Adopted Trait Question

One thing I've heard discussed quite a bit by various gamers is the Adopted Trait. Now it's worded like this:

"You were adopted and raised by someone not of your race, and raised in a society not your own.

Benefit: As a result, you picked up a race trait from your adoptive parents and society, and may immediately select a race trait from your adoptive parents' race."

Now when it refers to Race Traits which set do they mean? My group has always ruled that it was the Race Traits from the Trait section of the books, while I've heard others argue that it means things like the Elven immunity to sleep effects. The problem is that both are called Race Traits so it does get a little confusing at times.

Just looking for clarification.

One is a racial trait and the other is a race trait.

Race trait = traits from the trait section
Racial traits = traits every member gains (like eleven immunity to sleep effects)

The adopted trait gives you access to the race traits.

This is a case of bad wording. It only applies to the traits from the Trait section, not the racial entries.

They should have called Traits something else, as they already had that word in use in a previous place. I would have used Backgrounds, myself.

One is a racial trait and the other is a race trait.

Race trait = traits from the trait section
Racial traits = traits every member gains (like eleven immunity to sleep effects)

The adopted trait gives you access to the race traits.

That's pretty much what we thought. I just wanted a little more clarification on the matter.

As Zhayne said, it's just a confusing bad choice of wording. That's the way it is though.

As an aside, the existence of the Adopted trait is a bit silly.

Let's see, you take the Adopted Trait, and can thus immediately take another Race's trait?

So what's the point of restricting Race traits to just their race? The Adopted trait makes it such that Race traits are just another category of traits that anyone can take.

Had it been the case that taking Adopted would then allow you to expend your other trait slot to take the other Race trait, then it would have been something, but as it is, it cheapens Race traits immeasurably.

As an aside, the existence of the Adopted trait is a bit silly.

Let's see, you take the Adopted Trait, and can thus immediately take another Race's trait?

So what's the point of restricting Race traits to just their race? The Adopted trait makes it such that Race traits are just another category of traits that anyone can take.

Had it been the case that taking Adopted would then allow you to expend your other trait slot to take the other Race trait, then it would have been something, but as it is, it cheapens Race traits immeasurably.

I think they made that with the idea that somewhere, someone is actually making characters with legitimate background concepts and not just munchkin mechanics. You know, like conflicting race, region, religion etc, leading to bizarre min-max combos or even religious trait having animal companions :P

Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan wrote:

As an aside, the existence of the Adopted trait is a bit silly.

Let's see, you take the Adopted Trait, and can thus immediately take another Race's trait?

So what's the point of restricting Race traits to just their race? The Adopted trait makes it such that Race traits are just another category of traits that anyone can take.

Had it been the case that taking Adopted would then allow you to expend your other trait slot to take the other Race trait, then it would have been something, but as it is, it cheapens Race traits immeasurably.

I think they made that with the idea that somewhere, someone is actually making characters with legitimate background concepts and not just munchkin mechanics. You know, like conflicting race, region, religion etc, leading to bizarre min-max combos or even religious trait having animal companions :P

In either case, the result is the same, take the Adopted Trait as effectively a free prerequisite Trait to taking the actual Race trait you want. How about a nice sentence about "with the permission of your GM and an appropriately awesome background story..." written right into the Trait rules, and not just having Adopted as a pass through?

In either case, the result is the same, take the Adopted Trait as effectively a free prerequisite Trait to taking the actual Race trait you want. How about a nice sentence about "with the permission of your GM and an appropriately awesome background story..." written right into the Trait rules, and not just having Adopted as a pass through?

I would totally agree with that way of doing things, in fact in any home game I require a back story to 1: flesh out your character and make sure you have more than a sheet of numbers, and 2: to justify/explain feat/class/skill/trait choices. Now as a point of fact, I don't disallow or even discourage min-max/super optimized characters... I just make sure the player has a creative and viable rationale. Though I do admit I have a very lactose intolerant approach to character cheese.

Well, one thing it does is use up your Social trait. (Since the rules state you can only have one trait from a single category.) So you couldn't take "Adopted" and "Rich Parents", for example.

Whether that actually balances anything is debatable.

As an aside, the existence of the Adopted trait is a bit silly.

Let's see, you take the Adopted Trait, and can thus immediately take another Race's trait?

So what's the point of restricting Race traits to just their race? The Adopted trait makes it such that Race traits are just another category of traits that anyone can take.

Had it been the case that taking Adopted would then allow you to expend your other trait slot to take the other Race trait, then it would have been something, but as it is, it cheapens Race traits immeasurably.

Because of the rules about not being able to take two traits from the same category. You take Adopted, you can't take another social trait, and you can't take another race trait.

As an aside, the existence of the Adopted trait is a bit silly.

Let's see, you take the Adopted Trait, and can thus immediately take another Race's trait?

So what's the point of restricting Race traits to just their race? The Adopted trait makes it such that Race traits are just another category of traits that anyone can take.

Had it been the case that taking Adopted would then allow you to expend your other trait slot to take the other Race trait, then it would have been something, but as it is, it cheapens Race traits immeasurably.

I totally disagree.

This is one of the few ways to mechanically represent being adopted.

It eats up an extra trait option, so I find it balanced.

Unless, you are more comfortable with a world where no one ever adopts a member of another race, no matter what, then it also makes sense that it exists.

Of course, much like feats, there are lot of traits that have racial restrictions that shouldn't, because they don't interact with the race's mechanics.

Of course, much like feats, there are lot of traits that have racial restrictions that shouldn't, because they don't interact with the race's mechanics.

Personally I would rather see feats/traits broken down into "cultural/society", so that people of a given race/culture/etc can have a trained/learned type of ability, and the only things that would be "racial" would be ones reliant on genetics and impossible to weasel into.

This way you could be adopted by whatever race OR culture and pick up certain learned aspects, but your halfling raised by Orcs is never getting tusks(just engaging in hyperbole folks!), thus allowing for many racially restricted abilities to be more widely available without getting silly.

They have "cultural/society" traits. They are called Regional and Social traits.

Zhayne wrote:

This way you could be adopted by whatever race OR culture and pick up certain learned aspects, but your halfling raised by Orcs is never getting tusks(just engaging in hyperbole folks!), thus allowing for many racially restricted abilities to be more widely available without getting silly.

Whereas I now want to play a halfling raised by orcs. With tusks.

I guess our games must be a bit less serious than yours!