Born of Two Peoples (Feat)

Prerequisites: Must be taken at first level. Your parents must possess different Cultures, and you must have been raised with regular exposure to both parents’ cultures from an early age.

Benefit: You begin play with two Cultures, and speak both parents’ languages at the “Native-Speaker” level of language proficiency. All other languages are acquired normally, as long as you qualify for them and have ranks to invest in your Linguistics skill.

The DC of a Disguise check to “pass” as a full-blooded member of either of your parents’ ethnic groups decreases by 20 15. Makeup may be helpful to complete the disguise, particularly if your parents had wildly different skin-tones. If hair is an issue, it can usually be hidden by a hat or wig, though certain chemicals can be used to change its color, volume, and curl pattern. Players should note that some cultures (especially slave-owning cultures) have harsh penalties for non-members (especially slaves) who attempt to pass as full members of their group. These punishments can range in severity from disfigurement to summary execution.

Because of your immersion in dual cultures, you are less likely than others to say or do things which make you look like an outsider, or to unintentionally violate cultural taboos. Once per day, when you fail a Charisma-based check when dealing with a member of either parent’s Culture, you may re-roll the failed check, and take the higher result instead.

Normal: While characters may acquire additional Culture(s) with large amounts of time and full immersion/initiation, or gain them through the Refugee Culture background, most characters are limited to possessing only one Culture.

Special: Unless you are actively attempting to hide or suppress one portion of your heritage, you are easily recognizable by most members of either of your parents’ ethnicities as a person of mixed parentage. Frequently, this is accompanied by a host of assumptions (often quite deeply-rooted) about your allegiance, background, intelligence, personal hygiene, and moral character.

Mechanically, characters who have had little experience with people of mixed parentage (especially those who have significant sociopolitical clout in small communities) lower their starting attitude towards you by one category.

Nearly every culture has its own names for people with mixed ancestry, most of which are highly offensive and derogatory. Even “proper” names can be hurled as stinging insults. Owing to the sensitive nature of these names, players and DMs are encouraged to do their own research into them, and decide for themselves whether or not to use them at the gaming table.