upgrading through charity [Archive] - Wizards Community

upgrading through charity [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Lord_Bunker
06-06-05, 08:31 PM I'm trying to come up with a varient of the ancestral relic feat or the ancestral daisho ability.

I'm trying to come up with a way for characters such as palladins, monks and clerics to be charitable and not feel like their missing out on upgrading their gear.

i'm thinking first they should have to pay out the money. next they should have to spend time performing charitable work. and finally i think there should be some sort of prayer or meditation component.

i don't want to really duiplicate the ancestral relic feat. i'd like to leave this open as an option for all character's to pursue. i'm trying to decide how much time they should have to spend working to balance out that they're not taking up a feat slot, and they're able to upgrade more than just the one ancestral relic.

i'm thinking as a starting point they have to spend about 10hrs per 500gp. that's a little more than double what they have to spend with the ancestral feats.

oh yeah, one more thing, i plan to let them spread the charity out, rather than having to do it all at once.

any feedback?
DragonWatcher
06-07-05, 11:47 AM Honestly, I don't really agree with the concept. If you're performing charity to upgrade your items then it's not really charity, is it? Basically, you're just forcing them to not only spend the money like everyone else has to do, but also take more time and effort to do other things.

To me, the point of such a character giving charity is to really stretch the RP. They have to carefully consider whether they want to upgrade, OR do they want to perform a truly altruistic act? If they donate, then they don't gain personally from it... that's what charity is all about. Conversely, they can be selfish, but then that's not really what a holyman is all about.

Personally, I think that it's reasonable that such a character should feel compelled (ICly) to donate at least 1/10 of their share of each adventure. There's no reason that they can't spend the rest on what they need to carry on their mission. Furthermore, if a character consistantly gives above and beyond the call in charity, then as a DM, I might upgrade their weapon or armor as a "divine" gift. This should not be expected, though, and it should be a rare occasion. Such spontaneous possibilities would not require any "official" system, but would still be a good way to reward a player for excellent RP.
PolarBlizzard
06-07-05, 01:18 PM I agree with DragonWatcher. The whole thing about charity is to make this person feel as though they are doing good for the sake of doing good. If they are rewarded then great, but they should be expecting to get something in return because then they are simply wasting time buying a service that they should be able to buy anyway.

My paladin spent huge amounts of wealth in reconstructing the temple in a wartorn town and then using the temple as a base of operations to start rebuilding the lives and structures of the town. As a reward he was given his sainthood (template!). He still kept making his enormous regular donations and then even branched into other ruined towns.

As a player I was completly jazzed about making Saint, but as a character he didn't even break stride, he just kept giving for the sake of helping those that needed it. I don't think it would have been nearly as much fun if I had known that I would have gotten not only the template but the artifacts I was weilding...It really made for good story when they just happened to the character.
Lord_Bunker
06-07-05, 01:18 PM that's exactly the part i've been debating with it myself. mainly i'm trying to figure out something that can be kinda a lesser version of the vow of poverty which i think is a bit extreme.

also been toying with doing something like in l5r where certain items basically spontainously become magic.

for example i paladin as part of his daily rutine gets up and polishes and sharpens his sword. eventually through his faith and dilligence or whatever the sword picks up a bit of magic and becomes keen. it would only function for him that way, and he'll probably unaware that it's magic.

that allows players to still have some control over such things through good roleplaying.

what ya think of that idea.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Lord_Bunker 06-06-05, 08:31 PM	I'm trying to come up with a varient of the ancestral relic feat or the ancestral daisho ability. I'm trying to come up with a way for characters such as palladins, monks and clerics to be charitable and not feel like their missing out on upgrading their gear. i'm thinking first they should have to pay out the money. next they should have to spend time performing charitable work. and finally i think there should be some sort of prayer or meditation component. i don't want to really duiplicate the ancestral relic feat. i'd like to leave this open as an option for all character's to pursue. i'm trying to decide how much time they should have to spend working to balance out that they're not taking up a feat slot, and they're able to upgrade more than just the one ancestral relic. i'm thinking as a starting point they have to spend about 10hrs per 500gp. that's a little more than double what they have to spend with the ancestral feats. oh yeah, one more thing, i plan to let them spread the charity out, rather than having to do it all at once. any feedback?
DragonWatcher 06-07-05, 11:47 AM	Honestly, I don't really agree with the concept. If you're performing charity to upgrade your items then it's not really charity, is it? Basically, you're just forcing them to not only spend the money like everyone else has to do, but also take more time and effort to do other things. To me, the point of such a character giving charity is to really stretch the RP. They have to carefully consider whether they want to upgrade, OR do they want to perform a truly altruistic act? If they donate, then they don't gain personally from it... that's what charity is all about. Conversely, they can be selfish, but then that's not really what a holyman is all about. Personally, I think that it's reasonable that such a character should feel compelled (ICly) to donate at least 1/10 of their share of each adventure. There's no reason that they can't spend the rest on what they need to carry on their mission. Furthermore, if a character consistantly gives above and beyond the call in charity, then as a DM, I might upgrade their weapon or armor as a "divine" gift. This should not be expected, though, and it should be a rare occasion. Such spontaneous possibilities would not require any "official" system, but would still be a good way to reward a player for excellent RP.
PolarBlizzard 06-07-05, 01:18 PM	I agree with DragonWatcher. The whole thing about charity is to make this person feel as though they are doing good for the sake of doing good. If they are rewarded then great, but they should be expecting to get something in return because then they are simply wasting time buying a service that they should be able to buy anyway. My paladin spent huge amounts of wealth in reconstructing the temple in a wartorn town and then using the temple as a base of operations to start rebuilding the lives and structures of the town. As a reward he was given his sainthood (template!). He still kept making his enormous regular donations and then even branched into other ruined towns. As a player I was completly jazzed about making Saint, but as a character he didn't even break stride, he just kept giving for the sake of helping those that needed it. I don't think it would have been nearly as much fun if I had known that I would have gotten not only the template but the artifacts I was weilding...It really made for good story when they just happened to the character.
Lord_Bunker 06-07-05, 01:18 PM	that's exactly the part i've been debating with it myself. mainly i'm trying to figure out something that can be kinda a lesser version of the vow of poverty which i think is a bit extreme. also been toying with doing something like in l5r where certain items basically spontainously become magic. for example i paladin as part of his daily rutine gets up and polishes and sharpens his sword. eventually through his faith and dilligence or whatever the sword picks up a bit of magic and becomes keen. it would only function for him that way, and he'll probably unaware that it's magic. that allows players to still have some control over such things through good roleplaying. what ya think of that idea.