Just making sure I haven't missed anything, but am I right in that the various Xenos Careers do not get Special Abilities like the ones listed for base careers on p 72 of the core rulebook?
Is this because they're already special enough? Or an oversight?
Being a xenos is a special ability, no?
Or you could count klans/kindreds as being special abilities. Especially kindreds.
Not more than being a Psyker or Mutant (Navigator)?
And where these get shiny special tricks, the Orks don't.
If the Arch Militant gets a bonus to tests with his "special" weapon group, then it seems reasonable that the Freebooter should get a similar bonus to his Choppas or Shootas?
Not more than being a Psyker or Mutant (Navigator)?
And where these get shiny special tricks, the Orks don't.
If the Arch Militant gets a bonus to tests with his "special" weapon group, then it seems reasonable that the Freebooter should get a similar bonus to his Choppas or Shootas?
Technically he does. Ork weapons lose Unreliable while wielded by him.
It's true that there's no single special power for an Ork Freebooter and an Ork Weirdboyz like how there would be a different special power for an Arch-Militant and an Astropath, but Xenos just aren't as special as mankind I guess.
Still, the three Xenos races playable so far all have a starting Unnatural characteristic, which I'm pretty sure most people would want on their PCs, and I think you are right that a Xenos serving aboard a human vessel would already be unique enough given the normal state of affairs.
I think it's entirely on purpose and entirely appropriate.
Xenos characters gets a lot of special rules around them, from the extra gear Orks can have and use, to Unnatural Characteristics, not to mention roleplaying venues and contacts that would be nigh-impossible to replicate for any other character.
In a nutshell, the special ability of the xenos is that they're xenos.
Not more than being a Psyker or Mutant (Navigator)?
And where these get shiny special tricks, the Orks don't.
If the Arch Militant gets a bonus to tests with his "special" weapon group, then it seems reasonable that the Freebooter should get a similar bonus to his Choppas or Shootas?
Orks have a shiny special trick called "Unnatural Toughness."
Not more than being a Psyker or Mutant (Navigator)?
And where these get shiny special tricks, the Orks don't.
If the Arch Militant gets a bonus to tests with his "special" weapon group, then it seems reasonable that the Freebooter should get a similar bonus to his Choppas or Shootas?
Orks have a shiny special trick called "Unnatural Toughness."
... not to mention immunity to corruption, effective immunity to insanity, Might Makes Right/Lissen Ta Me, Coz I's Da Biggest/Unnatural Strength and the rest ...
It's a fair cop, they're already pretty Special
Reason I wondered was, the Special Abilities for PCs set them somewhat apart from "regular" humans, and all the "special" xenos abilities are "regular" xenos abilities.
Sure, they have Unnatural Toughness, but all Orks do. And the Ork-only Talents are not any more special than Psyker-only talents like Favoured by The Warp and whatnot.
But it sounds like a design decision, and not an oversight