Theatrix Core Rules

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ia Testen:

Many of te play testers listed below bought prepress copies of Theatrix from us, elping us along as wedeveloped the game. We would like to thank them againfor their suppot. We would also like to thank al of ou

playtesters for their comments and advie is wouldn'tbe te same game witout you

Stephen Beardslee, Cynhia Bilops Bran BoonstraJef Brain Ron Briton Gmeron Brown Jenifer ung,Mattew BuynosiNathan Carpenter S Andrew Chance,Dey Cark Jacob Cingerman, Christine Craig,Tim Cee Dona Croston Eric Currier Dougas DeaGay Delse Timothy Dennis Steve DouglasJennifer Drat Skip Dugu Andrew Durston,Heleen Durston Bett Dyer, Chris Elott Georey Fagan,Stacey etersDavid inkea, Scott itzJames ourcade,

Sam reund Matt y rancs Gallela, Dana Goldsmith

Lary Grossman Tom Harrington, Joe Hil, Robin HinesTanith Hirai Chris Hockaboot Dave Hughes,Darrin Hyrup, Paul Jackson Mke Johnson,Deverne Jones Shane Judson,Mike Kange,Bil KassaleSarah Keast David Kenard, aunda ershawJapJ Khalsa John Km, Bob Krotsley, Vay KuevorSopie Lagace Shannon Lambeth, ason amboeMagnus Le Hetand, Nick Lesiecki, Mark Lette

Mark ieberman Stacy Lnder Corey issau, Chris oveJim Love, Gaby Malleod Bl Mazerat evin Miller

oren Mile, Wilam Miller, Carlton Moore Cy MyersDavid Myers Brian Myre Bretto Neto Ashey NicolsSean Pagliarulo, William Parham, oseph Petit,Tom Pizzino, Cris Poley Nick Poolos Nick Ramerez,John Reskusc, Je Rcardson, Todd Rohrer,Andrew Rose Gordon Rose, Gurubani Rosenbloom,isa Sacco, Viny Sauzllio Aaron Schwa Matt Scott,Dan Senn Ami Seymou, Todd ShaughnessyO.J. Simpson Gay SmitMarcus Soulier Chs Stopeli,Demtr Strathearn, Mike Strathearn Gobind anaka,Je aylor Chris Tesng, Howard Tompson

Scott hone, Daniel Thron, Teresa Turman

ames Tie Jim Todd Richard Traon, anith Ty,Gay Vanderhook Lee Vanderip Ron Vardy,

Ren Vernon Dave Vignola, Gay Walker Sam Walls,

eff Washam Dirk Wells Robbe WestmoelandJD Wiker, Jim Wiley Robin Williams Stuat Willams,Tami Wlliams, Holly Wilson, Richard Wilson,en Wnland riss Wolf, ddy You, Jos Zerlan

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Te purcaser of tis book may epodce he caracterseets for pesoal se onl Any oter reproducton of tsmatera weter n woe, or n pat wtout wrtte pems-son of te pubser s expressy dened, wt e excepton ofso excerpts or te pupose of evews

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INTRODUCTION

GAME CONTENTS

ROLLNG DCE

THE BASIC RUE

CAPITALIZED TERMSORGANZATON

CHAPER BY CHAPER

REFERENCE CARDS

GOSSARY

SUMMARY

ROLEPLAYING

WAT IS ROEPAYING?THE TROPE

ACTNG

)

SAGE DIRECIONS

SOILOQES AND VOCE-OVERS

DIRECNG

TME

SUPPORING CAS

STAGING

CONTNUY

CU . AKE WO

GLOSSARYSUMMARY

CINEMATOGRAPHY

DESCRPION

SE DESGN IGING, AND

4 Theatx - The Core Rules

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MUSCAL SCORE 22

FORESHADOWING 23

CUT SCENES 23

Flashbacks 25

Dream Sequenes 25

MING AND COINCIDENCE 26

Meawhie, Back At The 26

LTTE SCENES 26GOSSARY 27

SUMMARY 27

' IM\1JjC

)

MAKEUP AND COSTUMING 29

QUANTFIERS 29

SCAING 29

AND MORE. 30

TO QUANFY OR NO TO QUANTI.. 30QUANFED TRAIS 30

DESCRIPTVE TRAIS 30

Qantfes o Despve Tras 30

UNQUANTFEDTRAS 31

SCAING 31

COMPENG TE SCAE 31

METODS OF SCANG 32

Sag By Rage 32

Scang by No 32

F E MOUNAIN WON' GO .. 32

THE DECIMA PONTS 32

TYPES O RAITS 33

PYSCAL AND MENTA ARBTES 33

Pysca Atrbtes 33

Meta Attbtes 34

Descbng Atbtes 34

SILLS AND ABILTIES 35

Rakg 36


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Skl and Abiity Histoies 6 DUEING SUCCESSES 58Specialzatio RESOLUION FLOWCHARS 5

Skil and Abiity Descrptions RESOLION PATS 59

Everyma Skls 37 Basc Resolutio Paths 59

Skl Categores 37 asitoa Boxes 6

Exape Skils 38 Advanced Resoltion Paths 6PERSONAIY RAS 38 Example 62

Persoalty Trat Actvation 4 Example 6

Directo's Contol 4 MAGNUDE OF REST 64Doube Activatio for ... 41 Skl Rak Vs Dicuty 64

DESCRIPORS 41 Rsk 64

Descrptor Actvaton 44 TMNG, TENSION AND AMBGUTY 65

Descptos Vs. Skls/Abites 4 RANDOMNESS 66

TE PRMARY DESCRIPTOR 44 A ormla or Sccess 66

LAWS 45 GOSSARY 6

GENERAL EORY OF 45 SUMMARY 6

CONCEPTON 45

LIS ARBUES SKLLS ... 46c

CI j

HE BASC RULE 47

EMPATES 4

POWER PLAY 47 MPROVSAION 69

CARACER SHEES 47 ROUPE SYLE ROEPLAYING 69

GLOSSARY 49 DRAMA 69

SUMMARY 49 INFORMAION

MACROSCOPC VS MCROSCOPIC 0

GIji

STRCURE 70

PROCESS

SUBPOS

LGHS CAMERA . ACION! 5 Log er Vs Sho em

OPPOSED ACIONS 51 Personal Vs ope 1

SUCCESS AND FAURE 5 Exampes of Subplots 2

HE BASIC RULE 5 DISRIBUTED DIRECING FOR 2

SK VS. PLOINE 52 THE STAGE 2

AMBGUY 52 Rue o Thmb 73

ROLEPLAY 52 SAEMENS 73

RAIS 54 Example 73

SOR IME 54 IMPROVSE OR SCCESS 75

ROUNDS 54 CONSISENCY 75INIATVE 54 PO POINS 6

USING SKILLS AND ABILIIES 55 SPENDNG PLOT PONS 6DIFFICULY 55 Byig Success 6

COAERAL SKS 55 Backmai 6SNG E SAGE 57 Payment De 76ACIVELY OPPOSED ACTONS 5 EARNING PLOT POINTS

Rle Of mb 5 Zeo Pont Subpots 78TE ACTIVE PARCPANT 58 Beatng te Aveages

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Downtime

Pregamng

APPLAUSE

JELYBEAN DIRECTNG

TH BASIC RULE

GLOSSARYSUMMARY

PLOGE

PACNG

. .. . .

PLOT POT TOTAS

SCANG TE CHRONCL

RESCALING TH CHRONIC

BOTTOM OF HE HEAPTOP OF HE HEAP

HIGH WAER MARK

ADVANCMNT SUBPOTSCOMPLEXY

THE FORMS OF OWERO DEVICES

ACOR'S CONTRO

PUSG TH NVOP

BASC RUE

GLOSSAR

SUMMAR

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COMBA 87

IMORANCE 87

ROUGHNESS 88SCAING RAITS 88

Success and Faue 88Results 88

SEING 88Flavo 88Weapons 88Damage 89

ENVIRONMENT 89

he Stage 89

os 89

ADS, SWORDS GUNS AND . 9

6 Theatlx - The Core Rules

CHOREOGRAP

FGHING SYLES

Pan Fgtng

Al Out Atack

Fu Defense

TckeDAMAG

WOND LEVES

Damage yesSECAL EFFECTS

SCAING

OT FOR THE CON

FORCE FIELDS, ARMOR AND ...

A WORLD 0' HRT

RADY, AIM IR!

TH BASC RUE

COMBAT ACTON RSOUTION

COMBA ROND CHK ST

THE BG COMBAT MEGA-XAMPEGLOSSARSMMAR

\1 ,)

SING

GTTG STARTD

HE SAGE

Reseac

e Wo

otcs

Values

eoe

Damatc Context

VLANS

UPDATING TH CORE RS

SCALNG

Sometng ontsExame

Exame

SECFIC HEORY OF ..

SS

Skls

Abes

Desctos

SYSTEM EENSONS

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Example 122 Other Plot Tuns 31

COMBA 122 MIDPON 3

RESOLUTON FOWCHARS 122 Exampe of the Midpoint 13

THE BASIC RULE 22 THE PNCH 13

GLOSSARY 23 Example of Pc 131

SMMARY 123 Example of Pc I 132MING 32

I

)

HE INCREDIBLE SRKG . 33

FEEING GOOD 33

CUE CARDS 133PLOTLINE 125 SCENE CARDS 133IDEA 125 CAS CARDS 133

A SENENCE OR WO 125 Exampe 34CLICHE 26 SCREEN ES 34TRANSATION 26 ehind e Scees 134

DAMA 3 ACS 126 E BASIC RE 134AC l -HE RESOLUTON 126 GOSSARY 135

Example of the Resouo 27 SUMMARY 35ACT I THE INTRODCON 27

Secrets 128

)

Involvemen and Motivao 128

Example o e Introducion 128

ACT I THE CONRONTAION 29 POSSCRIP 36

E CONIC EXPODED 29

PO RNS 129j J

tI

)Exampe o Plot Tun 130

Exampe of Plot ur 130Pang 30 M-ADVERE 137

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8 Theatrix - The Core Rules


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INTRODUCTION

Maing a stoy e to life can be a diffclt asPvos generations o gae systes have been ulesbond, tapped wthin the own stcte and gidy. Wewanted to podc a gae that wod help yo in eveyway not hinde yo So we developed a syste of lesthat is witten to evolve along with yo style of stoytellingand oleplaying These es an be sed to gide eveacet o the gae's pogess wthot bcoing intusiveYo an se a the les o easly pee the away Jnlayes ui yoe nnmg f-o gaes he leshaVy enoage adoptng ths syle o pay akngtheselves nnecessay

