Traits

Traits are the signature abilities that make a character theirs. Each is a named, evocative power — part fiction, part rule. They replace the flavorless "pick a move off a list" feel with something you can point at and say: that's who my character is.

Traits are the whole character layer. Rhune has no stats — no VIGOR, no CLARITY, no numbers on your sheet. Traits are how a character differs from every other. Your dice are the same as everyone's; your traits are what you bring to them.

Lineage: the trait format is lifted from FIST (a modern rules-light game). We've stripped its stats entirely and re-skinned every trait for the hearth-frontier.

How to read a trait

Every trait has the same shape:

NAME: A line of fiction that states, in plain language, what the trait lets you do.
      The rule is embedded in the description — no separate mechanics block.

• The description is the rule. Like a move, but written as a sentence about your character, not a bullet list.
• No signature items. Traits are inherited — in the blood, not gear. (An earlier draft gave each trait a Ƭ signature item; that's cut, 2026-10-26.)
• No stat modifiers. With stats gone, a trait differentiates you by what it lets you do, not by a number.

What traits can touch

Traits work on three levers — in rough order of strength:

1. Narrative permission — "you can do X without rolling." The strongest kind; use sparingly.
2. The dice — ignore a 1, reroll a die, grant advantage, or upgrade a band. This is how traits interact with push-your-luck.
3. Effects — extra damage, healing, a follower, a resource.

Getting traits

• At creation: choose 2 traits from the list in species-traits.md.
• On level-up: no new traits from the shared list — but the Improved Trait and Superior Trait moves (below) let you strengthen a trait you already have, and some moves and backgrounds grant an earned trait (permanent access to one trait from a short curated list).
• Species is flavor, not a gate. No trait is locked to a species. Pick any 2; if you pick something strange for your character, explain how you came by it.

Signature traits are dropped (2026-10-26). An earlier draft had each playbook grant a free signature trait; that idea is cut. Traits come from one shared list, and you pick 2.

Traits coexist with playbook moves. Traits are the signature flavor layer; playbook moves are the shared mechanics layer. Both stay. Traits do the differentiating; playbook moves give everyone a common toolkit and each playbook its arc.

Retired: earlier general traits

An earlier draft had a general (non-species) trait list — KEEPSMITH, BEAST-BONDED, LIGHTBEARER, QUICKSTEP, READ THE ROOM, HEARTH-KEEPER, SCROUNGER, BLOODLETTER, LOREKEEPER, STEADY HAND, MARKED BY THE CHURNERS, WOULD-BE HERO, IRON STOMACH, SURE-FOOTED — each with a Ƭ signature item.

Retired 2026-10-27 (Kaia). The canonical trait list is now species-traits.md (16 species, 2 traits each). Signature items were already cut; these general traits are superseded and removed. Nothing from this list is carried forward.

Traits as a currency — swaps, extra access & loss

Where a move or arcanum once let you swap two stats — or reduce one — it now touches traits instead. Four levers:

• Trait swap — temporarily replace one of your traits with another from the shared list (species-traits.md). You still hold 2; one of them is just borrowed.
• Extra trait access — temporarily hold a third trait alongside your 2.
• Trait loss — lose access to one of your traits' benefit for a time. You still have the trait, but it fails you — its fiction no longer applies and it does nothing until the effect ends.
• Earned trait — some moves and backgrounds grant permanent access to a trait from a small curated list (see each move). An earned trait is yours for good — it sits alongside your 2, so you may end up holding 3 or more.

Swaps, loans, and losses last as long as the effect says, then revert — a fiction change, not a permanent rebuild; your original traits return at full strength. Trait loss is the house stand-in for a stat reduction: a real, felt sting that still heals clean. Earned traits are permanent — the way a character grows new capabilities over a campaign.

Improving a trait

Two level-up moves make a trait stronger — always with the GM, and always leaning into the fiction:

• Improved Trait — pick one of your traits and work with the GM to make it more powerful. Easy for dice-traits (a trait that says "increment one die" becomes "increment two dice"); narrative traits take real creativity — that's the fun.
• Superior Trait (requires level 6+) — take a trait you have already Improved and boost it even further. This should feel like a significant leap — a capstone.

Earned traits — the curated lists

Some moves and backgrounds grant permanent access to one trait from a short, themed list. Pick 1 when you take the move/background; it's yours for good.

Each option's full text lives with its move. The DANCING BLADE and BRUSH entries are also native to species-traits.md (BRUSH is the Vulpine trait); the rest are earned-only.

Open questions

• [x] Level-up traits — resolved 2026-10-28: the level-up pair Improved Trait / Superior Trait now strengthens traits (player + GM, fiction-driven). No new shared-list traits on level-up, though.
• [x] Playbook signature traits — dropped 2026-10-26. No signature traits; traits come from one shared list.
• [x] Retire the earlier general traits? — retired 2026-10-27. Superseded by species-traits.md; nothing carried forward.
• [ ] Dice-touching traits — do we want more? Right now most traits are narrative permissions; the advantage/disadvantage lever is the texture.