Quote Originally Posted by JackPhoenix View Post
Glad to see you've used that wording. Integrated Protection explicitly say "You gain no benefit from wearing armor", so it could count as worn armor for any penalties without giving you any... well, benefits.
Huh, that... actually makes sense, in a weird sort of way. I mean, I don't agree with that interpretation, but I could see using that phrasing as justification for that position. My own interpretation is that it means you just don't get any benefit from putting on a suit of armor; it has no bearing on how your plating interacts with things like the Defense fighting style. When using the plating, you're not actually wearing armor, but it seems at the very least implied that you count as if you were wearing armor, due to the darkwood core being specifically labeled as "unarmored", while the composite and heavy plating are labeled as "armor".

I guess I just don't see the reason to make it so complicated. The simplest way of handling this is to say that composite and heavy plating count as "wearing armor" for any feature that is affected by such, while the darkwood core does not. The "you don't benefit from wearing armor" clause only refers to suits of armor, not your plating. This seems to me the most straightforward way of handling it.

Quote Originally Posted by Khrysaes View Post
Jeremy Crawford
I don't want to pick on him too hard, but he's made rulings that contradict RAW, and in some cases has later backtracked after making a post, sometimes more than once (see Shield Master bonus action shove). Sage Advice should be treated as just that: advice. And it seems more often than not I'm not inclined to take it. I'm sure he's doing his best, and that it can't be too easy for him. He probably has enough people yelling at him about how he's wrong on this, that, or the other rule.

This was the majority of my post that you quoted, seemingly one specific part, out of context, for the purpose of arguing, dismissing that the rest of the post before that agrees with your argument.
Ah, sorry if it seemed I was being argumentative or dismissive of the rest of your post. I know I have a tendency toward being verbose, so I try to trim quotes down to the most relevant parts to what I'm replying to so as to not take up so much space with my reply. I know you were mostly agreeing with what I was saying, I was just frustrated by the apparent ambiguity of that specific interpretation. It sounds like you are, too. I didn't even realize there was any kind of controversy around this topic, I just assumed that using composite or heavy plating counted as armored, period. Seems it isn't quite as straightforward as I thought.

That being said, I agree that the table should rule if it does or does not. Which I think I said in my following post. It shouldn't be a nebulous neither. I think I also mentioned that Darkwood core throws a bit of confusion into it as to get the proficiency to AC bonus requires Light Armor Proficiency. Therefore, is it unarmored if you get the proficiency bonus or only if it isn't applied? Notably, monks are not proficient in light armor, therefore I am inclined to say that if you add the proficiency bonus because you are, then it is not unarmored.
Yeah, if someone is interested in playing a warforged, they should talk to their DM to find out how their DM is going to handle this question. This isn't the kind of thing you want to find out in the middle of a session.

As for the darkwood core, the simplest answer is that it always counts as unarmored, even if you have light armor proficiency (as it is labeled as "unarmored" on the table). This makes it an interesting option for a low-WIS monk, though you'll probably have to multiclass to get the light armor proficiency (though if you're doing a low-WIS monk, it might be because you were already doing a multiclass build). The darkwood core essentially acts as a form of Unarmored Defense, though an especially strong one. This does mean, however, that DEX builds on classes that get fighting styles won't be able to benefit from the Defense style, even if composite or heavy plating would.

However, as stated by JackPhoenix, Integrated Plating does say you gain no benefit from wearing armor AND that integrated plating is "your body" and therefore should not benefit from defense fighting style or forge cleric by RAW. Further supporting our agreed upon reading of the rules.
It's possible this was the intention, but I just don't like this inconsistency. My feeling is that it should either count as armor, in which case you would benefit from things like the Defense style and Forge cleric bonus, or it doesn't count as armor, letting you monk it up with heavy plating. What I don't like is that it counts as armor for some things, but not others, and in such a way that is entirely negative to the player. The only apparent redeeming quality is using heavy plating on a barbarian.

A monk with defense fighting style, forge cleric, and martial arts would be too much. It should be one or the other, not both or neither.
Sounds like we're in agreement here. I do think it should be one or the other. The point I was trying to make was that between both or neither, the "both" option makes more sense to me than the "neither" option. It just seems like there's almost a kneejerk reaction to take away player options whenever there's a balance concern. Nerfs are almost never fun for players, except in the most egregious cases where even the players can agree that a nerf is needed.

I think one good way of evaluating if something is over/underpowered is to look and see if people are always or never picking it. Even if it gets taken a lot, as long as people still pick other options sometimes, it's not too strong. Even if it doesn't get taken as often, as long as people still pick it sometimes, it's not too weak. This doesn't mean a small tweak might not be appreciated, just don't go overboard.

Transformers Robots in disguise. Maximals and Predecons.
I've mentioned this on the forum before, but the envoy can choose any tool for their integrated tool. Vehicles are listed under the tool proficiencies. Transform and roll out.

Not sure how I'd actually implement that, though. Maybe they would need to actually get a vehicle, and could then integrate that vehicle during a rest. This would let them upgrade to better vehicles as they become available (size, tho'... some of those boats are a lot bigger than you are). Alternatively, just let them transform into a motorcycle or motorboat, depending on which vehicle proficiency they got.