Stras Acimovic, if one chooses “Xeno” as a replacement for their starting ability can they later choose it as a special ability?
Stras Acimovic, if one chooses “Xeno” as a replacement for their starting ability can they later choose it as a…
Stras Acimovic, if one chooses “Xeno” as a replacement for their starting ability can they later choose it as a…
No. Page 57 clearly says starting abilities cannot be chosen via the Veteran special ability.
Oliver is 100% correct. Most space opera has some strong typecasting on their characters. There’s a reason why those are separate.
But as I’ve mentioned to a few people here, long term projects, and permissions can be applied if your whole table is into it. How do you become an ace pilot? Maybe you first might have to pilot a prototype ship, then outrun pirates in a dark hyperspace lane, and finally win a race a race against an Echo Wave Rider … then you can pick up Ace Pilot (the pilot starting ability). It doesn’t say no, and gives players a hard but interesting goal to pursue.
Those starting abilities aren’t just “yet another power”. They’re deeply tied to who the character is as an archetype. It’s akin to changing your xp triggers. Doable (with say a long term project) but not something that should be done lightly.
The debate had to do with taking in in-playbook, such as a xeno Mystic taking their starting ability later, which doesn’t make it a veteran advance. This is a semi-sticky place where terminology gets jumbled. Veteran advance allows you to take a special ability from another playbook, however there is nothing stated that prevents you from taking your starting ability later. As with everything it can be molded to each group, but as written it’s potentially unclear.
I believe the intention is “Take your starting ability now or never”, but again, as written it exists in a weird space.
Yep that’s the intention! “Starting abilities cannot be chosen via Veteran” (p. 57) seems to be clear enough that we haven’t really seen that be a problem.
Veteran advance specifically mentions special abilities, not starting abilities. Plus, none of this addresses taking your starting ability later (after “Xeno”) as taking abilities in-playbook have nothing to do with veteran advance.
The book is clear to me. “When you take an advance from your playbook track, you may choose a new special ability” p51. So you can’t pick a starting ability by getting enough XP or using Veteran. There’s no other way to get it. Plus Xeno replaces your playbook starting ability, so there’s nothing to get anyway.
Yes, that is clear. 😁
As written, no.
But it’s also your game, feel free to hack if you want! If in your game Xenos get full Playbook access through an advance go for it. You also have the option of developing a “Xeno” ability for humans and then allow everybody to get a racial ability as well as full access to playbooks.