Starting traits: all 48 perks and opening choices

Points, slots and incompatible choices

You start with 3 points and 4 trait slots. Positive costs spend points; negative costs return points, but still use a slot. Zero-cost traits also use a slot. To continue, total cost must be at most 3 and the number selected must fit the available slots. You may leave points unused.

Colorful Character costs 1 point and adds 3 slots, raising the limit to 7; the trait itself occupies one of those slots. Incompatible choices lock each other. Select your specialization first: its equipment and starting cash are separate from the trait budget.

Complete trait list

Trait	Points	Effect	Incompatible with
Savings	+1	Start with an additional 150 Credits.	—
Bad Lease	-1	Your starting rent is increased by 40 Credits.	—
Convict	-1	Start with an additional -30 Security Reputation and will receive 25% less reward for reporting customers on the Wanted List.	Model Citizen
Model Citizen	+1	Start with an additional +30 Security Reputation and will receive 50% more reward for reporting customers on the Wanted List.	Convict
Well Connected	+2	Start with an additional 15 Reputation with all factions.	Public Enemy
Vigilant	+2	You will never get robbed during the night.	—
Sawyer’s Crew	+1	The Underground Exchange is available from the start. Janitorial Service is always free, unless the Store is vandalized. Vandalism clean up cost is significantly reduced.	—
Diplomatic	+2	Reputation generated from trade is increased by 33%.	—
Intimidating	+2	All committed crimes generate 33% less available evidence.	—
Side Street	-1	You get one less random customer per day.	Prime Real Estate
Nicotine Addiction	-1	You will suffer a trade penalty of 8% if you don’t consume nicotine regularly. The addiction can be cured.	—
Narcotic Addiction	-1	You will suffer a trade penalty of 8% if you don’t consume narcotics regularly. The addiction can be cured.	—
Alcohol Addiction	-1	You will suffer a trade penalty of 8% if you don’t consume alcohol regularly. The addiction can be cured.	—
Secret Admirer	+1	You will occasionally receive random items from a secret admirer when opening the Store.	—
Colorful Character	+1	Allows you to have 3 additional starting perk slots.	—
Blackmail	-2	You have a questionable past and a blackmailer is threatening to expose your secret. You will have to pay them a small weekly fee or they will expose you, leading to a major one-time loss to your reputation across most factions.	—
Blabbermouth	-2	All committed crimes generate 33% more available evidence. You will gain 50% less reputation with the Black Market and the Revolution.	—
Minimalist	-2	Your main inventory is reduced 20x10 instead of 24x10.	Ascetic
Sentinel Collapse Disorder	-3	You suffer from a deadly, incurable auto-immune condition and must take a weekly Immunivax injection to stay alive. Start the game with 1 Immunivax Injector.	—
Agoraphobia	-1	After visiting an after-hours location, you must rest at the Store for 2 nights before going out again.	—
Welfare Program	+1	The Commissary is available from the start. On Mondays, you may receive Food Stamps depending on your total wealth.	Banned from the Commissary
Proficient Scavenger	+1	You can perform up to 2 additional Search actions in the Dumping Grounds every time you visit.	Maimed
Revolution Sympathizer	+1	Start with an additional 25 Reputation with The Revolution. You will receive Marketplace Requests from The Revolution more frequently.	—
Gambling Addiction	-1	You will always buy some Lottery Tickets when possible. All lottery content is unlocked from the start. The addiction can be cured.	—
Tapehead	+1	Tapehead costs one point and actually supplies the first seven pristine recordings in shabby physical condition, not songs8–14	—
Vending Machine	+2	Start with a vending machine installed in front of your store. Allow customers to purchase items automatically during after-hours.	—
Short Sleeper	+1	You won’t miss out on any customers when going out during after-hours activities the night before.	—
Working Pipes	+2	You will start with the water lines already connected with unlimited Rustwater.	—
Illiterate	-1	You won’t be able to read any guide.	—
Prime Real Estate	0	1 more normal customer will visit everyday but starting rent cost 75 credit more.	Side Street
Degenerative Osteoarthritis	-1	Scavenging in the dumping ground works normally for the first week. After that, you lose 1 max scavenging attempt every week that passes. Once your max attempts fall below 3, you can no longer scavenge at all. Normal shopkeepers start with 5 daily max attempts. Start with 2 additional topical medication bandages.	Maimed
Known Snitch	-2	Customers from the wanted poster will never visit your store. Start with -10 reputation with the Revolution and the Black Market.	—
Handy	+1	Start with a shabby toolbox and a set of shabby tools: a screwdriver, a wire cutter, a crowbar and a plasma cutter.	—
Public Enemy	-2	Start with -15 Reputation with all factions.	Well Connected
Ascetic	-4	Your main inventory is reduced to 16x10 instead of 24x10.	Minimalist
Maimed	-2	The Dumping Ground is not available. You cannot scavenge at all.	Proficient Scavenger, Degenerative Osteoarthritis, Careful Scavenger
Wild’s Favorite	+1	All upgrades from Wild’s Network cost 10% less. Insurance costs 50% less.	On Wild’s Bad Side
On Wild’s Bad Side	-1	All upgrades from Wild’s Network cost 10% more. Insurance costs 50% more.	Wild’s Favorite
Aug Menace	+1	The Augmented content is unlocked at the start of the game. Earn 25% more credits for killing an aug. The aug menace never ends, and letting too many augs get away ends the game on every difficulty.	—
Lucky	+1	Adds 5 to luck. Luck-dependent checks can avert a search injury.	Unlucky
Unlucky	-1	Subtracts 5 from luck. Negative luck can make an otherwise successful search yield nothing.	Lucky
Tinkerer	+1	When you upgrade an item, there is a 20% chance the material used is not consumed.	—
Careful Scavenger	0	You can perform 2 fewer actions in the Dumping Grounds every time you visit, but you never get injured while searching.	Maimed
Sycophant	+1	Start with an additional +15 Upper Levels Reputation. Reputation gained with the Upper Levels is increased by 25%, and Upper Level customers have 10% more budget.	—
Awful Negotiator	-3	You cannot bargain with customers, and you suffer a permanent trade penalty of 5%.	—
Banned from the Commissary	-1	The Commissary is not available, and food stamps are never introduced.	Welfare Program
Hoarder	0	Start with three piles of immovable debris along the bottom of your inventory. Each pile can be removed.	—
Makeshift Reactor	+1	You are permanently disconnected from the station power grid and are not affected by blackouts. Start with an upgradable Makeshift Micro Nuclear Reactor sold to you by Dr. Jackson. It powers the Store but needs regular repairs.	—

