More new species feats to add just a dash of machine or plant to your PC

[paddyfool]

Born out of this discussion, I'd like to suggest a few feat ideas, to settle the following issues:

1) Many players like blending concepts, hence the popularity of the Heritage/Legacy and Blood feats and their various homebrew versions

2) Neither seems entirely appropriate for adding a dash of the very different Rootwalker or Unborn races to other races.

Solution: Five species feats.  One to add a dash of inborn unborn-ity; one to add a dash of inborn forest-connection; and a tree of three to represent grafting things onto yourself to make yourself into a magitech cyborg monstrosity.

Machine Soul
From birth, you have had an uncanny affinity for things mechanical, but some find you a cold fish.
Requirements: Level 1 only
Benefits: If taking Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, stress, or subdual damage, you take 1 less damage.  You also gain a +4 to Crafting checks related to constructs.

Forest Soul
Green-fingered doesn't even begin to describe you
Requirements: Level 1 only
Benefits: You gain a +2 bonus to all skill checks targeting plants, and the light sleeper NPC quality.

Grafting basics
Some call it unnatural.  You call it an upgrade.
Prerequisites: Any type other than plant or construct
Benefits: You gain 5 resistance against Sneak Attack, the reviled quality, and Achilles heel (electricity).  Also, when taking this feat, you may reduce any statistic by two to take any one species feat with prerequisites of "Unborn, level 1".  If taking the special construction feat, add the following to your options:
Living wood: Your achilles heel (electricity) becomes Achilles heel (fire) and you gain natural camouflage (forest, jungle or swamp), lumbering, and thick hide 2.  

Grafting mastery
You are more golem than man, now
Requirements: Grafting basics
Benefits: You may subtract two from any statistic to take one additional feat with the prerequisites "Unborn, level 1".  If you are of a living wood subtype, you may instead elect to take an additional feat with the prerequisites "Rootwalker, level 1".  

Grafting supremacy
You have gained a full synthesis with your prostheses, becoming the finest creation of the being you once were.  But what are you?
Requirements: Grafting mastery
Benefits: You gain the construct type.  However, you take a -5 penalty to all sense motive checks and your starting action dice reduce by 1.

EDIT: I have no idea if these are balanced or not.  A couple of other things that might fit the grafting tree at some stage is a hit to lifestyle to represent the costs of maintenance, a penalty to mend checks targeting your character, and/or a requirement in crafting ranks.  Would these be fair?

[Black_Irish]

I have always favoured the idea that grafts are Prizes with the (distinct) possibility of special rules attached. I like the idea of malfunctions and rejections should one ever find themselves in a situation where they lose access to a prize they already have. I could see allowing feats to off set the prize cost.

I like the idea of the Machine and Forest Soul feats, but I am not sure that I am sold on the mechanics. Unfortunately I do not currently have access to my books and can't really get any deeper into the ideas at this time. I do wonder if they are meant to be limited to non-Construct/Plant species (the current writing does not impose such restrictions).

[paddyfool]

I wasn't sure whether to insert any such restrictions, since the idea of a plant or machine who was uber-connected to their respective natures was also quite tempting.  But yeah, the mechanics are pretty weak, as it stands, and different suggestions would be very welcome.

Also, on the grafting... after throwing those feats together in response to the linked thread, I got to thinking that it might be better to have an Expert or possibly Master class based around these abilities rather than feats, since a character would need to have gained a certain expertise in Medicine, Crafting and Casting to get into such a business.  Allowing it on a Prizes basis, however, would allow the option of being grafted by someone else rather more easily, which could be tempting.  Perhaps we could set up a) a series of graft prizes, b) a feat to grant some amount of said prizes in a similar way to the Extra Contacts feat etc., and c) an expert class to allow greater access to and options with such prizes (with, perhaps, its game-breaker offering the Construct type, with some equivalent alternative for an Unborn who selects the class).  Although it does all get a little complicated, I think it's probably the best option.

[Mister Andersen]

Green Heritage
Your blood holds an echo of the Green, the otherworldly aspect of the botanical life of the world.
   Prerequisites: Career Level 1 only, any non-plant.
   Benefit: You gain the light sleeper and aquatic I qualities. However, you also gain Achilles Heel (fire) and in addition to your standard type are considered a plant for the purposes of character options and effects based on type such as rootwalker splinter feats and the favoured enemy ability.
   Special: When you gain this feat, you may permanently reduce any of your attributes by 2 to gain an additional Level 1 only Species feat with the requirements of either Rootwalker or plant type.

Green Legacy
The Green has completely taken root within you.
   Prerequisites: Green Heritage
   Benefit: You gain the Plant type as well as the Language (the Green) interest, but the starting Disposition of Folk towards you decreases by 5.
   You may choose to embrace your connection to the Green once, when you level, gaining the fey type and taking 1 step along the Path of Nature (see Fantasy Craft page 313). If you do, your starting action dice decrease by 1 and you gain the lumbering quality.

[Sletchman]

Why gain the Fey type in Legacy?  I honestly don't see the connection.  If anything the "embrace your..." bit should change your type to plant, as most of the Heritage/Legacy feats seem to have that kind of structure.

[Mister Andersen]

Why gain the Fey type in Legacy? I honestly don't see the connection.   

Because Fey (which was a much better type in Spycraft with its ability to pick up terrain feats) is all about the connection to nature

If anything the "embrace your..." bit should change your type to plant, as most of the Heritage/Legacy feats seem to have that kind of structure.

The 4 chains in the book universially use that section to give characters a winged flight speed and a small penalty to a specific check, and of the three that change type they all do it on the 1st feat