Abilities
Actions that agents can do which allow players to affect game states.
Players need to be able to perform actions in order for them to have gameplay. The actions that are coupled to specific agents in the game worlds are called the Abilities of those agents.
Contents
Examples
It is difficult to judge exactly how many Abilities players of Tabletop Roleplaying Games such as Dungeons & Dragons or Fiasco have. This since while there may be specific rules for certain actions, game masters can allow anything the players want to do based on how well they feel it works with the gameplay style they wish the game to have.
Anti-Examples
Seeing the stones used in Go as having Abilities is somewhat difficult to do since players but only use them to mark places on the game board. The capturing of surrounded enemy stones could be argued to be an Ability but since several stones need to be used to achieve this, it is difficult to see this as an individual accomplishment.
Using the pattern
Abilities can modify Avatars, Characters, Companions, and Units by giving players means of affecting the game state through using these game elements. Competence Areas, Orthogonal Differentiation, and Privileged Abilities can all be created by only providing certain Abilities to certain game elements. Skills can be used to differentiate how powerful Abilities are for different game elements.
Many games have rules regarding changing which Abilities players have access to, typically ass part of Penalties or Rewards, or related to Character or Abstract Player Construct Development. Ability Losses, Cooldown, Decreased Abilities, New Abilities, Improved Abilities, Power-Ups, and Unlocking are all general patterns related to this, in many cases making Abilities into Temporary Abilities or attaching Gain Competence goals to the Abilities. Area Control, Deterioration, and Location-Fixed Abilities are ways of relating access to Abilities to other parts of the game system.
Powers is a specific form of Abilities. Ammunition can be this also when different types of Ammunition provide different types of Abilities.
In many cases, Game Masters can both provide players with new Abilities or modify existing ones based simply on the players stating that they want to do something. Game Masters can also modify their own and players Abilities through Feigned Die Rolls.
Consequences
Since Abilities give players possibilities to try and affect the game state of a game, the pattern typically gives players a Freedom of Choice of what to do and may cause them to have an Exaggerated Perception of Influence. Providing many Abilities can create Complex Gameplay.
Relations
Can Instantiate
Complex Gameplay, Exaggerated Perception of Influence, Freedom of Choice
Can Modulate
Avatars, Characters, Companions, Units
Can Be Instantiated By
Ammunition, Game Masters, Powers
Can Be Modulated By
Ability Losses, Area Control, Competence Areas, Cooldown, Decreased Abilities, Deterioration, Feigned Die Rolls, Game Masters, Gain Competence, Improved Abilities, Location-Fixed Abilities, New Abilities, Orthogonal Differentiation, Power-Ups, Privileged Abilities, Skills, Temporary Abilities, Unlocking
Possible Closure Effects
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Potentially Conflicting With
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History
New pattern created in this wiki.
References
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Acknowledgements
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