Why are there trade limitations?

The trade system was discussed a while back with the community, and this current system was what was decided on. I am not keen to change it again so soon.

The suggestion to earn a mastery by earning each specialty is interesting, but not wholly functional. Some trade specialties have nothing to do with one another, and some trades have more specialties than others. It would work well for a trade like Hunter, but not for a trade like Naturalist because a character that is a geologist is not necessarily going to be a toxicologist. Meanwhile, to earn Hunter mastery would require many more threads than to earn Mercenary mastery.

Part of the reason the trades were broken down is because it is far less interesting to have two characters that are hunters than to say that both are hunters but one hunts birds and the other hunts small game. It's a more compelling story, and more interesting for packs to balance their skills that way.

To quote Starr, a lot of these trades are skills that almost every wolf possesses in some capacity, the trade simply represents a higher degree of skill in doing it. I would liken it to the difference between a casual home cook and a chef at a gourmet restaurant. Both cook, but there are different skill levels and mastery. You often see the same handful of trades primarily because they are the easiest to earn.

Your character can still perform duties outside their trade, their trade is just what they prefer to do or are best at doing. You can also change trades later for a change of pace, if that helps. :)