>The pre-release Sartar book says this under its character creation
rules (which use the umbrella method)
>"Pick 9 more abilities which can include specialized "breakout" from a
keyword or Rune, describing them however you want. One should be a
Distinguishing characteristic. A breakout ability starts at +1 from >the
keyword or Rune."
So in the Sartar rules one gets 9 abilities under the keyword that one can define in any way that makes sense to the players and narrator? I'm not sure what you mean by "breakout" and why would it get +1? Would the ruling in the Sartar interpretation be that specified abilities under the keyword are considered narrower than the keyword, which should always be interpreted as a broad ability when compared to anyone else?
<i> If we didn't explicitly call out how keywords work with the specific ability rules, it's probably a combination of 1) keywords can be handled several ways (including not existing) so an explanation would get needlessly complex; 2) it seemed obvious that a keyword was broader than any of the abilities it incorporated.</i>
I actually think, "explaining this would be complex" is a good reason TO include something in the rules.
The very fact that keywords have their own section and explanation implies they might not be treated the same way. In some ways, the "no keyword" and the "strict package" are the easiest to interpret. (One is just a super-broad ability, the other is never used as an ability.) It's the umbrella that seems it needs a judgment call. I'm likely to be generous in my interpretation and just let the player add the specific ability when they decide to use it, since it is (as I read it) a nebulous collection of as-yet unlisted abilities. I suppose I could make them pay a point for it each time, but that seems silly.
LC
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