Breaking ties with a trait

Seeking an elaboration here: When should you break a tie with a trait? On the first intitial tie? Or after a second tie in the tie-breaker roll? In other words, do you have to do the tie-breaker roll?

If you tie the tie-breaker roll, the GM wins anyway. You just get two checks out of it if you break the tie with a trait. It seems to me that the trait break would be on the first roll, where you’re actually sacrificing the chance to win the tie-breaker roll. We’ve been playing it by the book, after a second tied roll, (which is extremely uncommon). It just feels off.

The rules don’t say you have to roll a tie-breaker roll. It’s just one of many choices.

Ah. Much thanks.

Check Breaking Ties on page 64. When a tied result happens, you may do one of the bulleted items. If the result remains a tie after doing those things, you go to a tiebreaker roll.

You actually can’t use a trait to break the tie in your opponent’s favor on the tiebreaker roll because tied results in the tiebreaker roll already go in the GM’s favor (see Tiebreaker Rolls) on page 64. You can use traits to try to break the tie in your​ favor if you haven’t used a trait already.

Got it. Thanks.