> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.playsonder.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Personality

> Why two heroes of the same race and class make different choices in the same fight.

Every hero in Sonder has a complex personality. It is what makes two warriors of the same race, the same class and the same gear make different choices in the same fight. You never steer a hero inside a dungeon. You pick who goes in, and their personality does the rest.

![A hero in a red scarf charges four goblins with his sword while an elf archer stays behind a broken wall](https://playsonder.app/heroes/trait-nerve.jpg)

The fearless one charges the pack. The wary one stays behind the wall.

## Nine traits in three families

A personality is made of nine traits. Each trait runs between two sides, and every hero sits somewhere on each of them, from one extreme to the other.

| Family | Trait | One side | The other side |
| - | - | - | - |
| Fight | Nerve | Fearless | Wary |
| Fight | Composure | Steady | Brittle |
| Fight | Vengeance | Vengeful | Forgiving |
| Bond | Loyalty | Loyal | Lone |
| Bond | Compassion | Tender | Cold |
| Drive | Ambition | Climber | Settled |
| Drive | Greed | Hoarder | Freehand |
| Drive | Curiosity | Seeker | Homebound |
| Drive | Hope | Hopeful | Despairing |

Neither side is better. They are two different ways to face the same fight, and a party is made of people who face it differently.

> [card] [Read every trait in depth](https://docs.playsonder.app/heroes/traits.md)
>
> What each trait does in a fight, in town and in what a hero says.

## Personality changes behavior, never stats

A trait never makes a hero hit harder or take less damage. It changes what they choose to do: who they defend, what they chase, when they run. Personality only decides the choices.

## Where it comes from

Only a hero's life shapes their personality. Race, class, star rating and gear never do. A hero reaches your town already shaped by their past, and keeps changing with what happens to them after that.

> [card] [A hero's past](https://docs.playsonder.app/heroes/a-heros-past.md)
>
> An origin and three to five chapters of life before your town.

> [card] [How personality changes](https://docs.playsonder.app/heroes/how-personality-changes.md)
>
> Losses, rescues and escapes leave a mark that changes them.

You cannot edit a hero's personality. You can only choose what you put them through.

## Traits show when their moment comes

A trait only shows when the situation for it occurs. Nerve needs a pack in sight. Compassion needs a wounded ally. Greed needs a chest or a kill within reach. So an easy fight where nobody gets hurt mostly shows nerve, greed and curiosity, and little else. On the first easy floor, most new heroes act alike. The harder the fight, the more their differences come out.

Personality also shows in town, between runs. The loyal go find their friends, the greedy hang around the blacksmith, and the curious wander far from the gate.

## Reading a hero

Each hero carries a nature, a title named after their strongest trait, like The Fearless, The Wary or The Seeker. Most natures have one signature trait, and rare ones mix several.

Each hero also carries an epithet that ties their strongest traits to their past, such as "the Fearless of the Lost Winter" or "the Fearless and Loyal of the Long War". A hero with no trait that stands out is called "the Quiet Soul".

A hero's name, nature and grudges are visible to everyone. The full detail of their traits and their past stays hidden until you open that hero's file. The rest you learn the best way: by watching them.

> [card] [Grudges](https://docs.playsonder.app/heroes/grudges.md)
>
> A hero who sees an ally die remembers who did it.

> [card] [Friendships](https://docs.playsonder.app/heroes/how-personality-changes.md#friendships)
>
> Heroes who spend time together look out for each other.


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