We n heax ast and e sig hese agesonly when we feel theyll be hepl in aing a desonWe also eep all the oleplay enoagng les sch asthe Plot Pont and Ipovisatonal les becase wethm theye n ove pad yo oney and ay dowith this boo as yo see t We hope yoll see t to enjoyt

he net ew seons dene tes sed thoghotths b so even if yoe aa wth oleplaying yoshod t o ead the es n he ode gven hs wil asofalaize yo with the intent o the es which we eels the ea o the gae a oe tha he es heselves n othe wods f what yoe eadng o the next

ew pages sees le old hat please bea with s andpetend yoe begnning all ove again

GAME CONTENTS

C Rus BkRfnc CdsFwcs

- Hen David Thoreau

o ay also wsh to have on hand

0 Sded D (Optona)

Wate Soble Mag ens

He Map Usable wth the Mang ens

: Lead Fges

Al o the above ae availab at loa hobby stoes

ROLING DC

hogh no le thn this boo eve qs yoto oll any dc thee ae optiona les that al o die

ols to be ed n ang gae decisions hee ae woinds of die ols these otonal les ay al fo and botho the se a ten sided die avaiable at any hobbystoes he fist ind i s denoted in the les as a d1 0 olleanng yo shod oll one te sided die and teat thenbe 0 as a o hi gves a ange o to heseond ind of oll wil e wo ten sided d talyone de ay b oled tce o wo deenty cooed deay be olled at the sae te We denote ths as a d0ol he fst de s teatd as the tens pa n a to dgitnbe he second de s teated as the ones pae and a 2wod then be ead as 2 5 and a 3 wold beead as 5 and a wod be ead as 0 his

gives a ange o hogh 0 o to 0

TH BASIC RU

hoghot the 'C Rus, wel be talng abowhat we cal Bas Rles Bas es ae the only les of the gae he ppose o es is to gve aonsisent way to handle sitaons and jdgeents heBasic Res ae the only ones yo need to ae yo

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games run wel Eveything ese is embelishment Otherrues are tere to ep you ony if yo need the, and wepose tha the Basc Rues w ever hnder you i any

way.

CAPITALIZED TERMS

You' id that some of the ters sed i this ad

oterTeatx prodcts are cosistety Captazed Thisconventio is used o deote sgnicant terms for theserues Someties fora deiitions w be gve forthese capitazed ters At other tes we aow adefintion o deveop naturay o of our usage of theter We may aso provide definios for oe radtiona

ers that expand upon her taditona sage heseres are eat to e exie ad open ended so ty otto read the like a ega document Insead deveop the

soyteers a ad adopt boow ad re-interpret n

other wods ake his book your own

ORGANIZATION

These 'Core Rules' are an interpretation of ow tocreate ad deveop a good stoy ey act as a skeetonpo whch yo ay deta ay nivese of your agiing hearx Seting Books ae aso avaabe to hep youwth this process Thats where yol fid most of tegdeies fo ceatng a patcuar genre startg withcharacter generaon ad ovng trough eqpmests maps ad stoy scripts f a Setg Book was notincuded with your purchase you ay sti use tese ruesou just have to do a ot of the work youse Or you maypurcase oe of our rcy detaied Settng Books andadopt its fuy eaed word of adveture for you ow

Tis book is organed a ite derenty fro mostoepayg games Wha s reay give here is a suggeston of ow to create improvisatona theatre i your ivingroo Because ts so edate if al e paicpats aeup to it roepaying can be a vey iense expeeceWhat foows s a ethod for ceatng and holdig thatiensity

Te book sats wth a basic defnio o oepayigicudng the pas of bot Acto ad Director (see the next

capter tied Rolepay). This s foowed by a morecompex ook at te at of Directig fro a thearicaperspective he next four chaptes detai ost of thegaes actua guidenes; stag with ceatig roes toporay te ovng hrough the basics of decisionaking ten o to a discussion of various iprovisationalechnques and inay comig to the deveopmetof both he stoy and its characters The ast threechapters fom a dscusson of te ore advanced cocepts of hearix roleplayng

Muc of tis book is write fro te perspectve ofthe ietor bt tat doesnt mean you shoudnt read aof t even if you neve pa on iectingTe whoe of theateria presented here is vauabe for bot the Actorsand iectors aike he better yor grasp of te cocepsicuded in his book he ore yo eoy yor games

CHAPTER BY CHAR

rief synopsis of each chapter foows

Chapter I - Itroduction

Ths capter is ntended to prepare you fo the es ofthe book is s very dierent stuf you're about to getinto Some of he concepts were going to dscuss mayseem a litt le obscue until theyre caried in latehaptes Weve taken a lo of efor to ogaie thsmateria in te easiest possible way. So f somenotions seem a bt vague, please bea wit us and just

plow o through. Things wi probaby mae sense nthe end

Chapte I - Roea

Tis chapter is a discussion of te basic erms adideas that bild good oleplay is stu is survvalgea Youll need much more to actually acke a ealgame but whatever you do wth the later rues youshould keep this chapter firly in mind

Chapter Cemaoph

Teng a good sto is more than simpy descibig a

linea seuence o events Al the later chapers of thisbook depend upon your abiliy to weave a tae in thestyle of a novelist or a move producer Descriptionssold come ave pots shou be woven ogee obuild the fabric of your story ad your movementsthug me and space should be designed o heightenthe suspense and drama of your wor Ths chapterpresets a grab bag of trics and echniques that willsuppo tis kind of stoyteling

Cape V - Makeup and Costumng

Ever stor needs a cast of chaacers I act allstories are really about their chaacters ad not teir

places o events Places and events ae simply ebackdrop upon wic great caracers may achievemeaningul ends In order to create caraer withidividua movatios bacguds ad soiescapable of acieving specic ends youll utilize a etof umbes and descriptions hee numbes anddescipions wll act as an obective guide to eachcharacers capabilies Ths chaper detai euse of these numbers and descptions whch undelieall eatx carater creation regardless of te speccgenre you nend to use for you stoes

heatix

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Chapter V- Lights .. Camera . Acton!

The at o rolelayng is the art o buldg a cosesuallluso. hs chater s about how to descrbe theoutomes o a charater's acos, a way tat holdstogether te lluso of ealy tha akes roelaygossble These outcomes ustbar o both charaterad story hs chater descbes how o use thembes deveope 'Mkup nd Cosmig,ad the Drecos owledge o the stoys lotle tocoe wh a cosstet ealstc otcoes oray acto wthou havg to roll dce

Capt VI pvsaton

Heroes are heroes because they get to be dagy

omeet at the ost draatc momets Rolelaygmeas geg to eel just lke tt. Not a the tme bat he rgt oets hs chater descbes the deasad rules we use to mae hat ossbe

Capt VII Egue

Characers chage grow ad ate as they gothrough ther lves ust as the stores they suogow ad matre alog wth the is chatedescbes the rocess o advacg your caacte a way ta's ara ad suove to your ogogrolelay

Capte VI Cbat

Athough ts ot equred he e ad deah suggeo cobat s te hgh ot o may soes ue to theaout o dama ad eso volved such aoct weve devoted a whole chater to the secalcocets ad techques reured or dectg greatduels cludg a ak dscsso o the aue oweaos, woudg ad recovey

12 Thealx The Cor Rules

Capte IX - Seng

heatx s a Uversal roeayg game eagthat ts rules may be aled to stores occurg aygere ast o uture o earth o sace hs caters a ostucto kt descrbg wat goes to thecreao o a colete gere

Capte X Plne

hs chaer acts as a costructo k or he ceatoof god ploles We have the radal oo that agood tales have the sae basc omua hat thsola ca be easly astee ad a y caeuyolowg the stes escrbed hs cate you wllgaatee yourse coee daatc araves youll

be oud o

EFEENE ADS

A lot o useu eeene mateia as bee pacedo ardboad cads ad pakaged at e bak o ts bookM o ts matea as bee reprted te appop-ate spots trougo e 'e Rules, but i a mu moesated om Some o tis iomatio is avaiabe oyo tese eee cads Keep te eeree adsbeside yo as you ead tog tes es, ad you'ave eveytig at ou igtips Wi te eeeceads i ad dg a game, yo may eve eed to go

ummagg tog tese pages o omatio.


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GLOSSARY

This s he section i futre haps where yo'll fd shot eis all th seal wods w'll s hrghou his book.Fo examle

Customer- A vey ipoan peo. Ao, he be peon o jdge how o e e aeial fond In hi ook

SUMMARY

T1s s spae we'll us m uue haprs to smmaze eah hapes mos impoa ois This spae a as a so hape-a-a-la o eample .

r Ty eaing he 'Coe Ru a he way hog oce even f yoe aeady aiia w e ac concepof oepang hee ae a o of new iea ee and a o of good avce even fo expeence oepaye

ake a ook a oe o o Seng Book o iea on ow o e Coe Rues no a copee oyeigevionen

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I w b t i f twv (D MtWM()L

ROLEPLAYING

Th1s chapte wil eve as both a genea ntodcton to oleplayng, and as a re on heatx. hechapte sets out the basc oles of both Aco and con a heat gae; ncdmg what t s to be an Acto,wat t s to be a Decto and what eac ole s esonsbe o We'll also esent a ew tps and gdenes to getyo staed on yo way So wthot te ado

WHAT IS ROLEPLAYING?

We dene oleplayng as Inteactve, povsatonal theate he pose o oleplayng s eesson,

and the ed o that exesson s actng Wat yohod n yo hands now s a gae o fantasy and akebeleve Athogh ths s a gae t snt played wth aboad o peces s layed wh yo agnaton hedea s to nvolve yose n tales o the antastc, and tobecoe a pa o those taes o ceate and act ot yoown adventes hs ay see a e stange at stbt te pese s qte easy and once yove caght on,t can be totaly engossng he eeence wl be sopowe becase yol get to be on the nsde o the stoyas an actve pacant, not jst an obseve

Rolelayng s aso stoytelng One pacpant wlact as the stoytele, ceatng and keeng the ystees

o the lot Al othe acants tae on the theatcaoles o chaactes who ae n soe way poant to thestoy he stoytele weaves the nto the tale gves thebacgond, descbes cenes, ntols ch o theaon and edates al decsons he stoyee s alonown as the eo he othe pacpants a theayes o Actos he n o ths o o stoyelng sthat Its not pe-scted What the Actos do as they paythe oes wll eect the sto he eo only begnsthe tale the Actos help ceate the est he Actos decde

- Judy Grlnd

what the peonas theyve assed w do n any staton he eo takes the npt o al the Ao decdes

hat the otcoes o al the acons wl be and dscbes the apoate esl he pacpants a always eactng to the noldng events ceated thoghthe nteaons. Le an oganzed o o the gaeyo sed to lay as a chld ony wth a ew gownpwsts

hose ws nclde a ple backdo aganstwhch to set yo stoes chaactes wth gat deth andaaon and a sweeng ntense, and vetng ot ohe yo acheve al that weve nclded a ew sggetons on povsaton acng olnes descton andstagng o ae se that we an st ths as aoelayng a, weve aso nclded a ew ues

