This is an attempt to bring a bit of color to the vow of poverty which has received some rather heated debate. The net result is still a tremendous burden for the character; but the reward is at least somewhat more in line with what other vows offer.
The monk taking a vow of poverty must never own more than six possessions — a simple set of clothing, a pair of sandals or shoes, a bowl, a sack, a blanket, and any one other item. Five of these items must be of plain and simple make, though one can be of some value (often an heirloom of great personal significance to the monk). The monk can never keep more money or wealth on his person than he needs to feed, bathe, and shelter himself for 1 week in modest accommodations. He cannot borrow or carry wealth or items worth more than 50 gp that belong to others. He is allowed to accept and use curative potions (or similar magical items where the item is consumed and is valueless thereafter) from other creatures. A monk with this vow increases his ki pool by 1 ki point for every 2 monk levels (minimum +1).
Addition: A monk adhering to the vow of poverty gains greater insight into ki mysteries than others. Starting at fourth level, and every even level thereafter, the monk gains a ki power that he qualifies for (chosen from the list of ki powers available to a qinggong monk). Should the monk fail to comply with the vow of poverty — or forgo it — he loses not only his bonus ki, but also the ki powers granted. Unlike the bonus ki, which can be recovered after a month of adhering to the vow — the ki powers are only recovered after he adheres to the vow of poverty for a year. Unlike other vows, a monk adhering to the vow of poverty does not give up the Still Mind class feature.
- "five items must be of plain and simple make" — that is without magical or masterwork craftsmanship
- "a pair of sandals or shoes" — is counted as a single possession; likewise a set of shurikens or a quiver of arrows count as a single possession
- "can never keep more money or wealth on his person than he needs to feed, bathe, and shelter himself for 1 week in modest accommodations" — this qualifies outside the six possessions of the monk; and grants him a wealth pool of roughly 5gp; likewise it allows the monk to carry a small amount of food which (if rationed) can keep him for a week
- just by holding an item for a short duration, the monk does not gain ownership of it — thus the monk can help lift or move objects without compromising his vow
- cannot borrow or carry wealth or items worth more than 50 gp that belong to others — this prohibits the monk from using an enemy's weapon against him; but it doesn't prohibit the monk from disarming an enemy
- "one can be of some value" — the monk doesn't shun all items because of their intrinsic value, but because of their economic impact. In that sense the one valuable item granted the monk does not represent a concession to wealth but allows the monk to own an item that is deeply significant to him. In principle there is no limit to the value of this one item, though a character should still roughly adhere to the wealth guidelines set out in general: meaning that the one item should not account for more than around 25% of a character's suggested wealth-by-level
- "often an heirloom of great personal significance to the monk" — though other good reason for possession exist such as: to serve as a reminder of a significant event, as a spiritual focus, a relic that the monk needs to protect, a gift from a person important to the monk, and many other reasons
Any takers? :)
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On the "one item of some value" bit, if said item could be "keyed" exclusively to the monk so that it really was practically worthless to anyone else it would go some way towards preserving the feel of the vow(though I have to admit I still chafe at the magic item allowance but that's a personal thing).
The ki power and retaining of Still Mind are perfectly reasonable, and it keeps the vow open to archetypes that require the loss of Still Mind, whichever those are(no books nearby at the moment).
This is an attempt to bring a bit of color to the vow of poverty which has received some rather heated debate. The net result is still a tremendous burden for the character; but the reward is at least somewhat more in line with what other vows offer.
The monk taking a vow of poverty must never own more than six possessions — a simple set of clothing, a pair of sandals or shoes, a bowl, a sack, a blanket, and any one other item. Five of these items must be of plain and simple make, though one can be of some value (often an heirloom of great personal significance to the monk). The monk can never keep more money or wealth on his person than he needs to feed, bathe, and shelter himself for 1 week in modest accommodations. He cannot borrow or carry wealth or items worth more than 50 gp that belong to others. He is allowed to accept and use curative potions (or similar magical items where the item is consumed and is valueless thereafter) from other creatures. A monk with this vow increases his ki pool by 1 ki point for every 2 monk levels (minimum +1).Addition: A monk adhering to the vow of poverty gains greater insight into ki mysteries than others. Starting at fourth level, and every even level thereafter, the monk gains a ki power that he qualifies for (chosen from the list of ki powers available to a qinggong monk). Should the monk fail to comply with the vow of poverty — or forgo it — he loses not only his bonus ki, but also the ki powers granted. Unlike the bonus ki, which can be recovered after a month of adhering to the vow — the ki powers are only recovered after he adheres to the vow of poverty for a year. Unlike other vows, a monk adhering to the vow of poverty does not give up the Still Mind class feature.
** spoiler omitted **...
I just made Vow of Poverty go the way of Find the Path and banned it outright. Problem solved.
Any takers? :)
I just don't think this does enough to solve the issues for those who hate the vow as it is currently written. (Though I like it.)