Features
Features are special characteristics and capabilities that allow a character to do unique and extraordinary things.
Last updated
Features are special characteristics and capabilities that allow a character to do unique and extraordinary things.
Last updated
Features are one of the players' most potent tools to create unique, memorable, and meaningful characters. They can represent uncommon genetic traits, innate talents, exceptional skill proficiency or technique, supernatural powers, magical items, or specialized gear.
Each feature has two parts: the effect and the trigger.
The effect is the benefit or ability provided by the feature. Effects might allow characters to boost their defenses, move more quickly in particular conditions, perform a powerful attack, or resist certain types of harm. Effects typically fall into one of the following types.
NATURAL ABILITY: An innate ability or natural adaptation that requires no extra effort. Traits allow characters to function in ways others cannot, such as breathing underwater with gills or seeing in darkness.
BOOST: Enhances a character's success rate in challenging situations. Talents allow the player to roll with an advantage or convert one failure into a success, providing an edge in critical moments.
BONUS: Empowers the character to push their limits, extending the scope or impact of their actions. Boosts can increase movement, add range, grant a bonus action, or expand an area of effect.
INTUITION: Grants the character an innate sense of knowledge that reveals hidden or impending information, such as detecting an approaching storm, sensing danger, or knowing if someone is lying.
CONDITION: Enables the character to add or remove conditions affecting an adversary, an ally, or themselves, like imposing fear on an enemy or healing an ally's wound.
Triggers are the specific, recurring condition or context that activates the feature. Common types of triggers include:
ENVIRONMENTAL: Activated by specific surroundings or conditions, like dim light, underwater, extreme cold, or mountainous terrain. Environmental triggers link the feature to the natural world, encouraging characters to seek out or adapt to different settings.
ACTION-BASED: Activated by particular actions the character takes, such as attacking from a distance, moving at high speed, or drawing a weapon. These triggers rely on the character's choices and tactics, rewarding specific approaches or strategies.
CONDITION-BASED: Triggered when a character or their opponent is affected by a particular condition, like being injured, fatigued, frightened, or inspired. This connects the feature to a character's emotional or physical state or their adversaries.
SITUATIONAL: Activated by the specific circumstances of the encounter, like when outnumbered, undetected, or defending an ally. Situational triggers respond to changing conditions in combat or interaction, making the feature responsive to critical moments in gameplay.
ASSET-BASED: Activated when using a specific asset, such as wielding a particular weapon or leveraging a specific background, skill, distinctive trait, or affiliation.
RESOURCE-BASED: Activated when a character spends or consumes a scarce resource, such as using energy, spending ammunition, or consuming a potion. This trigger type makes the feature powerful but costly, balancing utility with resource management.
PERMANENT CONDITION
In exceptional cases, players can choose to satisfy the cause of a feature by taking a permanent condition representing a disability or handicap. For example, a vampire may be granted the ability to fly in exchange for being allergic to sunlight, or someone blind may have enhanced hearing. When considering a permanent condition, check with the game host to ensure the condition is balanced with the gained effect.
Features can be created by combining the effect and the trigger in a short sentence. This format encourages simplicity and is easy to read and write.
ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES
Review the features in the Archetypes or Powers sections of the Toolkit for additional examples of how features help define a character's identity.
