Reading through the rules on how to hack in new abilities for players, I was struck by the similarity in design to “Stunts” from FATE. In that, it is immensely possible to think up a new ability that conforms to the solid guidelines laid down in the manual.
So, my question is, would it improve (or damage) the game to let players “make up” their own abilities by following the hack-in rules of the book, FATE-style?
I think you’d get a different Doskvol. The abilities on the current playbooks are meant not only to give cool abilities but also to inform play and paint a picture of the setting. Creating new ones is great, I’d just watch to see if they change the mood or themes of the game, and if so, of those are changes you want to see.
I think if you’re going for additional powers – like the Iruvian Sword Arts, or Forgotten Gods influence, etc, you need to consult the player, and get them in on the design of their new abilities. But playbook advances are there for a reason. You’re picking from a menu of items that make up the boundaries of what a Cutter is, for example.
That being said, Veteran advances could be replaced with specialised ones, without too much trouble. You’d just need to make sure they remain thematically consistent to the game you want to play.
The whole point of the FATE stunt system is to give dramatic and heroic power/competency to those characters. You need to figure out what the point of abilities are in your game.
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