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So I'm making a campaign and have a groups of traits for it that PCs can choose from to give them a pull into the story. I wanted to get some feedback on them, as well as see which ones people might gravitate towards. IMPORTANT: I do not care what other campaign traits do- as each player will gain one of these traits, I want to make them in line with each other, not those other campaigns have.
Wild Hordes: This is the beginning threat that the PCs will be dealing with, and the higher-up baddies of this group are those that tie into the traits that involve them.
Hell Knights: My campaign has a heavy theme on chaos/law rather than good/evil, and thus hell knights are an obvious inclusion. The continent that this will take place on is full of strange and chaotic energies, and thus I have the Order of the Nail as the most prominent order (though every order has some presence, especially if a player wants to be a different order).
Silver Reef: This is the starting city and resting place for PCs in the campaign. Most important NPCs will be/come from here, and threats generally involve threatening this city.
The Forest: This is the region around the settled lands of the setting. Magical beasts, monstrous humanoids and fey are all abounds in these lands, and traveling them is dangerous.
Reclaimers: These are the brave souls who explore the forest, hunt dangerous beasts, search for settleable lands, and, in many cases, removing foliage to make future trips safer.
Chiropa: This is a custom race I've made that I will extend to my players. If you care to see what the race is like, see here.
The traits, with the mechanical aspects bolded-
Adept Orphan: You were raised in an orphanage in Silver Reef since you were a baby, and your caregiver only knew that you were brought to him by a cloaked individual, who disappeared shortly after delivering you. Growing up, you had a rather uneventful childhood, but you found yourself inclined to certain spells. Whenever you cast a transmutation spell, you treat your caster level as one higher for the purposes of duration and overcoming spell resistance. Requirement: You cannot be evil.
Cheerful Chiropa: Unlike others of your kind, you were born in the city of Silver Reef. Despite having only your family as other chiropas, you never felt out of place- in fact, you found you could connect with just about anyone, no matter who they are or where they’re from. This makes any creature you meet with an attitude that isn’t hostile or unfriendly to be treated as one attitude step better than normal. In addition, you gain a +1 trait bonus on diplomacy rolls, and diplomacy is always a class skill for you. Requirement: You must be a chiropa.
Failed Reclaimer: You served Silver Reef as a reclaimer with a group of close companions. One day, you were ambushed while exploring one of the deeper parts of the forest, and only you made it out alive. Since then, you’ve had a grown hatred for the beasts that live in the forest. Choose either fey, magical beast or monstrous humanoids. You gain a +1 trait bonus on attack rolls and a +2 trait bonus on skill checks to identify this creature type. In addition, you may make knowledge checks about them untrained.
Flexible Magician: Magic has been in your family’s blood for as long as any member can remember, but it has been gradually weakening in the last few generations. When it came to you, your father thought that you wouldn’t possess a drop, but you instead impressed him- in fact, even at a young age, you seemed able to change the makeup of your spells on the fly! Once per day before you cast a spell that deals damage with the acid, cold, electricity or fire descriptor, you may change half of the dealt damage to another type (either acid, cold, electricity or fire). The spell gains the descriptor of the second energy type. If you are a spontaneous caster, this does not increase the casting time of the spell.
Free Spirited: You were born into a family who have served at the hell knight fortress Eirstadt since its founding. However, unlike your family, you never agreed with the brutal and unforgiving beliefs that the denizens held, which caused you to receive many a stern talking to or beating. You finally left after news came that your father had to take an early retirement, leaving you to take his place as his eldest child. Unwilling to live that life, you left to make a life without predetermined choices. You gain a +1 trait bonus to will saving throws due to your free nature, and once per day, you may reroll a failed save against a charm, compulsion or enchantment effect. Requirement: You cannot be lawful.
Lawbringer: Your family used to serve the city of Silver Reef as famous reclaimers, until a group of unknown arsonists caused a great fire to ravage your family’s estate, killing everyone in your family except for you. Since then, you have applied yourself to your family’s convictions and kept their memory alive, hoping to bring those who killed them to justice. Once per day as a free action, you may focus your convictions upon a creature. If that creature is chaotic, you gain a +1 trait bonus on attack rolls, damage rolls, saves and AC against that creature. If the targeted creature is also a fey, magical beast or outsider, the trait bonus to damage on the first successful hit against it increases to be equal to your character level. This effect lasts until the creature is dead or you rest. Requirement: You cannot be chaotic.
