Using Archer abilities with Swords

Question

I'm trying out this old RPG called FFRPG, and we haven't even begun playing when one of my player's character sheet stood out :(

One of my players created an Archer with a Special Training Advantage: Ninja Swords with the Two-Hands skill as high as it can get (named Shiro Emiya). Of course, he has two ninja swords, and told me that the Archer abilities didn't have any restrictions on which weapons it can apply to :( However, most Final Fantasy games has strict weapons proficiency rules: Squall can only use Gunblades, Cloud can only use Greatswords and Zidane can use either Swallows or Knives.

Unfortunately, I cannot find any weapons restrictions on abilities at the FFRPG rulebook. Should I allow it or not?

Answer 1

Do you want to allow it?

Ask yourself that, and just do that.

Answer 2

Sounds like the player is taking this from FF Tactics. That's kind of a common build in that series, actually. Of course, bows need 2 hands to wield, so you can't use 2 at once, regardless of what weapons a given ability does or doesn't allow. (Unless it explicitly says it allows it, of course. But in this case, it just doesn't make any sense.)

Answer 3

I bumped Lohoris's answer, because its always the right one... sort of. You, as GM, need to be the final arbiter of what is and is not allowable (because someone needs to be). However, it is generally good to discuss things with your players to understand why they made a decision and to work with them to mitigate any worries you might have before disallowing their choice out-right. After all, if we didn't want to be able to do things outside the rules we'd be playing video RPGs instead! But this is a little much for a comment. From the RAW:

Weapons lists the Weapon types this Job is proficient with. Weapon types not listed in a Job’s profile may not be wielded by a character unless they have the Advantage Special Training. The one exception to this are Thrown Weapons, which may be used by all Jobs.

Weapons: Boomerangs, Bows, Crossbows, Rifles

The rules are fairly clear on whether he can USE those weapons. (He took the special training advantage, after all.)

The abilities themselves, on the other hand, don't say anything explicit about weapon usage (other than snipe mentioning a ranged weapon). They do, however use 'fire' repeatedly, which implies a bow, crossbow, or rifle. (Based on the weapons list.)

Still without reading the entire rules, I don't see any particular reason why this combination (although thematically inappropriate to the name Archer) would be particularly problematic. It would simply represent a close combat fighter who excels in hitting critical locations. If you see a particular feature that seems like it would be easily abused (in a way it could not be if using a ranged weapon) then you might want to discuss limiting that ability.