VoP advice needed - Any Banewarrens veterans out there?

[BigFreekinGoblinoid]

OK- I'm a player in the Banewarrens, so please don't post any spoilers beyond what I do below. This question may have been previously addressed ( I doubt it ) so I did not attempt to do any searching here.

I figured this would be the best place for help in discussing Meta issues with my DM.

My Monk PC with the Vow of Poverty has been abducted from the Banewarrens by a Phase Spider and a Dwarf. I have "awakened" in the body of a Bard ( with all of his abilities and none of my own except memories ) in some inn somewhere in Ptolus.

End of session!

So, I'm sure my DM has forgotten about my VoP ( or at least not considered all the ramifications), but we have not discussed it yet. I'm sure my player would absolutely NOT even pick up any of this bard's belongings, magical or mundane - well, maybe some pants or something...

Hopefully this won't be a deadly mistake, but I've gotta play the character with conviction. I guess if I'm not going to have any weapons or armor, I could be in worse shape than a Bard - but not much worse.

Any advice for my DM or I? I know I can't technically "lose" any abilities that I don't have, but that is way 'out of character' thinking.

-8th Level and no magic in Ptolus

 

[sparxmith]

According to the rules concerning feats, you should still receive the benefits of the Vow. If you had Combat Expertise and your form were altered, you'd still know how to sacrifice attack ability for defensive ability. If you have all of your memories, then most certainly you'd remember a life long religious vow that has been the source of great joy and peace in your life. Forget out of character thinking, to your character this Vow is the single most defining fact of his life. And, in keeping that Vow he has been blessed by his God, or simply by the positive energy of the universe. The Vow represents purity, changing forms would not change or deny that purity.

Concerning the gear, according to the Vow, you can only have one day's worth of supplies, simple clothes, and a simple weapon such as a staff (i.e. walking stick). I would consider it within the Vow to carry a simple musical instrument such as a tamborine, a flute, or a simple drum. These can be seen as instruments of religious piety, hence they don't violate the intent and spirit of the Vow.

I'm curious, have all of your levels of monk been converted to bard instantaneously? What lvl are you?


You'll have access to bardic magic and bardic music now, so one idea is to try to portray the character as wandering ascetic bringing joy, love, and peace through the gifts his God has given him.


Just my two sparx,

Sparxmith

 

[Jarrod]

Stuck in a bard again...

First, I would talk to your GM about it

It depends on how you see the VoP. Since you're in a different body, effects that were on your monk _body_ would not be on the bard. Things like a permanent Magic Fang, for example, would not switch. So are the VoP benefits body-specific?

The other way to look at it is as above - VoP benefits come from a feat, you keep the feat, you keep the benefits. Time for a clothing change.

On the gripping hand, VoP benefits come from a combination of your inner purity (which you still have) and the blessings of the gods. Unless it was deific intervention that stuck you in the new body, the gods _aren't_ going to be confused by the piddling change of physical form.

Verdict: 2 to 1, you keep the benefits. Time to find a loincloth.

 

[Treebore]

I don't get how you can have all your memories and not still be a Monk. Your class abilities are not dependent upon your body, they are dependent upon your knowledge. The only thing you should have to worry about is how your new bodies physical attributes (STR, CON, DEX) effect your combat and skill modifiers. You should still have your original INT, WIS, and CHA.

Plus you should not have "automatically" picked up Bard abilities. Either your DM is making some big mistakes or they have something "outside the box" going on.

 

[Gnimish88]

I don't get how you can have all your memories and not still be a Monk. Your class abilities are not dependent upon your body, they are dependent upon your knowledge. The only thing you should have to worry about is how your new bodies physical attributes (STR, CON, DEX) effect your combat and skill modifiers. You should still have your original INT, WIS, and CHA.

Plus you should not have "automatically" picked up Bard abilities. Either your DM is making some big mistakes or they have something "outside the box" going on.

Indeed, even Reincarnation leaves you with your old class. Definately seems like something outside the box going on. Is there even any way to get class levels in something?

 

[BigFreekinGoblinoid]

Yes, really odd. I am now an 8th level bard and have no monk abilities ( but all my memories of learning them ! )

Maybe this question would be better asked on the Malhavoc forum due to the Banewarrens specific twists , but I cannot manage to get registered there for posting for some reason...

 

[Jeff Wilder]

Banewarrens Spoiler!

The kidnapping mentioned by the original poster is a planned plot point in The Banewarrens. Because he didn't want a player to have to wait for a rescue, Monte Cook provided options to the DM, one of those being to allow the player to temporarily play another PC. While I believe the possibility of the second PC having the memories of the first PC was mentioned as a possibility, by "vanilla" Banewarrens, the second PC is genuinely just another PC.

Yes, your DM forgot about your Vow of Poverty. Since there's very little to retcon, just have a word with him. Chances are he'll rethink his options.

 

[BigFreekinGoblinoid]

Thanks, my DM and I will have a talk about this. Maybe its not too late to have them kidnapp someone else! -

JK!