Revised Traits for Pathfinder 1e: Universal Traits (Patreon)

Here’s another stab at the kind of redesign I’d do in a Revised Path version of the Pathfinder RPG (1st ed). Everyone would get three traits, rather than two, and “Universal Traits” would replace Favored Class Bonuses (and not require you to take a level in your favored class to benefit from them). Additionally, traits would be rewritten to allow players much more room to decide why their character gained them (rather than so many being tied to specific backgrounds, places, and so on), and rewritten with an eye toward less wordcount, less complexity, and at the same time greater customizability.

A universal trait that requires you to make a select can be taken more than once, but requires you to make a different selection each time you take it. Otherwise, you cannot take the same universal trait more than once unless the trait says otherwise. Once taken, you cannot change your traits or choices made within a trait without retraining.

Specific campaigns and GMs could certainly mark various universal traits as more common among specific ancestries, backgrounds, and societies, but the base assumption is even then is that a PC could pick anything as long as it made sense to their character history. A few universal traits might have prerequisites, such as Keen Darkvision requiring a character have darkvision.

Here's a look at how the universal traits might look under this system.

Patreon Note: 

(Art by Hnkonan Akatob]

UNIVERSAL TRAITS

Some traits are just a matter of your natural aptitudes or a result of focusing your training on a general area of development. Unlike other classes of traits, you may select more than one universal trait (though like all traits, you cannot select the same trait more than once unless the trait says otherwise)

Arcane Armor Training

At each character level, select one class of armor (light, medium, heavy, or shields), and reduce its arcane spell failure percentage for you by 1%. You can never reduce ASF to less than 0%.

Armored Ally

Select the animal companion, eidolon, or familiar class feature. Your animal companion, eidolon, or familiar’s natural armor increases by +1/4 your character level, as appropriate.

Breaker

Select one simple or martial weapon from a fighter weapon group, or a weapon with which you are proficient at 1st level. When you attack an object with this weapon, reduce its hardness by an amount equal to your character level (to a minimum of hardness 0).

Cache

Add 1/6 your class level to your uses per day of a class feature you that is normally useable a limited number of times per day. You must have the relevant class feature to gain this bonus (i.e. a character without the judgment ability of an inquisitor gains no benefit from selecting judgment with cache). Each time you have increased a given ability by +1 use with this trait, you may select a different class feature to gain this bonus (though you do not have to).

Clever

You gain +1 skill point per class level.

Elemental Focus

Select one form of elemental damage – acid, cold, electricity, fire, or sonic. Add +1/3 your character level to damage of this type you deal with a spells, spell-like ability, or supernatural ability.

Energized

Add 1/4 your character level to your effective class level when determining the effects of one of the following class feature selections: two arcanist exploits of your choice, two deeds of your choice, two judgments of your choice, two rage powers of your choice, two revelations of your choice, or the non-spell abilities of one blessing, one bloodline, one domain, or one inquisition.

Foe-Focused

Select one of the following class features: antipaladin’s smite good, cavalier’s challenge, inquisitor’s judgment (destruction), paladin’s smite evil. Add half your character level to damage you deal to the target of this ability. You must have the relevant class feature to gain this bonus (i.e. a character without the judgment ability of an inquisitor gains no benefit from selecting judgment with foe-focused).

Patreon Note: I've done 16 of these so far. While this article available to everyone only includes 8 or them, the full version available to paid Patreon supporters has the full text for the following additional universal traits.

Hearty

Keen Darkvision

Lasting

Reserves

Resilient

Skill Specialist

Steady Spellcaster

Tricksy

Support I’ve been fighting cancer, recovering from a pulmonary embolism, and suffering through constant infections for most of 2023. Eventual surgery or radiation treatment is the only way to remove the cancer… but that isn’t even scheduled yet, for various medical reasons. This fight takes money, bills are mounting, and my resources (of energy and money) are running thin. Paid support of my Patreon is a huge help in this ongoing battle. You can also donate to my ko-fi, if you want to help more.

There are cat pics there, too.