Arcane traits focus on magic and spellcasting, as well as any formal training your character may possess in the arcane arts.
The Combat Traits
Anatomist
You have studied the workings of anatomy, either as a student at university or as an apprentice mortician or necromancer. You know where to aim your blows to strike vital organs.
Benefit: You gain a +1 trait bonus on all rolls made to confirm critical hits.
Armor Expert
You have worn armor as long as you can remember, either as part of your training to become a knight’s squire or simply because you were seeking to emulate a hero. Your childhood armor wasn’t the real thing as far as protection, but it did encumber you as much as real armor would have, and you’ve grown used to moving in such suits with relative grace.
Benefit: When you wear armor of any sort, reduce that suit’s armor check penalty by 1, to a minimum check penalty of 0.
Axe to Grind
There is a fire in your heart that can’t be quenched.
Benefit: You gain a +1 trait bonus on damage against foes who are threatened by only you.
Battlefield Disciple
You are skilled at supporting your allies in the heat of battle.
Benefits: You gain a +2 trait bonus on Heal checks made to stabilize a dying creature. In addition, when you successfully use the aid another action in combat to grant an ally a bonus on her next attack roll, the bonus you grant increases by 1.
Bloodthirsty
You have a vicious streak, and nothing satisfies you more than warm blood on your hands and blade.
Benefit: Whenever you make an attack that reduces a foe to 0 hit points or fewer or you confirm a critical hit, your attack deals 1 additional point of damage. The additional damage is a trait bonus and is multiplied by your weapon’s critical hit multiplier.
Bullied
You were bullied often as a child, and you are now constantly ready to defend yourself with your fists when an enemy comes near.
Benefit: You gain a +1 trait bonus on attack of opportunity attack rolls made with unarmed strikes.
Note that this trait does not grant the ability to make attacks of opportunity with your unarmed strikes—you must have the Improved Unarmed Strike feat or some other similar power to gain the use of this character trait. However, that doesn’t prevent you from selecting this trait. You simply cannot make use of it until a later point if you do.
Cautious
You are cautious in combat, even a bit cowardly, and you take more care to defend yourself than others. However, this caution renders you susceptible to fear effects.
Benefit: You gain a +1 trait bonus to Armor Class whenever you fight defensively or take the total defense action.
Cold and Calculating
You are adept at tricking favored enemies of your race or those related to your race.
Benefits: You gain a +1 trait bonus on all Deception checks against favored enemies that share one of your subtypes. You also gain a +1 trait bonus on attack rolls made against such favored enemies during the surprise round.
Courageous
Your childhood was brutal, but you persevered through force of will and faith. No matter how hard things got, you knew you’d make it through as long as you kept a level head.
Benefit: You gain a +2 trait bonus on saving throws against fear effects.
Dedicated Defender
When a companion is down, you fight harder.
Benefit: You gain a +1 trait bonus on attack rolls and on checks made to overcome spell resistance while you are adjacent to a dying or disabled ally or companion.
Deft Dodger
Growing up in a rough neighborhood or a dangerous environment has honed your senses.
Benefit: You gain a +1 trait bonus on Reflex saves.
Dirty Fighter
You wouldn’t have lived to make it out of childhood without the aid of a sibling, friend, or companion you could always count on to distract your enemies long enough for you to do a little bit more damage than normal.
Benefit: When you hit a foe you are flanking, you deal 1 additional point of damage (this damage is added to your base damage, and is multiplied on a critical hit). This additional damage is a trait bonus.
Dispelled Battler
When deprived of magic, you fight harder.
Benefit: You gain a +1 trait bonus on weapon attack and damage rolls while within an area of antimagic such as that created by an antimagic field. You also gain this bonus for 1 round after you are subject to an area or targeted dispel magic spell, regardless of the effect’s success or failure in dispelling your spells and magical effects.
Easy Way or the Hard Way
You are skilled at subduing your enemies.
Benefit: Whenever you attack one of your favored enemies with a weapon that deals lethal damage and choose to deal nonlethal damage, you take only a –2 penalty on the attack roll instead of the normal –4 .
Evasive Sting
Larger enemies have a hard time striking you.
Benefit: You gain a +1 dodge bonus to AC against enemies that are both your favored enemy and at least two size categories larger than you.
Faith’s Hunter
Divine powers smile upon you each time you grievously wound a favored enemy.
Benefit: When you confirm a critical hit against a favored enemy, you may extend the duration of any divine spell affecting you by 1 round. The benefits from multiple critical hits stack. Divine spells with an instantaneous duration can’t be extended in this manner.
Fencer
You trained with blades for long hours as a youth, either taking lessons in the genteel art of fencing from tutors paid for by your parents or being taken under the wing of a disenfranchised fencer who may have turned to a life of crime.
Benefit: You gain a +1 trait bonus on attack of opportunity attack rolls made with daggers, swords, and similar bladed weapons.
Guerrilla Tactics
Benefit: You gain a +2 trait bonus on Stealth checks and Initiative checks in forests.
Hidden Hand
Your concealed weapons strike fast and true.
