(3.5 question) Do wires count as chains?

[Gamerlord]

Basically our group recently came face to face with a chain devil, and we have a Warforged ninja in the party, and we cannot agree whether or not wires count as chains.

Anyone have a answer?

[Tsotha-lanti]

Define wire. Do you mean barbed metal wire, or fishing line, or what?

Lacking that, I'd say no. A wire is not a chain - seems obvious.

[Gamerlord]

The kind of wire you find in robotics.

[Asheram]

It'd say no.. That would be like counting strands of muscle like rope or chains.

[Hat-Trick]

Unless the wires are made into links and connected, no. Wire=\=Chain.

[Tsotha-lanti]

Ah, electric wire? Absolutely not.

If you mean steel cable, then no, that doesn't count as chain either. Chains are made up of metal links. (You can optionally stipulate that each link can only be attached to two other links, although I'd certainly like springing a surprise on PCs wearing chainmails...)

[Jack Zander]

Warforged do not have electrical wires in their bodies anyway.

[AslanCross]

Warforged do not have electrical wires in their bodies anyway.

Pretty much. Nowhere does it say that Warforged are electrically-powered (else you'd see all sorts of weird vulnerabilities to electric attacks), so I wouldn't think they actually need conductive metal wire in them. I don't think they use any more electricity in them than the average humanoid body does, if they do at all.

Wire isn't made of links, so it isn't a chain, strictly speaking.

[warrl]

Chainmail is made of very stiff wire, and other sorts of chain could in principle be made the same way. (If you're talking about the anchor chain on a large ship, it could be 4-inch-diameter very stiff wire. The difference between a wire and a metal rod can be a matter of degree.)

However, there are substantial differences in behavior between chain and wire. A chain will be substantially more flexible than a wire of similar length and weight, for example. Also, if they are of the same metal, the wire will be the better choice for conducting electricity along its length.

So whether you can treat them as equivalent depends on your purpose.

[Squider]

WARFORGED ARE NOT ROBOTS!!!1!!!1!!1!11!!!!

Really. In all seriousness, they're only magically sentient constructs.

[Ravens_cry]

WARFORGED ARE NOT ROBOTS!!!1!!!1!!1!11!!!!

Really. In all seriousness, they're only magically sentient constructs.

And constructs, especially golems, really in all seriousness are magical robots. One can get all "your getting science fiction in my fantasy", but really, how many robots in science fiction act anything like how robots, real robots, really are?

[Fhaolan]

Basically our group recently came face to face with a chain devil, and we have a Warforged ninja in the party, and we cannot agree whether or not wires count as chains.

Anyone have a answer?

Out of curiosity, why do you ask? I'm not familiar enough with Warforged ninja to understand why it would matter if wires and chains count as each other.

[Vaynor]

Out of curiosity, why do you ask? I'm not familiar enough with Warforged ninja to understand why it would matter if wires and chains count as each other.

Chain Devils can control chains. This would be quite destructive if the Warforged was MADE of chains.

[ericgrau]

Wires no. I'd say chainmail technically is, just as the name implies, but I could easily understand the interpretation that it is not. The distinguishing factor would be the presence of interlocking rings. Or if you exclude chainmail then it would be defined by a linear series of interlocking rings. That would better match the chain devil's ability description, and make more sense when he extends the chain.