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¢ A character who can ignite herself on fire, sustaining no damage, fly through the sky at the speed of a jet, and throw columns of fire at her enemies. The h1gherthe rating of these powers, the faster she'll fly, and the more intense will be her fire. Eventually she'll develop the Ability to use all her energy in one great explosion. This would probably knock her unconscious, but would also do terrific damage. That explosion would have a rating of its own, and so be developed independently. ¢ By physically touching another being, and Ranking repeating 'My thoughts are your thoughts, my mind is your mind' and the like, the character can achieve a mental contact with another life form. That contact takes time to establish, but will allow the sharing ofthoughts, beliefs, and even emotions. Both Skills and Abilities are Quantified Traits. The Director may use whatever method is reasonable to adjudicate what Skills and Abilities are possessed by a character, and at what score, or 'Rank'. These methods can range from a chat with each Actor about what they want their roles to be like, to a clear rules system for developing the Chronicle's personas. Both Skills and Abilities are Scaled on the usual Range of '0.0' to '10.0'. For Skills, here's what those numbers mean ... 36 Theatrix - The Core Rules Skill Ranks 1.0 Basic training. Anything less means a character is Unskilled in the area. 2.0 Basic training level for a journeyman rn a Skill. This is the Rank you need for competency. 3.0 The character is skilled in the area, and would be described as very competent and well trained. 4.0 Excellent training and experience, leading to a highly trained individual, capable of instructing others. 5.0 Years of experience, and natural aptitude, have allowed the character to fully master the Skill. 6.0 The character Is capable of Extraordinary feats in the area, even under pressure and time constraints. The character possesses a brilliant command of the Skill. 7.0 The character is capable of Impossible feats In the area. Others can only look on and admire. 8.0 The character makes the Impossible a regular enough occurrence, that they could have their own television show. 9.0 The character may have doubts, but they're so good that others don't doubt their capability to do anything with the Skill. The Impossible is to be expected. 10.0 Nothing is Impossible. Nothing. These descriptions are genre dependent. Exactly what a character is capable of, at any particular Rank, will vary with the Skill in question, the specific task, and most of all, the Setting. For example, a master inventor (Skill Rank '5.0') in a realistic modern day Setting, can be capable of some ingenious work. But a master inventor (also Skill Rank '5.0') in the Setting of four color superhero comic books, can probably put stuff together with spare parts that would put any inventor limited by real world physics to shame. The Ranking of Abilities is handled a bit differently. Each Ability must be individually Scaled. Although in some cases the learning curve for an Ability may closely approximate that given above for Skill Ranks, a descrip tion of what each Ability is capable of, at each Rank, must still be included. The Director must then assign the character a specific Rank in that Ability, placing the possessing role upon this new Scale. The Director may use the above Skill Rank descriptions as an example to aid in this assignment. It's possible for a role to start as a novice in an Ability, or to be a master, near the height of her power. The Director simultaneously adjudicates not only the character's starting power level, but the growth path for each Ability as well. We'll cover the topic of Scaling individual Abilities in more depth, under the 'Setting' chapter, later in this book. Skill and Ability Histories Skill and Ability Rank descriptions simply give you a feel for the extent of action these Ranks cover, and provide a consistent framework upon which to develop
characters. They do not Imply how each persona actually came to acqwe these Ranks An Actor may justify her Skill Ranks 1n any way that fits the background and personality of her character, from acquiring them during years of pat1ent pract1ce. to having a natural aptitude, to instant learning using RNA injections. Specialization Characters may choose to Specialize in their Skills and Abilities. They may take one Specialization for each Skill or Ability they possess, to ind1cate that area at which they're most adept. For example, a Specialization for Sword Combat might be either 'Fencing', or 'Wild Me lees'. A Specialization for Business Management might be either 'Wheeling and Dealing', or 'Personnel Manage ment'. Whenever a Skill or Ability is used in its area of Specialization, then any actions requiring that Skill or Ability are more likely to Succeed. How much of a difference this really makes IS left up to the judgement of the Director. However, we suggest that you give the Actors more leeway to feel competent when using a Specialized Skill or Ablhty, 1n its area of Specialization. When a character has Specialized in a Skill or Ability, the Director may cons1der the bulk of the character's traimng and expertise to be in that Specialized area. Withm the Specialization, th1s will give the character an edge over others of the same Rank. A role can also be a Generalist in a Skill or Ability, and choose not to take a Specialization A Generalist might not be able to best a Speciallst of the same Rank, In the area of their Special ization, but will have the edge in all other facets of that Skill or Ability's use. Skill and Ability Descriptions After listing a Skill or Ability, and any Specialization, you should give a short, single line example of your role's archetypical use of that Skill or Ability. This will aid both you and the Director in determining the appropriate Rank for each one, and sei"Je as a decision aid during play. Here are a few good examples of Skills as they would appear on a completed character. Each one takes the form of . [Rank) T1t1e (Spec1alizat1on)- Single line description As in . q [6.0] Firearms (Marksmanship)- "Oh yeah? Watch this .. " BLAM .. BLAM ... BLAM - SLAM - SLAM - SLAM - BLAM [Bullet-hole smiley face on the target] q [4.5] Detective Work (Working the System) -"People assume that a complex password 1s more secure Not so Human brains aren't bUill to store XTJ-501-Aipha590, so people write them down After going through the desk for a few m1nutes I found this : q (3. 