Untitled - Index of - Free

What we want Is a st()O' that starts with an earthquake and
W()rks Its way up l() a climax.
-Samuel Goldwyn
LIGHTS ... CAMERA ... ACTION!
Theatrix is a game of roleplay and storytelling. The
world it presents lives only in the imagination of its
participants. Those participants will interact with the
objects and inhabitants of this mindscape as if they were
real, testing the boundaries of this imaginary world, as
well as their own. The Director is the mediator of this
surreal realm. The Actors will climb its mountains, drive
its cars, shoot at its villains, and argue in its courtrooms.
Or at least they'll try. How well they do is up to you, the
Director. You have a story to tell, and it will be told in the
Successes and Failures of the actions taken within it.
That's what this chapter is about. Success and Failure.
How to decide the outcome of any action, and how to
describe these outcomes in a way that's fair to the
characters performing them, and enhancing to your story
and its Continuity. Somewhere between the Skill Ranks of
the Main Cast, and the necessities of your plotline, there
lies an adventure waiting to be lived. In order to get there,
we're going to have to discuss Opposition, Success,
Failure, ambiguity, time, initiative, Difficulty, severity,
tension, and description. So read on ...
OPPOSED ACTIONS
The emphasis here is on action. As an Actor, the
roles you play are fully under your control. They will
attempt to perform whatever action you describe them as
doing. Many times you need only state your intent and the
action will be done. Such actions as driving a car across
town, mailing a package, or opening an unlocked door are
often ofthis nature. These actions usually aren't Opposed
in any way, and are therefore automatically Successful,
assuming your character has the Skill and opportunity to
perform them. Other actions, such as trying to open a
locked door, are Opposed. In this case the opposition is
the lock itself. In other cases your opposition may be a
member of the Supporting Cast, or even another Main
Cast character. Opposed actions may not always Suc­
ceed. Their Success will be determined by your persona's
Skill in the area, the extent of the opposition, and in large
part, by your roleplay. Actually, your Success or Failure
in most activities will be determined by your roleplay. To
some experienced roleplayers, this may seem a little odd.
In most roleplaying games you determine much of the
action by rolling dice. However, due to the unique way in
which we've defined the Success and Failure of actions in
Theatrix, the Actors will actually determine how well they
do, in any situation, by roleplaying through it.
SUCCESS AND FAILURE
Success and Failure are based upon thefinal intent
of an action. A Successful action occurs when the final
intent, the hoped for result, is in any way accomplished.
A Failure occurs when that same final intent is not fully
achieved; where the basic, hoped for result, eludes the
performer of the action. Obviously there is a lot of leeway
between Success and Failure. Whether an action Suc­
ceeds or Fails, and to what extent it does so, is a
judgement left up to the Director.
THE BASIC RULE
The Director first decides whether the Result of any
action is to be treated as a Success or Failure, based
solely upon the roleplay of the Actors and the require­
ments of the plot. That's it. Although the Director isn't
required to, she may also wish to take into account other
factors in this decision, such as a role's Traits. The
Director then chooses the extent of the Success or
Theatrlx- The Core Rules 51