Outsider Initiate: You never knew you parents, but you were told that they were simple peasants from Silver Reef who met an unfortunate fate. You were raised in Eirstadt, the hell knight fortress, and trained there over the years. You were able to notice that most of the stationed knights wouldn’t talk to you, but on occasions of necessary actions, they never disrespected you. For reasons unknown to you, you were informed that you needed to leave the fortress even though you had been there for as long as you remember. Due to your experience, you gain a +2 trait bonus on charisma related checks to influence hell knights and their associates, and these groups have a starting attitude of indifferent towards you.
Slave Fighter: You were captured by a group of the wild hordes and made a slave to fight others for their entertainment. Something about you stood out to your captors, and they made you fight increasingly unfair opponents, but through luck and skill, you still managed to survive. Eventually, you were rescued by a group of reclaimers who performed an assault against this pack of the horde. Due to your experience, you gain a +1 trait bonus to initiative, and whenever you are flanked, you gain a +1 trait bonus on attack rolls and to AC. Requirement: You cannot be good.
Sole Survivor: Born in the town of New Wood, you lived a difficult life- raids from local monsters, disappearances of townsfolk and the threat of the wild hordes made living day to day both terrifying and uncertain. One day, New Wood was caught unawares after an earthquake by the horde, and you remember being slashed across your chest before falling unconscious. When you next awoke, you found yourself alone, but the wound in your chest was gone. Once per day as a swift action, you may gain fast healing 2 for a number of rounds equal to 1 + half your character level. If you ever fall unconscious due to hit point damage and haven't used this ability yet that day, it automatically activates when your next turn would take place. If this healing brings you to a positive hit point total, your remain unconscious for 1d4 hours or until something wakes you, such as another source of healing.
Wild Born: You were found alone as a baby deep in the forest by a group of reclaimers and were brought back to Silver Reef. Growing up, you seemed to be more athletic than other children, and you found you preferred the company of animals and working beasts than to that of other people. You gain a +10 bonus to your base land speed, and you gain darkvision out to 30 feet. If you already possess (or later gain) darkvision, increase your existing darkvision by 10 feet instead.
Cheerful Chiropa
Sole Survivor
Wild born
Flexible magician
All are incredibly powerful, some of which are more powerful than literal mythic abilities and strike me at first blush as more powerful than the others, which are more situational.
That was just a initial first impression after reading them all, and to give a good or better analysis I would have to read them a lot more, but those really stood out for the sheer amount of power they offered compared to the others.
If a Caster: Flexible Magician
If a Martial: Lawbringer or Slave Fighter
as mentioned above, all of these seem over powered, Traits are meant to be about half as powerful as a feat. So for example, Slave Fighter gives you up to 3 +1 bonuses, almost no feat and very few traits give you more than 2 +1 bonuses.
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Wild Born is certainly better than a feat. It's probably worth about 3 feats.
Obviously, if you're not worried about balancing them against normal traits, that's OK. So let's bump up the disappointing ones:
Adept Orphan: +1 CL for all purposes on Transmutation spells
Failed Reclaimer: just treat that type as a +2 Favoured Enemy
Outsider Initiate: also include Sense Motive, Perception, relevant Knowledge/Lore
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If a Caster: Flexible Magician
If a Martial: Lawbringer or Slave Fighteras mentioned above, all of these seem over powered, Traits are meant to be about half as powerful as a feat. So for example, Slave Fighter gives you up to 3 +1 bonuses, almost no feat and very few traits give you more than 2 +1 bonuses.
Yes, they are powerful, and give some good stuff. But, like I said, I don't care about what anything else gives. Each player gets one- thus, assuming each trait is truly equal in power, there shouldn't be an issue.
Flexible magician is once per day, and, most of the time when you use it, you're not getting around all of the defenses of the creature- only half damage changes.
