Iron Heroes Traits in 4e Cont.
ARCTIC BORN [Background]
You were born to the ice and snow of the arctic. The bitterest cold has little effect on you, and you excel at traveling in areas similar to your homeland.
Mechanics: You gain a +2 bonus to all defenses against cold attacks. You treat heavy snow as normal terrain rather than difficult terrain. You gain a +2 bonus on Nature checks while traveling through snowy areas.
In addition, select one of the following trait abilities:
Bear’s Toughness: When you use your second wind, you heal an additional amount of hit points equal to your constitution modifier.
Ice Water Veins: You remain stoic even in the face of danger. After surviving howling blizzards and spending months at a time inside your clan home, you have developed mental toughness. You enjoy a +1 bonus to your will defense.
Wanderer at the Edge of Creation: Your curiosity always drove you to penetrate farther and farther into the arctic wastes. You gain a +2 bonus on all Athletics and Endurance checks.
ARTISAN [BACKGROUND]
You trained as a blacksmith, a cobbler, or in some similar craft before becoming an adventurer. Perhaps you never intended to have this life, but circumstances placed a sword in your hand and granted you the enduring drive to make a name for yourself with it.
Mechanics: You are trained at your craft, gaining a +5 bonus on ??? checks to ???. You can purchase goods that you can make with your Craft skill at a 10 percent discount, as you know enough about your trade to find bargains on quality goods.
In addition, select one of the following trait abilities:
Clever Worker: Your long apprenticeship and many hours at work have taught you efficiency. When you take 20 on a skill check, you use half the normal time.
Materials Expert: You have a keen eye for spotting flaws in objects. When you damage an inanimate object, you inflict 2 times your Strength bonus in damage.
Merchant’s Eye: You have an almost uncanny ability to spot valuable items. You gain a +2 bonus to ?? checks and can sell items at 10 percent more than their normal price.
BEWITCHING [MENTAL]
You have an uncanny ability to manipulate others, perhaps due to an alluring physical trait. Your eyes may be a strange color that captivates men and women, or you simply have a talent for twisting others around your finger.
Mechanics: When using the Diplomacy skill to deal with NPCs, your first success in a skill challenge counts as two successes. In addition, if your charisma modifier is higher than the Skill Challenge complexity, you automatically know if attempts to use Diplomacy will fail.
BLOODTHIRSTY [MENTAL]
The sight of blood stirs you to a minor frenzy. Perhaps you were exposed to violence at a young age, or you may simply like inflicting pain on foes.
Mechanics: You get a +1 morale bonus to damage and a +2 morale bonus on Will defense against bloodied foes. If you deliver an attack that causes an opponent to die, you get this bonus against all enemies until the end of the encounter.
You cannot coup de grace or kill a helpless foe to gain this benefit.
BRAVE [MENTAL]
You have always stood and fought when others have turned and run away. Whether it is because of an insane sense of invulnerability, religious faith, or a relentless desire to win, you never give up.
Mechanics: You gain a +5 racial bonus to saving throws against fear.
CHARISMATIC [MENTAL]
Through a combination of good looks and a powerful personality, you excel at winning the hearts and minds of others. However, your sense of intuition suffers as a result.
Mechanics: You gain a +2 bonus to Charisma and take a -1 penalty on wisdom skill checks. While you can manipulate others, you tend toward self-absorption.
Special: If you spend both of your trait selections on this trait, you gain the +2 Charisma bonus but ignore the associated Wisdom penalty.
CHILD OF FAITH [BACKGROUND]
You were raised in strict observation of religious tenets. You might even be a priest of the faith, though you are an adventurer now.
Mechanics: As long as you have a holy symbol of your religion on your person, you are filled with resolution and faith that your god watches over you. You gain a +2 bonus to saving throws against fear and, once per day, may opt to gain a +2 bonus on a single d20 roll of your choice. In addition, you enjoy one of the following trait abilities:
Fanatic: You fight in the name of your god, and your faith drives you forward against the enemy. You can use Fanaticism as an encounter power.
Fanaticism - Trait Power
Your raging piety drives you forward to crush those who oppose the faith!
Encounter
Minor Action --- Personal
Effect: You add your charisma modifier to the damage of the next attack you make.
