Seeking opinions on granting a bonus feat to all PCs

[HappyDaze]

Background: I'm preparing to run a Pathfinder game with PCs built on 20-point builds with two starting Traits. The campaign will be starting in Absalom, and the characters will begin play at Level 4 with some established adventuring background. I want to add a little something to help add further flavor to the PCs to represent their pre-play deeds without dramatically altering play balance.

Proposed House Rule: All PCs gain a bonus feat at character creation. This bonus feat can be either Additional Traits (APG, page 150) or Cosmopolitan (APG, page 156).

So, would you consider this house rule to be fairly balanced?

[GravesScion]

I don't see what could be a problem with it. It makes them ever so slightly more powerful but I can't see how it could cause a problem. It makes for a nice bit of added stuff that should make the players happy and by limiting it to Additional Traits or Cosmopolitan you control the impact it has on the game.

However might I suggest that when you tell the player's you say something like: "As a bit of an added bonus you can take either the Additional Traits or Cosmopolitan feat for free."

Rather than: "You all get an extra feat, but it has to be Additional Traits or Cosmopolitan."

I say this because to me the first sound really good, but the second starts awesome and then drops to kinda nice.

[Alexander Kilcoyne]

Why not award the player a custom trait based off their backstory? I do something along these lines in my KM game.

[Helaman]

Alexander Kilcoyne wrote:

Why not award the player a custom trait based off their backstory? I do something along these lines in my KM game.

Yeah - I'm with this... Cosmopolitian also grants extra languages.

I think an extra trait will do what you need it to do.

[IronWolf]

I think it will be fine. I would reword though to just list the two feats you are letting them choose from.

[HappyDaze]

OK, it seems that no one finds my first rule too objectionable. I'm also considering two other house rules:

1) Chelaxian and Taldan PCs gain one additional starting language. Now PCs of any human ethnicity start with Common and one other language.

2) The lists of additional languages a character with a high Intelligence can select will be expanded to include the language(s) noted for that character's region of origin. This means a Half-Orc from Absalom could add Kelish and Osiriani to his choices of languages.

[HappyDaze]

Helaman wrote:

Alexander Kilcoyne wrote:

Why not award the player a custom trait based off their backstory? I do something along these lines in my KM game.

Yeah - I'm with this... Cosmopolitian also grants extra languages.

I think an extra trait will do what you need it to do.

The extra languages is one of the main reasons why I'm offering this option. It also seems appropriate for many characters from Absalom (and some of the other major cities around).

[Helaman]

Then just make Cosmopolitian the free baseline feat for all and specify what bonus languages they get with the feat.