Lawbringer has a chance to fail completely. Not to mention it doesn't grant innate knowledge of whether or not a creature is chaotic. Sure, you can just tell sometimes, but the theme is chaos AND law- it's not the situation where 75% of enemies are evil.
Wild Born is certainly better than a feat. It's probably worth about 3 feats.
Obviously, if you're not worried about balancing them against normal traits, that's OK. So let's bump up the disappointing ones:
Adept Orphan: +1 CL for all purposes on Transmutation spells
Failed Reclaimer: just treat that type as a +2 Favoured Enemy
Outsider Initiate: also include Sense Motive, Perception, relevant Knowledge/Lore
Fair on wildborn, in terms of what it replaces, but let's be fair- fleet requires light or no armor. This doesn't. In loo of this, I'm considering a +5 speed increase instead.
Yeah, adept orphan is a bit behind. Especially since I've found a trait that is not a campaign trait that is straight better.
Reconsider what a +2 favored enemy is- +2 to attack, damage, and a group of skills. Even for what I'm going for, that's too much. Not to mention against an entire creature type that's going to have a lot of action. No, for this one, I think it's fine.
Outsider initiate is the weakest, in my opinion. While interaction with hell knights will make this shine (and that'll be happening a lot), I think adding the bonus to a few other skills will be good for it.
To me out of all of those, wildborn is way stronger than any of the others.
I disagree- the feat that comes to mind is fleet, and even though my trait is better that taking it twice and then some, when was the last time you heard someone taking fleet? It's not good. Regardless, as I said above, I'm considering a +5 speed increase instead.
Cheerful Chiropa
Sole Survivor
Wild born
Flexible magicianAll are incredibly powerful, some of which are more powerful than literal mythic abilities and strike me at first blush as more powerful than the others, which are more situational.
Could you be... specific in what you mean? Just being told that something is powerful without any critique doesn't help.
Also, what mythic abilities could these traits possibly be replicating? If these are doing that, I imagine the mythic ability sucks, seeing as how mythic allows you to ignore immunizes and resistances after a certain point.
Fair request!
First, though I can read my tone as cautionary upon reread tone is a tricky thing with text and I want to clarify that I like what you’re doing here and it’s cool.
Also, I normally prefer to go in depth but had neither time yesterday nor today to do what I’d like (being relegated to my phone is one of the reasons I made two posts, in fact, instead of just editing), but, stuck on “by memory” instead of looking it up...
Cheerful Chiropa
This explicitly compares to the mythic ability Persuasive Countenance, and was what I was most referencing with mythic. It has stricter requirements than Persuasive Countenance, and it does not grant the +5 to diplomacy if the creature is already friendly, but does grant a +1 and makes the skill a class skill (potentially netting a +4 and ignoring the requirement that a creature be friendly). While I don’t believe there aren’t many charisma-primary classes that don’t have diplomacy, sorcerers can benefit greatly from this, off the top of my head.
Sole Survivor
The actual power of Sole Survivor is that it kicks in when you would fall unconscious. This kind of contingent healing is incredible because it’s just not commonly available in the game: no action, just “save my life” healing that continues. Now, it’s actual efficacy depends on two things: how vicious you (the GM) run the enemies, and whether or not there is follow-through with a player’s allies. Auto-kicking in upon unconscious can save a player from death by bleed, auto-stabilizing them in normal circumstances, and potentially putting them back on their feet immediately. Heck, anyone with ferocity would be phenomenal with this, especially if they also have ranged options: stay conscious even when brought to negatives, stay still and keep fighting, drop, get better, and keep fighting; even more so if that character is a healer themselves. Now, the amount of healing - while substantial for fast healing available to players - is pretty weak, but it’s the ability to no-action auto-stabilize and return to action.
Flexible Magician
This one also struck me as a mythic power because I believe there is an arch mage mythic power that expressly let you do exactly that - half your damage converts to a different type of energy damage and it gains the descriptor - but I honestly don’t remember what it’s called or whatnot. I believe there are a few feats that let you do something similar, but they are limited to specific individual elements and are part of a feat chain. I may be conflating with 3.5, though, and as you’ve expressed, this isn’t about what other traits do, but about how powerful they are to each other. As an example, this is strictly superior to Adept Orphan. Gaining a single time increment is not difficult and overcoming SR can be relatively trivial, but being able to get a third level spell with a long range that deals half fire damage and half <acid, cold, or electricity> is not something one can normally do and allows (as an example) a number of possibilities not previously considered.
