The Book of Exalted Deeds - It's Here! (merged - full ToC posted)

[Cheiromancer]

A human who takes Sacred Vow and Vow of Poverty at 1st level will get the 1st level bonus feat. Pre-requisites for feats may be achieved at the level the feat is gained.

***
Some other questions about the book:

1. Again, is a sanctified pit fiend really tougher than a normal one (+1 CR)? The loss of all spell-like and supernatural abilities really hurts.

2. The sanctified mind flayer monk on page 17; what does she eat, and how does she reconcile that with the vow of non-violence?

3. The vow of purity on page 48 prohibits contact with dead flesh, including meat cooked for food. Does it also prohibit contact with leather? Fur? Bone? Ivory?

 

[Gez]

3. The vow of purity on page 48 prohibits contact with dead flesh, including meat cooked for food.

What about unarmed strikes from or on a zombie ?

 

[ruleslawyer]

Three words for those of you concerned about Vow of Poverty:

No Magic Items.

The benefits of the VoP feat are hardly enough to balance the fact that a character who takes this feat can never use or own a magic item. I mean, we all know that the forsaker, which appears to be a decent or even overpowered PrC on paper, sucks on ice because other characters will be able to easily surpass the class's abilities using magic. True, VoP doesn't have as bad a downside (character can still receive the benefits of spells), but especially for a monk or fighter-type character (the types who benefit most from the feat's abilities), it's pretty OK.

 

[BOZ]

I know that Guardinals and Eladrins (and Rilmani) first came from the Blood Wars Card game, but did anyone actually buy that card game?

haven't been noticing my posts? i never really played it much, just bought it for the art on the cards. there was a bunch of new stuff in that game - some got used later in planescape, some didn't. and i don't remember rilmani being in it.

I'm guessing that all Swanmays are female just like they previously were.

god, i hope so!

 

[ST]

If I've read the posts on the last page correctly, then Vow of Poverty is an exalted feat, requiring DM permission. I can't see many DM's saying "So your character concept is that before you even entered play, you were gifted with an exalted feat from a celestial? Sure!"

Maybe it'd be okay if your campaign concept is that *all* the PCs were visited by creatures from the heavens at a young age... hey, there's an interesting idea.

And as for this feat being overpowered in conjunction with house rules... well, unfortunately, once you start changing the rules in significant fashions, that's always a risk.

 

[allenw]

I can't see many DM's saying "So your character concept is that before you even entered play, you were gifted with an exalted feat from a celestial? Sure!"

I'd be dubious about it, but not *that* much more dubious than I'd be about a Paladin.

 

[Cheiromancer]

What about unarmed strikes from or on a zombie ?

If they fight undead, or accidentally touch dead flesh, they have to undergo a ritual involving a flask of holy water.

 

[Endur]

I have to sit down and run the numbers, but I think the special abilities are worth about the same amount in gold that a non-poor Monk would have at the same level.

If that is true and I'm not sure, then the extra Exalted feats are what makes all the difference. You are basically getting ten extra feats for free.

Three words for those of you concerned about Vow of Poverty:

No Magic Items.

The benefits of the VoP feat are hardly enough to balance the fact that a character who takes this feat can never use or own a magic item. I mean, we all know that the forsaker, which appears to be a decent or even overpowered PrC on paper, sucks on ice because other characters will be able to easily surpass the class's abilities using magic. True, VoP doesn't have as bad a downside (character can still receive the benefits of spells), but especially for a monk or fighter-type character (the types who benefit most from the feat's abilities), it's pretty OK.

 

[Joshua Randall]

Being female is indeed a pre-req for becoming a Swanmay.

 

[Joshua Randall]

The interesting thing about the Vow of Poverty is that it thematically hearkens back to the 1st edition paladin, who was restricted in terms of what possessions he could own. The Vow of Poverty is much, much harsher than the 1e paladin's restrictions, however.

As for the feats granted by Vow of Poverty, there is a discrepancy between the description (BoED p. 30) and the table (p. 31). The description of Bonus Exalted Feats says "At 1st level, an ascetic gains a bonus exalted feat, and another bonus feat at 2nd level and ever 2 levels thereafter." But the table for Voluntary Poverty does not list Bonus exalted feat as a 1st-level benefit. (It only lists AC bonus +4.)

Further elements of description strongly imply that it is correct and the table is wrong, but we'll have to hear what the authors of BoED have to say about that.