Anti-magic Warforged

[J'Tal]

Our campaign starts with the players are located in a city where 4 out of five people are magic users. I am looking to create a warforged who is resistant/immune to magic.

Backstory:
Wizard wanted a guardian who was intelligent, and able to survive any attack including magical. The city we are in is located in the fairylands, so this may influence as well.

Requirements:
3.5 rules, WotC rulebooks
15th level gestalt
Go crazy.

Unfortunately I don't have the time to do a lot of research (why I'm posting this).
I really appreciate all of your assistance.

[Uncle Pine]

A warforged with access to Selective Persistent Antimagic Field should do the trick.

[Mato]

Consider playing as a quorbred karsite monk / fist of the forest / forsakener with vow of poverty that uses stuff like marbles and flour to cast "spells". I'm 100% sure your character will be the most unique character in the entire world.

[Nihilarian]

Incarnate//Crusader has the Spellward Shirt, Mettle, and access to the Diamond Mind line of maneuvers. I'd probably start my build there. You'll be practically unkillable, if built for it.

Edit: whoops, Crusader doesn't get Diamond Mind, they get Devoted Spirit. Well, a dip into Warblade at the right time can get you the save replacing maneuvers, or Hexblade 4/Warblade 16//Incarnate 20 might work

[Kelb_Panthera]

If the warforged in question were subject to greater humanoid essence, he could be made into a half-iron golemn warforged, granting him the magic immunity of an iron golem. Be aware that a DM will likely assign a level adjustment of +3 or so to the character if you go this route.

This is a solid magical defense, albeit an imperfect one. No SR:yes spells can harm the character but he can choose to suppress the immunity for buffs. Poor guy ends up dumb as a post unless you're willing to sink a high score on off-putting that -6 int adjustment though.

Half-flesh golem would be cheaper but not nearly as awesome.

[torrasque666]

Consider playing as a quorbred karsite monk / fist of the forest / forsakener with vow of poverty that uses stuff like marbles and flour to cast "spells". I'm 100% sure your character will be the most unique character in the entire world.

Wants to play Warforged, suggests Karsite. Yup. S sounds like a wonderful idea.

Though I will suggest trying to fit in Warforged Juggernaut. It makes it a lot easier to resist, if not outright ignore, a lot off typically crippling magical effects. Toss on an item of Persisted Selective Antimagic Field and you're basically a Colossus. By which o mean the ELH version of Golems.

[Flickerdart]

Cleric is a very good dip because it gives you Pride Domain and a bunch of other domain powers that will be useful to you. In fact, there is much to recommend to being a cleric when going the anti-magic route, because they are some of the best counterspellers in the game. Snap up Divine Defiance (counterspell as an immediate action), the Inquisition domain (+4 bonus on dispels), and go to town. Let's see those pesky mages try and use spells!

If they do manage to get a spell off, you'll want to cover your butt. Divine Denial allows you to save against divine spells that don't even grant a save at all. The Pride domain lets you reroll natural 1s on saves. Assume Supernatural Ability or Metamorphic Transfer will let you poach a Black Ethergaunt's total immunity to spells below level 7, or you could dip some Master Transmogrifist and turn into a golem for its total Immunity to Magic. Blessing of the Godless gives your entire party +4 to saves against divine spells.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

There's really no good mundane choices for this. The Forsaker from Masters of the Wild has the flavor you want, but the mechanics of it are far too weak to be even usable. There's the Occult Slayer in CW, but that's not going to be enough. Your best option would be for some kind of Persistent Selective Extraordinary Spell Aimed Antimagic Field, in which case you'll need to play a spellcaster.

If you want to go that route, you need to understand what that combination of effects does. Persistent Spell in Complete Divine makes it last 24 hours at a time, so you only have to cast it once, but you probably already know about that. Antimatic Field (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/antimagicField.htm) is something everyone should already know about, but it's right there in case a new player finds this thread as a search result.

Selective Spell in Shining South makes it so the spell does not affect one designated creature within its area, meaning you. That means your character gets to ignore the entire presence of the Antimagic Field, but everyone else treats it as if it was there. When determining the results of your own actions, items, buffs, special abilities, etc., the AMF doesn't exist. When determining the results of anyone else's actions, items, buffs, special abilities, etc., the AMF is there and you're within its area of effect. This renders you outright immune to just about anything magical, while you get to ignore all the drawbacks of being in an AMF.