That said, I see no particular reason to prevent sonic; or possibly force or negative or positive or whatever, for that matter.
As to Adept Orphan: it’s exceptionally odd because it’s hard to figure out who this trait is for. The best fit would be brutal neutral good orphaned druids but that is an exceptionally specific character build. (Full disclosure, I can’t remember whether wild shape is a transpiration or not: I remember it works like the spell, only it doesn’t, so... sorry! If that doesn’t work, then we’re basically talking a transmitter wizard and a very tightly focus spell selection.)
There is a conversation to be had, here, about the relative power of transmutation vs. the relative power of direct-damage spells (transmutation being superior in most cases, barring dazing spell), but there still feels a relative imbalance in what the two do. Also, ease of play could be impacted by having it be +1 for two things and not others. In the end, I’d either suggest granting it a +1 across the board as someone else suggested, or doing something wackier like allowing it to be affected by metamagic at one level less or somehow allowing for slightly weird or fanciful transmutation elements (like mixing one option from another transmutation possibility or something); I do feel that those are entirely overpowered compared to being able to select your element on the fly, though, so maybe not - literally just off the top of my head. XD
The requirement that the character be good also feels just arbitrary enough that I’m unsure I’d stick with it, or at least that I’d stick with it there. I can’t come up with a good suggested replacement, right now, but shrug.
Hm! Rereading it, now, flexible magician is only once per day, which does limit it substantially more than my missed first reading! Still, the same arguments apply, but those last two suggestions are way more powerful.
Wild born is great and I actually recommend leaving it as is; it’s just that it’s worth noting that it does its thing and you’d be pressed to fit that thing into three full feats (two Fleet feats and a hypothetical “git gud, noob” dark vision feat that is strictly superior to the fetchling or drow racial feat line). (But adding a +1 to climb and swim wouldn’t be out of place, given you suggested “athletics” as benefitting.)
Outsider Initiate feels exceptionally limited, even though you’ve emphasized Hell Knights are a Thing in this, but that may well be simply because I don’t know enough about your setting: no one can see it the way you do in your own head, and it may well be fine. The appearance of this compared to, say, cheerful chiropa is that this is limited and the PC actually gets a say in what happens with the CC (a lawful PC finding little quarrel with the HK, while a rebellious or chaotic PC wouldn’t get their benefits but would fit their character choices). It is powerful, but the focus on Hellknights in particular raises in-character questions (which can be good, but we have nothing to go by) and also seems to imply a stricter limit to RP opportunities. This is not inherently a bad thing and isn’t even necessarily true: this is an outsider’s perspective looking in.
Free Spirited and Failed Reclaimer aren’t bad, but I feel they’re lacking a little... something. I’m not sure. The idea of turning Failed Reclaimer into a Favored Enemy effect is interesting, though I see your point. I can’t quite put my finger on what it is.
Finally, law ringer is great, but I’d be super frustrated that, over the course of my character’s career, I’d be prevented from getting it more than once per day. Also in figuring out how it interacts with smite chaos in general. Plus, though powerful, fey are kind of easy to kill and magical beasts tend to be just brutes: outsiders, though, it can be rather useful.
On that note, I kind of want to gain more from each of these as I level up (thinking from as if I were a player).
Maybe 1+1/4 level per day instead of just once.
Maybe start at 5 ft., but get a boost of +5 at fourth level and every four levels beyond (maybe to both speed and dark vision).
Maybe getting a +1 CL all purposes transmutation, plus a 1/5 level per day ability to instantly alter something about a transited target from the standard options.
Or something, I’m not sure. But that’s my rambly and way-too-long, but still not long enough version.
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I disagree with those who claim Flexible Magician is somehow too strong. It's pretty much the same trait as the Sylph's Thunderborn trait, except that the latter changes half damage to sonic damage (which is basically never resisted by anything).
