# Beliefs, Instincts, and Traits
Burning Wheel is a fantasy RPG with a core mechanic that can potentially add a great deal of narrative depth to a D&D 5E campaign. The hub of the fiery wheel revolves around each player character's **Beliefs**, **Instincts**, and **Traits**. A clever DM or player might choose to tap the glistening vein of narrative potential contained therein. And there are certainly other, non-narrative, rewards to be had as well.

## Beliefs

Beliefs are a set of three statements and goals about how a character feels and thinks and how they plan to act on those feelings and thoughts. Each belief begins with an overarching philosophical statement which embodies an important aspect of how the character sees the world or themselves. This statement may contain a broad goal or an ongoing drive. Following that is an immediate goal on how the player plans to act upon that idea.

For example, a belief might read: "I will someday be an adored and respected Knight (overarching statement), but first I need a sword worthy of a Knight (immediate goal)" or "The orcs are foul and vile creatures which cast shame upon our holy lands (overarching statement), I will talk with the patrol captain in order to ascertain the whereabouts of the orc encampment (immediate goal)".

These immediate goals don't have to be immediately achievable, they can instead outline an ongoing behaviour. In the case of our knight his immediate goal might be "I will seek to improve my standing in the community by acting chivalrous" and our orc hunter may have the goal "I will spread the holy word to the countryfolk so they may understand the unholy nature of the orcs." These goals don't have a clear end point, but they are immediately actionable.

### Asking Players to Write Beliefs

Beliefs embody what is most important to a character. These are the things that currently define that character. As such, these beliefs will often drive the focus of the current session. A belief should be something so important that the character is prepared to put their life on the line for it. In the case of our knight he knows that without a sword worthy of a knight he will never be taken seriously, so he is prepared to do what is necessary to obtain said sword.

A good starting point for drafting beliefs is to write one belief about the group's current situation and/or task, write one about another player character, and write one about some elements of their character's past or his/her own overarching goals. How strict you are with this depends largely upon your players and your group.

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### Changing Beliefs

Beliefs can and should be fluid. Prior to any session, but never during a session, players are free to change their beliefs. Bear in mind that even though a former belief might go away, it isn't necessarily gone from the PC's awareness—perhaps it is simply not a current concern. 

That said, sometimes beliefs can be resolved, or a character's overarching philosophies might change as the character's world view is challenged.

An active player should constantly be reevaluating his or her character's beliefs about the party, the current situation, and the overarching central tension of the campaign. 

## Instincts

Whereas Beliefs relate to how a character thinks and feels, instincts relate to how the character behaves and acts. They represent a lifetime of learning and experience that has resulted in innate and reactive behaviors. Typically these are actions that happen automatically, sometimes with positive results and sometimes with disastrous consequences.

Usually these are written as “always,” “never,” “when” or “if/then” statements. For example, our knight might have the Instincts “Always be armed,” “Never strike at an unarmed opponent” and “If insulted, I will draw my sword.”

These then become automatic conditions and actions. The knight will not strike an unarmed opponent and will always pull his sword out when insulted.

### Honoring Instincts

It is important to always honor player instincts. For instance; our knight is invited for a meeting with the bandit leader and the bandit leader asks for the knight to leave his sword at the door, the knight agrees and enters. During the meeting, violence breaks out and the knight pulls out a dagger. Since one of the knight's instinct is "always be armed," it is totally appropriate for him to have smuggled in a dagger. If you want to challenge an instinct and take away all the knights weapons then a roll of the dice would be appropriate.

The same is true for players. They should honor their characters' instincts even when it is not safe to do so.

Consider allowing players to change their instincts between sessions. Note, however, that instincts are usually less mutable than beliefs due to their role as a character's moral and behavioral code.

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<div class='footnote'>PART 1 | BELIEFS & INSTINCTS </div>



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## Traits

A trait is a word or short phrase that offers insight into an aspect of a  character's personality or appearance. Examples include: *Stubborn*, *Alcoholic*, *Stoic*, *Quick to anger*, *Compassionate*, *Xenophobic*. What is important about traits is that they are a significant aspect of the character's personality or appearance. For instance, if a character has a "hairy" trait he is not just hairy, but extremely hairy. He is known for his hairiness. He is defined by his hairiness.

Traits allow the player to announce to the group "this is what is important to me about my character."

Burning Wheel allows players to take up to five traits, but the number of allowed traits should be at the DM's discretion.

### Three Types of Traits

Within the Burning Wheel, traits are divided between **Character**, **Call-On**, and **Die traits**. Character traits are purely aesthetic or descriptive, as detailed above; call-on traits allow ties to be broken in specific circumstances; and die traits add a specific die bonus under certain circumstances.

To integrate the mechanical benefits of traits into D&D you may choose to come up with a list of traits that have some minor mechanical advantage, such as “weather watcher: this trait gives you advantage when trying to ascertain the day’s weather,” or “corrupt: this trait allows you to use intimidate to extort people for money,” or “bird brained: birds do not fear this person and do not flee from them.” They should be fun and add a narrative mechanic to the character.

The number of allowed **Die traits** should be at the DM's discretion.

### Trait Votes

Following the end of a story arc, players go through their traits and their fellow players vote on whether or not that character deserves to keep that trait (depending on how they role-played their character during the prior arc) whilst also voting in new traits. This means that characters will grow and their personalities will change as the game goes on.

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## Rewards
In Burning Wheel there is a sort of mechanical currency called Artha that is awarded to players who actively engage with their Beliefs, Instincts, and Traits.
> ##### Obtaining Artha
> Artha is awarded to players in a variety of ways, detailed below. 
>
>**Fate:** You earn Fate Points when you pursue your goals, let your Instincts cause trouble, and/or invoke your Traits to bring the story in an unforeseen direction.
>
> **Persona:** You earn Persona Points when you really roleplay and capture the mood of the game, have an internal struggle between your Beliefs, Instincts, and Traits in making a tough choice, and/or achieve a personal goal (usually tied to a Belief).
>
> **Deeds:** You earn Deeds Points when you accomplish a huge goal larger than your own personal agenda that benefits many, for something other than just personal gain.  This usually includes “end of the campaign” types of events.
> ##### Expending Artha
>Players may use Artha to gain the following benefits:
>
>**Fate:** You may expend Fate Points to roll as if you have Inspiration. You may accrue a number of Fate Points equal to your proficiency bonus.
>
>**Persona:** For each Persona Point you expend, you may add a 1d4 bonus to your attack rolls and saving throws for the next minute. Alternatively, Persona may be expended to mark an automatic success on a death saving throw. You may accrue a number of Persona Points equal to half Your proficiency bonus, rounded down.
>
>**Deed:** You may expend a Deed Point when you fail a saving throw to  automatically succeed on that saving throw instead. Alternatively, you may expend a Deed Point to score an automatic critical hit.

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<div class='footnote'>PART 2 | TRAITS & REWARDS </div>