? Book of Exalted Deeds

[Tellerve]

I was looking through this at the bookstore the other day and liked it a lot. However, I have a couple questions that maybe someone here that has the book or has read it could chime in on.

My first question is about the exalted feat which is named something like Fist/Touch of Golden Ice. Anyways, it allows your touch to have the effect of the Golden Ice, which is like a holy poison that only works on evil things. Is it me or does this seem like an incredibly sweet feat and therefore probably too powerful?

Second question would be about the Vow of Non-violence exalted feat. It mentions that you can use non-lethal attacks, but also says you can't have anything that causes ability damage. I'm pretty sure I read this correctly but wanted to see how others read it. I think it means you can never do ability damage, but then I thought for a bit maybe if you did a non-lethal attack that caused ability damage you'd not break the vow.

Anyways, thanks in advance.

Tellerve

 

[CRGreathouse]

My first question is about the exalted feat which is named something like Fist/Touch of Golden Ice. Anyways, it allows your touch to have the effect of the Golden Ice, which is like a holy poison that only works on evil things. Is it me or does this seem like an incredibly sweet feat and therefore probably too powerful?

Second question would be about the Vow of Non-violence exalted feat. It mentions that you can use non-lethal attacks, but also says you can't have anything that causes ability damage. I'm pretty sure I read this correctly but wanted to see how others read it. I think it means you can never do ability damage, but then I thought for a bit maybe if you did a non-lethal attack that caused ability damage you'd not break the vow.

On first glance the feat does look too powerful.

I'd say that poisoning someone would break the Vow of Nonviolence, so if you had the feat you couldn't touch a person. If I felt that I needed justification there, the ability damage clause would work for me.

 

[Tellerve]

Yeah, that's what I thought. I just had other thoughts creep in like the Golden Ice "poison" is supposed to be good and just. At least they say that kinda stuff under the chapter section on them. And since you can use non-lethal and not break the non-violence...well *laughs* you can see why I'm a bit confused. I still think I'd agree with you and you couldn't use that exalted feat with the non-violence vow.

Also, you could touch all the people you wanted to, only the evil people are effected by your touch. I think if they had done some sort of times per day like stunning fist or Fist of Iron it wouldn't be so broken in my estimation.

Tellerve

 

[James McMurray]

It is definitely a powerful feat at lower levels. At higher levels nothing you face will ever fail a DC 14 save.

 

[CRGreathouse]

It is definitely a powerful feat at lower levels. At higher levels nothing you face will ever fail a DC 14 save.

Of course, in 3.5, saves fail on a natural 1, and with multiple attacks...

 

[Silveras]

I should point out that you can *never* just choose an Exalted Feat.

Exalted Feats (p. 39) : "Only intelligent characters of good alignment and the highest moral standards can acquire exalted feats, and only as a gift from powerful agents of good -- deities, celestials, or similar creatures. These feats are supernatural in nature (rather than being extraordinary abilities, as most feats are)."

They are, therefore, best used as replacement "Rewards" for treasure (IMHO, of course).

Note also that willingly performing any Evil action strips you of the benefits of all exalted feats until you atone.

 

[Tellerve]

So if someone in your campaign was a ascetic human monk you'd make sure he got "treasure" at all the times he gets bonus exalted feats? Or would you just deny him that?

I understand not anyone can get exalted feats, and certainly the campaign has to have a different tilt to it, or at least that one character obviously is a paragon of goodness. But, that's kinda the point. As long as the dm was ok with you being this bastion of goodness and you as a character adhere to that code and ideals then you should have the rewards. And the player, as you pointed out, would need to keep himself on the straight and narrow or risk loosing everything if he willingly did evil.

Tellerve

 

[Cyraneth]

I should point out that you can *never* just choose an Exalted Feat.

Exalted Feats (p. 39) : "Only intelligent characters of good alignment and the highest moral standards can acquire exalted feats, and only as a gift from powerful agents of good -- deities, celestials, or similar creatures. These feats are supernatural in nature (rather than being extraordinary abilities, as most feats are)."

They are, therefore, best used as replacement "Rewards" for treasure (IMHO, of course).

Note also that willingly performing any Evil action strips you of the benefits of all exalted feats until you atone.

And how would you explain that the Bonus Exalted Feats paragraph under "Voluntary Poverty" mentions that only a 1st-level human with Sacred Vow and Vow of Poverty can gain the 1st-level feat. So, during character creation he earned two "rewards"..?

- Cyraneth

 

[Norfleet]

I really haven't quite figured out Exalted feats: Are they bonusses, and therefore, carry no opportunity cost in terms of other lost feats? Or are they things you must "take", and therefore, are actually no better than regular feats, since it's simply a tradeoff?

 

[DM_Matt]

I really haven't quite figured out Exalted feats: Are they bonusses, and therefore, carry no opportunity cost in terms of other lost feats? Or are they things you must "take", and therefore, are actually no better than regular feats, since it's simply a tradeoff?

They are regular feats. They just happen to be a catagory like Metamagic is.