For the record, I'm not actually claiming it's too strong; just that it is very strong. That said, it is much stronger than Thunderborn, because (a) it doesn't require one specific race, (b) it offers four potential options instead of one while also (c) allowing any of those four base damage kinds (instead of only one specific one), and, (d) while sonic is rarely natively resisted, a simple low level spell or a second or third nets you half damage.
Basically it has four distinct limitations, and the one benefit is great but not as great as it may seem at first.
(Though, as noted, I'd suggest allowing sonic, too, as Flexible Casting doesn't quite strike me as potent as some others, due to blasting's relatively limited ability. :D)
That said, there's this Archmage mythic ability:
Energy Conversion (Su): Whenever you cast a spell with the acid, cold, electricity, or fire descriptor, you can expend one use of mythic power to switch the energy type to a different one of those energy types. If the spell normally has its original energy type as a descriptor, it loses that descriptor and gains the new type as a descriptor. All other effects of the spell remain unchanged.
Not quite the same, but pretty comparable.
(And actually, I'd suggest the trait is more useful insomuch as it's able to have half-and-half partially bypassing unexpected resistances or forcing others to expend more for total resistance or immunity.):)
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Flexible magician adding descriptors could be fun (elemental spell feat & admixture subschool don't). There's ways of using that. 1/day though...it depends how often 15-minute workdays, or generally situations where the PCs can arrange for 1 significant fight per day are.
Sole survivor wakes you from unconsciousness if it brings you to zero HP, but not if it brings you to 1 HP. That's kind of weird.
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I see you've continued to work on this since your reddit post. It looks like you've toned down some traits a bit. I'm glad that you're sticking with powerful traits and didn't make them weak like the other redditors were suggesting.
Adept Orphan: This trait looks interesting but it is sort of your traditional tabula rasa kind of trait. I hope this some sort of plot pay-off down the road and is not just some normal orphan trait.
Outsider Initiate: I don't know what normal hell knight dispositions are but indifferent seems harsh. I guess they are a rather cantankerous group though. Storywise I would have the hell knights be more friendly and just leave the dc at indifferent.
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Fair request!
First, though I can read my tone as cautionary upon reread tone is a tricky thing with text and I want to clarify that I like what you’re doing here and it’s cool.
Also, I normally prefer to go in depth but had neither time yesterday nor today to do what I’d like (being relegated to my phone is one of the reasons I made two posts, in fact, instead of just editing), but, stuck on “by memory” instead of looking it up...
Cheerful Chiropa
This explicitly compares to the mythic ability Persuasive Countenance, and was what I was most referencing with mythic. It has stricter requirements than Persuasive Countenance, and it does not grant the +5 to diplomacy if the creature is already friendly, but does grant a +1 and makes the skill a class skill (potentially netting a +4 and ignoring the requirement that a creature be friendly). While I don’t believe there aren’t many charisma-primary classes that don’t have diplomacy, sorcerers can benefit greatly from this, off the top of my head.Sole Survivor
The actual power of Sole Survivor is that it kicks in when you would fall unconscious. This kind of contingent healing is incredible because it’s just not commonly available in the game: no action, just “save my life” healing that continues. Now, it’s actual efficacy depends on two things: how vicious you (the GM) run the enemies, and whether or not there is follow-through with a player’s allies. Auto-kicking in upon unconscious can save a player from death by bleed, auto-stabilizing them in normal circumstances, and potentially putting them back on their feet immediately. Heck, anyone with ferocity would be phenomenal with this, especially if they also have ranged options: stay conscious even when brought to negatives, stay still and keep fighting, drop, get better, and keep fighting; even more so if that character is a healer themselves. Now, the amount of healing - while substantial for fast healing available to players - is pretty weak, but it’s the ability to no-action auto-stabilize and return to action.
For cheerful chiropa, I think it's fine. I looked at the trickster's ability you mentioned, and they are similar. I think this ability still falls into line with the others, and for the trickster, it feels underwhelming when you can gain other things like a bonus to ALL untrained skills and making people ignore you for other targets.
