Warforged Ability Damage/Drain

[Ponce]

A warforged with the Improved Fortification feat cannot be healed by Conjuration (Healing) spells. What would then be the best way to cure ability damage/drain? He would obviously be less susceptible due to his immunity to poison/disease, but he will nevertheless take some form of damage over his career. The 9th level maneuver Strike of Righteous Vitality would work, but thats a long way off. Any suggestions?

[Mr.Bookworm]

I can't speak for healing it, but I believe the capstone for the Warforged Juggernaut PrC is immunity to ability damage/drain.

[Talic]

There are feats, I believe a psionic one, in particular, that accelerates ability damage recovery.

Also, there is the potential for psionics.

[mabriss lethe]

Binder 1 with Naberious? I think that would work

[JeminiZero]

Iron Heart Surge?

[Fax Celestis]

Well, it largely depends on your definition of "healing". I would say that the "healing" involved in most Conjuration (Healing) spells is in hit points only, and that removing ability damage, negative levels, poison, and other statii are not "healing" so much as "curing". It's a semantics issue, certainly, but I don't particularly think it's fair to the player to have them get ability damage once and then not be able to cure it until seven levels from now. Further, a regular warforged heals half hit points from a Conjuration (Healing) spell, rather than full, but it makes no mention of how other Conjuration (Healing) spells work. This gives me the impression that other effects aren't affected by the ability. But, as usual, this is all my interpretation.

A possibility is to make non-HP restoring effects of Conjuration (Healing) spells have to roll against the fortification percentage (if it's less than 100%) or at a 50% chance of effectiveness. This'd be more in line with the "difficult to heal" schtick that warforged carry but would still allow them to manage ability damage before late-level play.

[Irreverent Fool]

Iron Heart Surge?

Good luck getting your DM to allow you to use Iron Heart Surge like that, even if it does by the RAW. Mine refused to. Can't say I blame him.

Closer to the topic at hand: the feat says you "lose the ability to be healed by spells of the healing subschool". The D&D Online version of the feat says the same thing but adds "such as cure light wounds"

Both the spell descriptions for restoration and cure... refer to 'curing damage' so that's not really helpful. I don't know much about D&D Online but I bet it's got ability damage and a way to cure it. If that happens to be usable on a warforged in that game, I'd say that's evidence enough to allow it in your tabletop game, but I wouldn't make that sort of thing a habit.

I don't think it'd be unreasonable to develop a version of restoration that worked for constructs/warforged with the feat similar to the repair.. spells.

obnoxious
sig

[Ponce]

Well, it largely depends on your definition of "healing". I would say that the "healing" involved in most Conjuration (Healing) spells is in hit points only, and that removing ability damage, negative levels, poison, and other statii are not "healing" so much as "curing". It's a semantics issue, certainly, but I don't particularly think it's fair to the player to have them get ability damage once and then not be able to cure it until seven levels from now. Further, a regular warforged heals half hit points from a Conjuration (Healing) spell, rather than full, but it makes no mention of how other Conjuration (Healing) spells work. This gives me the impression that other effects aren't affected by the ability. But, as usual, this is all my interpretation.

Now that you mention it, this is probably correct. Doesn't seem very fair any other way.

Thanks guys