Benefits: You gain a +1 trait bonus on Deception checks made to conceal light weapons and a +1 trait bonus on attack rolls when making an attack with a light weapon during a surprise round.
Hunter’s Knack
When you watch and wait before attacking, your strike is true.
Benefit: You gain a +1 trait bonus on attack rolls against your favored enemies when you make such attacks as part of a readied action.
Indelible Ire
When you are gravely wounded, you’re stirred to greater combat focus.
Benefit: Each time a critical hit is confirmed against you, you gain a +1 trait bonus on attack rolls for 1 round.
Killer
You made your first kill at a very young age and found the task of war or murder to your liking. You either take particular pride in a well-placed blow, or find vile pleasure in twisting the blade to maximize your target’s pain.
Benefit: You deal an amount of additional damage equal to your weapon’s critical hit modifier when you score a successful critical hit with a weapon; this additional damage is added to the final total and is not multiplied by the critical hit multiple itself. This extra damage is a trait bonus.
Kin Guardian
You are dedicated to defending members of your family.
Benefit: When you use the aid another action to give a member of your family a bonus to AC, increase the bonus by 2. This increase is a trait bonus (and therefore doesn’t stack with increases granted by other family members using this trait).
Martial Arts Knack
You were raised, either wholly or in part, by a martial artist who constantly tried to train you in the basics. This constant exposure to martial arts has made it easier for you to understand, even when you turn your mind to other devotions and tasks.
Benefit: Pick a martial arts class when you gain this trait—your initiator level in that class gains a +1 trait bonus as long as this bonus does not raise your initiator level above your current Hit Dice.
Martial Arts Trainee
You have begun your journey of learning martial arts, picking up a single basic technique.
Benefit: You learn one 1st-level martial maneuver from a discipline of your choice.
If you can already initiate other martial techniques or later gain the ability to, the maneuver granted by this trait is added to your list of techniques known, and you can recover it as normal for your class. You cannot exchange this technique for another technique as you level up, nor does it add its discipline to your list of available disciplines.
If you are not a member of a martial arts class, you can ready this maneuver by spending ten minutes practicing it. You can use it once per encounter but cannot recover it during combat. Your initiation modifier for this maneuver is the key ability of its discipline’s associated skill (for example, a discipline with Acrobatics as its associated skill would make Dexterity your initiation modifier), and your initiator level for this maneuver is 1.
Nature’s Mimic
Your knowledge of nature informs your fighting style, and that style gives you insight into related aspects of the natural world.
Benefits: You gain a +1 trait bonus on Natural Lore checks to Recall Information and to Identify Creatures and Unnatural Effects.
No Escape
Struggle as they might, ne’er-do-wells and vagrants are hard pressed to evade the law once in your clutches.
Benefit(s): You gain a +1 trait bonus on combat maneuver checks to lawfully and nonlethally restrain a creature you’ve witnessed commit a crime.
Punish Insurrection
You relish reminding people who’s in charge.
Benefit: You gain a +1 trait bonus on attack and damage rolls against members of the same organization or hierarchy who formally answer to you. You also gain this bonus against other members who have openly defied the authority or rules of that body, provided the infraction is serious enough and their standing is less than yours.
Reactionary
You were bullied often as a child, but never quite developed an offensive response. Instead, you became adept at anticipating sudden attacks and reacting to danger quickly.
Benefit: You gain a +2 trait bonus on initiative checks.
Reckless
You have a tendency for rash behavior, often disregarding your own safety as you move across the battlefield.
Benefits: You gain a +1 bonus on Acrobatics checks, and Acrobatics is always a class skill for you.
Resilient
Growing up in a poor neighborhood or in the unforgiving wilds often forced you to subsist on food and water from doubtful sources. You’ve built up your constitution as a result.
Benefit: You gain a +1 trait bonus on Fortitude saves.
Scarred Descendant
Your own people are your favored enemy.
Benefit: You gain a +1 trait bonus on rolls to confirm critical hits against favored enemies of your own subtype and on Natural Lore checks made to track such creatures.
Stable
You are especially adept at not losing your footing.
Benefit: You gain a +1 trait bonus on Acrobatics checks and a +1 trait bonus to your CMB when attempting to resist trip attacks.
Surprise Weapon
You are skilled at fighting with objects not traditionally considered weapons.
Benefit: You gain a +2 trait bonus on attack rolls with improvised weapons.
Tactician
You know how to take advantage of enemies who are unprepared for your assault.
Benefit: You gain a +1 trait bonus on initiative checks. In addition, once per day when you make an attack of opportunity, you gain a +2 trait bonus on the attack roll.
Vigilant Battler
You are hard to fool and harder to trick with a feint.
Benefit: You gain a +1 trait bonus on all Insight checks. This trait bonus increases to +2 when used to counter a feint in combat.
Witty Repartee
You are quick with your tongue and have always possessed the talent to quickly admonish your enemies.
Benefit: You gain a +1 trait bonus on Deception checks and Deception is a class skill for you.
Zealous Warrior
You approach battle with great zeal.
Benefit: If you possess zeal, you gain 1 additional point of zeal each morning, and your maximum amount of zeal increases by 1.