E ROUPE

he oe s a coecton o Aco Well eventaly develop wthn these es a oe syle o ayhats whee eveyone gets to be an Aco and the Jb oo s dstbted aong the op On yoecoabe wth these les, yo shold b abe to ly esonsibtes actng wthn the stoy whestoelng and eng othe as o Wel tal oeabot deveong a ope sye of play n late chate

ACG

Roeayng s actng bt wthot the ad o a scptts lke ovsatona theate wthot the aden heAo wl ceate the own oles develong the sonas o the chaacte hey pay, and addng n detalsathe sto pogesses hat eans that as the cto etsthe Scene, and the othe Actos tae the seassedoes yol begn to seak and act as yo chaacte nths cona antasy Fo a ew lese ho yol

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pretend to be this othe peso that you've ceated. Youphysicaly play though those actios you can, descibng detai those actios you cat. The Deco wi keep upa unng daogue wth the Actos to descibe the chagesohe Scee aoud them as the Actos move speak adact. The tck s to mmese yousef you assumed oeTo act and stoyte we enough t o make you Scenes ve each pesons magaton The moe eeig yo haveo the oe you ceate o youse the moe u this wbe. T to ceate a pesona you woud ejoy beig Makethis pesoa as compete as possibe. How does thschaace dess wha ae he aca expessos avotephases habits o speech and body aguage? Thee wibe a ot o yo in this assumed oe but its the dieecesthat make the oe enjoyabe

Fee ee to pay wth you chaaces psychehees a tedecy o sang payes to ceate oyeadg oes Stf eced heoes ge a the gs buttheye bog Its the chaengng oes tha Acos seekHow about a cowad wth a ot o bavado? Someone whosuggests daing pans o action ony to tr and wease outo them ate O a huge ugy huk with a kid heat? O asick dandy with questonabe motives whos oced tobecome a unwg heo? The knds o oes with awsmake the most memoabe oepay The chaaces aeeections o the Actos they can ean to ive with theiaws theye a the moe huma o it ad we ca eansomething om that Even in a gee packed wa to wawith sti necked heoes a ew uiks ike a weakess othe opposite se o a ea o snaes o being uneingyogica wi make a chaacte moe ieestng Wok wihthe ieco to deveop a oe that w ehace the stoad be u o a Pay t to the hit.

SAGE DRECONS

s a cto you shoud aways t to be n youchosen oe ung the game t to evove two ways ospeakg; i chaacte ad out o chaacte. In chaacteyou be speaking om you oe in the ist pesotaking ot oud to the othe ctos and the SuppoingCast (see Suppog ast, comg up n this chapte)Neve decty descbe you pesonas thoughts o eengs uness youe speakg n chaacte ou can asouse ancy techques ike Soioquies o Voice-Ovesdiected at the Toupe in genea see the oowingsecton

Out o chaacte you be speakng moe i the thidpeso descibig the detais o you pesonas ationsWheeve possbe you shoud e you own movemetsie you body motions and you use o the pops at hadseve as this desciptio. Speak out o chaacte ony toi in the vsua gaps o when you cant eady a out youoes physica actos. Most o these desciptons w beaiy pai sch as 'I ope he doo sowy ad ook ito

16 Theatlx- or us

the oom o my chaacte uses he kowedge o mechacs to attempt o epa the gine Sometimes youwat to descibe not ony what you pesona is doing butaso the way i which shes dong it his type o descptio is a itte moe compex. Some eampes o this mghtncude .

The agated way i which you chaacte s

obvousy cutching the gu n he coa pocke

he vacat stae she gives a ed as shewalks past

he see o contemp upon you chaacteace as she speas

Each o these descptos cotans asicay objectve ifomato. These shoud be payed ot n peeence but can be acceptabe as desciptos especay asadjuncts to you acting But pease ty ee to say ...

My chaacte oos despeate. My chaacte doesnt seem to ecogize you

My chaacte ooks angy

hose ae eay itepetatons athe than objectve descptos. Such diect subjecve communcatons oy deta om he eeg o a ved expeieceThey emove the ght o the othe Actos to intepet theiown word. ts a ine ine, bu a mpoat oe

SOLOQUES AN VOEOVES

One goo echque to hep expad you chaaeiatio is the we timed Soioquy. The Webstes ctoay deies a Soioquy as

soquy, lil' oke, pl. lle [Llm-l alne and t peak) Theac r a ntance f alng t neelf; n daa anle al vi the lln f needeflectn 1n whch the chaacte dce ennet thht n t te adenc and nt t ehe peme

The Soioquy ets the othe cos know somethigo you chaactes motivations by deiveing a moo

ogue i you chaactes voce. ts a way o thikg otoud wheeve hat eveato woud be amusng osgniicanty ehace the dama o the mome VoiceOves ae the ciematic equivaet o Sooquies andmay be used by the Actos i exacy the same way. Ocouse these eveations ae o the othe Actos who aeyou audiece and not the chaces Those Actosmus contue o pay he oes as though they weebeet o the kowedge just ganted them opped a heght time this can povide a ecet actg chaenge


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DIRECTNG

Intcate, aaned caeuy designed hadedplots. A suppog ast of magnatve charactes wth adepth ad ealty al the own Compete moo cptvatig descptos of Sengs oth exotc and mundane

Comc relief ad hgh teson These ae the poucts ofthe stoyteles at They ae the man charge o theDrecto You as Decto w ceate a sto to nvolveeach o the Actos takg cae to ncude wsts that wdaw ther ndvdual chaacteztos push at thelaws hold the dnvg goals n ont of them lke lusvephantoms and vet them to the seats. Because you'vebeen povded wth such a ecellent system of ues fyou use them well you Acos wll do haf the wokthemselve All o the love of the a of stotelng

TIME

Chaacter development takes time he ntention omost oepay s that the same asc cast o charactes wlappea n a nked sees of stoes o Epsodes. Eachpsode may e omposed o svea Acts and each Actmay nta may Scenes A sgle Scee s a ses ofevents whch compose one unf set of actons geneay takig pace at the same oton Exampes of singeScees woud e a car chase a usness ngotaton oa comat

A snge Epsode may take seveal sessos tocomplete ad each sesson can ast sevea hous So theflow of tme wthn you stoy wl e contnuous andunelated to the passage of time as we epeene t You

may spend sevea sessos on a ew hours of tme wthnthe sto o may yeas may pass wth a ef descptonhe Deco s n chage of the passage of tme and thepacng o the stoy You psodes should fom a eatvely contnuous Choncle of the Actos adventues kea sees of move sequels Sometmes you may wat toceate oles and act out a sngl Ep1sode ut the mostsatsyng olepay s genealy centeed o a Chonce

SUPORNG CAST

Ths s whee the ector gets to the act Yoursto w poay eure moe oles than the major patsoped y your Actos Lumeng monster vie vao powef eeactor al o them wl e played y theecor Eve he lle one ne t pas should not eovelooke The Actos shoud feel that eve ecountethey have s with a eal person Even a one lne pat nadd to the stoy hs s you chance to take the Stage Putsome thought nto eve ole you take Dong ths wllmake you plotlnes geat

One tck that pactd Dectos use s to assgnsuppong oes to Actors whose mao chaactes ant

pesent fo a Scee Ths wl keep you Actos nvolvedad esse you uden at the same tme You eveassign the roe of an oppoent to a Acto gvg thatActo ony enough nfomaton aout the oe to getthrough the Scene The same tehue woks wel whenfo some easo an Acto s tempoay not n cotol ofher chaacters actons such as wen a chaacte spossessed y anothe enty. Gve the Acto nvoved usteough omato to cotiue to pay the ole whewthholdg the pesonas ew goals Ths s a good actngchaenge, ad a lot of fn to watch

SAGG

The ft o of the Drecto s the development of theSeng whch he stoes wl take pace Although wecan povde some frst class ackgound matea andmuch moe s avaae from othe souces (ooks andmoves ae you est gude) youl stll have a lot to do

You must decde eatly where and when you Chonces to e cetered and more mpotantly why? veChocle shoud have a focus of atteton: some easonwhy the characte have aded togethe and someaso eyond ther ndvdual peoates for stayngtogether The Dector shoud help the Actos to createoes whch w povde a good match fo each ohe andthe focus of the Choce. o hep egage he gears ofyour magnato hee ae a few examples o we setChoces

A oe of was n the 3mcentu andedtogethe fo mutual potton against the

hazas of a antastc Dak Age

he crew o a gaay spannng stahp wtha msson to seach out and exploe newwods

A goup o hghy specalzed agents wokngto psee the cutue y taveig thoghtme n order to co mstakes n hstoyused y a ae meae

The emnants of a mita compay tyng to

suvve ong enough a post-hoocustatleone to each home

: A ad of gunslngng desperdos orectgnustces n the d West

c A goup of eite spes wokng fo He MastsSecet Seve They mght even e lcnsedto kl

eat.lx-

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A league of suer-owered heoes batngsuer-menaces for freedom, justice, anddemocracy.

Tere are many more exames n books moviesand teevision eisodes. Anything you've read or seentha has saked your imagination, ca become he focusfo a Chronice. A Seng is hen comosed of he pace,time, san and focus of the Cronice

CONTINUITY

Moves aen shot n the sequence in which heyreviewed A the Scenes at each ocaion ae sot a once,regadess of hei fina oder In he movie sess,Coninuity is the word used o describe the task of makngsure ha te Actos ae weaing e rght coes for eveSene a te time of day of each sho s consistent wihte assage of ime as w e seen n he nished m

ec Coninuity grants eievaity o the na roduc. Decto, yo'e ao o ca a so o ntgueand eeai e Actors are aou o ut ha stoogh sevee sess Uness yo're ve carefu hey'find emarrassng oooes and inconsstencies in youandiwork hey ind souons o roems you ddnthink any sane erson woud take We use Coninuity todescrie ha qay o a oe a aows to fowsmoohy, even under te duress of your unscritedAcors Yo' ony aceve Continuiy y uing n someuaiy ime beoe your game. A the ve eas, beoreeach Eisode yo soud wrte down .

A asic ouine of he roems o e faced yhe Acors in he isode stating wi themajor theme of the isode.

A quick descriio of a the sites to evisted by he Actors.

The names, descritions moivaions, andgoas of the Supoig Cast i the confct.

A few ough sketches of ossie endings fo

te scenario Ths wi he you o deveop anidea of how the isode wi effect theChonice as a whoe

When you're done wih he isode t's agood idea to make a ist of a te oose endsthe Actors have et hanging hey'e someof the bes mateia fo the creaion of futuresodes.

