Help with a 30th Level Monk

[Nail]

It also doesnt matter 'how' you got your equipment, it still goes off of your wealth guidelines.

Quite right. And for a VoP PC, their wealth never changes.

That's the point of Vow of Poverty.

Sorry, but IMO, the books idea doen't fly.

 

[Rystil Arden]

Which is more likely, getting someone to cast the spells on you somehow or having had someone make them in the past (for extra gp and exp cost), store them away, have no one read them, and for the character come along to find them? Depends on the campaign, but in mine it is much easier to find someone who will do it for you in a few minutes rather than spending large amounts of time making something like that. Neither are anywhere near common, but less exp, time, and gp spent seems like the winner

Gotta be the +5 tome for me. At least the +5 tome doesn't require the continued existence of a 26thish level benefactor who had all that XP lying around without leveling. It just means that somewhere some time in the past, there was someone like that. Anyone willing to spend that much XP who is still alive *really* likes the character, which begs the question "Why isn't she tagging along on every adventure with him?" But then you could say that she's dead, but what's a True Resurrection price to an epic character, particularly with the epic feat that removes material components.

 

[CyberSpyder]

Gotta be the +5 tome for me. At least the +5 tome doesn't require the continued existence of a 26thish level benefactor who had all that XP lying around without leveling. It just means that somewhere some time in the past, there was someone like that. Anyone willing to spend that much XP who is still alive *really* likes the character, which begs the question "Why isn't she tagging along on every adventure with him?" But then you could say that she's dead, but what's a True Resurrection price to an epic character, particularly with the epic feat that removes material components.

A Vow of Poverty character wouldn't accept the use of a magical tome, which becomes essentially worthless after its magic is utilized. He would donate the book to a worthy organization, who would sell it in order to help people.

 

[Rystil Arden]

A Vow of Poverty character wouldn't accept the use of a magical tome, which becomes essentially worthless after its magic is utilized. He would donate the book to a worthy organization, who would sell it in order to help people.

Absolutely true. I hope you didn't think I was arguing that a VoP character could be allowed to use a tome, since I'm the one who initially cried foul on that. I am answering the question of which is more likely to appear in my game--a bunch of +5 tomes or a caster willing to spend 150,000 XP all at once to help you.

 

[Nail]

I am answering the question of which is more likely to appear in my game--a bunch of +5 tomes or a caster willing to spend 150,000 XP all at once to help you.

...and I sense your answer is close to "neither", right? After all, why make a book and then not use it on yourself or the person who purchased it?

 

[Rystil Arden]

...and I sense your answer is close to "neither", right? After all, why make a book and then not use it on yourself or the person who purchased it?

Close to neither, indeed. But if it had to be one or the other, I'd pick the books because I'd have a whole lot less trouble adding to my campaign some crazy and magically powerful civilisation in the past shelling out the XP for books than I would adding a crazy and magically powerful benefactor of the PCs who would realistically probably come and give them Deus Ex Machina help every time they were losing a fight

 

[Nail]

Close to neither, indeed. But if it had to be one or the other, I'd pick the books because I'd have a whole lot less trouble adding to my campaign some crazy and magically powerful civilisation in the past shelling out the XP for books than I would adding a crazy and magically powerful benefactor of the PCs who would realistically probably come and give them Deus Ex Machina help every time they were losing a fight

Agreed!

Still: Would it not be a cool/quirky campaign in which the PCs started 1st level as the "chosen ones" with inherent bonuses bestowed on all of their ability scores? Perhaps part of the interesting bit would be discovering "why".........

 

[Rystil Arden]

Agreed!

Still: Would it not be a cool/quirky campaign in which the PCs started 1st level as the "chosen ones" with inherent bonuses bestowed on all of their ability scores? Perhaps part of the interesting bit would be discovering "why".........

That could be pretty cool--agreed. If it was +5 to all, bet we'd see lots of monks, paladins, multiclass-guys, etc. What I would do for this is not give them any LA but instead treat the monster encounters as if the monsters were all 2 CR levels lower for purposes of awarding XP--but then, they'll be killing stronger monsters, so it doesn't slow them down at all!

 

[Nail]

(Good points! Thanks, Rystil!)

Nothing to see here. Move along, move along.....

 

[Rystil Arden]

(Good points! Thanks, Rystil!)

Nothing to see here. Move along, move along.....

No problem--its very similar to how I handle the characters in my Neospelljamming setting, where all the races and classes are more powerful, but equivalently so