Choose an opening you can maintain

For a first Apprentice run, combine Savings + Short Sleeper + Secret Admirer: 3 points, 3 slots. This adds working capital, avoids the lost customer from nights out, and occasionally adds stock. It is a low-obligation starting suggestion, not a universal strength ranking.

For repeated scavenging, Proficient Scavenger + Handy + Short Sleeper costs 3 points. Tools help you open finds, extra searches increase the visit’s workload, and sleep protection avoids the next-day customer loss. Careful Scavenger costs 0 but removes two searches in exchange for avoiding search injuries.

For a water business, Working Pipes + Savings costs 3 points. The pipes provide Rustwater, so you still need treatment equipment and a way to verify the final grade. Starting with pipes does not produce drinkable water automatically.

Read the lasting tradeoffs before taking negative points

Bad Lease and Prime Real Estate add 40 and 75 credits to initial rent; later rent rises apply to the larger bill. Minimalist and Ascetic shrink the main inventory, and are incompatible. Hoarder is free in points but starts with three removable debris piles.

Sentinel Collapse Disorder requires weekly Immunivax to survive. Addictions can impose trade penalties; they are not simply extra opening points. Agoraphobia requires two nights resting in the shop after each outing. Known Snitch removes wanted-poster visitors and their future interactions.

• Probably Stolen careers Wiki: starts, equipment and business guides
• Probably Stolen specializations: 9 starts, equipment and playstyles
• Probably Stolen water guide: grades, filters and purification

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Cassette player: controls, all 14 tracks and how to collect them