18 Theatrlx - Co Rus

akig this time wi grat beievabiy to you iaroduct. In the end your Actors wi have amost as muchinfuence on the diectio of each ot as you do. So i youhaven done hs ite it of omewok, your ones wiroaby sat comig aat at the seams. Some caefuannig, on he oter had can make your otinesgrea

CTI . TAKE TWO

The ony upose of roepaying s fun We can'emhasze this enough Reaism, mood ad ot, shouda take a ack seat o fn Of cose things ae gog oaen to the character ha are not humorous. Withoutenson, and even agedy he roeay wodn eenjoyae oo much tragedy, ad te roeay o beenoyae e Deco's ma o s o aance hegame so tha all of he aiciants fee emowered andenoy temseves oeay s an emoona eeenceSometimes your ayers wi forget that ay one roe issecoda o he roeay Someimes tey forge hatte ension and tragedy hey fee a he moment is a oftei chaacter's e, no tei own Someimes hey'forge to trus you ur advce to eveyone is

he rimay eason were here is o enoyeac other's comany So n momens oftension, eave he tensio to he characters.

Be nce o each ohe even f yor characters

are at odds. I' make he game wha i wasmean to be.

No one kes i when ad thigs happe to

their characters Some genres are grim, adwoudn' e the same withou tagedy fyoure ever i he wrog ace, at te wrogtime, aow yoursef severa mnutes o sorrow,hen coinue to enjoy the secace of ifegoing on befoe you You get as may moechances o aiciate as your imagiatohas roes to pay

s the Directo. If yo fee e ou for te

momen say so T Director wi correct te

siaon soon

As Directo you ave utimae veo ower hsgame aows the Actors a ot of contro over he ot Wesgges you gve hem as much eeway as ossbe. Buthe ina say is yours f someting is going o that youdont ke, don e it aen. Just ay, Cut! Take wo.


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GLOSSARY

Ac - A seres of Scenes whch when taken together, complete some pat o a stoy's pupose, comprising anafectve whoe.

Ator - A person taking the pa of one of the storys ain characersChronicle A sees of connected Epsodes ceang a nified epicConnuy- Those aspecs of an pisode whch alow or the suspension of dsbelie on he pa of he Actors Aso,

those ouches which draw he Actors ino the stoy and make them wan to stay therDeco - he person who crafts and holds the stoy together

Epsode A sngle stoy told in fllIn haracer The ac of potrayng a roe n the frst person Wakng alng and aing as a character n a stoyMan Cast- Those roles potrayed by he Actors usually proagoniss, and of major sgnfcan to the stoyOt o characer- Taking about the stoy its action or the characers wihin t rom the hrd pers on.Scene- A unifed seres of acton and interacton generaly focsed upon one location, or one eventSeng- A compete world of the maginaton, ncluding background, hsory, social systems etc A place n which

o creae a ChroncleSupong Ca - Any role potrayed by he Drecor, either o seconda signifcan o he sto or a maor

anagonistTroue-A colecion o people who ge together regularly to ake urns Acting and recting in each ohers stores

SUMMARY

he Toue Roleplaying is afun acivty done with frends his game nvtes everyone to paicipate hemore each person participates the more un it ges

I Stage recons Poray your character Whenever possibe speak, walk, al and thnk your charaterAvod teling anyone abot yor role as much as possble Show hem nstead hs s rue for uppoing Castroles as well

0 Suppong Ca The Actors are there to act so use hem for uppoing Cast roles whenever you can

Stagng ve Chroncle should have a focus tha can weld the individual personaliies of he Main Cast noa single group This focus mus provde a reason or group acon and shoud alow for proactive paticipatonby ts embers (e the group should be controlled manly by its members rather than by any outside agency)

1 Connuty- he ore qualiy me you put into makng your Chronicle interesting surprising and belevabe,the more fun ts going to be

0 Ct! . ake Two- Becoming nvolved in yor game is great bt is no real life No game is ever woth benghutul to someone ese over Ths is a way to bring frends closer ogether Use his power only for good

Theatx - The Core ules 19


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20 Theatx - Cor Ruls


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O

.

Vh()t(raPhY i ut and lnma is Jh enb-fur tms

a sc(nd.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Cinematogapy is te at o filming motion pc-tues. That is, the art of takng a scipt and tuing t intoa visually vetng, visceal expeence We've booweda few techniques om the cnematogaphes bag otcks in ode to help you make your plotlnes ntooleplayng a ese tecnques eque almost no etawok, and in etu wll add dept to you stoies and wllncease you Atos nvolvement n each tale Some othem shoud be used equenty, wle othes ose teireect i used too oen and should be saved o te ightmoments Used popely, theyl enhance you plotlnesand keep you Actos wantig moe o ths end, well istd1scuss the basics of descption, the use o props, and theadditon o a musca scoe and sound efects hen weltalk about the applicaton o actual cnematic technques,such as Foesadowing, Flasbacks, and Deam Sequences All o these tecniques may be intiated byethe the Decto, o te Actos which is a pactce wellencouage in a ate chapte titled 'mpovisin.

DESCRIPON

Descnpton s the most Impoant too in the Dectoseperoie The Acto are stepping into you ealiy a

place tat doesnt est outside o you magnaton norde o you stoes to wok youe largely going to haveto make you Scenes ve n you Actos maginatonsthrough the use o wods aone he Dectos ably todescibe a Scene to the Actos wll geaty detemine eacScenes powe se all the senses Detal the igting, thesmells te tempeatue, and the sounds Youe ceatngeac Scene with you naation oue te Actos eyesand ea ey can see only though you

hs is especially tue when descibng locationshese are the sets upon whch you Actos wil stuggle

- JeanLuc odard

heyl wage hgh stakes upon each Stage he mood wil

become as mpoant as the physica detals Paint adramatic backgound Bing you mnds eye view o aScene into shap ocus Alow you imaginaton to become a cameas lens Descbe evethng withn tsvew Alow your descption to folow s movementspanning acoss a Scene as you mnds lens moves:ocuses, and zooms Gve a good eelng o the sze othe Stage, ts mpotant ues entances and exit andte placement o ndividuals

When descibng the members o the SuppongCast, emember to nclude the details o the acialfeatues, costume abts of speech, and body anguageWhen speaking o them adopt thei voce, acial expes

sions, hand gestues, and postue Dont be bashlYoure tying to sae you imagnation Pant a pictue nbold colors Oveemphasze and make eac ole tuly liveo al the paticipants

When descibng dont just tel the Actos what youmean, show them el them what impinges on teisenses witout intepetng or them Gve them thefeeling o iving tese experences by oeing objectiveactons, athe tan subjective peceptions Fo example,athe than descibing

a castle as ominous

a peson as mean spited a peon as geneous and knd heaed

nstead, ty descibng

the dark booding couds hanging above the

caste and the lashes lightning payngacoss its age won suaces

Theatrlx- h oe les 21


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c her tormenting er employees witout mercy,then turning to the Actors and smilng asthogh nothing ad happened.

c his daiy acts of chaty and goodwill (showim elpng oters).

If you can help it don't tel the Actors abot theirroles emotions Play through watever circmstances it

takes to bring them tere n oter words dont just telltem abot t rlplay thoug t.

If a Scene would be bong to roleplay trogh wesggest you do one of two tings. I the pont of the Scenes its tedium lie oleplaying through a long incarceratonor working though a mountain of papework then roleplaytog enog of the Scene to aow te Actors to fee thetedum before going on. Feeling is an impoant a ofroleplayng If tedum it the purpose of the Scene yomay have made a mistae somewhere Alter the Sceneso that thee is nformation to be ganed or a lesson to beleaned or a acet of a caractes personaity to bebrought ot Good books and movies dont wase time on

meaningless Scenes o boring dialoge. Teyre notwiten tat way Evey Scene is wrien to entetain andthis can be ust as te for your taes

SET DESIGN LGHNG AND COSTUMING

The Director can do a lot to enhance te mood of astoy by taking the time if ossible to alter the lightngand layout of the physca Stage (saly some room nte irectors home) We sggest moving furnitre to

22 Theatx- Cor Ruls

confom to te layout of te caracters present localemoving the Actors from room t o room as their charactersmove and altering the lighting to represent the phycalconditions of eac Scene unitre can be setup torepresent te bridge of a stashp or a arpane cocptor a small hotel room. Use whatever room s best sutedfor an environment. Sometimes ts even possbe toleave recognizabe clues or usable props in tei proper

locaions fo a Scene Playng one ofte Suppoting Castad pulng a toy gn out o a drawer to pot at the Actorsis much more efectve than describing sch a Scene. heActors may then respond in motion (that s reasonablemoton carefully executed) rater than pre descptonLghting can be dmmed fo night Scenes or entirepisodes ca be payed by candlelght o a othc effect.Be aware of the changing ligting of your Scene andmatch the pysical lightng to it This is easy to do almotanywere and vey efectve Setting the Stage can takesome plannng and must be done fely, but is a greatway to sn te Acors nto te oles

MSICAL SCR

Musc can also hep a ot n seting te mood of aScene. Music in moves tends to folow te Actors and teacton Geneally the maor chaacers will have theown theme music n additon there is music to win bylose by (te vllains teme msic} romance by andsceam by (suspense music) A moves scoe wl eraldte vian before he entes menacingly and herald thehero moments before e comes charging to the resce


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The audience can' help b respond in prepaaion o heacion. Yo can achieve he same heghened effect nyor Acors y selecng, and prepang ahead of ime, heappropiae mscal hemes Drop in some heme musicbefore he acon i heads, and dop he Acos fuheno her oles his s supposed o e a vsal experence aer all If you don have he me o ceae yourown pesonalized mscal score hen yo migh consider

using he sound rack from one of your favorie moveswhch woks almos as wel

o make yo Scenes even moe vscera addsound efes Thee ae many coleons of soundeffecs avaabe n msc sores he sond of somsgunfire or rafc, an g1ve he appropriae Snes aere all her own or Acors wil gain an appreciaonfor his ere when during your atle Scenes, heyreseparaed y some disane duced down behnd you

lng oom chars, and a aemping o ommunaeacoss loud gune Jus make sue he neghbos don

msndesand

FORESHADOWING

Foreshadowng s he echnique of describing mages which gve a ase of evens o come Le he somswep da casle of a eevsion horor show, nnng inhe ackground of a Scene whch alludes o he ealcase soon o e enconered he occupans of hehorro shows asle mgh even give he Acos a forease of ha whch awais hem Foreshadowing is mossrongly mean for he Acors, b can also e used o give

he characes infoaion whch heyl need laerm hepo sch as he long shadow of a chch spres cross,as n fon of a characer as she waks home owardsevenng A smlar shadow casm fron of he charace ya smaller cross, as he vampire appoaches laer in heplo, mgh ip he o o he salvaion hanging in he

boosore wndow behnd he Sch wiss of fae e hepo ogeher lendng i a sense of Coninuiy

