I've got a character that has dipped deeply into the pilot spec of the smuggler career. He really likes the ace signature abilities. Does it sound totally unfeasible that he be allowed access to it since both pilot spec trees are identical?

Personally, since he presumably created his pilot long before Stay on Target was released, I would allow it as long as you make it clear that he will not be able to purchase smuggler signature abilities from Fly Casual, when that book is finally out.

Alternatively, you could see if he wants to recreate his character with Ace as his career instead of smuggler. The roleplay part doesn't have to change, just his career/skills. He can still fly around a freighter and smuggle contraband.

Or finally, the player can wait and see if smuggler will get anything that catches his eye.

If it were my game, I wouldn't allow it just because of the design of the Signature Abilities, they're intended to go with a specific career.

It'd be an interesting experiment to see if the player wanted to rebuild their character as an Ace Pilot rather than a Smuggler Pilot, and use their accumulated XP to try to get them back as close as possible to their original build.

If they wanted to do that, I'd allow it.

I would suggest the rebuild too. If he is so inclined. Otherwise, as noted, he may want to wait to see what Fly Casual brings to the table.

Yeah, I'd go with the "rebuild as an Ace" idea, particularly if Pilot is the PC's primary bread and butter as well as them looking to move into one of the new Stay on Target specs as well.

The Smuggler career's got a lot of solid skill choices, and the rules have made it pretty clear that you need to have started in a specific career in order to access that career's Signature Abilities, so if the player sticks with Smuggler as their career, then that's the choice they've made.

The rebuild idea was what I was leaning toward. All of your thoughts firmly cemented it. Thanks for the feedback!

It may be worth it it just to wait for Fly Casual. The Ace signature abilities are heavily suited for combat pilots, which may or may not fit the character in question. Fly Casual will likely still have at least one vehicle-related signature ability, but the options may be more well-suited for escaping entanglements rather than escalating them.

If he doesn't want to wait, though, I'd also recommend a rebuild over letting him take out-of-career signature abilities.