Teaching quality
In the Training Yard, a tutor’s teaching quality is built from two parts multiplied together:
- Veterancy: 0.7 at level 0, rising evenly to 1.3 at level 20;
- Leadership: 0.75 at Leadership 0, rising evenly to 1.25 at Leadership 20;
and then scaled by the tutor’s stage of life. Born Mentor multiplies the result by 1.2. The pupil’s training boost is half the teaching quality minus 0.1, between nothing and a cap of +60%.
The figures below assume a stage-of-life factor of 1.
| Tutor | Quality, ordinary | Pupil boost | Quality, Born Mentor | Pupil boost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 5, Leadership 8 | 0.81 | +30% | 0.97 | +38% |
| Level 10, Leadership 10 | 1.00 | +40% | 1.20 | +50% |
| Level 20, Leadership 20 | 1.63 | +60% (cap) | 1.95 | +60% (cap) |
The table shows where the trait earns its keep: on ordinary tutors in the middle of their careers. A top-level, high-Leadership veteran already hits the cap without it. Teaching also needs the tutor to be at least level 5.
More pupils at once
Teaching quality also sets a tutor’s star band in the Mentors panel, and the band sets how many pupils they can take each cycle: one at bands 1–2, two at band 3, three at bands 4–5, plus two more for a hero kept back to teach. The bands step at 0.78, 0.93, 1.08 and 1.3. A tutor sitting at 1.0 teaches two pupils; with Born Mentor (1.2) the same tutor teaches three. On a roster with a big youth intake, that extra seat can matter as much as the better teaching.
Class fit multiplies everything: same class ×1.3, same role ×1, another role ×0.55. Exacting (×1.18) takes precedence if a hero carries both traits, so the two never stack.
Forming mentorships
When a bond between two heroes reaches +10, the game can turn it into a mentorship between an experienced hero and a rising one. Normally the elder must be Seasoned, Veteran or Twilight and two levels above the pupil, or any hero four levels above. A Born Mentor (or an Inspiring hero) can take a rising hero under their wing at any level gap. Mentorships keep paying off in training long after the bond formed.
In the field
- Protectiveness +0.25. The combat AI weights covering, guarding and aiding allies more, a little below the +0.4 of Loyal and Team Player.
- Leadership aura +0.03. Allies near the hero hold their nerve slightly better. The game uses the strongest nearby leader rather than adding them up.
- Forks. When a Born Mentor leads the party and it reaches a fork, the lowest-level party-mate gains 2 experience: “makes them watch how it is done.”
Around the hall
- Standing +5, which helps decide who leads a party.
- Compatibility +1 with everyone, so bonds with this hero grow more easily.
- Council trainer. When a retiring hero joins the Council, the game picks their role from attributes and traits; Born Mentor adds 8 toward trainer, the biggest single trait weight in that choice.
- “The Yard at Dawn”. A Born Mentor can watch two heroes spar: each gains 2 experience and +4 bond with the mentor. See the events page.
- Flavour. On pair duty the hero uses the “teacher” voice shared with Broad Hand.
Rarity and history
Born Mentor has no traits it is barred from.
- Rarity: rare, positive · draw weight 14 of 6,365 · about 1 recruit in 180
- Founding draft: only on the wildcard card.
- In the wiki’s archive: present in the earliest archived build, 1.9.6.
Recruiting
A strong positive on any experienced hero with middling Leadership, and the trait to look for when you need to develop a youth intake. On a young recruit it is a long-term investment that starts paying once they reach level 5.