Assorted Background Feats

[rferries]

Cerebral
You are a particularly brilliant member of your race.

Prerequisites
Must be selected at character creation; Cha 14, Int 14, Wis 14.

Benefits
You gain a +2 bonus to each of your mental ability scores.

Eternal Wisdom
Although you have only recently embarked upon adventures, you have already outlived many generations of the younger races and have commensurate life experience.

Prerequisites
Must be selected at character creation; must be a dwarf, elf, gnome, or member of a similarly long-lived race.

Benefits
You gain 8 additional skill points at first level. All skills are considered class skills for you at first level.

Golden Touch [Luck]
You have a knack for acquiring wealth.

Prerequisites
Must be selected at character creation; Cha 12 or must be a dwarf.

Benefits
Monsters that your party encounters possess double treasure.

Whenever you make a Profession or Perform check to earn income, you earn double the base amount.

Special
When encountering monsters with double or better base treasure (double goods or items, triple standard, etc.) note that two doublings equals a tripling and so forth.

Vitality
You are a particularly athletic member of your race.

Prerequisites
Must be selected at character creation; Con 14, Dex 14, Str 14.

Benefits
You gain a +2 bonus to each of your physical ability scores.

[Nifft]

With 32 point buy it's relatively easy to have more than 12/12/12 in either physical or mental scores (or both, if you're human or you have access to flaws).

[brian 333]

Blessed (Corrupted) Birth

Prerequisites:
Only available at character creation
Stigmata such as blemishes, birthmarks, or unusual hair or eye color must be present and known to the clergy of allied and opposed deities.

Benefits:

One who is blessed (corrupted) at birth is loved (feared) by all and thus gains an additional +2 Charisma.
All saves versus minions of an opposed religion are granted a +2 (+10%) bonus.

Penalties:

Clergy of opposed faiths must attack the victim in combat to the exclusion of all other actions so long as the blessed one remains capable of combat.

[nonsi]

.
I'd never allow Cerebral or Vitality. A single feat for +6 to ability scores is a no-brainer.

[Goaty14]

.
I'd never allow Cerebral or Vitality. A single feat for +6 to ability scores is a no-brainer.

This. I'd also never allow Golden Touch for the same reason I'd never allow Mercantile Background (and the extra headache involved).

[jqavins]

I'd never allow Cerebral or Vitality. A single feat for +6 to ability scores is a no-brainer.

I could maybe see using them, but only if the ability score generation otherwise meets three conditions:

1. I want high scores for a high power campaign.
2. The ability determination does not come out high without this.
3. The ability determination is not by point buy.

The reason for the first two is obvious: letting the feat make the difference between moderate and high power. The third is because combining this with the flexibility of point buy could be min/maxed beyond even what I would ever want. If a player foregoes these extra ability score points then s/he gets an "extra" feat instead.

But I guess there's probably a better way to accomplish the same thing, so I probably wouldn't use them. I'm just saying I won't say "never" out of hand.

[rferries]

I've bumped up the prerequisites for Cerebral and Vitality; even for 32 point-buy they're a non-trivial investment even for SAD characters now, and benefit martials more than casters.

Golden Touch could be revamped to "whenever you gain a level, you gain gp equal to 10% of the recommended WBL for your new level" or somesuch.

Blessed (Corrupted) Birth

Prerequisites:
Only available at character creation
Stigmata such as blemishes, birthmarks, or unusual hair or eye color must be present and known to the clergy of allied and opposed deities.

Benefits:

One who is blessed (corrupted) at birth is loved (feared) by all and thus gains an additional +2 Charisma.
All saves versus minions of an opposed religion are granted a +2 (+10%) bonus.

Penalties:

Clergy of opposed faiths must attack the victim in combat to the exclusion of all other actions so long as the blessed one remains capable of combat.

I like the flavour! Excellent fit for Favoured Souls, and they need the ability boost anyways.