It kicking in when going down is the point of it, as that's even how the PC would "discover" they had it in terms of RP, as described in the trait description. I didn't think of how ferocity and similar abilities would work with it, so thanks for bringing that to my eyes- I'd rule it that unless they gain some amount of healing from another source, they'd still be staggered and fall unconscious after the one round, even if sole survivor brought them above 0. As for its effectiveness, I won't attack an unconscious PC outside of an extreme circumstance. Now, for the PC themselves using healing on themselves once it activates AND they have ferocity, I'd be fine with that.
Flexible Magician
This one also struck me as a mythic power because I believe there is an arch mage mythic power that expressly let you do exactly that - half your damage converts to a different type of energy damage and it gains the descriptor - but I honestly don’t remember what it’s called or whatnot. I believe there are a few feats that let you do something similar, but they are limited to specific individual elements and are part of a feat chain. I may be conflating with 3.5, though, and as you’ve expressed, this isn’t about what other traits do, but about how powerful they are to each other. As an example, this is strictly superior to Adept Orphan. Gaining a single time increment is not difficult and overcoming SR can be relatively trivial, but being able to get a third level spell with a long range that deals half fire damage and half <acid, cold, or electricity> is not something one can normally do and allows (as an example) a number of possibilities not previously considered.
That said, I see no particular reason to prevent sonic; or possibly force or negative or positive or whatever, for that matter.
As to Adept Orphan: it’s exceptionally odd because it’s hard to figure out who this trait is for. The best fit would be brutal Autocorrect, stop that neutral good orphaned druids but that is an exceptionally specific character build. (Full disclosure, I can’t remember whether wild shape is a transpiration or not: I remember it works like the spell, only it doesn’t, so... sorry! If that doesn’t work, then we’re basically talking a transmitter wizard and a very tightly focus spell selection.)
There is a conversation to be had, here, about the relative power of transmutation vs. the relative power of direct-damage spells (transmutation being superior in most cases, barring dazing spell), but there still feels a relative imbalance in what the two do. Also, ease of play could be impacted by having it be +1 for two things and not others. In the end, I’d either suggest granting it a +1 across the board as someone else suggested, or doing something wackier like allowing it to be affected by metamagic at one level less or somehow allowing for slightly weird or fanciful transmutation elements (like mixing one option from another transmutation possibility or something); I do feel that those are entirely overpowered compared to being able to select your element on the fly, though, so maybe not - literally just off the top of my head. XD.
The requirement that the character be good also feels just arbitrary enough that I’m unsure I’d stick with it, or at least that I’d stick with it there. I can’t come up with a good suggested replacement, right now, but shrug.
I really think a once per day switch of energy damage types is fine, it's like a free use of elemental spell, which is only a +1 metamagic. Now, what I have here isn't EXACTLY elemental spell, but I have been considering making it fully switch energy types.
For adept orphan, I made it a +1 caster level boost, but it wasn't always that. There was a base magic trait already does a +1 CL bonus to transmutation spells, so this, a campaign trait, being weaker isn't right. I do think it could be a bit better, but I'll have to think about it, as the metamagic option you mentioned is cool, but blatantly better than flexible magician. For the requirement of being not evil, it's because it is directly relative to the story tie in to the trait. On the off chance one of my players sees this, I won't say why, but it's for a very good reason- to be fair, you can't know that with just the trait description alone.
Wild born is great and I actually recommend leaving it as is; it’s just that it’s worth noting that it does its thing and you’d be pressed to fit that thing into three full feats (two Fleet feats and a hypothetical “git gud, noob” dark vision feat that is strictly superior to the fetchling or drow racial feat line). (But adding a +1 to climb and swim wouldn’t be out of place, given you suggested “athletics” as benefitting.)
Outsider Initiate feels exceptionally limited, even though you’ve emphasized Hell Knights are a Thing in this, but that may well be simply because I don’t know enough about your setting: no one can see it the way you do in your own head, and it may well be fine. The appearance of this compared to, say, cheerful chiropa is that this is limited and the PC actually gets a say in what happens with the CC (a lawful PC finding little quarrel with the HK, while a rebellious or chaotic PC wouldn’t get their benefits but would fit their character choices). It is powerful, but the focus on Hellknights in particular raises in-character questions (which can be good, but we have nothing to go by) and also seems to imply a stricter limit to RP opportunities. This is not inherently a bad thing and isn’t even necessarily true: this is an outsider’s perspective looking in.