5)1nvestment Finance (The Market)-"Don't sell yet. It's Christmas Eve. Everyone will sell out just before market close to grab extra cash for the holiday Wait five minutes and you'll pick up another quarter point. n Everyman Skills Some Skills (and possibly even some Abilities, depending upon the genre) are so common as to be learned freely by almost everyone within a Setting. For example, Driving, Swimming, and Climbing are Skills known by almost every adult in our society, to some degree. Such Skills may be considered as Everyman Skills. They don't need to be listed for any role unless they are known to some unusual extent, ie. if a role is a race car driver, or a competitive swimmer. Whenever a per sona decides to take an action covered by a Skill they do not possess, but which the Director feels is an Everyman Skill for that persona, then the Director may simply ass1gn an appropriate Skill Rank if necessary (usually no higher than '3 0') If at some future time, an Actor wishes to Increase her role's proficiency with an Everyman Skill, they may then begin the increase from their assigned Rank (again, usually starting no h1gher than '3.0'). Skill Categories Skills (and possibly even some Abilities, depending upon the Setting) are grouped into Skill Categories ac cording to the profession, or task, most commonly asso ciated with each Skill. Some Skills may be applicable to several Categories, but should be placed into the single most representative one. Skill Categories are important because they help to define the appropriate professions for roles within your Chronicle. Characters within the Chromcle 1n no way need to fall into these professions, but the Skill Categories chosen Will help to define the 'normal' leammg paths for your Setting. Some examples of Skill Categories could include Business Skills, Athletic Skills, Warrior Skills, Security Skills, Magical Skills and Abili ties, Investigative Sktlls, and Engineering Skills. rhcatr1x - The Core Rules 37
Page 2 and 3: ()eslan: David Berkman, Trav1s Eneb
Page 4 and 5: 1J [Bll f)f tf)J[1J§ c INTRODUCTIO
Page 6 and 7: Downtime Pregaming APPLAUSE JELLYBE
Page 8 and 9: 8 Theatrix - The Core Rules
Page 10 and 11: 10 Tlleatr1x - The Core Rules
Page 12 and 13: Chapter V- Lights ... Camera ... Ac
Page 14 and 15: 14 fheatr1x - The Core Rules
Page 16 and 17: pretend to be this other person tha
Page 18 and 19: ¢ A league of super-powered heroes
Page 22 and 23: c;> her tormenting her employees wi
Page 24 and 25: edge to their characters (which mea
Page 26 and 27: Sequence that they're dreammg. The
Page 28 and 29: 28 lhfl'ah1x -The Core Rules
Page 30 and 31: edge represented by that number may
Page 32 and 33: Books If you're creating your own g
Page 34 and 35: Coordmation is Important in fightin
Page 38 and 39: Example Skills The following page c
Page 40 and 41: Personality Trait Activation In add
Page 42 and 43: Ace of Aces -The persona was practi
Page 44 and 45: Descriptor Activation Like Personal
Page 46 and 47: CONCEPTION The concept for your cha
Page 48 and 49: co ; I -i ::::r C'D () 0 ro ::u c:
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Page 52 and 53: Failure, based upon how difficult t
Page 54 and 55: 1:0 Creativity -If the easy solutio
Page 56 and 57: Easy - Ahh, an old style electronic
Page 58 and 59: The final Difficulty of such action
Page 60 and 61: same is really just as true for the
Page 62 and 63: The first set of ovals deals with w
Page 64 and 65: many times, and is 'getting ready'
Page 66 and 67: RANDOMNESS If there are times when
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Page 70 and 71: ecome their own screenwriters. The
Page 72 and 73: The Plot Pomts earned 1n th1s way s
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Page 76 and 77: However strange this turn of events
Page 78 and 79: Zero Point Subplots Although it wou
Page 82 and 83: velop a starting point for your Mai
Page 84 and 85: each Actors current Plot Point Tota
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86 Theat.rlx - The Core Rules
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they're done right, your combats wi
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Some props are less ub1quitous, but
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WOUND LEVELS We suggest the followi
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Unhurt ¢ Blunt- Your opponent winc
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life. Armor can be dented and broke
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member that the Scaling of the Sett
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Produce Reasons Using ... If your c
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[More Organ Music] Brought to You B
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Abe - It couldn't be h1m. That's no
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Director - No way. Of course, you s
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Johnny- Yeah, the instant I drop th
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Director- [Accepting Scott's improv
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Johnny - Right. We're gomg for the
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' l 1 114 Theatrlx - The Core Rule
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Research A quick note on research.
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UPDATING THE CORE RULES The Theatri
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end, or be re-rolled if the scores
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in question will fly as fast as a s
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124 Theatrlx - The Core Rules
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q character q action q direction Q
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What mood will it evoke? What 1s y
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need Plot Tum II spins the action i
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ecome violent. The Troupe can look
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9 Person's Name 9 Involvement in th
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DCPTI I don't have much to say here
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strong,just like you would expect t
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Midpoint Scene tV Pinch II Plot Tur
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ATTRIBUTES (3.5) Sltength (4 OJ Sta
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Theatix 12efeence Sheet A Skill Ran
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I Plain Fighting Theatr-ix l2efer-e
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