Traits Block

Download Traits Block

Recommended: Attributes Block

Traits are used to add more dice for players to roll, alter what attributes players benefit from, give their characters new abilities, and allow them to use certain situations to their advantage. The Traits block gives players 6 Trait slots.

Players begin play with 3 action points. Spending a trait is a free action and gives you access to all traits that would apply to that roll. This spends the action point. It then takes an action to regain an action point.

It is encouraged for players to give their Traits fun and interesting, yet unique names. It also helps to have a spare sheet of scrap paper or a Notes Block to write detailed information about your traits if the provided character sheet does not include enough space.

''Traits and skills are great ways for players to create unique characters. As the Storyteller, you should become familiar with your tables Traits. These are areas the players want to take advantage of and creating challenges that encourage them to use their traits will be fun for all.''

Expertise Traits
Expertise Traits are used to give players an additional die when performing actions your character has specialized in."Nebula is a superhero by night. By day, though, she is simply a mechanic in her friend’s garage. She has a lot of knowledge about how vehicles work. Nebula is going to take an Expertise trait called “Car-Whisperer” so that when she makes a Cunning + Power roll about vehicles, she can roll 3 dice instead of 2."Advanced Expertise Traits call on situations that are far more rare, as a reward for this they allow players to rool even more dice than a standard Expertise Trait."Burlap wants to play an assassin, and wants to do a lot of damage when assassinating a target, she creates am Expertise Trait with multiple requirements that are a challenge to meet. Her target must be unaware of her presence, her target must not already be in combat, and her target must have a sizable bounty on them that does not require then returned alive. If she can align all of these specific requirements the Storyteller has agreed that she will gain an addition 5 dice on her initial attack."

Attribute Swapping Traits
In the Attributes Block, we talked about which Attributes are used for which actions. However, you can override these specifications with an Attribute Swapping Trait. "Designed to be rouge-like, Burlap’s strongest Attribute is her Agility. She imagines herself attacking with many quick jabs as opposed to possessing exceptional Strength and Power. So, she uses an Attribute Swapping Trait to make her Melee attacks be rolled with her Agility + Finesse Attribute dice instead of Strength + Power. She’s going to call it “Hit Them Where it Hurts.”"

Ability Traits
Ability Traits allow you to gain a unique ability. This could be passive, like the ability to see in the dark or use a prehensile tail. It could also be special equipment like a grappling hook or a jetpack."As a goblin, Burlap has better vision in the dark than a human. By taking an Ability Trait in Darkvision, she can make a Perception + Focus roll to see things in a situation where a Storyteller might deny a roll to a character without Darkvision."

Pool Traits
Pool traits give characters a pool that they can build upon. The Character has to meet requirements to fill the pool, and then either the pool is spent or the character can continue growing the pool. How this works is directly related to how powerful the pool is and what limitations it comes with. The pool can either give a numerical bonus (ie +1 or +3) or give the character additional dice to roll."Lazarus Waits is an undead gunslinger. He has a trait called “Closer to Death” that makes him more powerful the closer he is to being destroyed. For every Wound that Lazarus takes, he fills his pool and gains an additional die to make his Perception + Finesse roll to shoot a target. With him taking a wound for every 3 damage, this can add up to 9 additional die when Lazarus only has 3 health left."

Block Gain Traits
Some Blocks on the character sheet are not usable by players until they have unlocked them with Traits. While some Blocks are accessible to all players, others like Spellcasting, Companions, and others will require players to use one or more traits to gain access to the advantages of that Block."Yllester wants to specialize in using magic. He will spend 4 of his Traits on Spellcasting. This gives him access to the maximum amount of spells.""Velki wants to be able to have access to Spellcasting and access to a powerful Companion. She will spend 3 Traits on Spellcasting, so has access to a handful of spells. She will also spend 3 Traits on getting a Rank 2 Companion, using up all of her trait slots."