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[Viken]

Inclinations should be seperated into aptitudes.  Mechanical, Fishing, Wordworking, ect.  It should probably make the character in question more likely to take such a job, and be a tad bit more skilled in it than regular workers.  Possibly even gives something of a heads-up on getting promoted within that job chain.

But there are probably too many character traits to appropriately list.  Everything from schizophrenic to drug-addict to insationable (any number of things) to Renowned and Infamous.

[Puzzlemaker]

The fact that you have Hat Enthusiast and Doomed as character traits is AWESOME.

Also:
Charisma!  How good you are at bossing people around!

Willpower!  Changes how hard you work!  Maybe more inclined to do drugs!

Passivity!  The more passive you are, the easier you are to boss around!  However, it also means it's easier to get you to join a cult!

[Citizen Daniel]

Oh, okay, I should have prefaced that a bit I think.  We aren't actually generating a whitelist of all possible traits and using those specifically to determine behaviors.  You're right, we would need an enormous list for it to feel at all simulation-like.

These traits are just descriptive shortcuts, and each character has a large array of underlying numerical values.  For example, Foolishly Brave is just a trait shorthand for:

Tends not to acquire fears
Tends to ignore fears
Happier when involved in combat
Liked by military characters

We have a baseline for what a character would want to do in any given circumstance, and those decisions are weighted by the traits that we assign them.  Their traits will be somewhat separate from their technical capacity at any given task: you'll have some people who just love to build guns but are terrible at it.  (This won't be a huge issue because people are naturally happy doing things they're good at, but it could happen.)

[Frumple]

Five Governors, One Head: The medical geniuses back home got a little frisky with your case. You are given a set of five random other personality traits, but which one you are today is anyone's guess. While this makes the locals have a bit of difficulty dealing with you, you're surprisingly good at multitasking for someone generally having an argument with themselves.

E: Ah, wait, general character traits for, like... people. Right. No clue, but would they be able to be changed in-game? Monument to productivity having X chance to change a personality trait for a few days, stuff like that.

E2: Wouldn't the really thematic method of figuring a list out be to go back and read some victorian age psychology or something, and steal one of their list of personality types?

[Puzzlemaker]

Oh, okay, I should have prefaced that a bit I think.  We aren't actually generating a whitelist of all possible traits and using those specifically to determine behaviors.  You're right, we would need an enormous list for it to feel at all simulation-like.

These traits are just descriptive shortcuts, and each character has a large array of underlying numerical values.  For example, Foolishly Brave is just a trait shorthand for:

Tends not to acquire fears
Tends to ignore fears
Happier when involved in combat
Liked by military characters

We have a baseline for what a character would want to do in any given circumstance, and those decisions are weighted by the traits that we assign them.  Their traits will be somewhat separate from their technical capacity at any given task: you'll have some people who just love to build guns but are terrible at it.  (This won't be a huge issue because people are naturally happy doing things they're good at, but it could happen.)

Oh, in that case!

Passive!  Likes being bossed around and joins cults easily!
Depressed!  Does drugs more then normal!
Charismatic!  Is better at bossing people around!  Also liked by more!
Attractive!  Better with the ladies!
Ugly!  Not as good with the ladies!  Also people tend not to like as much!
Gruff!  Not liked as much!
Hard Worker:  Works hard!  Opposite of lazy!
Drug Enthusiast!  Loves drugs!  Just loves em!
Creep!  Members of the opposite sex are driven away!  More likely to do baaad things!
Sadist!  Loves fighting!  Also loves hurting others!
Masochist!  Mentally better at being wounded!
Wise!  Better at consoling others!  (Is that a thing!?  It should be!)
Nudist!  Likes not wearing as much clothing!  Tends to make others a little uncomfortable!
On Edge!  Easier to *snap*! (Is that a thing?!?  It should be!)
Chill!  Harder to *snap*!
Wool-Gatherer!  Makes you more likely to daydream!  Easier for other things to get into this ones head!  Also doesn't work as hard!
Giant!  Bonus to combat!
Paranoid!  Always thinks someone is after him!  More likely to attack suspicious characters and characters from different faction! Good for rooting out Cultists!
Shady!  Good at getting away with Baaad things!
Mad Scientist!  Loves to hook things together that really should never even be in the same room city continent!
Angry Scientist!  Loves to invent new ways to blow things up!  Nothing to do with Mad Science!  Well okay maybe a little!
Unfazable!  Cannot be fazed!  If the town is burning, he will still try to go to work!
Jumpy!  Panics easily!
Arsonist!  Loves fire!  Maybe a bit too much!  Seriously put the match down!
Over-Compensating!  Loves big things!  Like big houses!  And big zeppelins!
Modest!  Doesn't care as much about personal affects!
Explorer!  Loves to find new things!
Down to Earth!  Anything strange tends to cause more panic!  Less likely to get involved in the occult!
Down in the Earth!  Likes being underground!
Rocky!  Loves rocks!  Can't get enough of em!  Nothing to do with boxing!  Unless it's boxing with rocks!
Crazed!  Off the rocker!  And not like the time old man jenkins fell off!  I mean crazier then a cage full of cats!  Usually has to do with the Occult!  Don't let near anything sharp!
Homebody!  Doesn't like exploring!
But mah parents did!  Chooses his profession not based on skill but on lineage!
Quick Hands!  Better at creating things in artisan shops!  Also better at pickpocketing!