Inquisitor: You gain a +2 bonus to all Insight checks. As part of your religious training, you learned how to detect heresy among the faithful.
Ordination: You are ordained as a priest of the faith, though your rank is just above that of a lay person. When dealing with others of your faith, they must obey your orders within reason. They do not fight for you unless the need is dire, and they do not sacrifice themselves. You can expect them to treat you as a valued friend, such as by offering information, giving you a place to stay, feeding you for at least a few days, and so forth. A title may come with this position. Consult with your DM for information on religions in the campaign.
CITY RAT [BACKGROUND]
You grew up on the tough streets of a city. From a young age, you learned to scavenge and survive at the shadowy edge of the cradle of civilization.
Mechanics: You can gain a +2 bonus to Streetwise checks, even if you lack any ranks in that skill.
In addition, select one of the following trait abilities:
Bravo: You are an experienced street fighter. You gain a +2 bonus to damage against enemies that grant you combat advantage. If you have sneak attack, its damage die is increased to 1d8.
Burglar: You gain a +2 bonus to Stealth and Thievery checks. In your younger days, you relied on theft to keep yourself fed.
Face in the Crowd: You know the value of blending into the crowd to escape notice. While in a large group, you can make a Disguise??? check as a standard action rather than spending long minutes preparing your disguise. You cannot use this benefit if the crowd is hostile or if you do not share the same basic dress or ethnicity.
DESERT BORN [BACKGROUND]
While others see the endless dunes of the desert as a daunting obstacle, to you they are home. Intense heat has little effect on you.
Mechanics: You enjoy a +2 bonus to all defenses against fire attacks. You gain a +2 bonus to all Nature checks made in a desert environment. You can survive on half the standard amount of food and water; if you carry a three-day supply of food and water, for instance, it lasts you six days.
In addition, select one of the following trait abilities:
Dunestalker: You can run across the shifting sand dunes with ease, while others might slip or stumble in the sand. You gain a +2 bonus to all Acrobatics checks made to balance.
Camel’s Tenacity: The desert is a deadly environment, and several times you have survived dust storms and long periods without water through sheer willpower. When your hit points reach 0 or lower, you can attempt an Endurance check (DC 15 + your negative hit point total). If this check succeeds, you can continue to take a standard action rather than fall unconscious. You still you need to make a death saving throw at the end of your turn each round, with the usual consequences.
DEXTEROUS [PHYSICAL]
You are quick and agile, though your body might be thinner than normal or otherwise prone to injury.
Mechanics: You gain a +2 bonus to Dexterity and a -1 penalty to Constitution checks. While you are lithe and flexible, your bones are somewhat brittle and susceptible to injury.
Special: If you spend both of your trait selections on this trait, you gain the +2 Dexterity bonus but ignore its associated Constitution penalty.
EIDETIC MEMORY [MENTAL]
You have perfect recall, allowing you to remember minor details from an event that others have long forgotten.
Mechanics: You enjoy a +2 bonus to History checks. You also gain a +2 bonus on Insight checks.
In addition, if you have any questions about an event, such as a person’s name or exactly what happened, your DM must tell you the details even if you, as a player, have forgotten them. You cannot remember extremely fine details, such as the text of a book left open on a desk, but you can remember the general gist of the book or the topic the passage covered. You always remember faces, names, and the basic sequence of events.
FAITHFUL FRIEND [MENTAL]
You are true to your friends to the bitter end. When they need your help the most, you are at your best.
Mechanics: You may designate up to six people as close friends. These individuals do not have to be player characters.
When one of your friends is rendered helpless in any way, you gain an immediate +1 morale bonus to attacks, checks, and saves until he is safe. A friend is safe if he no longer remains helpless or if he is somehow removed from danger. You gain this benefit until the end of the encounter.
You can change your faithful friends over time. Once you remove someone from this list, you must wait 24 hours before adding a new person. You can drop one person from your list of friends per day.
FOREST BORN [BACKGROUND]
You grew up among the towering trees of the forest, where you are at your best. Perhaps you feel uncomfortable in a situation where you can see the horizon.
Mechanics: You gain a +2 bonus to all Nature checks in forested areas.
