Plot Calm Before the Storm are revealed with text "Characters and locations are immune to events this round". The event Snowed In with text "Any Phase: Until the end of the phase, character abilities cannot be triggered" played.

The question -- Can character abilities be triggered?

I think -- cannot. But I would like to know what rules experts think.

The event is not directly affecting the character, so characters cannot ignore its effect. Immunity to events won't help vs. Snowed In.

Thank you!

The event is not directly affecting the character, so characters cannot ignore its effect. Immunity to events won't help vs. Snowed In.

What exactly is the target here? I assume the "character ability" itself is the target, but what exactly is Snowed In doing? Is it saying "I make you fail to initiate, Mr. Character Ability?"

Well, remember that without the word "choose," there is no actual target for the effect.

Seriously, though, when determining what an effect is working on directly, you always look to the subject of the sentence. So, yes, since the effect is worded "character abilities cannot be triggered," this event works directly on character abilities. If it were phrased as "players cannot trigger character abilities," it would be considered to work directly on players. If it were phrased as "characters cannot trigger their abilities," it would be considered to work directly on the characters.

If it helps, think of this event adding a play restriction to all character abilities that says "this ability cannot be triggered this phase."

Players trigger character abilities.