Is there the equivalent of 3.5's Vow of poverty (Book of exalted deeds - Pg. 48) in 5e? I'm looking for the AC bonuses mostly, but the other bonuses are nothing to sneeze at. I know it will inconvenience my Barbarian I plan to make, but that's the point. Trying to make it difficult and keep it fun at the same time.
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8\$\begingroup\$ Generally, when your original question was put on-hold, you should edit it and wait for the reopening process to take effect. By opening another question, you're bypassing the reopening process. \$\endgroup\$– daze413Commented May 5, 2018 at 5:36
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\$\begingroup\$ I have some more questions: Are you OK with things that just increase AC? Are you looking for the same flavor? \$\endgroup\$– IcyfireCommented May 5, 2018 at 5:59
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2\$\begingroup\$ I wasnt sure how to handle it, i thought editing ALL of it would be easier to just get a new question, my apologies, I kinda want the difficulty of not being able to own things. I'd like to raise AC as the main thing, but i also like the damage boosts, and the resistances it gives \$\endgroup\$– ThatguyCommented May 5, 2018 at 6:56
1 Answer
There is no official equivalent in 5e.
However, a barbarian who doesn't own anything can still be a viable combatant. As barbarians can add their Con bonus to their AC when not wearing armor and also halve most of the damage they take, you really don't need the AC bonus that the Vow of Poverty feat provides. Remember that in 5e, everyone's AC is lower than the equivalent creature in 3.5e. Some races, such as the lizardfolk or tortle, provide an alternative unarmored AC that could help, especially in the early levels.
In order to deal damage on par with a barbarian who does own things, you could either take the Tavern Brawler feat or choose a race with natural weapons (lizardfolk, perhaps?) to increase your unarmed damage. Alternatively, or additionally, you could take the Martial Adept feat and choose disarming strike in order to steal the weapons from opponents. Borrowing is not the same as owning, after all.
You will run into trouble by never owning a magic weapon to use against creatures immune or resistant to non-magical attacks. This can be dealt with by any spellcaster in the party casting Magic Weapon or Elemental Weapon on an improvised or stolen weapon you pick up.
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2\$\begingroup\$ You might add that 5E is also far less gear dependent than previous editions. A level 20 fighter in 5E is powerful because he is a level 20 fighter and only slightly more because of any items he has found in his career. \$\endgroup\$– SlagmothCommented May 6, 2018 at 1:32
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\$\begingroup\$ Also worth adding is the possibility of multiclassing to monk; in 5e there are no alignment restrictions, so you could combine for example a Drunken Master monk with a Berserker barbarian and become what I'm hereby dubbing a Drunken Rager. Such a character at sufficiently high levels would automatically deal damage as though they were holding a magic weapon... and would also have an unarmed damage bonus compared to a straight barbarian. \$\endgroup\$ Commented May 7, 2018 at 11:25