In addition, select one of the following trait abilities:
Ghost in the Green: You can step into a forested area and effectively disappear in the blink of an eye. Your talent for finding cover in foliage is born of years spent in the woods. You can take 10 on Hide checks in the forest at any time, even during combat or other stressful situations.
Tree Runner: From a young age, you have spent as much time climbing trees as wandering the forest floor. You gain a +2 bonus on all Athletics checks and climbing doesn't grant combat advantage to your opponents.
HIGH BORN [BACKGROUND]
You were born into the nobility and enjoyed a life of simple leisure. However, for some reason you have been denied the true fruits of your birthright. Perhaps you were the second or third born and thus have no claim to an inheritance, or maybe your realm was overrun by invaders. Despite this setback, you still enjoy many of the advantages of your station.
Mechanics: You gain a +2 bonus on all Diplomacy checks when dealing with nobles and officials. Your bearing shines through in formal circumstances. You also start with double the normal amount of gold to purchase equipment.
In addition, select one of the following trait abilities:
Title: You bear an official title in a nation or domain chosen by the DM. While in this land, you can access the upper levels of the nobility or government. You might not gain an audience with the king, but you can speak with an official or minor noble, if you wish.
Well Educated: You studied a wide range of topics in your youth. You gain an extra trained skill.
INSPIRING PRESENCE [MENTAL]
You possess an innate ability to bring out the best work in others. With a few words of encouragement from you or your determined effort to lead the way, your allies perform much better than normal for a brief time.
Mechanics: As a standard action usable three times per day, you can grant an ally a morale bonus equal to your Charisma bonus. This bonus applies to one single attack or skill check of your choice. When you activate this ability, you must choose a target. Until your next turn, you can opt to grant the bonus to a single d20 roll the target attempts. You must choose to apply the bonus before the roll.
The target of this trait must be able to see, hear, and understand you in order for it to take effect.
INTELLIGENT [MENTAL]
You have a keen, well-honed mind, but your physical fitness has suffered from your bookish obsession with learning.
Mechanics: You gain a +2 bonus to Intelligence and suffer a -1 penalty to Strength checks. While your mind is powerful, your body’s might lags behind.
Special: If you spend both of your trait selections on this trait, you gain the +2 Intelligence bonus but ignore its associated Strength penalty.
JUNGLE BORN [BACKGROUND]
Born and bred in the tropics, you wander the dense rain forests and jungles with the same ease that civilized folk stroll down a street.
Mechanics: You gain a +2 bonus to Nature checks in jungle and rain forest terrain.
Heat and humidity have little effect on you. You gain a +2 bonus to Endurance checks made to resist high temperature conditions.
In addition, you may choose one of the following trait abilities:
Ape’s Agility: While climbing, you do not grant your opponents combat advantage and you retain the benefits of a shield you carry. You have learned to fight and defend yourself while perched in a tree.
Emerald Sentinel: If you have time to prepare an ambush site, you can create face paint and arrange the area to better hide your companions. If you spend 10 minutes preparing an ally, he uses your Hide bonus until he moves.
Friend of Snake and Spider: You gain a +2 bonus to all of your defenses against poison and on saves to resist poisons. Many creatures of your homeland have venomous bites, and you have built up a stronger than normal resistance to them.
LITHE ACROBAT [PHYSICAL]
You are graceful, flexible, and acrobatic. You move with excellent coordination and complete difficult acrobatic maneuvers with relative ease.
Mechanics: You gain a +2 bonus to all Acrobatics checks. In addition, you can use Balance to move at your normal speed.
MASTER OF LORE [MENTAL]
You have spent years studying a variety of topics, granting you a broad though not necessarily deep education.
Mechanics: You gain a +3 bonus to all untrained Knowledge skill checks.
In addition, should you fail a Knowledge check, you can always try again after eight hours of rest. As you relax, you might gain an insight into a half-forgotten lesson or an ancient text you once inspected.
MIGHTY BUILD [PHYSICAL]
Your solid, broad build allows you to use tools and weapons that others would find unwieldy. While an enormous sword might pull someone else off balance, you have the steady feet and powerful arms needed to use it properly.
