I just read where someone asked if the first born of the desired supernatural is the next heir, then saw Rica respond affirmatively. I thought we could choose the heir? Isn't there an example in the rules that says if twins are born the player can choose which one is the heir?
I'm also surprised that collecting isn't considered a skill for those things that have to come from a skill. It's in the skill journal, right? And it has journal challenges. Again, I thought the rules said that any skill that's in the skill journal will count. Did I just miss something?
For question one, there were two choices that we were given when it came to heirs. You could have any traits you wanted for spares or you had to have random for everyone. Since you don't know what life state an infant is until after you choose the traits, you would have to hit random no matter if the child ended up being the heir or a spare. Metro wanted everyone to have the chance to choose the traits for all spares so we compromised. However, allowing people to choose traits for spares comes across the problem of when does the decision have to be made when you get the heir. It was simpler to say that the heir came from the first birth that resulted in a different life state.
Choosing an heir if there is twins. Example: Carina Dreamweaver is a witch and her husband Joe is a werewolf. Carina & Joe give birth to a witch child named Lessa. Because you didn't know whether she was a witch or werewolf, her first two traits are random and you get to pick the next three. Their next birth actually results in twin werewolves - Luke & Leia. Their first two traits are random because you didn't know if you would get an heir. Now would be the time to choose which one is. If we didn't make it from the first birth, you could have technically proceeded to choose Luke & Leia's next three traits and then tried to have more furry nooboos. The next three single births result in witches who are Neo, Morpheus, & Switch. Your house is full and you still have to wait to choose your heir because Luke & Leia are no longer eligible. If you had gone ahead and just chosen Luke or Leia, you would have been able to choose all 5 of Neo, Morpheus & Switch's traits instead of just the last three. We thought it simpler to just say the first born but the wording is wrong. It should be the first birth resulting in a different life state to ease confusion and I'm changing it now.
For your second question, collecting is a skill in that it provides skill challenges for the unique skill challenge requirement. However, collecting does not have levels and is therefore not an actual skill even if it is in the skill journal. Using the consignment shop also puts a tab in the skill journal and it does have skill challenges that qualify but it's not a skill either.
The goal we were reaching for with the 7 items being a product of a skill is we wanted there to be 7 items that were made by the heir from a skill that they knew. You don't make gems, butterflies, beetles or small pets. You pick them up. In the case of board breaking gems, you have to have a certain skill and a skill challenge to actually receive those gems so that's why they count.