Extraordinary Spell Aim in Complete Adventurer causes the spell to shape around certain creatures, making them completely unaffected by the spell. Use this so your allies get to ignore any effect the AMF would have on themselves. Per the Rules Compendium an AMF doesn't block line of effect for spells and magical effects, so a spell from one side of the AMF aimed on the opposite side of the AMF, or aimed at a character standing in a hole in the AMF, will get to ignore the AMF's presence except where the spell would be within the AMF. So your allies can still cast spells regardless of whether they would be inside the AMF, but not at targets that are inside and affected by the AMF unless it's an instantaneous conjuration: creation. The AMF won't protect your allies from spells that originate from outside of it, either. This is not a metamagic feat, it just requires a Spellcraft check per excluded character.

With all of those combined, you'll have a 24-hour antimagic field that you get to ignore all the drawbacks of, that affects opponents normally, and that makes character-shaped holes where your allies are standing whenever they're within it. You'll need some alternate means of applying metamagic to your spells, such as Incantatrix or Divine Metamagic or Spelldancer or similar. I'll recommend Divine Metamagic, for reasons.


I would make this character a Warforged, Archivist (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20051007a&page=3) 11/ Sacred Exorcist 1/ Dweomerkeeper (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20040522a) 3+// Warblade 4/ Cloistered Cleric 1/ Binder 1/ Occult Slayer 5/ Incarnate 4+. Take two flaws (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/characterFlaws.htm) (make one Aligned Devotion (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?258440-The-quot-Best-quot-Flaws#30)) for two extra feats. You'll need Improved Initiative and Weapon Focus for Occult Slayer.

1. Archivist 1// Warblade 1, Adamantine Body, Weapon Focus, Improved Initiative, Scribe Scroll
2. Archivist 2// Cloistered Cleric 1, Rebuke Dragons, Magic Domain, Planning Domain: Extend Spell, Knowledge Devotion
3. Archivist 3// Warblade 2, Selective Spell
4. Archivist 4// Binder 1
5. Archivist 5// Warblade 3
6. Archivist 6// Warblade 4, Extraordinary Spell Aim
7. Archivist 7// Occult Slayer 1
8. Archivist 8// Occult Slayer 2
9. Archivist 9// Occult Slayer 3, Persistent Spell
10. Archivist 10// Occult Slayer 4
11. Archivist 11// Occult Slayer 5
12. Sacred Exorcist 1// Incarnate 1, Divine Metamagic: Persistent Spell
13. Dweomerkeeper (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20040522a) 1// Incarnate 2
14. Dweomerkeeper 2// Incarnate 3
15. Dweomerkeeper 3// Incarnate 4, Extra Turning
16. Dweomerkeeper 4// Incarnate 5
17. Dweomerkeeper 5// Incarnate 6
18. Dweomerkeeper 6// Incarnate 7, Any Feat
19. Dweomerkeeper 7// Incarnate 8
20. Dweomerkeeper 8// Incarnate 9

Rebuke Dragons in Dragon Magic can be used to power divine feats like Divine Metamagic. You get as many uses of those as you do of Turn Undead, and Extra Turning adds four to both, for twice as many DMM: Persistent spells each day. As an Archivist you can get just about any spell you want (http://community.wizards.com/forum/previous-editions-character-optimization/threads/1023251), so make Stormrage, Bite of the Werebear, Righteous Wrath of the Faithful, etc. last all day long on you (and your party, where applicable). Get a Reliquary Holy Symbol (MIC) and a pile of Nightsticks (LM) for more Turn Undead/Rebuke Dragons uses, and more DMM: Persistent spells.

Your Warblade maneuvers should include Iron Heart Surge, which you can use to automatically end an opponent's Antimagic Field that's affecting you. Binder is there for probably Naberius, though Aym can be useful for Dwarven Step and combines well with Mountain Hammer from Warblade. Incarnate just makes everything better (http://community.wizards.com/forum/previous-editions-character-optimization/threads/1041916).

Dweomerkeeper can be exchanged for any other full-progression prestige class, for example Divine Oracle (get its feat prerequisite from the Frog God's Fane in CS) or Contemplative or even Thaumaturgist. If you swap that class out you can drop the Magic domain, possibly for the Undeath domain to get Extra Turning. You don't want any less than eleven Archivist levels due to its amazing class features, just be sure to keep up your ranks in those Knowledge skills.

[Anthrowhale]

Selective(you) AMF does not allow your magic items to function.

AMF affects creatures, spells, and magic items. Making yourself unaffected does not alter the way that your items or spells interact with AMF.

Selective Spell AMF is still very powerful, of course as you have immunity to Su, Sp, and Spells while being able to cast spells (which are suppressed within the AMF). Adding in Initiate of Mystra lets you benefit from spells as well.

