a 22 AC?

What's your take on this?

[Red Fel]

1) Don't morphic weapons (more natural attacks or bigger damage dice) only work while you're in an alternate form?

The RAW is ambiguous. On the one hand, it does not actually say "while shapeshifted" in the text of the ability. On the other hand, the illustrations include "a warshaper polymorphed into an ettin" and "a warshaper who used wild shape to become a dire wolf," showing the ability's use while shapechanged. I would rule, however, that the language "according to the size of the new form" and "even if it is using a shapechanging technique such as the polymorph spell or the wild shape class feature that doesn't allow subsequent changes after the initial transformation" suggests that it is only usable while shapeshifted.

But it's certainly ask your DM territory.


2) I'm a Warforged with 18 STR, 20 Dex, 21 Con and the Adamantine Armored Body feat. (Enchanted with Weightless, Twilight). Won't I lose the AC Bonuses when I change my form... granted it's only a 22 AC?

Interestingly, while armor disappears during a shape change, composite plating augmented by a feat does not. Warforged Druids, for example, would keep their feat-augmented composite plating while in Wild Shape (although they'd better take Ironwood Body if they know what's good for them). So that's something you can retain.

[Thiyr]

@Red Fel, while you are correct on #2 (and that is awesome. I love warforged wildshape rangers, personally), on #1 the RAW is actually extremely clear. On p90 of CWar, directly under the Class Features heading:
The class features function only when the warshaper is in a form other than her own (which for doppelganger and phasm warshapers is most of the time).

So not only is it morphic weapons, but all your class abilities require you to be in some kind of alternate form.

[Red Fel]

@Red Fel, while you are correct on #2 (and that is awesome. I love warforged wildshape rangers, personally), on #1 the RAW is actually extremely clear. On p90 of CWar, directly under the Class Features heading:

So not only is it morphic weapons, but all your class abilities require you to be in some kind of alternate form.

Whoops. So I was right about the outcome, but for the wrong reasons.

Calling it a win anyway. :smallcool: