As an example, all of the campaign traits, below, assume the same initial circumstances at the beginning of the adventure: You were in a large military camp in a mountainous area when the enemy managed a decisive sneak attack. You either had little choice but to run for the relative safety of the hills (if civilian personnel) or were ordered to break and attempt to regroup later (if military personnel). Now, with the sounds of the ongoing battle still audible behind and below you, you find yourself stranded high on the slopes of a mountainside with no real knowledge of which side is winning, and no way to tell thanks to the massive winter storm that is rapidly incoming. Shelter must be your first priority, but of course you have limited supplies on your person�not really having been prepared for a sudden and frantic flight for your life�and there is the hovering worry that, if your force loses the clash, it may be difficult to return.
| Attache: |
| You are among the least children of a noble family�too important to be a common rank-and-file soldier, but not important enough to bear your own title or figure into a line of succession. Such individuals are usually put to some quiet, respectable purpose, such as a monastery, convent, or university. Lucky you, to be of age during a time of war; and so it is your fate, instead, to be a squire, manservant, or valet to some relative or other, more crucial, aristocrat. You are tasked with following them about, seeing to their needs�whatever they are�and generally anticipating and fulfilling their every whim. At least you have been fortunate enough to have a comfortable distance between yourself and the front lines, until today... You have a thin trace of noble blood in your veins. You are no more than a distant cousin to someone important, but you nonetheless are legally entitled to (and possibly expect) certain rights and privileges not afforded to more common folk. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Diplomacy checks when dealing with aristocrats or the nobility, and +2 trait bonus on Knowledge (nobility) checks made to know proper etiquette or to understand lines of succession. |
| Large groups of people, especially in uncomfortable situations, often necessitate (or create opportunity for) certain specialized entrepreneurs. While the attitude toward and circumstances or motivations of these professionals can vary as wildly as the services they provide, armies generally tend to welcome them so long as they are "well-behaved." In fact, the better behaved they are, the less tacit the welcome becomes�and the more success they tend to enjoy, upright and otherwise. You gain a +1 trait bonus when you use Diplomacy on a character that is (or could be) sexually attracted to you, and a +2 trait bonus on Sense Motive checks that oppose Bluff checks made by such characters. Additionally, you only need 1d4 rounds to develop a hunch in social situations, rather than the usual 1 minute minimum. |
| Chaplain: |
| Wherever people are found, spirituality is likewise there, whether in the form of gods, philosophy, or some other manifestation of the metaphysical. War and death draw the custodians of the soul to counsel or inflame those affected. You bear the word of some religion or system of beliefs, perhaps to comfort, perhaps to indoctrinate, or maybe a little of both. As surely as any standard, though, your presence is felt by all on the field of battle, and for your own sake�and that of your fellows�you are forced to flee the enemy who would slay you just to demoralize your allies. Beneficial divine spells with a duration longer than instantaneous persist for 1 additional round whenever you cast them on members of your own faith or on allies who share your homeland. Additionally, you gain a +1 trait bonus on caster level checks made to overcome the spell resistance of enemies of your faith or homeland, as well as a +1 trait bonus on Will saving throws made against divine spells cast by such characters. |
| You are not a soldier; you are merely a scribe, accountant, craftsperson, or other noncombatant that has been swept up by the war. Willingly or otherwise, you have become part of the large chain of supply and command that keeps the armies of your homeland running�one of the pen-pushers and bean-counters that never gets a share of the warriors' glory, but is first in line for blame when something goes wrong. Perhaps you maintain wagons or tents, or have been charged with grooming officers' mounts; maybe you keep the books that track the miserly pay of the enlisted, or monitor and enable the movement of food and clothing between forces. Regardless, you probably never wanted to fight�even if you really did want to help�and you certainly never expected to wind up on the front lines... Choose one of the following benefits:
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| Commissar: |
| Also known�sometimes with whispered fear or contempt�as a political officer, you are tasked with ferreting out disloyalty and exposing dissenters and traitors in the ranks. No matter what headquarters might say on any given day, not every commissar is a bully gleefully looking for someone to frighten or punish; plenty serve as counselors and morale experts who hear the problems of common soldiers and offer sympathy or guidance. Some even function as ethical officers to a command corps, double-checking tactics and policies to make certain that the war is kept as "clean" a fight as possible. Nevertheless, commissars have a reputation as spies in the ranks, and are more often than not viewed with suspicion and mistrust by fellow personnel. You gain a +1 bonus on Intimidate checks and a +1 trait bonus on Sense Motive checks made to oppose Bluff. These bonuses increase to +2 when dealing with characters from your homeland. |
| Cryptographer: |
| It is simple necessity that many of the messages which fly between officers are written in code, to prevent the foe from learning of your leaders' plans should such communiques fall into enemy hands. It follows that someone has to be on standby to interpret your homeland's ciphers for the busy tactical staff, in order to ensure speed and accuracy. You might be one of those devoted to editing the ever-changing cryptograms and concocting new ones, someone who translates communication on the fly for commanders, a codebreaker for captured foreign correspondence, or simply a semaphorist. No matter the specifics, you possess important knowledge and skills that make you prime prisoner material, should you be caught by the opposing force. You start with semaphore (homeland) as a bonus language. Additionally, you gain a +2 trait bonus on Linguistics checks made to break codes or decrypt ciphers. |
| Draftee: |
| You may or may not believe in the war, now that you're in the thick of it, but you definitely didn't find yourself in training and, eventually, on the lines by choice. You could be a conscientious objector, a seditionist or dissenter, a coward, or just a luckless commoner whose name was called when the army passed through your region. One way or another, you are not a soldier of your own free will, and the dark knowledge of both how you came here and what could happen to you, if you desert (or are believed to have done so), shapes your perspective on the conflict, itself. You suffer a -1 trait penalty on Will saving throws made against fear effects, but you gain a +2 trait bonus to AC and Reflex saving throws whenever you suffer from the shaken, frightened, or panicked conditions. This bonus increases to +3 if a character with the commissar trait is present and conscious within 30 feet, or if you have nowhere to run. |
| Whether from a sense of duty, honor, loyalty, or out of a less admirable quality�nationalism, perhaps, or racism, or religious fervor�you joined your homeland's army of your own volition. It's possible that your outlook has shifted, since then, now that a few fights have worn the glamor thin and you've had a chance to see what the pay, the food, and the prospects are like; nevertheless, you retain at least some sense of commitment to your nation's cause, whether or not you still believe it to be entirely right. Any morale bonus you receive is increased by 1, and effects which create morale bonuses affect you for 2 additional rounds. If a character with the commissar trait is present and conscious within 30 feet, you also gain a +1 trait bonus on Will saving throws made against fear effects. |
| Not only are you a noncombatant, but you shouldn't even be involved. Unlike the civilian personnel who enlisted or were drafted into shoeing the army's horses and mucking its jacks, you are merely a victim of circumstance, likely a commoner who has lived for some time with one eye on the horizon and one ear to the ground. Perhaps the soldiers took advantage of your village or farmstead to make camp or to use as a temporary base of operations, or as officers' quarters, or it could be that you are a traveler in the wrong place at the wrong time. Despite your success in avoiding the war so far, your luck appears to have run out in the same moment the enemy made their charge. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Perception checks and on Survival checks made to survive in the wilderness. Additionally, whenever you use the run or withdraw actions, you gain a 5-foot trait bonus to your total speed. |
| Just as it has its tacticians, its maintenance folk, its chaplains, and so on, so the army also keeps a stable of battle-mages...and mages-in-training. You are recently graduated from a violently rushed "apprenticeship," taught the basics in harried fashion and forced to learn a few basic tricks by rote so you could be turned out into the ranks to do the commanders' bidding. Some of your fellow "journeymen" are support specialists, snipers, counterspell experts, or dealers of collateral damage (at least in name), but mostly they are a hodgepodge of unfortunate souls�ranging from confused, spotty adolescents to grim, rebellious adults�who were conscripted into the mage corps by the same illusory choice you faced: A meager stipend for your family, what amounts to a slave dowry, or imprisonment for treason thanks to the dangerous prospect of having independently-minded mages running loose. If you memorize spells, you begin play with one fewer 1st-level spell in your spellbook, familiar, and so on than is normal for your class, but you choose a 2nd-level spell to replace it. Treat this replacement spell in all ways as a normal 2nd-level spell�you cannot memorize or cast it, even using an item acquired through the arcane bond class feature, until you would normally be capable of memorizing and casting 2nd-level spells. If you possess the Scribe Scroll or Brew Potion feats, you may create scrolls or potions of the spell, as appropriate, just like you normally would (although you suffer the normal increase to the requisite Spellcraft check). Additionally, you gain a +2 trait bonus on Spellcraft checks made to decipher scrolls, learn spells from scrolls or spellbooks, or to prepare spells from a borrowed spellbook. Or, if you cast spells spontaneously, you know one fewer 1st-level spell than is normal for your class, but you add one 2nd-level spell to your list of spells known. Treat this replacement spell in all ways as a normal 2nd-level spell�you cannot cast it, even using an item acquired through the arcane bond class feature, until you would normally be capable of casting 2nd-level spells. If you possess the Scribe Scroll or Brew Potion feats, you may create scrolls or potions of the spell, as appropriate, just like you normally would (although you suffer the normal increase to the requisite Spellcraft check). Additionally, you gain a +2 trait bonus on Use Magic Device checks made to activate an item blindly or to activate spell completion and spell-trigger items which contain a spell that is not on your class's spell list. |
