Some
UA Traits suitable for Ravenloft. They have been mostly adapted from existing RL background feats that were to weak to be full-blown feats.
Back to the WallWhen the going gets rough, the rough get tough, and you surely are rough. On the downside you tend to be careless when things are going too smoothly.
BenefitYou gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls and your AC when you are below 50% of your maximum hit points. Below 25%, this bonus increases to +2.
DrawbackYou suffer a -1 penalty to attack rolls and your AC while you are at 90% of your hit points or better.
Cold OneYou either had a near-death experience, a brush with a level-draining undead or were simply unlucky enough to have residual necromantic magic affect you in the womb. You show corpse-like traits like pale skin, sunken eyes, breath too shallow to be obvious and/or cold and clammy skin, but you are perfectly alive.
BenefitMindless undead view you as one of their own, and will ignore you unless you attack them first. Intelligent undead must make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 your HD + Cha Bonus) to realize that you are not undead.
When you are dying, you lose hit points at the rate of only 1 HP per two rounds.
DrawbackHealing spells (and items derived from them) are less effective on you, giving you 1d3 hit point less (minimum of 1 hit point healed).
Healing spells relying on fast healing (such as Lesser Vigor) have no effect on you in the first 1d3 rounds, then heal you normally.
Ethereal EmpathyYou are unusually sensitive to the Near Ethereal and the restless dead and other creatures inhabiting it.
BenefitYou can see and hear creatures that are ethereal as if they were normally visible. Unlike the
see invisible spell, this capacity does not reveal illusions or allow you to see invisible or astral creatures. Your ability to see ethereal creatures is limited only by your own visual range. You are vulnerable to gaze attacks from ethereal creatures. Ethereal creatures can also see you unusually clearly and must succeed at a Will save at DC 15 to realize that you are not actually in the Near Ethereal as well. This is a supernatural ability.
As a swift action, you can take 1d4 points of Charisma damage to gain the
Ghost Touch property for your own body (including unarmed strikes and natural weapons) and any melee weapons you are currently wielding for a number of rounds equal to the Charisma damage. This is a personal effect that cannot be passed off to others (such as by passing over weapons).
Furthermore, as a move action you can sense ethereal resonance within a 30-foot radius with a successful Will save, with a DC equal to (30 - resonance rank x5). If you beat the DC by 10 or more, you can see a dream-like echo of the resonating scene. Some resonating scenes may require Horror saves.
DrawbackYou suffer -1 to all saves and your Touch AC against incorporeal undead and other ethereal creatures.
HauntedOne of your friends, allies or loved ones has returned from the grave as a benign geist (3.0 Denizens of Darkness p. 62ff / 3.5 Denizens of Dread p.81ff) and is watching over you. Your guardian spirit normally remains in the Near Ethereal. Those who can see ethereal creatures may spot the geist lurking near you, but it is otherwise invisible and intangible.
BenefitThe geist acts as a second pair of eyes and ears when it manifests, giving you a +1 bonus on Search, Spot, and Listen checks. The geist can also inform you of events that take place in your presence while you are asleep, unconscious or possessed, or otherwise deprived of your senses.
DrawbackAt every dusk there is a 20% chance that the geist requires sustenance, draining 1d4 Wisdom from you or a helpless living humanoid. If it doesn't receive sustenance by dawn it fades away into the afterlife, and you permanently lose this trait. Subjecting others to the drain counts as Grievous Assault for the purpose of invoking Powers Checks.
LunaticYour mind and body are tied to the cycles of the moon, making you more energetic and excitable as the moon waxes. This effect may be the result of subtle madness or a diluted supernatural heritage, such as Vistani blood.
Benefit / DrawbackYou have a +1 bonus to all attack rolls, Fortitude and Reflex saves, and Charisma-based skills whenever the moon is gibbous (more than half full). This bonus rises to +2 during the three-night period of the full moon. During the three-night period of the new moon, you suffer a -2 penalty to these rolls instead. These modifiers are flipped for Will saves - +2 during the new moon, -1 during the gibbous moon, and -2 during the full moon.
RedheadedAccording to the folklore of some domains, people bom with red hair have a special connection to nature magic. They could be part of a hereditary witch cult, come from a lineage with some hag blood in it, or simply have been marked by fey in the crib.
Prerequisite:Wis or Cha 13+
Benefit:Pick two 0th-level spells and one 1st-level spell from the Gleaner and Healer list, as well as the Curse
* and Plant clerical domains. You can cast each chosen spell once per day as a spell-like ability, using either Wisdom or Charisma as your spellcasting ability and your hit dice as caster level. You must make this choice as you pick this trait and cannot change it later.
At certain hit dice tresholds, you pick up additional spells from the above lists as daily spell-like abilities as shown below:
1-3HD: 2+1
4-7HD: 2+2
8-11HD: 3+2/1
12-15HD: 3+2/2
16-19HD: 4+2/2
20+HD: 4+2/2/1
*3.0 RL: Champions of Darkness p.23
Drawback:Your close connection to magic makes you also more susceptible to it. You suffer a -1 penalty to all saves against spells and spell-like abilities. If you ever acquire spell resistance, it is reduced by 1.
Special:You don't need to pick up this trait to be a redhead, but you must be a natural-born redhead to qualify for this trait. Races without head hair (such as illumians) obviously cannot qualify for this trait.
ReincarnatedYou have vague, dream-like memories of a former life.
BenefitChoose one skill you do not have as a class skill (except Knowledge (Ravenloft)). This skill is always considered a class skill for you, and you gain a +1 bonus to it.
DrawbackThe memories of your former life come with distracting and misleading day-dreams and déjà-vus. You suffer a -1 penalty to initiative rolls as well as Spot and Listen checks.
Voice of WrathThe Dark Powers heed your cries of anguish and despair more often than common prisoners of the mists, and lay down terrible fates on your enemies... for a price.
BenefitYou gain a +4 bonus to Curse checks. Additionally, you gain a +1 bonus to save DC and caster level for all spells and spell-like abilities of the Curse domain or with the keyword Curse in it.
DrawbackYour close connection to the Dark Powers makes others feel uneasy. You suffer a -1 penalty to Diplomacy, Gather Information and Perform checks. Additionally, whenever you have to make a Powers Check you have to roll twice, counting the lower of the two results.