Traits

Traits give information about something's characteristics, usually in ways that affect gameplay.

## Overview

A trait is meant to inform players on how something interacts with the world around it in ways that it otherwise wouldn't without the trait. For example, a wall with the 'brittle' trait will be relatively easy to break through, while a wall with the 'tough' trait will require considerable effort. A trait can have any effect determined by the GM, positive or negative, however altering existing traits is highly discouraged due to large-scale balance issues.

## Stacking and Augmenting

Traits' effects will always stack, however conflicting they are. If two effects cannot exist together through complete contradiction, neither effect functions. Certain traits (such as heartfelt and heartless) are highly incompatible from a practical perspective, and shouldn't be given to the same thing under normal circumstances. Certain traits, such as Grounded, remove the ability to have other traits. If something gains such a trait while forbidden traits are held, those traits are removed.

Traits can also be stacked on themselves, either increasing the effect itself, or unlocking new capabilities These should be marked with +X to indicate that the trait has been stacked. Certain traits can only be stacked once, which is called augmenting the trait as opposed to stacking it, but it is functionally identical. For example, a creature with Bountiful +2 will have +3 recovery, while a creature with Airborne + will not suffer from the change of movement penalty while taking flight or landing. The effect of stacking or augmenting Is determined below with the trait itself.

If different modifier effects are required for the same trait, the creation of an additional trait to encompass that effect is recommended to avoid confusion (such as Natural Flier).

## Diminished Traits

Certain traits may be given a diminished form, where they still grant benefits of the original trait, but either to lesser effect or with certain conditions. These should be marked with a - to indicate that the trait is diminished. Multiple stacks of weakening is not recommended, but is of course permitted if needed. For example, Agile - removes the AD bonus and reduces the speed increase to 1.3x, while Attuned - will cause the effect to be limited to replacing other senses that are already available to the creature while it would otherwise be unable to use them (while blindfolded for example).

## List of Traits

This list is meant to be non-exhaustive, as the concept of traits is designed to encourage the use of custom traits. This is merely a list of all basic traits that may apply to creatures throughout the world by default. Additional modifiers on these traits is also recommended if the effect is desired to be stronger or weaker in some way, provided they don't already have modifiers.

* **Agile** - You are unnaturally fast. Your base speed is increased by 1.5x in all categories. Take +1 AD on Agility checks. **Stacked:** Increase speed by a further 0.2x per stack. **Diminished:** Remove AD and decrease speed increase by 0.2x.

