Each playbook gets its own list of special abilities, its own gear, its own things to do for advancement, and its own list of [adjective] friends.
Plus Cutters get different thresholds for item slots and encumbrance.
Huh. I like it, but it strikes me as a little odd. It’s a very specific thing that, unlike most other things, other playbooks can’t ever get and have no equivalent. I’d rather see it as a special ability, one that all Cutters get, and then have everyone else get some minor ability that comes with the playbook. Or something. It just seems like a stand-out oddity of the Cutter playbook.
Bumping this with another question:
Each playbook has its list of stuff. What happens when the whisper says, “I’m taking my lightning-hook, but I’m immediately giving it to Mme. Cutter over there to carry.” The cutter nods, and adds, “Makes sense, seeing as I can carry more stuff. Oh, but Mr. Hound, you’d do better with these rage essence vials. Here, you take a few.”
What stops gear from being freely redistributed? For some it could conceivably be training, but I hope the book says something authoritative.