Confused about Special Abilities enhancement for Ally

[N.H.Alicia]

As the title says. How does the "ally grants you exotic powers" clause work? If an advantage already has the "granted by familiar" limitation, hasn't the effect on point cost already been accounted for? How do I use this enhancement?

[Taneli]

The point cost of the Ally advantage tself increases if it can grant you exotic abilities.

The point cost of the abilities that the Ally grant you decreases as there are now limitations on the use of those abilities.

The rest is a GM call.

[oneofmanynameless]

I've also seen it, in supplements, applied to ally's that have special abilities, regardless of whether you get granted by familiar abilities.

My interpretation is that if the ally has supernatural or exotic traits, and those traits directly benefit you, then the ally costs more. For example: warp or healing benefit you directly, unkillable only benefits you indirectly. So warp and healing yes, unkillable no.

And that's in addition to the whole granted by familiar thing, where you can put a limiter on super powers you have if they only work when around the ally.

TL/DR: it's a premium you pay for an ally that has Kewl Powers themselves, and/or that is connected to abilities you have with granted by familiar.

[Donny Brook]

Granting the PC special abilities is just a subset of the Special Abilities enhancement for Allies. As noted on B38:

Special Abilities: Your Ally wields
power out of proportion to his point
value. Perhaps he has extensive political
clout or access to equipment from
a TL higher than your own; perhaps
he grants you exotic powers.[Italics added]

[oneofmanynameless]

Originally Posted by Donny Brook

Granting the PC special abilities is just a subset of the Special Abilities enhancement for Allies. As noted on B38:

The exotic abilities, or equipment from higher TL, both make sense to me but how much political clout is extensive political clout?

[Varyon]

I think Special Abilities is meant to essentially be a form of Unusual Background - your Ally doesn't simply have/grant some sort of special ability, he has/grants an ability the PC's can't have, at least not without an Unusual Background. Status 8 is something the GM may not allow for a PC to have, because having a PC as the PotUS (or whatever, I know there's some debate as to what Status 8 would mean in the modern day) would derail the campaign he's trying to run, but he may allow a PC to take the PotUS as an Ally with the Special Abilities Enhancement. Similarly, in a campaign setting with magic but where the PC's can't be mages, a PC might be able to gain some magic abilities through a familiar of sorts.

If the ability you're looking to have your familiar grant you is generally available, you just want it with the Granted by Familiar Limitation, I'd say the familiar likely wouldn't need the Special Abilities Enhancement.

[Donny Brook]

Originally Posted by oneofmanynameless

The exotic abilities, or equipment from higher TL, both make sense to me but how much political clout is extensive political clout?

Since it's not elaborated, I'd assume it's a GM call.