I've already gone over this somewhere. Used a giant in my example...
>So they get their keyword at 17.
>They *also* get their species keyword, with skills at the given values
>(ouch! I haven't looked them up, but "far too high" no doubt covers it.)
No, they don't. This is where it gets really hard for some people to wrap their heads around this. They get what the rule says they get. The fact that the Dragon is very large simply is not allowed to come into play in any conflict. The abilty exists in the game, but is not something controlled by the player.
So, let's say that we're in a fight, and I want to include the dragon. Well, I simply can't invoke all of those dragon abilities. What does that mean? Perhaps simply that the dragon refuses to fight for you, other than to use whatever abilities you were able to define.
When I take Bob the Porter, do I get his homeland keyword to use? No, I only get to use whatever abilities are enumerated in taking Bob per the follower rules. So it's really no different. He's only a partial character in terms of his ability to benefit my character.
Now, can their other theoretical abilities be used with them as NPCs? Well, maybe. From one POV, the rules say that only heroes ever roll for things. So I think it's basically narrator fiat outside of the linkage as a follower: "And then your Dragon eats the foes (and a nearby village), after watching them pound you into the ground."
Mike
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