Can an ATA be assigned to a character that does not possess the required keyword?

I think the old rules for feats were that a feat could be assigned to any character, however it may not be used unless they possess the required prerequisite...

That has never been true. Characters have always been required to meet the prerequisites of feats in order to be assigned the feat. However, it is possible to put a feat on a character that does technically meet the prerequistes, but wouldn't actually be able to use the feat effectively.

For example, Trickshot has the prerequisite of Plasticity and Ranged Combat Expert. You could totally put Trickshot on an E Morlock (they have Plasticity), but they have absolutely no ranged capability on their own, so it would be wasted points.


Same thing goes for ATAs. A character must meet the prerequistes to be assigned the ATA, but if the ATA only works in certain situations (say, for example, you need two or more ATA characters adjacent to pull it off) and you only have one character on your team that can actually use the ATA, then it is basically a waste of points.