4.4 Character Traits

Characters have 3 traits, which describe who the character is. The traits indicate what the character cares about, the special skills that define her, the goals in her life, the unrequited love that drives her mad, the flaw that always makes her flustered, and so on. A trait can be focused on another character, or it can be general. Traits guide play and fuel the character's actions.

Making up a trait can be easy or hard, depending on how much practice you have with it and how strong your vision of your character is. A trait can come in many shapes: it can be your character’s trademark battle cry, a fact about the character’s personality, an attitude, and so on. Here are some traits from the example characters:

There is nothing that scares me.
Beautiful singing voice.
“You’re going to regret that.”
I can never tell Syjika how I feel.
Always in the shadow of my mother.
Unable to resist the tantalizing lure of flames.

You can gain a mark on a trait for playing a character scene (this is called “marking the trait”). You can then use those marked traits to reroll dice during conflicts. This mechanic is described in the conflict and character scene chapters.

You can save up one or two of the traits and fill them in during play (and you can change them later, anyway—see the chapter on character development). This allows you to get a feel for the character first, and you can more easily connect the traits to the other PCs this way. In fact, for the most satisfying play experience, I suggest tying at least one of your traits to one of your fellow PCs at all times. And for maximum enjoyment, make it something that complicates both of your lives.

For Zadie, I’m making up two traits that express who she is and what her life is like as a scavenging scout. I write down “I can use anything for any purpose” and “Don’t test my patience.” I’m leaving the third trait empty so I can tie it to another PC later.