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<blockquote data-quote="Sunseeker" data-source="post: 5983557">I personally prefer traits to be &quot;weaksauce&quot; as you put it.&nbsp; They should be flavor, providing minor bonuses AND penalties in certain situations, entirely dependent upon the will of the DM and the campaign setting.I remember playing Deadlands, which has various types of negative and beneficial traits and weaknesses.&nbsp; While taking weaknesses allowed your character to gain a few extra points to build with, it wasn't really significant enough to make or break the game, and I liked that.IMO: traits should be restricted to exactly what &quot;traits&quot; are in real life, snooty, alcoholic, needy, afraid of the dark, cowardly, bold, ect...&nbsp; And provide very minor, very situational bonuses or penalties.&nbsp; Perhaps your character is an arrogant, racist human noble who has a tendency to get drunk and go off on elves.&nbsp; In tavern-type situations, your character might have to make a will save in order to decide not to buy a drink, as they struggle with their alcoholism.&nbsp; If they fail, they inevitably drink too much, and assuming they don't flat-out pass out, may go on a drunken rant about how they hate those tree-loving, pointy-eared hippies.And of course, you would have complete control on if you chose these traits, and perhaps you could balance it out with &quot;Temple Acolyte&quot; showing that your character has joined a religious order's 12-step program to hopefully overcome their faults, thus giving them a minor bonus to saves against their weakness.That's how I like traits, fluffy.&nbsp; A character should be able to have a few of them(say, 3-4) that amount to very prominent, defining elements of your character that add primarily role-play value and a touch of roll-play effects.Perhaps you are a poor(-1 diplomacy when dealing with nobles, +1 when dealing with townfolk), honest(+10% prices when buying from merchants), farmer(+1 nature checks when dealing with farming, -1 dungeoneering) who was orphaned(-1 insight when dealing with families, +1 sense motive when dealing with criminals) at a young age.These are solid roleplaying points that many people often use to define their characters.&nbsp; Many DMs often give similar bonuses based on &quot;good roleplay&quot; for following your character's personality.&nbsp; By adding some basic bonuses or penalties to some basic traits, it helps both the player and the DM understand when and where your character's background should come into play in the course of the game.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Sunseeker, post: 5983557"] I personally prefer traits to be "weaksauce" as you put it. They should be flavor, providing minor bonuses AND penalties in certain situations, entirely dependent upon the will of the DM and the campaign setting. I remember playing Deadlands, which has various types of negative and beneficial traits and weaknesses. While taking weaknesses allowed your character to gain a few extra points to build with, it wasn't really significant enough to make or break the game, and I liked that. IMO: traits should be restricted to exactly what "traits" are in real life, snooty, alcoholic, needy, afraid of the dark, cowardly, bold, ect... And provide very minor, very situational bonuses or penalties. Perhaps your character is an arrogant, racist human noble who has a tendency to get drunk and go off on elves. In tavern-type situations, your character might have to make a will save in order to decide [I]not[/I] to buy a drink, as they struggle with their alcoholism. If they fail, they inevitably drink too much, and assuming they don't flat-out pass out, may go on a drunken rant about how they hate those tree-loving, pointy-eared hippies. And of course, you would have complete control on if you chose these traits, and perhaps you could balance it out with "Temple Acolyte" showing that your character has joined a religious order's 12-step program to hopefully overcome their faults, thus giving them a minor bonus to saves against their weakness. That's how I like traits, fluffy. A character should be able to have a few of them(say, 3-4) that amount to very prominent, defining elements of your character that add primarily role-play value and a touch of roll-play effects. Perhaps you are a poor(-1 diplomacy when dealing with nobles, +1 when dealing with townfolk), honest(+10% prices when buying from merchants), farmer(+1 nature checks when dealing with farming, -1 dungeoneering) who was orphaned(-1 insight when dealing with families, +1 sense motive when dealing with criminals) at a young age. These are solid roleplaying points that many people often use to define their characters. Many DMs often give similar bonuses based on "good roleplay" for following your character's personality. By adding some basic bonuses or penalties to some basic traits, it helps both the player and the DM understand when and where your character's background should come into play in the course of the game. [/QUOTE]

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