That's all for now!

I hope that's helpful!

[Leyic]

Melancholic: Unmotivated, kills the mood, doesn't get much pleasure from life, but quiet and stays out of the way.
Sunshine: Perky, happy, super energetic, won't stop yammering about how it's a glorious day.
Snake Oil Aficionado: More inclined to purchase and use products of questionable purpose.
Phlegmatic: Can look a tentacle in its tentacle and not be shaken. Doesn't care about his fellow humanoids.
Zealous: Really likes whatever it is he likes, but less likely to get along with people who don't like what he likes.
Animal Whisperer: "Our furry and scaley friends can tell us the most interesting things!"
Tentacley Inclined: Draws tentacles. Builds tentacles. Dreams of becoming a tentacle.
Nocturnal: Sleeps by day, active by night.
Gear Head: Mechanically inclined. Greasy. Prefers the company of machines.
Dwarf: Interested in beard grooming and accessorization. Ale for blood. Belches at sunlight.

[Viken]

After thinking about it for a while, I've come to the conclusion that the way several pen-and-paper RPGs does it is probably the easiest to manage and to code, in the long run.

A given person has a Nature and a Demeanor, the nature being the driving force and soul component of an individual, while -his/her/its- demeanor is the facade they show themselves off as to others.  In an RPG, this allows for complex personality traits and the like to surface once you start digging below a person's exterior.  Say, a total creep could have a heart of gold or the like.

For Clockwork Empires, I imagine that a character could have an assigned dominate trait, and then a hidden one as that persons true nature.  The more actions the character does that incourages or expresses that true nature over the dominate trait, the happier that person gets.

Just an opinion, though.

[sebcool]

Here's some traits for yew'.

Tree-Hugging Elf: Loves plants, wears flowery clothes, dances around trees under moonlight, slightly deranged, not very smart, natural naturalist (heh), kill them on sight.

Capitalist Pig-Dog: Masterful supervisor, wears a suit and top hat, smokes cigars, guzzles cheap brandy, hates elves and nature, loves factories and smog filled streets.

Practically A Dwarf: Expert miner and worker, short, excellent beard, susceptible to strange moods, slightly mad, kills elves, loves socks and MAGMA, goes either stark raving mad or depressed when not drunk.

Citizen of the 12th bay: Good at pretty much everything (except naturalism, that stuff is for elves), loves dwarfs, mutilates elves and pours magma on their family, Extremely mad.

Have fun adding those traits

[Mistercheif]

You forgot cannibalism for the elvish pansies! 

[Sirus]

No. No, no, no.

Somehow, I imagine that the Gaslamp devs want to include something other than an endless stream of Dwarf Fortress memes and references. Come up with some half-decent ideas.

[sebcool]

No. No, no, no.

Somehow, I imagine that the Gaslamp devs want to include something other than an endless stream of Dwarf Fortress memes and references. Come up with some half-decent ideas.

Well, we've already got the half-decent ideas covered. So we might as well start churning out some insane ideas.

[inteuniso]

Ideas for traits?

Conradian: He's good at getting the natives to do stuff. Forcefully.
Vernian: A natural explorer, this man (woman? What are we, a London brothel?) will find every nook, cranny, artifact, and resource at your colony.
Wellsian: The man has a penchant for coming up with fantastic new ideas to be researched. Strange fascination with the stars, however.
Lovecraftian: Yes, well, hrm. He's a good leader, but we're not sure entirely why. We're also not sure why a child goes missing every month at full moon, either.
Shelleyan: Disfigured in an accident, this man has recieved replacement body thanks to the advances of medical science! We're not sure what to do about the looks he gets though.
Dickensian: This man will recognize the plight of any of his colonists, and will do his best to fix it. He tends to take things a bit in absolutes though. This chap has marvelous wit to make up for it.
Emersonian: Hello? Yes? Ah, there he is. This man ponders a lot about the world, and he tends to drag others with him. A happy fellow, if a bit... unproductive.

[SealyStar]

Reading up on this, color me impressed. The mechanics look great, and... oh my God, DOSE GRAFIX.

Posting to follow... a little late, yes.

[Morrigi]

Also P2W, looks like a great game. Will throw money at it if necessary.

[Teneb]

The "Citizen of the 12th bay" idea of sebcool caused me to come up with this variation for it:

Bay12er/Bay Watcher - Above avearge skills in all areas, but will form cults whenever possible.