So Construct Grafts and Regeneration

[Jowgen]

So Troll Blooded is cool, but the fatigue in sunlight is kinda annoying. Can't really combine it with the Tireless regional feat, as they are both regional @ lvl 1. The armor of the unending hunt can get you immunity, but is a tad pricey. Sandals of the Vagabond cover exhaustion but not fatigue. Yet the cheapest option for addressing fatigue is the Heavy Legs graft from Faiths of Eberron, at a mere 6000 gp.

Which brings me to reconciling the idea of grafting constructs legs onto a creature that regrows its limbs. I don't think there is any rules preventing this, but I might be wrong? Even in the absence of rules, should a creature with regeneration be able to receive (construct) grafts? Or conversely, be particularly suited to them?

Also, assuming it does work, what if one or both of those legs are lost? Does the living organic creature suddenly start re-growing metal legs? If so... grafting these onto a regenerating creature would allow you to use that creature as a donor for a series of construct grafts. Or grafts in general.

Thoughts anyone?

[Nifft]

There are also spells and (probably) magic items which throw shade over you, so you're not in direct sunlight even when outdoors.

[Jowgen]

There are also spells and (probably) magic items which throw shade over you, so you're not in direct sunlight even when outdoors.

Yes, Cloak of Dark Power in a continuous custom item at 4000 gp makes for a convenient affordable option (it's a must have on Vampires). Even cheaper at 2000 gp is the Dark Lantern from ToM, with other benefit/drawback considerations.

Still, my interest does reach beyond just handling the fatigue into grafts and regeneration in general.

[Jowgen]

Doesn't seem to be much interest, but oh well, I'll just add my foreseeably final findings.

I double checked, and while some grafts require living hosts, there is no rule against regeneration as far as I can tell. Trollbane might be required to apply the graft though. As construct grafts are "irreparably intertwined with the flesh", I don't see an issue with grafts taken from a Living Construct regenerating T-1000 style, so using a Troll or some-such to grow grafts via mass production might be viable. At least as a source for parts, knocking down the construction cost somewhat.

Also, it has come to my attention that "All maug grafts are construct grafts", so they should mix and match with Magic of Eberron construct grafts without issue. Best part, the eberron construct graft rules get you DR and save bonuses based on the number of construct grafts you have and Maug grafts are dirt cheap.

So you could get Mighty Arms at 1000 gp, a Shoving Arm at 2000, Spike Stones at 4000 and a Stone Spitter at 2000, so that for 9000 gp total you get not only the base stuff from the grafts, but DR 3/Adamantine and a +4 on saves vs energy drain, death effects and Necromancy effects (yes, all necromancy), with room for further improvement. Bonus, the DR/Adamantine stacks with other DR/Adamantine (e.g. Mineral Warrior).

[RoboEmperor]

It's not so much of a lack of interest, but more of a "there's no RAW so we don't know"

If I was a DM, I'd say that wizards can magically and permanently stop a troll from regenerating a limb through "magic surgery" and apply construct grafts.

Also I'd say construct grafts do not regenerate as they are artificial.

But a different DM can say "A troll's limbs will regenerate and push the construct graft out"

And another DM would say what you said, Construct Grafts for some miraculous reason is regenerated by troll blood. Perhaps "Special Magic Surgery?"

From a Pure RAW standpoint the rules for regeneration make no special note of grafts or construct grafts, and the grafts make no special note for regeneration, so your interpretation is probably the easiest to rule lawyer.

[Jowgen]

If I was a DM, I'd say that wizards can magically and permanently stop a troll from regenerating a limb through "magic surgery" and apply construct grafts.

Also I'd say construct grafts do not regenerate as they are artificial.

But a different DM can say "A troll's limbs will regenerate and push the construct graft out"

And another DM would say what you said, Construct Grafts for some miraculous reason is regenerated by troll blood. Perhaps "Special Magic Surgery?"

The most reliable method would probably be the Graymantle spell, which outright suppresses regeneration for the duration. Once the surgery is done, the tissue should attempt to regenerate at the point of attachment. Which brings us to DM-territory theorizing like you said. Yay!

Properly done grafting/transplantation is able to avoid issues like foreign object/tissue rejection in normal subjects, so the regenerating cells could reasonably be expected to similarly accept accept the graft as non-foreign. For example, an organic nerve attached to an artificial one should notice that it's transmitting signals without issue and thus feel no need to regenerate. Same with sinews and muscles. Unsure about bone, but that's splitting hairs. What I do think would happen is that the organic tissue would regenerate wherever there isn't a directly connecting part, essentially growing around and over the construct parts to fill in any blanks. This would present some interesting challenges and advantages to the grafter.

The graft's mechanisms would need to be designed so that being overgrown with flesh would not interfere with function (i.e. no exposed gears), but conversely, it could also be designed to take advantage of the tissue that grows back around it. You could maybe do stuff like keep the original bones and major blood vessels, but have the bones fortified with a metal skeleton and the blood vessels supply nutrients in case of living construct tissue. In simple terms, any part that is constructed from Wood in a warforged graft could instead have host tissue. The whole process becomes less replacing limbs, and more like embedding a metal frame to augment the regrowing limbs.

One aspect I am rather certain about: the skin would grow over the graft, making the mechanical addition cosmetically much less noticeable. Definitely a plus in my book.

As for T1000 regeneration, I think it might depend a little on the host. If the host creature already has stone/metal as part of its physiology, it might be able to repair damaged mechanical parts. Otherwise, I do have to agree that the lack of natural healing ability in even living constructs should probably prevent T1000 regen, though in that case I'd say the Repair Damage line of spells should be able to help. If not, then what I think would happen is that any lost construct parts would be replaced by organic parts, though at which point the leg would stop functioning properly is anyone's guess. It's a niche case regardless though, so I'd be surprised if any DM ever made an issue of it.


From a Pure RAW standpoint the rules for regeneration make no special note of grafts or construct grafts, and the grafts make no special note for regeneration, so your interpretation is probably the easiest to rule lawyer.

Good to hear, and I think the conjectures made up to this point do suffice.