Question about Ascetics from BoED

[Cogadh Dearg]

Originally Posted by Tyoka

I understand the humility thing but if my character can't give something for the food he's eatting then he's taking away from the people who gave him the food. As in, if he begs a store keeper for some food, and he gets the food, what did the store keeper get out of it? He just lost money, and thus the voluntary poverty is kind of contradicting. I suppose my paladin could do some labor for the shop, but that's kind of convenient.

Gah! yeah, tha's terrible. Think ascetic, not capitalist. To give is something in and of itself. Check out buddhist monks.

[Sea Monster]

Think of it as food is an unexpected bonus.

He goes around, saving kittens and whatnot, if he gets food, that's all well and good, if not, then that's too bad.

The idea of the feat is not to punish yourself for the benefits but to help others.
You're poor because you gave everything you own to other people.
That's why you can't carry more than one days rations. You might want food tommorow, but there are people who need food today.

'Course, if you're in a whole group of goody paladins, then your fellows will find it in their good aligned hearts to feed you.

[ticattack]

Don't think of it on an Ascetic vs. Shopkeep scale. Think of it on a universal scale.

The bread you take tips your karmic scale slightly, slightly to the "owing" side. The thirty-eight villagers you save, the evil orcs you slay - these bring you far more to the "giving" side. By the end, your givings far outweigh your owings.