Exalted Pickle

[Corsair]

EXALTED.

I think you need to re-read the first few pages of the BoED again. Exalted characters are supposed to be held to a much higher standard. Even a paladin can get away with "well they were trolls, and we were fighting trolls in the other room, so lets fight these too!". Exalted characters cannot. You are completely within your rights to make their powers turn off until they atone.

If you are going to let them have their powerful crunchy toys, you need to make sure that you hold them to the standards which are required.

 

[blargney the second]

I disagree--the players/PCs should be made to understand why their powers were lessened.

I agree! That's why I suggested using the penalty in conjunction with the nightmares: it could be done in such a way as to make it blatantly obvious why they're suffering the penalty.

 

[frankthedm]

The barbarian noted several times as they were preparing to take the fight to the trolls that the creatures didn't attack, none of them had a leather mask thing, they weren't a threat, etc. The exalted characters were insistant on killing them, however. The slayer of domiel can detect evil like a paladin, but never did so. They cornered the trolls and let loose with fireballs, at which point the trolls defended themselves. The PCs managed to kill or maim the vast majority of them before running out of fire spells and teleporting out of the tower, and then we stopped for the night.

Is there some other lesser penalty I can apply? Or am I just overreacting?

They recieved thier warning, they are no longer exalted.

You are in no way over reacting. Those feats are gone. If the players want them back the remedy is in chapter one of the BoED.

 

[Drowbane]

They recieved thier warning, they are no longer exalted.

You are in no way over reacting. Those feats are gone. If the players want them back the remedy is in chapter one of the BoED.

EXALTED.

I think you need to re-read the first few pages of the BoED again. Exalted characters are supposed to be held to a much higher standard. Even a paladin can get away with "well they were trolls, and we were fighting trolls in the other room, so lets fight these too!". Exalted characters cannot. You are completely within your rights to make their powers turn off until they atone.

If you are going to let them have their powerful crunchy toys, you need to make sure that you hold them to the standards which are required.

I agree with Corsair and FranktheDM (had to happen sometime ) If it went down as you described above, players of Exalted PCs should've picked up on it.

 

[drothgery]

Well, since there wasn't a "my PCs stay out" note on the thread, and it's my Silver Pyromancer (who's not an Exalted character, and so could arguably be living under different rules regarding his Pyromancer abilities -- he needs to stay Lawful Good and stay within the bounds of the ideals of a Knight Militiant of the Silver Flame; it's a lot easier to argue for a Fireball first and ask questions later mentality from that perspective -- but I don't think he should get off any easier than the others do).

A few things here -- I didn't have any idea the trolls were any different until informed of such out of character; I thought the leather masks were simply a mark of leadership (I'm pretty sure that I'd used detect magic on places where we'd fought trolls earlier, and got nothing), and the one group that retreated did so for tactical reasons. Almost everything we'd seen in this place had attacked us on sight, excepting a demon that briefly tried to disguise himself as a celestial and one prisoner; at that point we would have cheefully destroyed the spire and everything in it if we'd had the means to do so.

I don't think we would have acted much differently if we had detected evil (and failed to detect any evil), other than not trying to use some anti-evil abilities (should you know that these aren't working?); we've fought a fair number of neutral monsters before.

 

[frankthedm]

Well, since there wasn't a "my PCs stay out" note on the thread, and it's my Silver Pyromancer (who's not an Exalted character, and so could arguably be living under different rules regarding his Pyromancer abilities -- he needs to stay Lawful Good and stay within the bounds of the ideals of a Knight Militiant of the Silver Flame; it's a lot easier to argue for a Fireball first and ask questions later mentality from that perspective -- but I don't think he should get off any easier than the others do).

Definitly under different rules. He actually should get off a LOT easier unless your “Fireball first and ask questions later” already had you sliding to lawful neutral. Fireball related collateral damage tends to do that.

But if you have to argue your morality, that’s a sign of it being lawful evil.

A few things here -- I didn't have any idea the trolls were any different until informed of such out of character; I thought the leather masks were simply a mark of leadership (I'm pretty sure that I'd used detect magic on places where we'd fought trolls earlier, and got nothing), and the one group that retreated did so for tactical reasons. Almost everything we'd seen in this place had attacked us on sight, excepting a demon that briefly tried to disguise himself as a celestial and one prisoner; at that point we would have cheefully destroyed the spire and everything in it if we'd had the means to do so.

I don't think we would have acted much differently if we had detected evil (and failed to detect any evil), other than not trying to use some anti-evil abilities (should you know that these aren't working?); we've fought a fair number of neutral monsters before.

If you really speak for the other characters, they are NOT exalted good. Exalted characters don’t have the Nuke the site from orbit. option.

 

[Spatula]

Don't worry Dave, your PrC abilities aren't up on the chopping block.

I didn't have any idea the trolls were any different until informed of such out of character

The barbarian noted more than once that they were different.

I thought the leather masks were simply a mark of leadership

They basically are, for the subjugated trolls.

and the one group that retreated did so for tactical reasons.

According to who? Perhaps you don't recall the barbarian saying (more than once) "they ran away!" vs the cleric insisting that they were circling around behind you. They didn't set any kind of ambush for you when you followed, and they didn't attack first.

 

[VirgilCaine]

I agree! That's why I suggested using the penalty in conjunction with the nightmares: it could be done in such a way as to make it blatantly obvious why they're suffering the penalty.

Ah, I see.

 

[Joshua Randall]

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.

 

[Morrow]

I expected this thread to go something like this:

"Wow, that sandwich was good."

"Sure was, but the pickle? The pickle was exalted."

Morrow