Foreshadowing an ae he fom of elevsonshows, drams he passng words of a sranger, oddshadows newspaper headlnes, ec hs ecnqe isoen mean o e ovous o he Acors, no o hecharaces heye porayng he images descrid sandin sa elef o he Actors throgh the aenon gvenhem by he ro u ae oo far rmoved n me andone o immedaey sabe y he characers ohem, he sefulness of sch mages s ony evealed nhe fullness of me

CU SCENES

A u Sne pus he psen polne on hold noder o unfold a sequene of evens ha s mpoan o

he soy The Scne may conain dfferen characers, and occr a a differen me and place an eScene ineups he recor Wl call o Scenea he approprae ime, and describe a new Sage and theaon ha occus here he man sequence of he popcs up again when he C Scene s over

Or cassc se of u Snes s o show he Acoswha he vilans are up o who graning ha know-

Theat - The Core Rules 23


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edge to ther charactes (which means that the Actos getto know stuf that ther chaacters won't fnd out for awhle). This gives the Actos a sense of urgency, whilealso provdng the al impotant acting challege. Forexample

urning away from the view scree depicting

the slow progress of our heoes the evil Dr

Nefaous laughs manacally Hahahahahaha They ae directly on ouse or a meeting

wth my Stone Men! They will de withoutever having the pleasure of viewing my latestinventon the Ubitron ransducer Wth t Iwil brng the word to its nees And its frstvictm shal be you sweet Poly Anne foryour boyfend can not save you now hecamera sldes bac allowing us a view ofPolly Anne struggling strapped down to atable befoe the Ubitron ransduce fadebac to our heros struggling onward

Cut Senes an also be used at the stat of a newEpsode to set the Stage for the main action hey may gve

he Actos their rst vew of a new hallenge Unfounatelyths is often a view o some grisly event whch s about tocollde with ther characters lives or example

he old man sways as he moves down thedar, damp dimly lit alley the brown paperwpped botle unsteady n hs hand Suddenyhe stops and narrows his eyes squntng into

24 Theatrlx - Co Rus

the shadows ice nce doggy Whadyawant? Dont got nothn fe you a low growlemanates fom the shadows ce ncedoggy Don git mad at me now The oldmans eyes go suddeny wide heres a usho fur and fang a terrified scream and thesound of shateing gass he cameras angleshows us only the shadow of somethng large

maulng ts human vctim

Cut Scenes may smply be described by the Direc-tor or the Actors can tae pa An ctor may play therusua roe in a Cut Scene or be ased to take on anotherrole for the duation It can be amusing to stc the tosnto the roes of victims or other bit parts Aways remember to provde the Acto only enough infomation to getthrough the Scene We want to save the best stuf assurprses for laer o exampe

ll rght youe an old man almost pennilessYou live from day to day shete to shelter

Rght now your vson is blured by acomfoting haze of alcoho oure dringdown some bac aley downtown still enjoyingthe bottle in your hand head in the shadowsyou an barely mae out the form of a largedog '

Cut Scenes can be used to handle the difcult ob ofbngng the Main Cast together, provding nstant hstoryfo the sta o a new Chronicle Fo example


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c The Ma Cas wee a embers of he same

elie coado ui seving ogehe duge war. hey wee faed o a cme heydtd o com and pace ino sepaaeiliay jails Now, yeas ae ey'e beggiven a chan for eedo Al hey have o

do agree o a specia op-secreass1gne Brough ogeher, shacked ad

waiing hey have a cance o emiisceabou e war he vtew asios o heias coba acio ogehe, as he Man asoepays hough he faeu day o heiameup

y he ime hey accep hei msso hey'veaeady geeaed a hisoy ogee Wich bgs usily o e subec o Fashbacks

Fbck

Fashbacks ae a o o Cu Scee heye a wayo inoduce ebes o he Suppoing as o a po, oadd deph o a Acos caacerzaio o gve a seso hsoy o eghe he sense of a lived expeie ando gve an Aco soe o he infoaio ha her charace remebes Whe gvng an Aor ifoaon eo of kowedge he caacer possesses y eve osay Your charace kows . ' o Your chaacer remebes ' I e charace kows, e he ake i up andcoe ou wi i. f he chaacer eembes r-iving in he om o a Fashback his involves oe ha

simpy descibing a meoy ahough hs ca be doeA Fashback voves seig he Scee in wich he

aco acuay occued he oepayng hough haaco Secoda oes ca be passed ou o ose Acoswhose usua oes are o invoved. is echique sespecaly useu whe he memos ai vaue is i iseoioa conen Fo eape

: A chaace has JU head he nae o

someone who ay have knowedge hechaacer needs hs new eso ay evebe voved wth e caace's opposiion

As Dco is woud be a goo ie oannoun a he caacer recognzes heae In ac hs ew person is new a al,bu used o a old fae; a fogoenoa As he charae inks abou ise emebes he as ime ey saw eachohe over seven yeas ago .

he Decor woud ow pod o se he Sagead oepay hough he as pang Whe he Scee is

ove appoacing hs conac o oaio wi have

ake o whole ew shades o eaing sa hsoy oyour poie develope

Dm Sq

Lkewse Da Sequees ae aso u Scees

hey ca be used o oeshadow he noducio opeope o evens epoe aeae po possbies, o

gve he caaces ioaio o wangs Dea S

uences ae bes used when he acio ha occus shoudno acuay happen Oe he Sne is a warg o wha

migh occur and gves cues on how o avoid such aoucome ike he geneic viroogiss cosa sweaingighaes abou his empoyes misuse o is eseacad he subseque nd f wd .

A Deam Seque ca be payed ou when achaace IS aseep i a deiriu or eve whie daydeamig ou eed' e he vcim o he Deam

Theatlx - Cor Rus 25


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Sequence ha ey'e deamg. The Scene wll avedteen connoaons dependng on wheher he chaace s awae of he naue of e expeience o no I cabe ineesn fo exaple, o alow he Scene o ave anobvious dea aly abou i O you ca ake suea nee e caace no he Aco w be awae of

e naue of e expeence n is ove We oenpefe e lae oue fo is soc vaue

IMING AND COINCIDENCE

Te in of evens 1s enely up o e DiecoPacin ad iin ae he os poan faos nainaining he ension of a po Coincidences ae fun souse and abuse e pace of ie and acon in he soyWheneve you can shaeessly sech o sin heaoun of e Scenes ae he disance caaesave o ave and he delays whc hod e up odeo eep e po neesg and nense Don' fee badabou aenn you plo d-ae Feel fee o eoyou po o e acios of e Acos You an do waeveyo wan so on as s f

Mnwil, Bck At .

olowng he Acos ca be oug Vaios gopso chaaces ay be i seveal plaes a once all acinga he sae 1e As Deco you ay ave o ove ogoup o goup o andle he aco e Acos can do alo of oepay on ei own b soees ey us ave

26 Theax - The Core Rules

he pesenc o e ieco. Ty no o leave any goupsiin on is hubs oo long When oving fo onegoup o anoe y o e you ove so as o leave eAcos i e iddle of a despeae siuaion Ta soundsean bu eyll be a lo oe ineesed in he ae ngenea while yoe gone if eye axious abou i. Ty

o olepay al he Senes n fon of eveyone Don spoihe bg suses bu is a lo ease fo e Acos o waihe ey an wac e ohe pas o he oepayufold

LE SCENES

Weve saved e os poan c fo las heseae al e Lile Scenes n ovies whose ai puose iso povde ansiion fo one pa of he acion o anoheo povide coc eief in e iddle of an oewiserbuen po and o gve e o e caaceizaion ofe Man Cas. Buid hese Scees no you soes asey deveop eye e bes es fo yo Ao oneac o use each oe a way wc wil beedaa ses whe ey a abou e sesson aeDon le he now i bu hese ie Scenes ae e ealason fo e es o he plo ee ae any exapesof such Scenes spnled oughou evey good ovieOne hologapic chess ae beween an alien sasquacand a sall obo coes o nd Tese Scenes gve heAo a cance o ean oleplay poins {o be discusdn e cape end oao) wle gvn eDeco a pause o cea e hougs


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GLOSSARY

Cu Scee -Ay cee that he Directo 'cts to, iteptig the stoys action bieyDream Sequece -The potayal of a chaactes deam as a oleplayed evetashak - The poaya o a past occece oe oy a memo o that occece, as a oeplayed evetForeshadowing The pocess o sig smal images ad momes to pepae the Acos o some lae, ad moe

impotat evetLe Scee Ay cee whose sole pupose is to povde sace ad ime o he Ma1 as to eact, dispay

he dvda esoaiies ad brg the gop ogethe.Stage-The stage mue o the physca spac i whch he op olepays ad he magay spacem whchthe sos acto occus

SUMMARY

0 escipton Be the Actos seses o sight heaig taste, sel ad toch, the let he tepet hei wordo themselves

The Stage-This s te most egecd ool i he ectos epertoie Payg ceaive ateto o he tagewl rally sik he Acos o the oes

Fe c cofom o the ayo of he tage ightig ca eec the lghg o he age

Yo ca leave ea cles i he appopiate spos Use msca themes ad sodacks

Cu Scees-Movies wold be dll i he camea simply ollowed the heo o heoie aod ad watched whathey dd Roleplayig games ae o deet cees

. a be sed o gve the Actos iomato a be sed to big the chaactes ogehe a gve the Aco hei fis view o a ew chalege

oresadowg-to is sce Good soes exis sma voees o cocidece, dama ad sspe Foeshadowig povides a sese o atcpatoQ oshadowg tes he vaios ats o yo soy togehe Yo Actos shold come ot of a

oeshadowed eve sayig "Oh yeah "

lasbaks tcte also meas tyig ogethe the past ad the peset Pesoal elatoshis gve heseties eag

: Roleplayig memos gves a chaace a soal laioshp to he pasc Flashbacs povde istat hstoy o you stoes

ram Sequs tuctue ca aso be give to that haz ad shig ladscap o he possible fehe loged o o the ey imaged

eam eeces ca povde sight io wha might be, lig upo he srigs o eget eam eeces ca povide wags fo te te ad cles o how o avod t

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Super1na dlsuised as Cark \e id-maeed

rpve f a rat meVP()Ita wspapr Hhts a r

edi ba fr uh Jusic ad he 4ml way.

