Mitch wrote:
> So then is Bill, in the first example, hamstringing himself by
> choosing natural abilities for some of his Bison's three special
> abilities?
In my opinion, yes and no. Yes, he's limiting the initial range of "freebie" abilities his sidekick gets. On the other hand, no, if he has no desire for a wider range of abilities, it makes sense for him to focus his attention on those natural abilities already held by the sidekick instead of spreading the points thin over abilites that don't currently matter to him.
> Or are the natural bison abilities stuck at their default
> level unless they are included in the three special abilities?
This is where I believe you'll find varying opinion. I've gone a round or two on this very question and have not been able to find a printed source that states that a sidekick's natural abilities or individual abilities within a keyword are fixed and can not be improved. In fact, to the contrary, I'll cite the quote again from p.59: "Keywords cannot be improved with hero points, although individual abilities within them can be." Now, that statement was written with hero abilities in mind, but, in effect (and intent, for that matter), what is a sidekick but an extension of a hero's abilities? I say individual sidekick abilities can be raised in play without having to "buy" a new ability already covered in a keyword or species description.
!i!
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