I don't think its a function of power level so much as length of campaign (of course, the two are correlated). In long campaigns, the gap between best abilities and typical abilities widens; that is the fundamental problem.
...
> Do the players enjoy the improv rule? Or do other players get
> miffed?
We used to enjoy them. Easy to use. But then problems became apparent.
> Can you give an example how improvs have caused a major problem in a
> game?
I think I said it all, if tersely, here: http://www.badamson.nildram.co.uk/Glorantha/HQ/broad_abilities.html#authors_notes
Have you ever imposed a -20 improv. penalty on a player? Or had one imposed on you? Was everyone happy in the situation? Now imagine the players angling for uses of abilities that deserve a penalty of -20 or worse several times in one game session. Fun? Not at all. And as a campaign develops, it gets worse.
Or been in a situation where the narrator has been lenient in imposing improv penalties on another player, rendering your character worthless because they have suddenly, in effect, acquired a super character who can do everything your character can do, better than yours, plus can do some more? Might as well discard your character. This is not a gamist competitive thing; your character becomes irrelevant to the narrative too, merely a follower of the other character.
> Does it spoil your enjoyment of the game, or the players or both?
It has spoiled my enjoyment both as a player and a narrator.
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