Using an antimagic ray on yourself allows you to benefit from magic items while being immune to Su, Sp, and Spells. An Initiate of Mystra use an Antimagic Ray on themselves can benefit from personal spells and personal magic items, although not personal Su abilities.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Selective(you) AMF does not allow your magic items to function.

AMF affects creatures, spells, and magic items. Making yourself unaffected does not alter the way that your items or spells interact with AMF.

Selective Spell AMF is still very powerful, of course as you have immunity to Su, Sp, and Spells while being able to cast spells (which are suppressed within the AMF). Adding in Initiate of Mystra lets you benefit from spells as well.

Using an antimagic ray on yourself allows you to benefit from magic items while being immune to Su, Sp, and Spells. An Initiate of Mystra use an Antimagic Ray on themselves can benefit from personal spells and personal magic items, although not personal Su abilities.

Attended items are an extension of the attending creature, and are selectively excluded along with your character.

Even if that's not the case, you can just dump your gold into Nightsticks and upgrading your Adamantine Body, buff yourself with spells, and cast the AMF last.

[Deophaun]

This is a solid magical defense, albeit an imperfect one.
Being suppressed after a successful targeted Dispel Magic is a bummer.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Being suppressed after a successful targeted Dispel Magic is a bummer.

Even if the golem limb is suppressed (an arguable point in itself) it wouldn't remove the template from the warforged host and, therefore, wouldn't remove any of the benefits or drawbacks of being a half-golem.

[Deophaun]

Even if the golem limb is suppressed (an arguable point in itself) it wouldn't remove the template from the warforged host and, therefore, wouldn't remove any of the benefits or drawbacks of being a half-golem.

If it removed the template, then he wouldn't be suppressed (i.e. made helpless) when hit with a dispel magic. He would be temporarily maimed instead.

[J'Tal]

That was a lot of help, thanks. Unfortunately, the DM didn't allow the half construct idea as the greater humanoid essence spell has a duration of round per level. He states the appendage would take a bit longer than that to be attached.
With the information I had, (before Biffoniacus_Furiou posted) I ended up making a Fighter/Artificer for 10 levels and then went Juggernaut/Spell Carved Soldier for 5 levels. I got the leadership feat, and I am kind of doing the Ultron bit... We'll see how this goes.

Thanks again for all of the assistance.

[Kelb_Panthera]

That was a lot of help, thanks. Unfortunately, the DM didn't allow the half construct idea as the greater humanoid essence spell has a duration of round per level. He states the appendage would take a bit longer than that to be attached.

He's wrong. The completed limb is a spell completion item. Activating such an item is the same action as casting the spell it generates and provokes AoO's unless otherwise noted. Since the limb doesn't actually generate a specific spell you'd either default to the standard action of virtually all spells or you'd either use the longest or sum of the casting times of the requisite spells. For a flesh half-golem that'd be 10 minutes plus one round at most. A simple persistent spell effect makes greater humanoid essence last far more than long enough.

Tell your DM that if he's concerned that it would be unbalancing that he should just say so.


With the information I had, (before Biffoniacus_Furiou posted) I ended up making a Fighter/Artificer for 10 levels and then went Juggernaut/Spell Carved Soldier for 5 levels. I got the leadership feat, and I am kind of doing the Ultron bit... We'll see how this goes.

Thanks again for all of the assistance.

Cool. Good luck.

[Anthrowhale]

Attended items are an extension of the attending creature, and are selectively excluded along with your character.

I'm familiar with the rule for saves (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicOverview/spellDescriptions.htm#savingThrow)
Unless the descriptive text for the spell specifies otherwise, all items carried or worn by a creature are assumed to survive a magical attack.
AMF says otherwise and is more specific.

I made a post about the subject here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?411392-Selective-Spell-Antimagic-Field-RAW).

[CIDE]

I don't remember the details but I had a warforged monk with Energy Transformation Field attached to an item. I think the space within a bag of holding or some other type of similar item. To use it all I had to do was open the bag.

[mabriss lethe]

ToM's Witchslayer isn't terrible: Fairly easy entry requirements, Full BAB and good fort/will and an OK skill list plus Mettle, slippery mind, and momentary disjunction (1/5 rounds targeted AMF as a swift action.) its two other features are...meh, but sometimes useful. It's a short prc, 5 levels in all, so it's pretty easy to fit into a build. It also plays well with Tome of Battle and incarnum.

If you're finding warforged too limited, there are other options to create a warforged-like character. You could pick another race with some ability you want more and shell out some of your WBL for some warforged grafts. I've been fiddling with this idea using a kalashtar wilder.