| Military Intelligence: |
| A soldier is only as good as his officer, it is said, and an officer is only as good as his intelligence. While some�often in rank�snicker that "military intelligence" is a contradiction in terms, you honestly can't turn up your nose at the services of a worthwhile spy. Of course, gathering information isn't the only thing you do, but the rest is largely left up to rumor and supposition, the better to protect your identity and your movements. If you became widely recognized as a saboteur, for instance, or a resistance leader, or a seducer of foreign leadership, the enemy would do far worse to you than they already will, should they catch you and discover your occupation. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Diplomacy checks made to gather information and can do so in half the normal time. You also gain a +1 trait bonus on Disguise and Escape Artist checks, and Disable Device is always a class skill for you. |
| Morale Officer: |
| War is fun for precious few, and their smiles are generally the mark of those who, by all rights, should honestly be doing the bulk of the dying. For most, it is a hellish soup of trauma, terror, regret, anger, and guilt, boxed carefully up in memories the survivors would prefer to forget. It falls to those like yourself to take the edge off such tragic circumstances, as much as you're able�with bawdy songs, familiar dance numbers, work shanties, raucous comedic performances, erotic gyrations, or the occasional stirring speech, you lessen the sting of time spent away from home in the cold muck and hot blood. Some may consider you unimportant�even ancillary, or less�but the truth is that the other side will cut you down as soon as they find you, for what is more disheartening than a dead entertainer? You gain a +1 trait bonus on a single kind of Perform check of your choice, and that Perform skill is always a class skill for you. Additionally, you can inspire courage as a 1st-level bard for 1 round per day. If you already have (or ever acquire) the bardic performance ability (as the bard class feature) or a similar ability, you can use it for 1 additional round per day, instead. |
| You do not share the origins of your strange bedfellows, but are as much a victim of circumstance as anyone else. Somehow captured by the other side, you could be a soldier who surrendered rather than be killed, a spy caught in the line of duty, a straggler taken into custody during a withdrawal action, or even a traitor whose claims of switching loyalties cannot yet be trusted beyond the bare minimum of keeping you alive. Whatever role you served in your own army, you now follow (or are being dragged) along with your enemy as you run from the besieged camp, since it happens all too often that such aggressive maneuvers demonstrate a lack of concern with precisely who is in the way. You come from the enemy country, as opposed the homeland shared by the other PCs. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Escape Artist checks and a +2 trait bonus on Bluff checks made to resist questioning or interrogation. Additionally, you can make Knowledge (local) checks untrained with regard to your own homeland. Important Note: Please be advised that I had a specific idea for how a PC with this trait would become involved in the game, when I originally created it. We are well past that point and my initial concept is no longer viable; as of now, it will be much more difficult to justify a believable POW PC due to how our world and story have developed. Applicants interested in using this campaign trait are advised that an impressive sales pitch will be required to receive any consideration. |
| Quartermaster: |
| Officers might preen and take the credit, but the truth is that anyone who has been in war knows the most important people in the force are those right beside you�and whoever has the food, water, and extra socks. You serve, proudly or grudgingly, in the system of caravans, supply dumps, munitions depots, and mobile kitchens that keep the whole thing running, and you are never further than arm's reach from a few critical resources, for your job is not to fight, but to keep the fight going. Even if yours is the least amicable demeanor for miles, you are probably still a fan favorite and may even have an endearing moniker like "Cookie" or "Boots." You are not wealthy, but might be rich in favors, and it's almost guaranteed that you'll happily be taken prisoner if captured, rather than executed. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Profession (cook) checks and on Survival checks made to survive in the wilderness. Additionally, you start with a masterwork backpack and a campsite kit. When determining your carrying capacity, you treat your Strength score as 1 point higher. |
| Reconnaissance: |
