Oath of Nonviolence [Archive] - Wizards Community

Oath of Nonviolence [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Rilgar Esedarius
11-25-05, 10:07 PM I'm starting a new game in a couple of days (and I'm not the DM!) I plan on playing a human monk; I've got just about everything for his story, but I need an oath of nonviolence. You see, this monk is from a monastery that teaches to fight only as a last resort. The DM created the this monastery idea, but each monk is required to take their own oath. My DM won't give me any sort of guidelines for this, and I haven't been able to think of anything.

So can ya'll help me out? Thanks!

~R~
Gurv
11-25-05, 10:15 PM Whew! I thought this thread would be about the exalted feats. Don't let anyone convince you to use them...they simply don't work well in Eberron. If indeed they work in any setting.

Are you looking for mechanical rules for how to obey a vow of nonviolence? If that's what you need, I would just stick to dealing nonlethal damage whenever possible. Most of the things that are immune to nonlethal damage are the kinds of things that should be the exception to the typical vow against violence: undead, constructs, and ooze. Combine nonlethal damage with tripping, disarming, and other special moves.
Rilgar Esedarius
11-25-05, 10:20 PM Actually, I was looking for the actual oath, the storyline stuff. But the mechanics you described are helpful. Thanks!

~R~
Straylight
11-26-05, 11:23 PM The Oath of Nonviolence and others appear in The Book of Exalted Deeds, which is in the opinion of many the second most broken book ever published for 3.0 D&D (The most broken would be BOED's other half, the Book of Vile Darkness, if you were wondering).

If your DM is trying to force the feat on you for playing a monk from a monestary that "only uses violence as a last resort", then he either did a very bad job explaining the tenets of the monestary to you, or he hasn't read the rules behind the Oath feats very well.

In either case, I recommend he take the book out to a field somewhere and dispose of it "Office Space" style before burning it to ash, dousing the flames with holy water and then scattering the remains in two different oceans.

(Yes, I dislike the book that much.)

However, in your case, I susggest you avail yourself of a copy of Exalted Deeds and read the Oath feats rules very, very closely before going through with the character idea.

Or you could just take our word for it and do it with flavor text instead of juggling mechanics (see my .sig); Gurv has a very good, very flavoful solution up there.
a_psh
11-26-05, 11:51 PM I think the specific flavor nature of the oath depends on what kind of monastery it is... is it connected to a particular deity, for example?

Dol Arrah, patron lady of sun, duty, honor, and diplomacy (among other things) is probably the best candidate. Then nonviolence would be part of a larger doctrine of trying to do the honorable thing even if it's hard, and trying to solve disputes with words. If you can see your character saying (I can't come up with good vows atm, so these are just random utterances while adventuring) "My faith teaches me that spilled blood is the mark of failure. We must strive to understand, to mediate, to find common ground even when there seems to be none," then this is a good kind of faith for that monk.

But you could also be a Kalashtar following the Path of Light, for example. Then it's much more of an introspective thing. "My art is a weapon, yes, but of a wholey different kind - with it, I and those of one mind with me will turn the Wheel of the Age, bringing peace and light to dreams and dreamers alike. I will not debase the Path of Light by using my meditations to murder another."

It's even easier with one of the less combative Sovereign Host deities, such as Boldrei. "I am a steward and a traveler. I try to aid others, not hurt them. We are all one family, in a way. To harm another is to harm us all."

Or, take even random mystical Syberis worship (the idea here is that detachment is what gives you nonviolence, kind of like for the PoL). "The Prophecy is in us all. It moves in mysterious ways. I am its student. But I alone cannot judge the purpose of a man's life; therefore, I would prefer not to end it prematurely."

Now, none of these suggested paths are necessarily nonviolent, but I think nonviolence works well with them.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Rilgar Esedarius 11-25-05, 10:07 PM	I'm starting a new game in a couple of days (and I'm not the DM!) I plan on playing a human monk; I've got just about everything for his story, but I need an oath of nonviolence. You see, this monk is from a monastery that teaches to fight only as a last resort. The DM created the this monastery idea, but each monk is required to take their own oath. My DM won't give me any sort of guidelines for this, and I haven't been able to think of anything. So can ya'll help me out? Thanks! ~R~
Gurv 11-25-05, 10:15 PM	Whew! I thought this thread would be about the exalted feats. Don't let anyone convince you to use them...they simply don't work well in Eberron. If indeed they work in any setting. Are you looking for mechanical rules for how to obey a vow of nonviolence? If that's what you need, I would just stick to dealing nonlethal damage whenever possible. Most of the things that are immune to nonlethal damage are the kinds of things that should be the exception to the typical vow against violence: undead, constructs, and ooze. Combine nonlethal damage with tripping, disarming, and other special moves.
Rilgar Esedarius 11-25-05, 10:20 PM	Actually, I was looking for the actual oath, the storyline stuff. But the mechanics you described are helpful. Thanks! ~R~
Straylight 11-26-05, 11:23 PM	The Oath of Nonviolence and others appear in The Book of Exalted Deeds, which is in the opinion of many the second most broken book ever published for 3.0 D&D (The most broken would be BOED's other half, the Book of Vile Darkness, if you were wondering). If your DM is trying to force the feat on you for playing a monk from a monestary that "only uses violence as a last resort", then he either did a very bad job explaining the tenets of the monestary to you, or he hasn't read the rules behind the Oath feats very well. In either case, I recommend he take the book out to a field somewhere and dispose of it "Office Space" style before burning it to ash, dousing the flames with holy water and then scattering the remains in two different oceans. (Yes, I dislike the book that much.) However, in your case, I susggest you avail yourself of a copy of Exalted Deeds and read the Oath feats rules very, very closely before going through with the character idea. Or you could just take our word for it and do it with flavor text instead of juggling mechanics (see my .sig); Gurv has a very good, very flavoful solution up there.
a_psh 11-26-05, 11:51 PM	I think the specific flavor nature of the oath depends on what kind of monastery it is... is it connected to a particular deity, for example? Dol Arrah, patron lady of sun, duty, honor, and diplomacy (among other things) is probably the best candidate. Then nonviolence would be part of a larger doctrine of trying to do the honorable thing even if it's hard, and trying to solve disputes with words. If you can see your character saying (I can't come up with good vows atm, so these are just random utterances while adventuring) "My faith teaches me that spilled blood is the mark of failure. We must strive to understand, to mediate, to find common ground even when there seems to be none," then this is a good kind of faith for that monk. But you could also be a Kalashtar following the Path of Light, for example. Then it's much more of an introspective thing. "My art is a weapon, yes, but of a wholey different kind - with it, I and those of one mind with me will turn the Wheel of the Age, bringing peace and light to dreams and dreamers alike. I will not debase the Path of Light by using my meditations to murder another." It's even easier with one of the less combative Sovereign Host deities, such as Boldrei. "I am a steward and a traveler. I try to aid others, not hurt them. We are all one family, in a way. To harm another is to harm us all." Or, take even random mystical Syberis worship (the idea here is that detachment is what gives you nonviolence, kind of like for the PoL). "The Prophecy is in us all. It moves in mysterious ways. I am its student. But I alone cannot judge the purpose of a man's life; therefore, I would prefer not to end it prematurely." Now, none of these suggested paths are necessarily nonviolent, but I think nonviolence works well with them.