* **Airborne** - You have the ability to travel through the air by some means. Efficiency and limitations are determined by the method of flight. **Diminished:** Sustained flight requires 1 stacking EP every 4 seconds.
* **Aquatic** - You naturally thrive in wet environments. You can breathe underwater and you have immunity to wetness related statuses. Extended periods in especially dry climates takes a toll on you, halving your Max EP and causing you to suffer from the blistered status. **Augmented:** You do not suffer the negative effects of dry climates.
* **Attuned** - You have an additional sense through passive shifting of the world around you, allowing you to detect things that would otherwise be impossible for you to detect as long as they remain physically present. Additionally, investigation checks against you will not reveal your focus. **Augmented:** It is no longer any effort to notice things around you. You become aware at the end of your turn in addition to holding focus. **Diminished:** Your new sense is limited to the capabilities of others. Instead of passive detection, you can use your other senses while they are otherwise impaired (such as blindness) as if they were completely fine and enhanced. Remove the ability to hide your focus.
* **Bound to (names)** - Your life is bound to at least one other. HP is shared between all bound lives. **Augmented:** Any natural armour and any recovery is shared between all bound lives. Any number of bound lives can contribute its Attributes or EP to any check or action.
* **Bountiful** - Your connection the the void is abnormally strong. Take +1 recovery. **Stacked:** Take an additional +1 recovery per stack. Incompatible with **Grounded**.
* **Brittle** - You are easily broken. Any damage of 4 or higher that is taken will deal an additional 10 damage as well as deep structural damage, likely resulting in the **Damaged** trait if not death. **Diminished:** You take no additional damage, but you still suffer the other negative effects.
* **Brutal** - Your bare hands make fine weapons. Deal normal damage without a weapon. **Stacked:** Deal an additional +1 damage per stack while not using a weapon.
* **Calm** - You are naturally resistant to outbursts of rage. Take +1 AD against any provoke checks.
* **Clawed** - You have considerable claws on your limbs. Take +1 on Grasping checks. **Augmented:** Take +1 on bare handed attacks.
* **Convincing Liar** - Creatures will more easily believe your lies. Reduce the requirement for a convincing lie by 2. **Augmented:** Any successful lie is a convincing lie.
* **Damaged** - Your body has been damaged severely. You have -1 Natural armour.
* **Darkvision** - You have little to no difficulty in seeing in low light. Only absolute blackness will obscure your vision, however you will perceive the world to have less colour where things become darker, until you will only perceive the special colour associated with dark areas.
* **Deft** - You are well used to precise hand movements. Take +1 on Dexterity checks. **Deft** is a prerequisite for dagger proficiency. **Stacked:** Take an additional +1 on Dexterity checks per stack.
* **Ephemeral** - You are not tied to physical existence. Gain the ability to remove your physical form while not leaving the physical world over the course of one second, with the ability to return it at will over another second. You may take immediate items with you, however you may not take anything living. While you don't have a physical form, you are unable to influence the physical world, but you may float through it unencumbered. Attempting to return your physical form while it is obstructed by anything solid will fail. **Diminished:** Removing your form is unstable and takes effort, as something holds you to your physical form. Take 1 true damage and lose 1 essence while removing your form and every 4 seconds that your form is removed. Additionally, removing your form takes 2 seconds, but returning it is instant. Running out of EP while your form is removed will cause you to instantly return to a physical form, or take an additional point of damage if your form is obstructed. Running out of HP while your form is removed will cause you to instantly dissipate into the void; you will die.
* **Fit** - You are used to physical exertion. Running at full speed takes no essence to perform. Take +1 on any sustained action checks. Ignore 2 weight. **Stacked:** Take an additional +1 on any sustained action checks and ignore an additional 1 weight per stack.
* **Grounded** - You exist completely in the physical world. You can't shift by any means, including traits (unless that trait is granted by an artifact). Deal +1 damage. Gain +1 natural armour. EP is changed to representing Stamina, but is functionally identical. **Augmented:** Your connection to the world is so strong that you may shift anything that you can directly interact with. Doing so costs twice as much EP as it would a regular shifter.
* **Heartfelt** - You naturally connect to other creatures with little effort. Take +1 AD on Empathy and Aid checks and +1 DD on Deceit checks. You have +3 base spirit.
* **Heartless** - You naturally don't care about other creatures that don't share your spirit. You are immune to charm effects. Take +1 AD on Deceit checks and +1 DD on Empathy checks. You have -3 base spirit.
* **Hidden** - You may blend into your surroundings. Take 1 second to break the focus of any visual detection of you, and prevent further checks to visually detect you. This effect wares off after 4 seconds, or once you perform any non-movement actions.
* **Indomitable** - Your will is un-corruptable. You have immunity to mind-altering effects.
* **Inorganic** - You are made from inorganic material. You don't naturally heal. You are immune to organic effects.
* **Keen Hearing** - Your hearing is superb, and you are able to distinguish sounds at various levels quite effectively with directional precision. Any audio Loud Event will count as an unwilling distraction, regardless of strength.
* **Marksman** - Take +1 on ranged attack checks. **Stacked:** Take an additional +1 per stack.
* **Mechanic** - You are well versed with machinery. Take +1 on any machinery related checks. **Stacked:** Take an additional +1 on machinery related checks per stack.
* **Mimic** - Sensing an action grants you proficiency in that action until your focus is broken.
* **Moxie** - You're able to connect with mechanical hosts and control their actions. Doing so removes any ability to control your current form.
* **Multi-Minded** - You can focus on one more thing at a time. This focus is treated as discrete to any other focus you have, meaning you can be aware at the same time as being focused, and failing to change from aware to focused will only affect that focus. **Stacked:** Gain an additional focus per stack. **Diminished:** Take +1 DD on +Mind checks during additional focus.
* **Nameless** - You have no name. Your Name Attribute is always 0. You can't perform name-related shifting, including traits (unless that trait is granted by an artifact).
* **Natural Defenses** - Damage inflicted against you deals damage back to the source in proportion to the method and amount of damage. **Stacked:** This damage also inflicts 1 stack of 8s paralytic per stack.
* **Natural Flier** - Remove the DD from airborne reaction checks and remove the movement penalty of changing to/from flight..
* **Poor Hearing** - You have difficulty hearing subtle sounds. Whispers will be un-hearable for you, even directly into your ear, and audio Loud Events will not affect you.
* **Regenerating** - Your recovery effects your health. **Diminished:** Instead, recovering HP takes no essence.
* **Rifted** - You yourself are a partial rift between the plane and the void. **Stacked:** Take +1 on all shifting checks for each stack. **Diminished:** You are more prone to becoming Vile.
* **Semblant** - Any creature that is not aware of you forgets that you exist. That creature will remember noticing you in the past should it become aware of you again.
* **Serene** - You have an aura of calm. Non-hostile creatures will feel naturally calm around you unless otherwise influenced.
* **Slimy** - You produce slime from your skin.
* **Slow** - You are abnormally slow. Your base speed is halved. Take -1 on Agility checks. **Stacked:** Take -1 on Agility checks per stack.
* **Spent** - You have lost some of your will, and will find it hard to stick at something. **Stacked:** Take -1 on Shifting checks for each stack.
* **Splitting** - Gain the ability to split yourself in half, halving your max health to form a clone of yourself in every way. Your consciousness becomes a part of both bodies, and so both creatures are considered 'you'. **Diminished:** both of your bodies become bound.
* **Survivor** - You may invert the result of a death-save resist check. For example, if you rolled 6/5 on your check against being saved from death, you could turn that into a 1/2 to change your chances from almost guaranteed failure to almost guaranteed success.
* **Tough** - You naturally ward harm. Gain +1 natural armour. **Stacked:** Gain an additional +1 natural armour per stack.
* **Vile** - You are Vile.
* **Voidwalker** - Your physical form can exist in the void. Upon dying, your physical form falls into the void and you may return to the physical world any time after a day, becoming fully restored in every way. While in the Void, you may see glimpses of the world surrounding your last life, but you may not see the void in any way, as you have not truly entered it. You cannot truly die. Additionally, your body becomes easier to Blink. **Diminished:** While your being may exist in the void whole, its tether; your form; may not. Your body is left behind when you die. After a day, you may still return to your form, but only if it is in a habitable state. If you do not return to your physical form by the end of the second day, your being will tear apart in the void, and you will truly die.
* **Wild** - You are naturally prone to letting go of reason. Take +1 on Release checks.