Delemental
First Post
Before I start, I will make one disclaimer:
Despite the fact that this thread mentions the Vow of Poverty feat, it is not an invitation to restart the discussion of the balance of that feat.
Having just picked up the BoED yesterday, I was reading it and had a few questions.
1. The Exalted Arcanist prestige class (p 61-62, for those playing at home) is meant exclusively for spontaneous arcane casters. However, at 5th level the Exalted Arcanist gains access to sanctified spells. But the description of Sanctified Magic (p 83-84) states that spontaneous casters can't use sanctified spells. Beyond the obvious question here, I'm also wondering what the rationale is to denying sanctified spells to spontaneous casters.
2. The Vow of Peace feat gives you a +2 exalted, deflection and natural armor bonus to AC. It also states that if the character also has the Vow of Poverty feat, then the exalted, natural, and deflection AC bonuses given by Vow of Poverty increase by +2 each. However, a character with the Vow of Poverty doesn't get the deflection bonus until 6th level, and the natural bonus until 8th. Also, the Vow of Peace feat isn't clear on whether the extra bonuses to the Vow of Poverty are in addition to or instead of the bonuses granted by Vow of Peace (though I'm pretty sure they meant instead of, since getting double the bonus is excessive). So, given a hypothetical 4th level character with both feats in question, which scenario is correct? (I'm abbreviating "exalted bonus" to "E", "deflection bonus" to "D", and "natural armor bonus" to "N")
a. Character has +7 E (+5 poverty, +2 peace), +2 D, +2 N. At 6th level will have +8 E, +3 D, +2 N, and at 8th level will have +8 E, +3 D, +3 N. (Character gets Vow of Peace bonuses immediately, and Vow of Poverty bonuses increase as listed)
b. Character has +7 E. At 6th level will have +8 E and +3 D, and at 8th level will have +8 E, +3 D, +3 N. (Character does not get Vow of Peace bonuses until at a level where he is eligible for Vow of Poverty bonus)
3. If a character under a Vow of Poverty also has a Celestial Familiar (an eladrin, guardinal, or archon, not a celestial animal), I can see potiential conflicts (this question is more opinion/roleplay that pure mechanics, I guess). On the one hand, a familiar would want to honor its' masters vows. On the other hand, the familiar is also an intelligent, free-willed being who has a vested interest in keeping its master alive, and is not bound by the Vow of Poverty. Would having a familiar possess items meant for your character's use constitute a violation of the Vow? On a metagame level, since the character's player also controls the familiar, it seems a sneaky way to get around the Vow, by letting your familiar carry a bunch of potions, expensive spell components, or other items. Where would you draw the line? And what about equipment given to a familiar by a character? Could a character under a Vow of Poverty claim a pair of bracers of armor or a cloak of resistance from party treasure for his familiar to wear? Could he use part of his share to purchase them for the familiar before donating the rest to charity? What about giving a wand of magic missiles to a coure eladrin to better defend herself with?
Despite the fact that this thread mentions the Vow of Poverty feat, it is not an invitation to restart the discussion of the balance of that feat.
Having just picked up the BoED yesterday, I was reading it and had a few questions.
1. The Exalted Arcanist prestige class (p 61-62, for those playing at home) is meant exclusively for spontaneous arcane casters. However, at 5th level the Exalted Arcanist gains access to sanctified spells. But the description of Sanctified Magic (p 83-84) states that spontaneous casters can't use sanctified spells. Beyond the obvious question here, I'm also wondering what the rationale is to denying sanctified spells to spontaneous casters.
2. The Vow of Peace feat gives you a +2 exalted, deflection and natural armor bonus to AC. It also states that if the character also has the Vow of Poverty feat, then the exalted, natural, and deflection AC bonuses given by Vow of Poverty increase by +2 each. However, a character with the Vow of Poverty doesn't get the deflection bonus until 6th level, and the natural bonus until 8th. Also, the Vow of Peace feat isn't clear on whether the extra bonuses to the Vow of Poverty are in addition to or instead of the bonuses granted by Vow of Peace (though I'm pretty sure they meant instead of, since getting double the bonus is excessive). So, given a hypothetical 4th level character with both feats in question, which scenario is correct? (I'm abbreviating "exalted bonus" to "E", "deflection bonus" to "D", and "natural armor bonus" to "N")
a. Character has +7 E (+5 poverty, +2 peace), +2 D, +2 N. At 6th level will have +8 E, +3 D, +2 N, and at 8th level will have +8 E, +3 D, +3 N. (Character gets Vow of Peace bonuses immediately, and Vow of Poverty bonuses increase as listed)
b. Character has +7 E. At 6th level will have +8 E and +3 D, and at 8th level will have +8 E, +3 D, +3 N. (Character does not get Vow of Peace bonuses until at a level where he is eligible for Vow of Poverty bonus)
3. If a character under a Vow of Poverty also has a Celestial Familiar (an eladrin, guardinal, or archon, not a celestial animal), I can see potiential conflicts (this question is more opinion/roleplay that pure mechanics, I guess). On the one hand, a familiar would want to honor its' masters vows. On the other hand, the familiar is also an intelligent, free-willed being who has a vested interest in keeping its master alive, and is not bound by the Vow of Poverty. Would having a familiar possess items meant for your character's use constitute a violation of the Vow? On a metagame level, since the character's player also controls the familiar, it seems a sneaky way to get around the Vow, by letting your familiar carry a bunch of potions, expensive spell components, or other items. Where would you draw the line? And what about equipment given to a familiar by a character? Could a character under a Vow of Poverty claim a pair of bracers of armor or a cloak of resistance from party treasure for his familiar to wear? Could he use part of his share to purchase them for the familiar before donating the rest to charity? What about giving a wand of magic missiles to a coure eladrin to better defend herself with?
