In KAP 5 and 5.1 character creation, you get 13’s in your religious trait plus one Famous Trait.

In BoKL you then get 6 more Trait points, making BoKL characters much more likely to start out as Chivalrous.

Was this “compensation” for BoKL’s odds of rolling up a mere household knight, or a decision to generally boost their Traits in chargen going forward?

Thank you.

I think it was a general philosophical trend towards more powerful starting PCs when the game was under different ownership. Characters generated from Saxons were also similarly powerful to start. I think the idea was to PCs be more 'hero' like and more on par with personalities from the literature.

NT

Don't you get the same total points in both?
In both systems, all traits at 10, and 13's in Religious trait.
In KAP 5/5.1: also get one trait at Famous (6 extra points if you choose a 10)
In BoKL: also add 6 more points to allocate as desired.

From BoKL, page 46:

"Choose one Trait to start at 16, if desired.
Finally, add total of 6 points to any Trait or Traits desired."

So in BoKL you get both the 16 and the 6 points, and thus more Trait points.

Oh yes, so it does.

I don't think it's a vast increase though. If you are using the random method, it leads to characters with many more famous and near-famous stats than that method. maybe it's just an attempt to bring some sort of parity with that.

Also, the inheritance rules (need to check if they have changed in 5.1) mean that later generations naturally accumulate more traits at 16+, so having an extra one to start doesn't make a vast difference.

Oh yes, so it does. I don't think it's a vast increase though. If you are using the random method, it leads to characters with many more famous and near-famous stats than that method. maybe it's just an attempt to bring some sort of parity with that.

Don't use the random method, it's too unbalanced ...


(need to check if they have changed in 5.1)

They haven't!

Don't use the random method, it's too unbalanced ...


My opinion changes on this each time I run a campaign. It does lead to many more varied characters, and later in a campaign, when characters can inherit traits of their fathers, it helps to ensure that each subsequent generation isn't too similar to the previous generation.
But it can be unfair, with some players lucking out on religion and chivalry imemdiately while others might have to work 10-20 years to get them.

I use the random method IMG but prefer 2d6+3 rather 3d6 for the randomising element. You still get a decent assortment of trait scores but most of them will be clustered in the 8-12 range (before you adjust for religion and region).

Most of the characters my lot have generated since we switched to BoKL for chargen have achieved one or both of the chivalrous/religion bonuses out of the gate, but that's partly because they've been playing long enough to be pretty focused about their trait picks. The RAW certainly make it pretty straightforward to achieve at least one of the bonuses if you know what you're doing, but I don't particularly have a problem with that.

Regards
Luke