-Anoymous

MAKEUP AND COSTUMING

When a Acto puts on makeup and a costume andwalks out upon a stage, she weas moe than these thoute alteations of appeaace. In ode to play a ole anActo ust take on the atttudes abilities mid-setisto appeaance potentials and defcts o he oleTe caacte as we see it is the end podut of a whoee lved befoe we wee eve pvleged to view it Thecaacte s the sum tota expession o that prevous feWhat olows s a method of takg ths totaly of expesson and dstlng t dow to 1ts essenc oleplaygt s tese esnces that we dea wth i tes ote les

Iheatx we distl each caacte down nto ou basccategoies of essence whch ae temed ats' We dealwit fou basic types of Tats wic ae

Physica nd Mental Arbute- hese sxats compise a descipto of eachcaactes physca and mental capablitesad nclude Stegt Stamna CoodiatonIntelec tuitJo ad Pesece

q Sk an Ate - Sklls ae Taits thatmeasue the dept and facility of you

pesoas knowledge in paicula aeas andexpeise at vaious tasks Abilities ae veymuc like Skills but cove eats of apaanomal natue that ofen fal outside teealm of omal leag

q Perny a hese ats om adescipton o you pesoas majopsychological motivatons

Derpto hese Taits ep to poaythe effects of a oles backgound istoyand soca poston as well as some physicaoddites and paanoa eatues

By dealing with these simpled facets of chaacteization ie Tats we can povide a asis fo a usablsystem of ules he ues tun povde a consistentmetod of adudcatng the esults o vaious actoswthin the game wold

QUANIFIERS

The basic composton o each Tait is a desciptionof it in language To make udgements about a chaacte'sTaits even easie ceain aits will be futhe dstilleddow by assgnng the a sgle numbe fom 00' to'1 00. his numbe o uantife will ndcate the oughmagnitude o stength o that Tat Taits ae sometmesquatified in this way to povide a bete obectve gudefo decson akng Keepng each Tats bas descnpton md we ae able to do some pety neat tgs wththose numbes as yol see n te net chapte tited'Lghts .. ae Acn!

SCALIG

Theati is also a univesal olepaying gam andthe sae Range o numbe (fo 0 0 to 10 0) wil bused to uantfy T ats acoss all eatnx Settngs Howeve because soe Sengs a gny ad ealstc whieothes ae oe expasve and gandiose ths ca leadto pobems Fo eample a Nobe Pe wng pyscst in a ealstc mode day Setng gt be consdeedbaely copetent in a utuistc dimenson hopping fanasy Yet mastey of physics ust ba the sae umeical antiie in eithe Seing although the actual know

Thal ix - The Core Rules 29


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edge repesented by that number ay va). We'l solvetis dilea throug Scaing Scaling is the etod bywch e sae Range of nubers (0 to 10.) ay beapplied, wt oughy the sae mnigs, o any Setting

AND MORE ..

By using Tras quanfcatons and Scalng youllbe abe to creae a cplete Theatx pesona and get

precisely the characte you want for any genre you caniagine Te rest of ths chapter wll now ake you througs process in uch greate detail, step-by-step Wellsta wth a talk about how a ais descripton andquantifie inteact and ten ove on to Scaling to gveyou a feel for ow we juggle those nubers and wat teyean Ne wel look a eac Trai separately and detailow eac one is used witin te gae Lastly, welldiscuss ow to use al of ths inforaton to actuayceaea caacer, altoug wel save any hard ules and iits

on ths process for you to coe up with (of course eac oour Seting Books wll fully detail a caracer ceatonsyste appopate to its gene So lets begin at ebegnning

TO QUANIFY OR NOT O

QUANTFY ...

e basc for of evey Tat in eat s adescription of that ait, in language, ro a ew words toa few sentences in engt What you describe s bascalywat you get (wel talk abou the best ethods or

descibng each Trat unde ts specfc secton late in tschapter) oe ats as weve said, are also assgned

a nube, or quantifier raits can ten be classifed aseiter Quantifed Traits Descriptive Tats, o UnquantifiedTraits depending upon wee eyre assigned a quantie or not, and how tat quantie (if any is used

QUANTIFE TRATS

Skils, Abliies and Peronaity Trais are all Quan

tied Trats Alough all Taits in Teatri have soefor of descrpton associaed wit te these rats willrely heavly upon a siple nueca tag to siplify thedecsion akng process Although the Drecor souldalways attept to ake good use of a Quantfied ratsdesciption ephass is often placed upon te nuericalquantifie

ESCRPIVE RAS

Te ysical and Menal Attbutes ae DescriptveTaits Tese Traits eis priarly n desciptve for butwill stil lend teselves to quanticaton wen neces-

30 Theax- The Core Rules

say In ts way, tese raits are bot quantied andunquanted a te sae tie, atoug e epass isplaced upon te descriptions For eape, even thoughAttributes ay be easily quantfied, the Direco sill usesteir descriptions to elp decide te basic uccess andailure of actions to adudicae teir Difficulties, and o

help deterine te esults of those actions (fo oreinfoaton on these topcs, see the ne chapter tild

gh Cae ..Acto!'). All tis deands that eacdescrpion be coplete sng an exaple ofte hysicalAtribute of Strengt, we offe te ollowng two coces

A big strong tough dude

O, ts characte is vey stong but in a

Suo wrestle, ancored so o way Hestands only5'8, but is vey eavy To soeonewo has never seen in acton e wouldsee sply oveweigt He doesnt ave

geat flexibility no axiu liftng powerbut e can be possible to ove is fote

would be te unge Ove a sot distance hisopponent would be horrifed at how uchspeed e can pick up is size speed andsrngth can en cobne fo a ferocousattack

The st exaple is not satsfactory t gves us nosense of e roles advantages and decits and no senseof wa this role ight accoplis This is a stoyeling

gae Tell a stoy when you descrbe your characers

Trais (Atbutes or othewise hs s essential not onyto your own roeplay but also o your basic abilty o

ucceed a tasks nvolving those TaitsTe second description, on the ote and tells us

uc We ge a sense of e pesonas advaages andsoe of the pesonas decits We can see what knds oactons wil be easier o tis chaacter and also waactions ght be oe difcult Wit a descption scoplete e Diector should rarely need to rely upon hsTrats quantfier This is why the quanier for a Descipive Tait is considered an opional tool fo the Drectorsuse wen needed

Quantiies for sciptive i

Our suggestion for Descriptive Taits s tat teDrecto jot quanticatons down bu keep these nubersfro the Acors A good descrpion shoud be mor nnug for rolepay and an actual value wll only interere wit tis process ue to te natue of DescriptveTraits te irecto ay be equired to alter the value ofthei quantiier on the fly depending upon how eac Tais used so s epful to ave thougt out he Scalng oyour honicle in a farly detaled anner (see calng


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com1ng up next). That way, 's easy to poduce a newvalue when you need one Without slowng down hegame Fo example you mght assgn a deent value tohe Strength Tat descbed above (ou Sumo westlerpe dependng upon whethe the ole In queston wasltng a babell or shovng an opponent back n a ght O

you may wsh to emporaly edue the quantfe fo hsat the chaacte n queston was wounded etc

UQUFJED

Descnpors ae Unquantfed rats whch exst onlyn descpve o (hus the name) hey wll not lendthemselves to antcaton because the eect uponthe game s oo complex and need no be handled thaway n any case th the knowledge n mnd tha ths sa stoytellng game the eects o these Tats can smplybe oleplayed as seems appopate at the menquanted ats may have any nuenes and epecussons ha the Decto desres Aualy we'e gong opesent seveal nteesng ways o handlng he ambgutes o dceess roleplay such as those epesented byescptos e dscuss some o these methods late nths chapte then pck up the speed o ou dscussonunde the next chape ttled 'Lights Caea ...Aion!, and nally open up ul hotle wth the folowngchapte ttled Impovstio Hang on o you seat

SCALING

Descptors not wthstandng he bulk o decson

makng In Theatx at the vey east guded by quancatons To make usng these numbes ease evenacoss wdely vayng genes all Quanted as aspevousy dscussed wll be assgned numbes on aRage o to hee ponts on ths Scale ae opatcula nteest

he 0. Ma-A scoe o o s aways the

mnmum scoe epesens a Tat so lowas o lack eect whn the conte o thestoy

QThe

Ma A scoe o 30 s awaysconsdeed the aveage o any Scale

The MaAscoeo 00 epesentshe prctil lmt of any Range; hees astonge Tat t makes no sense o pace tupon the same Sale

Ths dstrbuton eaves a ltle moe oom at the opo each Scale (above the aveage o 30' than at sbottom (below 3 0), whch s appopate ost o you

an ast wll tend to be heoc n natue and above henom n many ways Leavng moe oom at the op o eachScale wl allow o ne dstnctons there whee theylmake the most deence

he lmt o 0.0' to '0 0' wll aways represen theente ueu Range o any Quanted at hs allows

Tats to be Scaled deenly then dependng upon theSetng o a honcle and ts partcula needs whle stllusng he same Range o numbes and maintanng eachnumbes basc meanng

Fo exampleets agan use the Physcal Attbute ofSength magne a honcle set n a eastc modemday wold deang wth a school o hghly taned maaasts n such a honcle, a '10.0 mght epesent heStength o a wold class gand maste n the maal as,o an Olympc class wegh lte Howeve n a honcleset n the a utue aboard a Galaxy spannng starshpthe Scae fo Stengh would also have to take oaccount he exsene o nonhuman aces n tha Seting a scoe o 00 ould exempy a Stength manytmes ha possbe o he songest human Youl bedeang wth the same Range o numbers at all mes andathough the specc meanngs wll change wh heSettng theyll keep he basc connotatons (3.0 bengthe aveage '100 beng the hgh mak etc n ths wayou standad Range o numbes can be eused to seve annne vaety of Settngs

OMP H

ell gve specfc examples of how o go though

the pocess of atually completng an ente Scale lae,unde the Seing' chape o now you should knowthat the basc method o Scalng any Tat nvolvesceatng a descpon o the magntde o that a ateach majo pot upon ts Scale e the '1 0.0 mark o aScale s omed by a descpton o the hghes magniudeo hat Tat such as

Steg at - ympc Reod egh

er (capable o a snap cng and Jek of550 lbs

he 30 mak Is lkewse ormed by a descpton otha ats aveage such as

Steg t oe Aveage ( apabe o

bench pessng 200 lbs

hs s geneally repeaed o each whole numbeedpont n the standard Range, om 00 to '00 As ongas all the pacpans n a honcle undestand themeanng o each Scale hen t woks ell dscuss theScang to be used o the ats In ou genes along Withthe othe backgond mateal we povde n ou Seng

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Books If youe eating you own gene in whh to set aChonle then you' nee to put some thought nto howyou wsh to hande the Sang of the varous ais i thatSeting.

