Hi All,

One of the "Cultural Virtues" you can choose when advancing in Wisdom as a Hobbit is "Small Folk". It gives you an advantage in combat versus bigger folk, and also the "Small" Trait when not in combat. Where is this "Small" Trait described? In the Traits section I found an entry for "Tall" but could not see one for "Small".

Having said that, does it matter? Looking at the section on Traits, they all tend to be purely descriptive - i.e. how they are invoked seems to be entirely up to the LM. It could therefore be the case that the listed Traits are only examples rather than an exhaustive list.

So, is it missing?
If the answer to the above is "yes", is this an error in the text?
If the answer to the above is "no", does this mean Traits can be invented on the fly without them having to be listed in the Traits section?

I would say that you can just invent traits.

That said, you still can only select traits from specific lists during character creation, so it's a moot point.

Doc,
That's only true if you play by the Rules. Even then, I thought there was a "come up with a viable background for your character" caveat anyway. Could be mistaken though.

Of course, none of this has anything to do with the Small Trait. I'm feeling kinda tired and lazy and refuse to get out the books and look. So my official, on-topic response is, "no comment."

Yeah, but if you are asking permission to make up new traits then breaking the rules is already off the table.


I don't think there needs to be a description for all of the traits, especially Small . The descriptions are necessary for some of them so that the LM and player can be on the same page about what a trait specifically entails – like how is Clever different from Cunning, or Trusty from True-hearted.

Some of them are obvious, though, and Small is one of those.

'Small' is not explained anywhere, as I assumed its meaning was self-explanatory, and the application easier than in other cases.

The list of Traits includes descriptive terms most commonly encountered in the source material. The list is meant to be exclusive (you cannot invent Traits) for the sake of consistency with the sources and the preservation of the right 'mood'. But this is an area where players can decide what's best for them (this issue is briefly addressed where changing a Trait is discussed).

'Small' is not in the list because it is exactly a feature of the Virtue 'Small folk' to give a player access to a new Trait.

Trait invocation is not up to the LM, though. It is one of those areas where it is up to the player to motivate a Trait invocation as appropriate ("I don't need to roll Awe - I'm stern, and the young messenger can see from my eyes that I mean what I say"). The Loremaster is called to adjudicate only if anyone at the table (including the LM) find the invocation to be dubious.

Francesco

Thanks Francesco, your answer clears the matter up to my satisfaction.

For the sake of consistency, I would have preferred "Small" to be in the Traits list if, as you say, you cannot just invent new Traits. However, I take your point that it is exclusive to the Hobbit Cultural Virtue "Small Folk" (thus not available in general) and also pretty much self-explanatory.