Traits (4E)

4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons

Talents are an optional set of rules that give characters more options out of combat. They are purchased separately from the skills, feats and powers described in the Player's Handbook. The talent rules can thus be dropped into a game without affecting existing characters, albeit at the cost of some extra bookkeeping.

Basics

Talents are non-combat versions of feats. They give special abilities that are used to define a characters background and Talents are used to represent your character’s livelihood outside of adventuring. This includes role-playing gimmicks and background options. They are also used to purchase professions (non-combat skills).

You gain talents at the same rate as you get new feats; at level 1, 11, 21, and every even level. You can retrain one talent every level, in addition to normal retraining limits.

Talent list

Agent

Prerequisite: Level 4

Benefit: You have an agent who will act on your behalf and represent you. While unwilling to risk his or her life, the agent will carry out instructions to the best of his ability, and look out for your interests when you are otherwise occupied. He will also travel to represent you in other places and can be sent on missions on his own. In return, the agent expects advice, patronage, and that you use your contacts on his behalf.

An agent is an NPC two levels lower than yours of a class and race agreed upon with the DM. If your agent is killed, you will want to retrain this talent.

Special: The agent is and NPC and is thus designed by the DM.

Artiste

Prerequisite: Training in Perform.

Benefit: You get a +3 feat bonus to all Perform professions.

Celebrity

Prerequisite: Training in Fame.

Benefit: You get a +3 feat bonus to Fame.

Contacts

Benefit: Contacts are persons you know and who are friendly to you and sympathetic to the same cause as you, but not your direct servants or allies. They will gladly supply information, acting as your eyes and ears. They also willingly perform services for you at normal cost, which can be a boon if they deal in something that is outlawed, rare, or otherwise hard to come bye.'

This talent gives you a number of contacts equal to half your level, with a minimum of one contact. You generally acquire a new contact once per level, replacing an old one on odd levels and gaining a new one at even levels. Over time, your network of contacts grows, you gain new ones while some of your old contacts become obsolete. Sometimes, your contacts change slower or quicker than this, but can never have more contacts than your level indicates.

A contact should ideally be someone you met and befriended during play. In this way, you can gain influential contacts; kings, courtiers, important heroes and other famous individuals. You can flesh out your stable of contacts with NPCs of your own invention, but these are generally not as important or influential as the ones you meet during play; typical examples are city guardsmen, traders, shopkeepers, local clergy, or minor mystics.

Entrepreneur

Benefit: You get a +3 feat bonus to all Service professions.

Familiar

Prerequisite: Skilled in Arcana

Benefit: You have a tiny natural beast companion, such as a bat, rat, raven, or cat. This animal is intelligent, can speak, and looks out for your best interests. It has half your hit points and defenses equal to yours, except it does not wear armor but gains five points of armor class from its size and quickness. It has a Strength of 1 and otherwise shares your attributes and skills. Skills are not modified for the change in attributes. It cannot effectively attack. If it flies, it does so with a speed of 8. If it is not a flier, it has a +5 bonus to Stealth. If it is killed, you lose a healing surge and will want to retrain this talent.

Fame

Possibly a talent rather than a Profession.

Followers

Prerequisite:' Level 4, Fame

Benefit: You have a group of followers who work for you. They serve in some capacity; for example as a garrison, police force, ship’s crew, caravan drivers, or guild thieves. They report to you, and you can give them orders slightly outside the scope of their normal activity, but they will not generally accompany you on adventures and never enter dungeons.

You start out with ten followers who are all identical. Each play session you gain another follower, to replace ones you lost or to fill out your band. You can never have more followers than your Charisma score. If you do not recruit new followers for a while, you still accumulate followers who will all join you at once when you do recruit. Sometimes, you will be in a location where you cannot recruit, such as deep in a hostile dungeon, but your potential recruits still accumulate.

A follower is an NPC minion three levels lower than you of a class and race agreed upon with the DM.

Handyman

Benefit: You get a +3 feat bonus to all Craft professions.

Language

Benefit: Choose a language. You can now speak, read, and write this language fluently.

Special: You can take this talent more than once. Each time you select this talent, choose three new languages to learn. Unlike the Linguist feat, this has no prerequisite.

Leadership

Prerequisite: Training in at least one profession.

Benefit: You know how to lead willing or unwilling workers. You know when to encourage or punish, when to give instructions, and how to keep up morale. As a leader, you direct others in tasks relating to your profession skills. Thus, a ship's captain is an Overseer with the Sailor profession (and possibly Stargazer as well), an officer is a Soldier with Leadership, a businessman is a Merchant with Leadership, and so on. When making rolls to lead and direct others, use the relevant profession skill.

Mentor

Benefit: You have mentor or employer that sees you as a trusted agent. The mentor is a constant source of information, employment opportunities, and often useless advice.

The DM is encouraged to use the mentor as an adventure hook and patron, and might tailor benefits and rewards to the mentor’s outlook on you. You can also turn to the mentor for help and advice, but a mentor will not accept being used and will avoid becoming directly involved in the action. The mentor is a powerful figure, which might or might not mean that he is a high-level character. A rich merchant, influential queen, or behind-the-scenes monster can also function as a mentor just as well as the classic warrior lord or wizard sage.

The exact details of your mentor are up to the DM and might even be unknown to you; a mentor might have a secret agenda.

Professional Training

Benefit: You gain training in one profession.

Special: You can take this talent more than once. Each time you select this talent, choose a profession in which you are not trained.

Scholar

Benefit: You get a +3 feat bonus to all Academics professions.

Subterfuge

Benefit: You know how to keep a low profile. Your personal life is your own, and people in general do not know who you are or what you can do. This might be because you have a secret identity or simply stand back and let your companions take the limelight.

If you are also famous, you are a mysterious adventurer who’s true identity no-one knows. Streetwise rolls to find out things about you suffer a +5 difficulty modifier in addition to other modifiers. Regardless of how famous you are, you won’t be generally recognized unless you want to be.

Signature Item

Benefit: You possess an item that has a great potential as a magic item. You know a special ritual to transfer the power of other magic items into your signature item.

Choose one specific type of magic item to be your signature item. This must be a weapon, implement, suit of armor, or amulet/cloak. Your signature item does not start out with this enchantment, but you know a special variant of the Create Magic Item ritual that only works on your signature item. You can only enchant your signature item with the one enchantment you choose when you selected the item, or with a generic “plus only” enchantment if your level is too low to create an item of your chosen type. If your signature item is lost or destroyed, you will want to retrain this talent.

Special: You can take this talent several times. Each time you do, it applies to a different item.

Writer

Benefit: A writer creates literary works of art; compositions, prose, poetry, and drama. These can then be published or performed by speakers and spread ideas, educate, praise, or condemn. A good writer can have an enormous effect on the people of an area, which is why rulers often try to control what is written, both by reward and persecution.

You must be trained in a type of performance to write for it; Oratory for plays, Singer for vocal music and so on. You can also use regular interaction skills in writing; Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidation.

Item Companion

Prerequisite: Signature Item

Benefit: A signature item is sentient and can converse with you. It is has a score of 10 in all mental attributes and will converse and give advice to the best of its ability. It speaks a single language but is illiterate. The item can take no action and cannot use passive Insight or Perception. If your signature item is lost or destroyed, you will want to retrain this talent.

Special: You can take this talent several times. Each time you do, choose one of the following benefits:

• Your item can speak to others besides yourself
• Your item knows three additional languages and can read.
• Your item can make knowledge rolls for one skill. Choose Arcana, Dungeoneering, History, Nature, or Religion. It cannot use the skill for other purposes. The item has a bonus on these checks equal to ½ your level +5.