Free Spirited and Failed Reclaimer aren’t bad, but I feel they’re lacking a little... something. I’m not sure. The idea of turning Failed Reclaimer into a Favored Enemy effect is interesting, though I see your point. I can’t quite put my finger on what it is.
Finally, law ringer is great, but I’d be super frustrated that, over the course of my character’s career, I’d be prevented from getting it more than once per day. Also in figuring out how it interacts with smite chaos in general. Plus, though powerful, fey are kind of easy to kill and magical beasts tend to be just brutes: outsiders, though, it can be rather useful.
I most likely will leave wild born alone, but the campaign isn't starting for a while. Anything can happen (I'll coincide the STR skill boosts...).
Free spirited is fine to me. A +1 to will and a reroll on a common spell descriptor is more than enough, in my opinion. Failed reclaimer's value goes up once you consider how often each of those types appears- sure, you won't be tripping over them, but you'll see a lot of action with that trait.
To give lawbringinger more than once per day would be too much. As Thunderlord mentions, I've worked with insight on what I've done in the past- he's linked to what it used to be, which was way out of line. Sure, once per day isn't great, but +1 damage, attacks, saves, AND AC is pretty good, not to mention the possibility of a one time damage boost. As for smite chaos, it'd stack. If it seems like a lot to you, I'd disagree as smite chaos alone is enough to melt a creature.
For your other boosts to these that you mention, I think I'll stay away from extra uses as a person levels. The only reason sole survivor is boosted rather than a set amount is because how much a certain amount of HP is worth changes over game time. A +1 at first level is a +1 at tenth level, while 2 HP at first level can save you, but 2 HP at tenth level is ignorable.
Any critique is welcomed, no matter how long.
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Sole survivor wakes you from unconsciousness if it brings you to zero HP, but not if it brings you to 1 HP. That's kind of weird.
Hm, you're right. While I never would've ruled it as that, I'll change it to say if it brings you conscious instead of a positive hit point total.
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I see you've continued to work on this since your reddit post. It looks like you've toned down some traits a bit. I'm glad that you're sticking with powerful traits and didn't make them weak like the other redditors were suggesting.
Adept Orphan: This trait looks interesting but it is sort of your traditional tabula rasa kind of trait. I hope this some sort of plot pay-off down the road and is not just some normal orphan trait.
Outsider Initiate: I don't know what normal hell knight dispositions are but indifferent seems harsh. I guess they are a rather cantankerous group though. Storywise I would have the hell knights be more friendly and just leave the dc at indifferent.
Yeah, I wanted to make the traits stand out from your standard "gain a class skill" trait. If I may take a moment to toot my own horn, I feel proud that I've managed to make so many traits that actually all tie into the story I've made at the moment and that don't feel useless. As for others saying I should tone it down, I'm glad I didn't listen either.
Yeah, this one, while the now full +1 CL I'm giving it makes it more in line, still feels meh. While I like the idea of making a single spell per day cost one less metamagic on a transmutation spell as Tacticslion mentioned, I feel that jumps it above the realms of others- after all, it does what flexable magician does but with any other metamagic feat. One thing I though about was boosting enhancement bonuses from transmutation spells you cast on yourself by half, rounded down. As adept orphan orphan is one of the first traits I made, it has one of the most direct connections to the story. Now, this doesn't mean that the other traits are somehow second place in the story, just that this one's is obvious once it is revealed.
I'm using the Order of the Nail as the named hell knight faction, as they are the most appropriate with their mantra being "savagery must be quelled, in the land, home, and mind." Now, from what I've read, hell knights are far from your friendly neighbor- they believe themselves to be right no matter what, and so that's bound to create push back from others, making the knights not like others for ignoring their "right" to do what they want. Under these pretenses, the hell knight's aren't going to be very friendly to others, and even hostile sometimes. Thus, this trait is worth more than it seems.