Mechanics: You can wield weapons up to one size category larger than normal for you without penalty. You still suffer the normal penalties for weapons above that size and for smaller ones. For example, if you are Medium, you can use a Large weapon without penalty. However, you suffer the full penalties for a Medium creature using a Huge weapon; you do not act as a Large creature using a Huge weapon.
MOUNTAIN FOLK [BACKGROUND]
You hail from the towering mountains. Traversing the steep slopes, jagged cliffs, and perilous trails of the peaks seems no more daunting to you than a simple walk through a cleared green field.
Mechanics: You gain a +2 bonus to all Nature checks made in the mountains. In addition, you are steady on your feet from long hours spent walking along narrow paths. When an when an attack would knock you prone, you can immediately make a saving throw to avoid falling prone.
You may select one of the following trait abilities as well:
Mountaineer’s Luck: If you should fall from any height, you immediately may make a saving throw (DC 10) to grab hold of a ledge or similar outcropping (assuming such is available). Success means you stop falling and suffer no damage. You dangle in the air and grant combat advantage to your opponents until your next action.
Rock Hurler: You can throw rocks with unerring accuracy. You are proficient with them and treat them as thrown, two-handed, simple weapons with a 5/10 range. The stones inflict damage based on their size. Your DM judges the stone’s size by comparing it to other weapons. Normally, a Medium stone is large enough that a human must hoist it in two hands. Picking up a stone to throw it is a minor action.
Stone Size Thrown Stone Damage
Tiny 1d2
Small 1d4
Medium 1d6
Large 2d6
Huge 3d6
Gargantuan 4d6
Colossal 6d6
Tough as Stone: The mountains have bred toughness and tenacity into you.
You gain Toughness as a bonus feat.
NOMAD [BACKGROUND]
Your people wandered the steppes on horseback, going where they pleased and robbing, herding, and conquering as they saw fit. You were born into the saddle.
Mechanics: You gain a Mounted Combat as a bonus feat, as you have spent more time on horseback than on your own feet since you were born.
In addition, select one of the following trait abilities:
Cavalry Warrior: You learned to fight in the saddle from an early age. Given enough time to form a bond with your horse, you fight with deadly efficiency. If you spend more than two days with a normal horse, it counts as a warhorse while you ride it. You gain a +1 bonus to attacks when fighting from horseback with a horse that you have ridden into combat for at least one week and two battles.
Horsemaster: Under your care, a horse becomes stronger, faster, and tougher than normal. Through a combination of exercise and training, you grant any horse that you own for more than a week a +2 bonus to Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution. This bonus fades if the horse leaves your possession for more than a week. Only one horse can gain these benefits at a time.
NONDESCRIPT [PHYSICAL]
You have a face that seems to blend into crowds. You lack any noteworthy features or characteristics that would make you easy to identify. If you wish, you can remain nearly anonymous.
Mechanics: During any noncombat situation, you can make a Stealth check modified by your Charisma rather than Dexterity to fade into the background.
Make a Hide check, while everyone present attempts a Perception check to oppose it. Those who succeed note your presence and act accordingly.
Those who fail simply do not notice you. They are too absorbed in other things. Unless you take some noteworthy action or someone seeks you out, those nearby fail to note your presence unless they must physically interact with you. Should you move within 5 feet of someone, your presence immediately becomes apparent, unless you remain physically hidden or out of sight.
Otherwise, people in the area act as if you are not there. They might speak freely about secret topics or fail to notice as you draw a dagger and move to attack. Anyone in the area who specifically wants privacy may make a Perception check each round to notice you as a free action. For each consecutive round a character attempts the check, she gains a cumulative +2 bonus. On the first round, the bonus is +0; on the second round it is +2; third round +4; and so forth.
You do not gain the benefits of this trait if anyone actively seeks you out or is on watch for intruders. For example, you could not use this ability to walk past a pair of guards. You could use it to blend into a crowd at a tavern and spy on someone, however.
RESILIENT TOUGHNESS [PHYSICAL]
You can overcome pain and injuries that would leave others in battered, defeated heaps. You have an almost superhuman capacity to fight through pain and ignore wounds.
Mechanics: You can use your second wind as a minor action instead of a standard action.
