Vow of Poverty with a Manual of Gainful Exercise

[Sketchopotamus]

So early on a player found a Manual of Gainful Exercise +2, gaining a magical permanent enhancement to your Strength ability score. He wanted to take Vow of Poverty then after he already has those abilities. Would Vow of Poverty work? Or would he loose the ability score boost

[DrDeth]

No problems if he took VoP after.

[Garagos]

I believe the stat bonuses VoP provides and the bonuses the manual provides are the same type (could be wrong, AFB). So he couldn't stack those two things if I'm right.

[Zaydos]

No problems if he took VoP after (and the bonus from the book is inherent instead of enhancement, at least normally, so no conflict there).

[Chronos]

On the other hand, waiting until after you can afford a stat-tome before taking Vow of Poverty means you'll miss out on a ton of exalted bonus feats, since those aren't retroactive.

On the gripping hand, you very quickly run out of worthwhile exalted feats to take, anyway.

[Yorrin]

After gaining and reading all the (relevant) stat books is one of the few times I'd actually consider VoP. The inherent bonuses are kept, and as long as you otherwise abide by the rules your vow is not affected by them. And they DO stack with the bonuses from the vow.

[Zanos]

I believe the stat bonuses VoP provides and the bonuses the manual provides are the same type (could be wrong, AFB). So he couldn't stack those two things if I'm right.
Manuals/Tomes grant inherent bonuses, and, off the top of my head, I believe VoP grants enhancement bonuses. This means they stack.

That said, anything non-material you might have had still functions after you take VoP, which includes any sort of inherent bonuses, permanencied spells, and I think even symbiotes and grafts.

[Silentone98]

yea,... they stack at any time at all, whichever is taken first doesn't even seem to matter....

the issue would be receiving a spell that granted temporary enhancement, after having acquired VoP..... you'd apply whichever stat enhancement was higher for the duration.