I'm pretty sure that you're striving to achieve the same net effect as the poster over in the thread below. It sounds like the same solution should apply here.
http://forums.wolflair.com/showthread.php?t=13038
The bootstrap mechanism is the proper way of solving this. The only way to add something to a character automatically when something else is selected is via a bootstrap. The bootstrap establishes a domino effect, where the first thing is added, and it bootstraps the next thing, and that new thing can bootstrap something else. This allows you to keep each of the things distinct and able to be re-used, so a particular thing can be bootstrapped for various different purposes.