Exalted Pickle

[Mercule]

The hardline approach: all Exalted PCs lose their powers until they atone, etc.

The softline approach: Let the players read this thread. Tell them this is their first and last warning, and that next time you use the hardline approach.

If they want to benefit from the absurdly powerful Exalted feats (esp. Vow of Poverty), they should expect to be held to a much, much higher standard of Good.

Agreed.

Myself, I'd use the hardline approach. But, my players know that I like a bit of thought in alignments (or they should, because I've expressly said so many times). YMMV.

 

[Voadam]

I hate taking away powers unknowingly based on DM interpretations. I hate driving characters to play X which is how mechanical penalties based on moral judgments for player choices and RP decisions feels to me.

I love the knowing player sacrifices ("Drinking this Essence of Evil will empower your attacks to overcome Her resistances and make you immune to her magical blasts but will pollute your spiritual purity that allows your paladin powers to work until you are cleansed of the Evil taint by a clerical atonement magic." either response of "Yes I will take it to overcome her" or "no I will rely upon my paladin powers alone" are cool story options IMO.)

If the vow of poverty druid in my group ignored those clues I would not penalize him. Same for the paladin in my group.

As DM I don't want to be evaluating the exaltedness or paladin-ness of every PC action to get them to play to my view of their characters. I want them to play their characters as they see fit. My PCs put their own RP restrictions on their characters based on their character concepts, not my interpretations of concepts written in rule books. I much prefer it this way.

If you have been clear about what choices of actions will result in loss of player powers then it can be called a knowing loss, but I wouldn't do it.