Vow of Poverty
- Thread starter slingbld
- Start date
Thanks again for all the feedback!!
I've allready let the player know he is more than welcome to play a VoP Monk
I did direct him to the boards here to read this post though. Just to make sure he is fully aware of the implications
Next thing he'll want is to be sainted. I can just see it now. A sainted, VoP Monk wearing a "Friar Tuck" getup & knocking skulls of demons everywhere...
Yup I'll just call him Cain & the campaign can be known as "Kung Fu: The Legend Continues"
I've allready let the player know he is more than welcome to play a VoP Monk
I did direct him to the boards here to read this post though. Just to make sure he is fully aware of the implications
Next thing he'll want is to be sainted. I can just see it now. A sainted, VoP Monk wearing a "Friar Tuck" getup & knocking skulls of demons everywhere...
Yup I'll just call him Cain & the campaign can be known as "Kung Fu: The Legend Continues"
Voadam
Legend
A druid shifter in our group is considering VoP. I'm encouraging him to do it. It seems a reasonable balance for no armor and makes the fact that he is not there for a bunch of games and gets advanced off screen more palatable as he doesn't get items he has no in-game reason for.
From a RP perpective if the vow is to personally disdain all worldly possessions it seems wierd for the character to vociferously claim loot (even for charity) instead of leaving it where it falls on the opponents.
From a RP perpective if the vow is to personally disdain all worldly possessions it seems wierd for the character to vociferously claim loot (even for charity) instead of leaving it where it falls on the opponents.
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Wippit Guud
First Post
Hmm... kender paladin VoP... since kender have no concept of possessions anyways, it's right up their alley.
Lu Wei Fong
First Post
That's a good point, however it's not breaking any rules for a VoP character to claim loot for charity. In the VoP description there's a passage about how most people who take the Vow realize that not everyone has the opportunity to choose poverty like they do. Many people, indeed too many people, live in poverty as victims of circumstance, and as an exalted character they seek to help those who don't have the luxory of choosing like they do. So you could really go either way with a VoP character, either one is legitimate.Voadam said:
The Souljourner
First Post
The problem with the vow is that it is compensating for magic items... and the level of magic items in every campaign is different. If you're playing a bog standard D&D campaign it looks like it'll be reasonably well balanced (though the extra feats are a bit much... what possessions are *they* making up for!?).
I'm starting in a new campaign that is going to be fairly high powered... our monk decided not to take vow of poverty, because it would deprive him of too much power he could get from the aewsome magic items that would be in this campaign.
In a campaign with lower than average magic, it's likely overpowered, because the VoP guy will have stuff the rest of the party might not get access to for many levels.
So, it really depends on the campaign. If you're going perfectly standard, then slightly powerful for a monk, slightly underpowered for fighter types, and pretty well balanced for everyone else, I think.
-The Souljourner
I'm starting in a new campaign that is going to be fairly high powered... our monk decided not to take vow of poverty, because it would deprive him of too much power he could get from the aewsome magic items that would be in this campaign.
In a campaign with lower than average magic, it's likely overpowered, because the VoP guy will have stuff the rest of the party might not get access to for many levels.
So, it really depends on the campaign. If you're going perfectly standard, then slightly powerful for a monk, slightly underpowered for fighter types, and pretty well balanced for everyone else, I think.
-The Souljourner
Wolffenjugend
First Post
I'd agree that it is possible for a character with VoP to claim magic items (or even wealth) for charity. Just make sure that the character gets absolutely nothing out of the deal (including goodwill). Otherwise, the character is still gaining a benefit from material wealth.
Unseelie
First Post
Wolffenjugend said:
No, I'd let them have the goodwill, I just wouldn't let that turn into any sort of in game advantage. No favors, no special treatment. Just thanks.
Hmm... I wonder how VoP would play in a culture where Beggars are treated as holy. Heck, it almost makes for a good justification for VoP in the first place.
Wolffenjugend
First Post
Unseelie said:
Exactly. I see you understand my point.
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UltimaGabe
First Post
The majority of players, upon reading the Vow of Poverty, immediately say, "That's too powerful!" as they work out in their head how powerful a 20th-level Kender Monk would be with the Vow of Poverty. Of course, if you min-max the hell out of your character, and you make them a Monk, and start them out at 20th-level, they're going to be insanely powerful. But that's the only time they're powerful.
Think about making a 1st-level Monk with the Vow of Poverty. They're gonna suck. Level 2, they're gonna suck. Level 3, suck. 4- suck. 5- eh, still suck. Until they get into the upper levels, they're going to suck BIG time, and there'll be absolutely nothing you can do about it. Then, once they've trekked through the entire progression of their class, they're gonna be gods. But that's it. Monks alone are powerful with very few possessions, especially at 20th-level- but any other class, or even Monks at lower levels, suck badly without any possessions. Imagine making a 20th-level Fighter with the Vow of Poverty. True, he'll still be powerful, but not nearly as powerful as the 20th-level Monk. Of course Min-Maxing is going to lead to powerful characters (or at least characters that seem powerful), but that's the only time it's going to appear gamebreaking. When you really get down to it, and when you really try to play an exalted Monk at 1st level with absolutely no possessions, you're going to be getting your ass handed to you on a regular basis.
Think about making a 1st-level Monk with the Vow of Poverty. They're gonna suck. Level 2, they're gonna suck. Level 3, suck. 4- suck. 5- eh, still suck. Until they get into the upper levels, they're going to suck BIG time, and there'll be absolutely nothing you can do about it. Then, once they've trekked through the entire progression of their class, they're gonna be gods. But that's it. Monks alone are powerful with very few possessions, especially at 20th-level- but any other class, or even Monks at lower levels, suck badly without any possessions. Imagine making a 20th-level Fighter with the Vow of Poverty. True, he'll still be powerful, but not nearly as powerful as the 20th-level Monk. Of course Min-Maxing is going to lead to powerful characters (or at least characters that seem powerful), but that's the only time it's going to appear gamebreaking. When you really get down to it, and when you really try to play an exalted Monk at 1st level with absolutely no possessions, you're going to be getting your ass handed to you on a regular basis.
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