| The difference between a spy and a scout may be slight, to some, but it is important�that difference being, a scout and a spy (assuming equal levels of skill) are both unlikely to be shot at if they are doing their jobs correctly, but a scout has a lot more time to get away if a situation goes to the jacks. You are a tracker, a lookout, a messenger, or some other sharp-eyed and keen-eared soldier who generally spends their time roving ahead of the main force, which is how you were able to get safely clear when the enemy hit the camp. Unfortunately, this means you are also hyper-aware that someone, on one side or the other, will be doing your job once the fighting stops, searching for stragglers and those in hiding. The blizzard will only protect you for so long...and you can't be certain who's winning and, therefore, who will be hunting for signs of your presence. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Perception and Stealth checks, and one of these skills (your choice) is always a class skill for you. Additionally, once per day, you may reroll a single check with either of these skills and take the higher result. You must decide to reroll this check after rolling the die, but before the results are revealed. |
| Other than the actual killing, maiming, and dying, triage might be the most stressful and nightmarish aspect of war. You could be a field chirurgeon, a chirurgeon's assistant, or even a butcher or barber drafted into service due to a dire need for anyone who can cut a straight line. You operate under immense pressure and value speed over intuition, taught (or required by necessity) to do as much as you can as swiftly as you can before moving on to the next patient. The good news is that you will be marked for capture over execution, if you come up against the enemy; the bad news is, the bloodstains on your clothes�and, possibly, the dark circles under your eyes or the stench of drink about your body�make you easily identifiable. Heal is a class skill for you, and you can use the treat deadly wounds aspect of Heal 1 additional time per creature per day. Doing so requires only 10 minutes, rather than the usual 1 hour, but you add your Dexterity modifier (if positive) instead of your Wisdom modifier to the amount of hit points restored when you exceed the DC by 5 or more. |
| Standard Bearer: |
| It is crucial that the banner of your homeland, as well as the flag of your current unit or division, remain hoisted high amid the chaos of battle, to rally your allies and terrify your enemies. Carrying the standards is a great responsibility, and officers�especially commissars�are always looking over your shoulder to ensure you treat them with the proper respect. In your flight from the surprise attack on your camp, you managed to hang onto your nation's flag, which will doubtless prove to be a miraculous inspiration to any allies you encounter�or a dark amusement to the foes who kill you, when they are burning it across the field from your lines. You start with a flag bearing your homeland's colors. As long as you are conscious, you and all allies within 10 feet who can see and hear you gain a +1 bonus on Will saving throws made against fear effects you are not already suffering from, as well as a +1 bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls made as part of a charge. This is a trait bonus for you and a morale bonus for your allies. These bonuses stack with those granted by the Flagbearer feat. Additionally, if you ever acquire the banner ability (as the cavalier class feature) or a similar ability, treat your level as one higher for the purpose of determining its total bonuses (and other effects, if any). |
| Legends persist of the brilliant strategists after whom famous maneuvers or victories are named, but behind every great tactician, there is usually a hardworking team of assistants. You serve on such a team, and your duties include planning the movements of your own troops and resources as well as trying to predict the enemy's actions before they happen. Neither is easy, but both are critical, which is why you had standing orders to run for it, should the foe breach your lines. You cannot be captured, because even without sensitive maps or documents, your mind is still full of secrets your adversaries won't hesitate to drag from you with torture or magic. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Knowledge (geography) checks, and Knowledge (geography) is always a class skill for you. Additionally, you gain a +2 trait bonus on Profession (soldier) and Sense Motive checks made to guess or identify the movements of troops and similar, related military maneuvers. |
| Veteran: |
| This is not your first battle. Most can tell by looking that this is not even the first battle that's gone badly for you. You bear a few painful souvenirs of hard-won victories and bitter defeats�a missing finger, perhaps, or a broken bone that never healed quite right�but mostly you labor under the weight of either a tenacious desire to avenge yourself against the enemy, or a sad, grim determination simply to make it out of all this alive, by the end. Above all, you cling to one bitter understanding: It's not your job to die for your homeland, but rather to make the other fellow die for his. You carry scars from the combat you have seen. Your old injury aches in response to the weather, and you suffer a -1 trait penalty on Fortitude saving throws in cold temperatures and/or when it is raining; this penalty increases to -2 if the save is made in response to a pain effect. However, survival has made you wily and sharpened your instincts�you gain a +1 trait bonus to AC against attacks of opportunity, and any flanking bonus an enemy would receive against you is reduced by 1. |