Question: when you switch playbook, do you pick abilities from the new playbook in addition to picking moves?
The Core book’s page 117 specifies: “whether you keep the abilities, moves, and extras of your first playbook depends on the exact circumstances of your switch.”
But as far as I can see, there’s no explicit mention of you gaining a new suite of powers. I don’t suppose these are considered part of the new playbook’s extras?
Thanks for your time.
It depends on the fiction, and on what you work out with your GM/your players!
I’ve had almost my entire party switch playbooks, and everyone has changed their abilities at least a little with the switch. We worked out exactly how based on the story, drawing on the new playbook’s abilities for inspiration but not being totally beholden to them. The Outsider, for example, lost most of his powers when he became a Nova but kept gravity control, only now that power is even more amped-up and difficult-to-wield. As, of course, befits a Nova!
Seconding to follow the fiction. In my swap, my superstrong, firewielding Bull changed nothing by becoming the Soldier. But then, when I took the advancement to undergo enhancement and pick from the abilities listed, one I took was “an alternate form” (kinda a flame elemental thing).
This was because she became a Soldier for the same group that had made her the Bull, so it made sense that they had her use the abilities they built into her.
If she’d defected to our A.E.G.I.S. equivalent instead, I could definitely imagine a bigger shakeup (she goes to them to get the enhancements that were forced on her removed, they recruit her and give her all new augments.
Technically speaking abilities are not extras, to answer your question. However, as the others said, follow the fiction — that’s your guide to picking or not picking new abilities. A Janus who is Transformed probably needs to pick some horrific abilities… and a Nova depowered into a Beacon definitely needs to pick something else to specialize in.
In the game I’m currently running we had a Doomed that had mystic powers (memory manipulation, constructs, & telekinesis) due to demon contract from when they were young. Once his Nemesis was defeated and the contract annulled, he started an apprenticeship under one of the magic adult heroes (Protégé). Because he lost the source of previous mystic powers he picked new abilities from studying under an enchanter (gadgets for small charms and a new flavor on summoning things).
But the point is he switched abilities because it didn’t make sense to still have demon mystic powers if said demon no longer has a claim on his soul rather than because he changed playbooks.