MEHODS OF SCALING

hee a to methods you may use to SaeQuaned aits withn heatx The st method saled Saing by Range, and the sond is aldSaling by No You may use eithe method on eahndvidua Tat whout egad o the method used on anyothe ait cal b ae alows an individual topossess any so on the standad Range fom 00 to100 calg b Nor, on the othe hand imits anidvdua to a sma Rage of vaues based upon thenomative (thats aveage) vaue fo that oes geneti oaia nheiane n othe wods

ale a at by ae - Wen youl epesentng a singe aal goup as in aChonie whee al the haaes ae nomalhumans and you wsh to emphasize thedffeenes beteen the ndviduals

ca a t by a - Wen a ait wlbe uneated to any goup aliation andagan you wsh to emphase the dieeesbetween dvduas

Q cae a t by Nr Wen you be

deaing with seveal distint goups in thesame Seing and you wish to emphasz thedeenes beteen the goups ie you dontwant the humans am westling the itans

Scaing By Range

As sated above Salng b y Range wos st whenyou wish to emphas the des beween a wthn a Settng So fo exampe f we SaledStenth by Range usng the mata as shoo examplegive unde Saing a so of 00 might epsent theStngth of a smal hd a 30 might epesent the

aveage human Stength and a 00 mght epesent theStength of an Oympi ass weight ie Al the vauesn-bewen woud be set aongly

Salig by No

As statd above ang by No s a good mehodto hoose when you wsh to emphase the deenesbetween p within a Seting his method wos wefo example when youe dealing with seveal dieet

32 Theabx - Cor Ruls

aes of aiens in a spa faing gene So f we SaledStength by om using the Gala spanning stashipexampe gve nde Saing yo mght se the nom ofhuman Stength at 30 the nom fo the Stength of awaike ain ae at 0 and eseve a soe of 00 fothose hoifialy stong aien guest stas who ae meat

to take the Chief Seuty Oe Stong o weaspeimens of any a may e somewhat above o beowthe no but usuay not by mo than a e po Soa pauay stong membe of a waike aien ae mghthave a Stength of up to 7 0 gven this exampe

TE MOUTAN WON'T GO TO MOAMMED

Whheve way you hoose to Sae ea ait youealy ony want to onen youself with Saing theu Range he pupose of Sang aits is to poduepesentative umbes And the ason we use numbess to make deisions about those aits ease Howeve

many desons an be made without efeene to anumbe at al Fo example n a ght beween a ma ofnoma Stength and a lae ampagng oomotive tathees no eason to bothe atempting to Sae theoomotives Stength f the Ato doesnt have hehaate do somethig eay neat ie jmp out of theway that haate s squashed End of stoy heoomotives Stength an be said to be 'O the SaeAttemptng to eate a Sae to handle a possbleinteatons is ountepoduive and wil atualy dease a Saes usefulness

f youe using a gene whee stoppng moving taswith you bae hands s something thats iey to happen

ke in a supeheo omi boo then you highest useuStength may be we above that o a moving an n thatase you 00 mak may epesent a Stength iteayapabe of movin mountains o eah at t to fousin on the maximum vaue that youe ikey to aow hatis the maximum vaue that any of the mao oes oudpossbly possess of a ait hat pont bcomes thataits 00 mak fo the Seting Anything muh aboveths ma an simply be ounted as O the Scae f wooomotve tains eve ash youe pety safe n ustdesbng soteng the outome s ony when youAtos ake on even semeasonabe odds that youlneed the numbes he numbes then hep to povide asense of Continuity and fainess to those ations andoutomes invoving the Aos pesonas

TE DECMA POS

Al Quantifed aits m these ues may take vauesom 00 to 00 wh1h means that you an use thedeima ponts to assign vaues ke 6.5 o 2 to anyai alowing a fne degee of ontol hat gves eveySae a Range of ove 00 vaues We give ou eamples


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Coordaton s mportant in fghtngtechnque using melee weapons (like knives,or swods} aimg a bow o irearm andreactng qucky in comba situations

Metal Atrbuts

The thee Menta Attbutes and ther descptionsfolow

Ieec - Intelle 1s your abit to handle

diicult menta tasks Ths Ta1t coves yorquickness in eaing and your apaci fonnovative problem solving of a technicalnatre 's impoant to note that ntelectdoes not represent common sense orwisdom o are chaacters wth ow Intellectnecessaly stupid Roles possessing highIntellects may even be slow, naive or without

streetsav

Io - This Tait coves yor abilty innterpesonal tasks your sensitvty to thenatre and needs of others, and you ablityto sway oters on an emotional evel. ThsTrat can also cover you characers abilityto mae coect guesses when pesentedth minmal or inadequate infomaton hisat does not eect a paicla pesonaytpe and is possessed by psychoogstsconatsts and detctives aike

eece Pesence 1s the palpabe aura ofpersonalit possessed by your charater t'sthe exent to whch yo roe's pesence isthe room she entes Presence can representphysial beaut chasmatic pesonalty ora compete ar of authority Pesene s usefulin vaious forms of communcationcommanding espet and leadng othersPresence can epresent an aua of fea anddange, as easiy as one of athonty adtrust ou chaacters lack of Presene may mpoant Being able to pass othes without

beng noticed can be just as useful ascommanding thei atention

Dscbg Atbes

Attbtes ae Descriptive ats with many facetsYou an emphasize one facet of an Aribute whledescibing a deicit n anothe he Drector may q

antfy

an Atribute dferenty in derent situatons depndngupon how ts descbed, and how it's used in you actonsYour Attributes will be vey impoant in deciding what

34 Theatrlx- Co Rus

your pesona can acomplsh Sucessfly and how thatpesona wll go about t Thnk carefuly about the pesonaty and backgund of the role you sh to play and thengive detailed descrions of yor characes Aributesaccordingly

We ofen find it helpful to descbe a role's Atributesfom the pespective o that roe, o soeone who knowsthat oe wel in their own voce he inclusion of historicaleamples aso adds depth to your description In this wayby the time the Drecto has inshed readg yourcharactes Atbute descrptons, she wl arady have afair sense of yor characters personaliy and histoy aswel We have two examples for you to give you a tasteof what we mean

The frst example is rom a Chroncle set in amythical ancient Chna The chaacte named Wan iaoFeng, is a double agent for both the Empeial SecretPoice and a secret society attempting to ovehow theManchu dynasty His descnpton o Stamna llows

Q aa Fnay brothe we have theblessng of heaven See that small light bythe moat. Tat 1s ou man Wan ao enggving the signal. He wil now swim the moatcimb the palsade wall defeat the guadsnside and crank open the oe gate Thenthe others wll ente swiftly and finish the job.he traitor govements minister wil srelybe dead by dawn No no D not be fooled byhs size I have seen Wan pactce nght andday yo see he ISalready acoss the moat.Thee he goes bare handed up that wal He

is peet, both amang and ependableWoops .. he seems to have been notidhey are dopping rocks on him See there!Stil he tres to clmb ouch That's goah poor Wan Then again brother it maybe best if we left now "

Noti the h1sto inclded wthin this descptionAuay each of Wans Atbutes held an eample ofWan peomng an mposs1ble task or an impossbemisson and falng hs helped to give te sense of bothWans many strengths and his all too human limits.

The second eampe is o a Chroncle depctng

the strange noctrnal lives of a group of vampies hecharacte named Scatch s a to soul He was a pnestwho commed a sn of atoci which he fees hasdamned hm to his present state Hs descpton ofntution folows

Io new mysef wel enogh to tryto sk to an alcoholic oblivion befoe ddanybody any rea ham Only pobem was Iwasnt qu1ck enough But m good with pain


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Good with tempatio ad powe. A eal userAnd I ca see the ohes out thee, like meKept me i my fock al duig that log slowside ito damaio Ad ow I wea that ohe outside That does't mea you'e safehough so jus stay away cause lately Ive

bee eplacig whiskey with blood

With his desciption we get a good sese ofScachs sog suite i Ituitio as wel as a mouthfulo hs sef-loahig ad selfpty We fid out somethigabou his pesoaity ad ge a eelg fo the kid of pasthat could ceae such a ceatue Ty o use youAttibute descptios this way as a vehicle o begi

eaizig you chaacte as a complete etity ight fomhe star

SKILLS AND ABIES

Skils ae a measue of the depth ad facility of youpersoa's kowedge i patcula aeas o expetise atvaous tasks The Skils available o descbe you chaace with wil dife geatly fom Seig to Settig Foeample a chaacte out of he Old West should pobablyeve possess the Skll of Wap Dive Techology although a staship Captai (to sigify his ablity to opeaesuch ae weapos) might posses the Skill of Aciet

Fearms Some exampes of othe Skills might icludeSwod Fghtig Ivesme Face ad Poliical Itigue Well povde compehesive Skil lists alog wihthe ohe backgoud maeial icluded i ou SeigBooks If youe desgig you ow Setg the you'llhave to wite out you ow Skill lis fo your Chroicle

Such a ist will also hep you to defe you Seig moefullyAbilties ae paaomal feats which your chaacer

may pefom ha would't fit ito a ordia Skll list Wemay give suggestios as to what Abilites woud beappropiate i ou gees but i's up o the dsceio ofthe Diecto as to wha will be allowed Whethe usig oubackgoud materal o you ow, as Diecto you have

fial say over wha Abliies ca be take ad how theyllwok wthi you Settg Thee is o complee lst ofAbliies ad ay Aco who wishes the pesoa to have

them wil have o descibe those Abilties to the Diectoi such a maer tat boh of you ae cea o the theuctioig The followig ae a few examples of Abiltiesfom vaous Seigs .

A chaacte who ca foeell the futue usig

ao cads ad sometmes ge uexpectedgimpses o the fuue i he mid he highethe aig of the Abiity the moe accuratead specific these foetelligs wil be

Theatrlx - Co Rus 35


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A character who can gnite herself on fresustanng no damage, fy through te sky atthe speed of a jet and throw columns of freat her enemes. The h1gherthe ratng of thesepowers the faster she'll fy and the moentense wl be her re. Eventaly shel

deveop the Abty to use al her energy none great exposon s wold pobabyknock her unconscos but wold also doterrfc damage That exposon woud have aratng of ts own and so be deveopedndependently.

By pyscally touchng another beng andrepeatng My thoghts are your toughtsmy mnd s your mnd and he lke thecaracter can acheve a mental contact wthanother lfe orm That contact takes tme toestablsh but wl alow the shang ofthoughsbelefs and even emotons.

Rnking

oth Sklls and Abltes are Quantfed rats heDctor may use whateve method s reasonabe toadudcate wat Sklls and Abltes are possessed by acharacter and at what score or ank These methodsn nge from a chat wth each Actor about what theywant the roles to be lke to a cea les system fordevelopng the Choncles personas.

oth Sklls and Ables are Scaled on the usual

ange o 0.0 to 0.0 For Skls heres what thosenumbers mean ..

36 Theax - Th Cor Ruls

Sll Raks10 Basic tranng Ayh less meas a caacer s Usklled

e ara

20 asc rang level for a joueyman a Sl Ts s heRan yo eed or oeecy

3 e arae s sled n e area, ad would be desced

as very cmpetent ad well trained.

