In the AdvBu, LC says they’ve drifted the rules for earning fate points for traits, so that only character traits grant that award. “We feel that using a die trait or Call-on is reward enough”, it says. I understand that for C-o and positive dt, but what about negative die traits? I mean, few people would agree that having “blind” is a reward on its own, I’d like to know why isn’t it convenient to award fate points for negative die traits (If conditions are met in the game).
That’s how we do it in my group, Khimus.
This is interesting; I had not known of it.
I would speculate, however, that the impetus is different. As I understand it, you only earn 1 fate total from traits. If you let die traits of any sort give fate, they would more often than not prove to be the trait which grants that point of fate. We’re currently running into that with Entropic. The trouble is, none of the character traits need to kick in, something that’s becoming very evident. That’s a bit of a problem.
The Adventure Burner is for Revised. In the Gold book it says that you can earn a Fate point for traits (not just character traits) if you use that trait to “alter the direction of the story in an unforeseen way or makes life difficult for the character”. So, you don’t earn that Fate point just every time you suffer a +2 Ob because of a trait, but when that +2 Ob matters. It seems however that Character Traits can be more useful in that regard. And you can use traits to earn Moldbreaker Persona points also and even as inspiration for Embodiment rewards.
Hang on, +2 Ob for a trait? I think I’ve missed something… <goes to reread stuff about traits>
You can earn 1 for each trait that turned the game in an interesting direction. I think BWG page 70 supports that interpretation. It also makes voting traits off or upgrading them to call-on or die traits more important - the more character traits stick around, the more likely that character is to have a bloated Fate pool.
The Missing Eye trait gives you +2 Ob for shooting.
The idea that disability acts as a way to earn sympathy and reward in Burning Wheel has always made me deeply uncomfortable.
In play, penalty and disabling traits provide the same mechanical input as bonus and enabling traits, therefore they should be rewarded in the same way and frequency. Disability traits aren’t special. They do not exist solely to earn rewards. They exist because they’re important to dramatic narratives like the ones we create.
Should your Missing Hand trait come into play and alter the course of the story, then take the reward. But don’t wave it around expecting accolades.
For example, you are a knight recently bereft of his sword hand. You have a contentious relationship with your captor, a lady knight. You are in an important negotiation over dinner. You complain that you cannot cut your meat and describe yourself struggling and fumbling. This provides an opportunity for your companion to demonstrate how she feels about you. In this case, she is sympathetic, leaning in to cut your meat. This act suddenly shifts the dynamic of your relationship from adversarial to respectful. This is worth a fate point.
Whereas opting to not to take a narcotic while your hand is treated is not worth a reward. Being unable to saddle your horse, not worth a reward. Complaining to your physician about life while he bandages your arm, maybe but probably not. You’re probably just roleplaying.
The difference is subtle, but it’s there.
Use these traits with care.
Heh, good example especially how it plays out in the show. Now I’m not going to be able to watch GoT without comparing scenes that could translate into BWG gaming situations.
Littlefinger is the prototypical example in my mind of a blown circles roll leading to enmity clause.
What, you mean you weren’t doing that already? 
Cast your mind back to the sept scene towards the end of Season 1 (highlight to show spoiler): Ned Stark’s moldbreaker when he recants his claim against Joffrey
As another aside, I like the notion of treating all traits in an equal light. We tend to class them as “positive” or “negative” based on whether they help us succeed…but really, that’s a secondary consideration. Having a +Ob trait might cause you to attempt other approaches. It might cause you to fail at a task and drive the story forward that way. From a grand scheme, it’s not a big deal.
Think about disadvantages in the way you think about Traits in Mouse Guard: They provide you the opportunity to achieve greater ends. (Your character must fight against his own flaws to achieve his goals.) Also, mechanically, you have the opportunity to gain more difficult tests for Advancement.
Speaking as a person with a real-life non-trivial disability… thank you for this, Luke.
Matt