SAVAGE APPEARANCE [PHYSICAL]
You wear war paint, have a bizarre haircut (such as a mohawk), are covered in elaborate tattoos, or carry a gruesome war banner. In any case, your appearance promises bloodletting on the battlefield. Consciously or not, your opponents pay more attention to you in a fight than to your allies.
Mechanics: During combat, any opponents who can see you suffer a -2 penalty to Perception checks as they find their gazes invariably drawn to your strange appearance. In addition, you can use Savage Visage as an encounter power.
Savage Visage - Trait Power
Your savageness drives your opponents bananas!
Encounter
Minor Action --- Close Burst 1
Target: One creature in the burst
Attack: Charisma vs. Will
Hit: If the target's next could attack either you or an ally, it must target you if able.
SEA CHILD [BACKGROUND]
The sea is your home, whether you grew up on the coast or have spent more time aboard ship than on dry land.
Mechanics: You ignore any penalties to fighting aboard ship due to heavy seas or swaying decks. You gain a +2 bonus to all Acrobatics checks made to balance.
In addition, you may select one of the following trait abilities:
Dolphin’s Agility: An expert swimmer, you can slip through the water with unmatched agility. When you attempt an Athletics check to swim, roll two d20s and take the higher of the two die results.
Fisherman: When you were younger, you cast a net to haul in fish for dinner or to sell at market. Now, you use a net to entangle your enemies. You gain Exotic Weapon Proficiency (net) as a bonus feat. ???
Marine: You know the seas are dangerous to any who travel them. From sea serpents to pirates, danger always lurks over the horizon. You gain a +1 bonus to attacks with scimitars, crossbows, and clubs.
SHADOW BORN [BACKGROUND]
Your forebears were noted for their mysterious dealings, sinister reputation, and aptitude for magic. From a young age, you displayed strange talents that, it is whispered, derived from a diabolical pact between your parents and an otherworldly being.
Mechanics: You gain a +2 bonus on Arcana checks due to your arcane upbringing. In addition, your blood is tainted with demonic influence-one of your ancestors was from beyond the veil of reality.
Select one of the following trait abilities:
Arcane Nature: You gain a +2 bonus to your mana limit each day, allowing you to gather more energy without penalty. ???
Infernal Glower: You exert a strange influence over others, as your unusual ancestry shines through when you are angry or upset. Your eyes may glow for a brief moment, or the scent of brimstone briefly wafts through the room. The phenomenon grants you a +2 bonus to Intimidate checks.
Precognition: You enjoy the peculiar ability to catch brief glimpses of the future. Once per day, you can ask a question about the results of an action that you might take. There is a percentage chance equal to 60 + your Charisma score that you receive a brief insight about this action’s result. Your DM informs you if the action will yield a result that is good, ill, or both good and ill.
SHORT [PHYSICAL]
You are much smaller than normal-so much so that you count as one size category smaller than other humans.
Mechanics: ???
STOUT [PHYSICAL]
You are stocky, compact, or even overweight. Your body might be bulkier than normal, but the added mass is muscle and thick bones, not just flab. You resist damage better than others do.
Mechanics: You gain a +1 racial bonus to your AC.
STRONG [PHYSICAL]
Your bulging, powerful muscles allow you to push aside material obstacles with ease. But this physical mastery comes at the cost of mental acuity.
Game Mechanics: You gain a +2 bonus to Strength but suffer a -1 penalty to Intelligence checks.
Special: If you spend both of your trait selections on this trait, you gain the +2 Strength bonus but you may ignore one of its associated Intelligence penalty.
TALL [PHYSICAL]
Your long arms and legs let you tower over others. In battle, your height grants you improved reach, a key advantage.
Mechanics: You gain a +2 size bonus when making grapple checks. If you already have a size bonus, increase it by 2 points. In combat, you threaten one additional square beyond your normal threatened area. ???
TOUGH AS IRON [PHYSICAL]
You can withstand pain and terrible conditions for far longer than other people, though your solid frame is less flexible than normal.
Mechanics: You enjoy a +2 bonus to Constitution, but you suffer a -1 penalty to Dexterity checks.
Special: If you spend both of your trait selections on this trait, you gain the +2 Constitution bonus while ignoring its associated Dexterity penalty.