4 Exlle a ad expee leadn o a hg aedddal caable of sucg oes

5.0 Yeas of exeence ad aal apde ae allowed ecaacer o ul maser he S l

6 e chaace Is aable o xaodary eas n e areaee ude pessue ad me osans e caaceossesses a bla mmad o e Sl

7.0 he carar s caae o possle eas e aeaOe can only oo o ad adme

8 araer maes e mposble a reua eougocuren a ey uld ae he ow eleso sow

9 e caace ma ae dobs bu e'e so good aoters don dob er caab o do ang w eSl. e mossble s o e execed.

Notng s ossble o

These descrptons are genre dependent. Exactlywhat a character s capable o at any patcular ank wllvay wth the Skll n qeston the specfc task and mostof al the Settng or example a master nvento (Sklank 5.0) n a realstc modern day Seng can becapable of some ngenous work. Bt a master nventoralso Skl ank .0 n the Setng of four colo superherocomc books can probably put stu together wth spaepas that wold pt any nventor mted by ea wordphyscs to shame.

The ankng of Abltes s handled a bt derently.ach Abty mst be ndvdally Scaled. Although nsome cases te learnng cuve o an Ablty may closelyapproxmate tat gven above fo Skl anks a descrp-ton of what eac Ably s capable of at eac ank mststl be ncluded Te Drector mst then assgn thecharacter a specfc ank n that Ablty placng thepossessng roe upon ths new Scale. The Drector mayuse the above Skl ank descrptons as an exampe toad n ths assgnment. Its possbe for a role to sta as anovce n an Ablty or to be a maste near the heght ofhe power he rector smltaneously addcaes notonly the characters stang power level but the gowthpath for each Ablty as well Wel cover the topc ofScalng ndvdua Abltes n more depth under the'Seting chapter later n ths book

ll nd Abty Hstor

Skll and Ablty ank descrptons smply gve yoa fee for he extent of acton these anks cover andprovde a consstent framework pon whch to develop


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characters. They o o Imply how each perona actualyame to acqe these Ranks An Actor may justify heSki Ranks 1n any way that fis the backgound andpeonay of her characte fom acuing them duingyeas of patent pact1ce to havng a natural apttude toinstant eaning usng RNA nectons

Specialzation

Charactes may choose to Specalize n ther Silsan Abiites hey may tae one Speciaization for eachSil o Abilty they possess to in1cate that area at whichthey're most aept For example, a Specializatio forSwor Combat might be either encng, or Wil Melees' A Specialization for Business Management mightbe ether Wheelng an Dealing', or Pesonnel Management Whenever a Skil or Ability is use in ts area ofSpeciaizaton then any actons requiing that Sil orAbiy are more ikely to Succeed How much of a

ifeence ths realy maes IS le up to the jugement ofthe Dector However, we suggest that you give the

Acto more leeway to feel competent when usng aSpecalzed Sl o Aby 1n its area of Specaization

When a chaacte has Speciazed in a Sl oAbly the Drecor may cns1de the bul of the chaatestaing an expeise to e n that Speciaized aeaWh the Speciaizaton th1s wl gve he characte anedge ove othe of the same Rank A role an also be aGenealist n a S o Abilty, an choose not take aSpecalization A eneralst mght not be able to best aSpecalst of the same an, n the area of ther Specia

ization,but wll have the ege in all other facets of that

Skll or Abilitys use

Skl ad Abty Descrpos

Afer listing a Sil or Ability, and any Specialization,you should give a short single ine eample of your olesarheypial use o that Skil or Abiiy This wll ad bothyou an the Director n etermining the appopate Rankfor each one, and see as a decision a uring payHee ae a few good eampes of Skils as they wouldappea on a mpleted chaacte Each one taes thefor of

1e (1alizt1on)- ngle line desrpt

A n .

q 6.0] Freams Marsmanship- "Oh yeah?Watch this BLM BLM . BLM M M - M - BM [Bullet-hoesmiley fae on the taget]

q [45] Detective Wok Woing the System

-"eope assume that a complex password smoe secure ot so Human bains aen'tbUl to store XTJ0Apha590, so peopewte them own Aer going thugh thees a few mnutes I foun ths :

q 3 5nvestment inance he Maket)Dontsel yet ts Christmas Eve Eveyone wl selout ust before maret cose to grab eracash fo the holiay Wait five mnutes andyoul pc up anothe quare point.n

Evema Sls

Some Sills (an possibly even some Abilities,dependng upon the gene are so common as to beleae freely by almost eveyone withn a Seng or

example Diving Swmming, and Cimbng are Slsnown by almost evey aut in our sociey to somedegee. Such Slls may b cnseed as EveymanSils They on't need to be sted for any roe uness theyae known to some unusual eent e f a ole is a acar diver o a cmpetitve swmmer. Wheneve a prsona decdes to take an acton vered y a Sil they onot possess b which the Dector fees is an EveymanSl for that peona then the Diecor may simpy assgnan appopriate Sll an f neessay (usualy no higherthan 3 0 f at some fture tme an Acto wishe toncrease her role's poiciency with an Eveyman Slthey may then begin the incease from ther assigned

Rank (again usualy stating no h1gher than 3.0)

Skl Categoes

Skls (and possily even some Ablities, epeningupon the Seting) ae groupe into Skll Categoies according to the pofesson or task most commonly assocate with each Skil. Some Sklls may be applicabe toseveal Categoies, but shoul e paced into the snglemost epresentative one Sil Categoes ae impoanteause they help to dene the approprate pofessonsfo oes wthn your Chronicle Charaer within theChroce 1n no way nee to fal nto these professons, but

the Skl Categores chosen l help to ene the nomaeag paths for you Seting. Some examples of SilCategoes u incude Busness Skls Athetc SlsWaor Skils Seuriy Sklls Magal Skls an Ablties, nvestigative Slls and Engneering Sils

rhcat1x Th Rus 37


38/152

p k

he folowng page contains a bunch of Skls, roma varety of genes n alphabetcal order. Some of theSkls cover vast areas of knowledge wle others areve specc hs s not mean so much as a Sll lst as

a creatve tool wen desgnng chaacers Look at t whechantng mystc mantras and all sorts of neat deas forSklls will pop nto your head We promse

PONALIY AI

Personaly ras ae a method for trackng tegowth and change of a characte's psychologcal makeupand for gvng the Actors a bonus fo roleplayng heroles evolvng psyche approprately. Personalty Tratsare a descpton of your personas major psychologcamotvatons These could nclude for example GreedyKnd-Heated onoable Lone augy Vengefl Po

tectve Brave etc Anyhng about your caracter tatsentra to he personalty You may have several Pesonalty ras and tey may even be angentay opposedas long as tey dont coflct drecly For eample yomay not be both Bave and Cowardly ou may oweverbe bot Vengefl and Honorabe or bot owardy andProtective

Oce youve chosen your Personalty Tats youmust rate each of them for te level of Sevey asfolows

Moderte-s ra efects te caracescoes n eveyday le er eactons o

stuatons and sometmes even her choceof targes n combat

Strog -he caracte s heavly swayed byts Pesonalty Tait whch wil nfuence allfaces of the characters lfe The charactemay act rratonally rathe than go agansttsras ncnaonsAny decson to gnoreths Trait n a stuaton shoud nvolve somenterna struggle or conflct possby wtanoher Personaty a

Exm - Where ts Personalty rat snvolved te chaate wl not cange ermnd for any reaso The chaacter maybecome totally rratona rater tan opposeths Tras dcates Any change to sc arat may only come as the result of extendedroeplayAny decson that gnores ths raseffecs s ony alowed hrogh confct wtaoter Strog o r Exeme Pesonalty atven then these decsons are probably thecause of maor angst for he caraer

38 Theatx - Th C Ruls

Personalty rats are always lmed by ther Severi Levels for both acton and cn. at means thaif a pesona has the Personalty rat of rave at Moderate ten that persona may have trouble takng Stonglyor tremely rave actons n the othe hand f a roehas the Personalty Trat of rave at xteme then that

roe may be unabe to back ou of many dangerousstuatons Personalty rats are a sword that cts botways We provde a ew exampes of Pesonalty ratsbelow he descrptons whch folow tem ae not normally nclded but are gven ere to povde nsght tote temperament behnd each at

t Vengeful (Moderate) - e dragged he keyalong te side of hs bosses car If he coldnthave hs vacaton tme then they mght aswell bot suer

Bave Stong) -As the Maan orde boredown upon ter small eampment a sweatboke out on s bow he gun n s handsbecame suddenly heavy bt he stood hsgroud wth hs mates

Arrogant treme - ve never faled nbattle or game m smply the best by farcest mo ces mo m forced to admt m farto noble to le he peson n whom all thesequaltes bloom cest mo cest mo s 1.'


39/152

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40/152

Pnaiy at Actvai

In addito to actig as a guide to the porayal ofyou role (o both you and te Directo) you may also useyour roe's Personality Traits to gain specia advatages.All Personaity raits may be Actvated by the use of Pot

Ponts described te capter tited 'Improvisaton').The expediture o oe Plot Poit will Activate a Person-ality Trait allowng your caracter to gain ceain beefits

c Aytime you attempt a actio that patculary

involves one of your Personalty Traits thewih the Diectors appoval you may Actvatethat Personality Trai at the cost of one PlotPoit and declare that acto a SucessYou wll ot Fal at that tak alhough theextent o your Success ay be decided byother factors

For example imagie several people standingaroud te eectroic cotrols to a staships airlock doorTe door sjamed and unless it closes soon the escapepod hese peope are standig in wont release. Ad if teescape pod fails to reease teyll all be eate by te alienmonste sceamig dow the corridor at them. One of thecharacters ths tableau as te Pesoality rat oCoward at Strong Havig no place else to run he spendsa Plot Pont, Activatig that Personalit Trat He screamsYou dot know aytg! Let me a tat doo pusheseveyone rougy asde ad begis poudig at thecontrols radomly The Director allows the Plot Poitexpendture and miraculously te door closes

The Directo may sometimes declare that yourcaracte must take a speced action This may be dueto he nfuence of drugs psycic mid contol the sheerterror of te omet etc

c Anytme the Directo demands tat you tae

an acto tat would be opposed to oe oyour Persoaity raits you may declarewthhe Directors approval tat you ig oresuc nfuence for te est o the Scee andact as you like at the cost of one Plot Poit.

40 Theatix-

The Core Rules

I te nfuece youre tyg to avod cotnues teyoull once agai fall der ts eects at te end of theScee However you may stll sped another Plot Poitto break the fueces old oce agai at any later tmetats appropate

Dict' Persoalty Trais are meant as a beneft ad a

lmt. Terefore thee ae severa ways tat a Diectomay use a caracters Personality raits wheneve sefeels its waanted.

Wen a caracte wses to pefor an

acton tat te Director fees

Documents

Theatrix Core Rules