So, this came up in my last session: if a character has a character trait, should that trait ever be able to grant them dis/advantage on a test given a suitable situation? For instance, if a tall character is trying to be inconspicuous in a crowd, or a fat character is trying to squeeze through a crack on a wall, should they gain a disadvantage Ob? Would that not turn them into a die trait instead?
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Being Tall won’t always cause a penalty to blending into a crowd, I think. If you think it does in a moment, you should add a situational disadvantage. If the player feels like it gives them a reach advantage in a brawl, and you agree, you should give them a die.
You can grant dis/advantage ob whatever basis makes sense to you. A weight advantage in wrestling is an example in the book. It seems like chataracter traits like Brawny, Fat, etc would be a way of guiding such an adjudication.
If you find the trait is consistently situationally tweaking tests, elevating it to a die trait in a vote might be smart.
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Right… On the one hand, I think it would be nice for char traits to allow situational +1D/+1Ob, similarly to how it works in Mouse Guard, otherwise they are too easy to ignore. On the other hand, some traits like Geometric and others that give +1D may seem less appealing. Maybe not, since they usually cover more room.
Character traits are performance based. They are for roleplaying—details and truths the player can incorporate into their descriptions and dialogues.
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So, that is a no? Or maybe a “if the player can involve the trait in their description, sure”?
I’d say this. If it would great a situational advantage / disadvantage then +1 D/Ob. Though they shouldn’t always give this (then it would be a die trait). If it’s part of the roleplay, and fits into the narrative, then yes. Another way of putting it would be, if the player incorporates the character trait into the roleplay, and as a result a test is made easier/harder, then yes. They shouldn’t really be calling out a trait and asking for advantage / disadvantage.
Also there might be instances where a character trait can bypass a test, eg two characters are trying to find each other in a crowd, they both have the tall character trait, they spot each other above the crowd.
Hi Marcos,
The GM may grant advantage or disadvantage at their discretion, as laid out in Advantage and Disadvantage, pages 27-29.
That said, the intent is for character traits to act as roleplaying flags, not mechanical benefit/penalty. As the GM, you may choose to grant advantage or disadvantage, but it shouldn’t be expected for a character trait.
For example, let’s say a character with the Tall character trait is trying to blend into a crowd. The player might describe how their tall character slouches and adjusts their walk to seem shorter and blend in better. Maybe they say the character is walking bent over, as if suffering from an arthritic back. The GM hasn’t called for a test yet, but the player is adding to the color of the game by leveraging their trait.
The GM might then immediately call for an inconspicuous test, or they might take inspiration from that roleplay and increase the tension by having a good Samaritan come and take the character by the arm to assist them, not really a help or hindrance to the Inconspicuous test that’s sure to come, but potentially an additional complication if the player fails the Inconspicuous test – they’ll have to disentangle themselves from the good Samaritan before trying to make a getaway.
All this might make the player eligible for a Trait artha award or even the Embodiment award at the end of the session.
Alternately, maybe the player didn’t bring the Tall trait into play before making the Inconspicuous test, but upon failing that test they suggest to the GM that the character’s height made them stand out. The GM could then incorporate that into their description.
That, in itself, is probably not worth an artha award at the end of the session, but it’s added to the experience of everyone at the table, and if similar things happen a few times over the course of several sessions, the group might consider evolving that Tall character trait into a die trait at the next trait vote.
Does that help?
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While, as other people have said, a character trait can be a reason for advantage/disadvantage, I find the biggest impact on difficulty is in changing the options a character has rather than applying a direct dice/Ob adjustment.
If a player wants to gain/enhance a trait they have to make it a big enough part of their character that their group consider it a significant part of who their character is: so, having a character trait that you want to turn into an ongoing mechanical advantage requires portraying it as often as possible, which can sometimes rule out a whole sack of alternative approaches that might be more efficient.
Similarly, if a player wants to get rid of a trait, they need to actively work against it, which limits options.
For example, in @Mark_Watson’s Burning WFRP campaign, I decided to work toward my character having Faith. So, I started playing them as having a consistent belief that a god had taken an interest in them, that their victories were signs of favour and their failures were tests of determination. Which eventually gained me a character trait. By consistently choosing to take greater risks, expend effort on things that would serve the god rather than have any benefit for me, and otherwise voluntarily put myself in situations where things were more difficult than they needed to be, I showed the group that the character’s faith was exceptionally strong. Which was rewarded with a minor die trait. By repeating the cycle multiple times, I eventually earned Faith.
So, for me, character traits often apply their modifier to difficulty before the test is called for rather than at the moment the player offers a skill or the GM sets an Ob and consequence.
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its all about the story.
I have player who is down right ugly and that creates amazing interaction with npcs. So depending on the actual moment and situation, traits can be used either way. Not everything in burning wheel is for creating super heroes or maximizing your stats. Its all about the story and how your character reacts, creates, and evolves from start to finish. That’s my opinion.
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