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1:0 Creativity -If the easy solution always works,
then you're going to cut out half the drama in
your Episodes. Look for reasons why a
solution to a problem would not work. If you
like some of those, then use em' to create
Failures and plot twists Your Actors will start
to learn to think beyond the first solution, and
they'll start to become creative.
1:0 Humor- Th1s 1s a game. It's supposed to be
fun. Humorous solutions should always be
worth some consideration, as long as they're
not downright silly
Genre-Any solution should tend to reinforce
the genre your playing in. Roleplay which Is
destructive to your genre should be cause for
a Failure. Roleplay which actively reinforces
the genre is a good reason for Success.
1:0 Plot Enhancement - What holds true for
TRAITS
your genre, holds true for your plot If some
piece of roleplay would lead to a solution that
destroys your plot, then you've got two
choices. First, find some reason why that
solution will Fa1L Second, alter your plot.
Altering your plot Is very acceptable,
especially if your Actors have found some
loophole you hadn't noticed before. If, on the
other hand, the Actors' roleplay leads to a
solution which is perfect for your plot, then
give them the Success they need
Once again, don't forget the characters' Traits. They
define the characters, and therefore much of what can be
considered as good roleplay Actions which make use of
a Trait's strengths should have a much better chance of
Success. Actions which involve a Trait's deficits should
have a greater chance of Failure This is especially true
of the Physical and Mental Attributes. For example, think
ofthe differences between a role defined as large, bulky,
and powerful, and one defined as lithe, quick, and taught
They both may have equ1valent Skill Ranks in Martial
Arts, but they should Succeed and Fail in very different
ways. For the large, bulky persona, quick attacks and fast
spinning kicks will probably end m Failure. For the lithe,
quick persona, powerful lunges and crushing bear hugs
will probably also end in Failure Reverse these two attack
modes so that they now fit the appropriate character's
Tra1ts, and they've tncreased greatly their chances of
Success.
54 Theat..-lx- The Core Rules
SHORT TIME
All action occurs embedded in time. During roleplay,
we are constantly acting and reacting to each other's
descnptions. Those descriptions will need to be arbitrarily
broken into usable segments of time and motion, which
we term 'Rounds' As Director, how you cut the extent and
scope of an action will determine the pacing of your
Scenes. Where you place those arbitrary delineations will
also alter the intent of the described actions. and there­
fore the judgement of their Results.
You can determine the Results of action based upon
large breadths of sweeping description or short seg­
ments of extreme detail. If you break the action into short
segments, you will be focusing in on the minutiae of the
events. This will slow the pace down, but allow the
participants finer control. This is a useful way to break the
action during high risk events, hke mortal combat, and in
any event where each detail will have an effect on the
overall outcome. During slower, lower nsk Scenes, you
can break the action into larger pieces, allow1ng the pace
to move more quickly
ROUNDS
Much of the time you won't need to specifically
break up the action Into segments at all. The plot will
develop with the natural rhythm of the interaction be­
tween the participants. At other times you'll want to
formalize these breaks in the action into Rounds, to avoid
chaos and misunderstanding. A Round is a unit of t1me
long enough to allow useful action to take place, and short
enough to allow that action to be handled conven1ently by
the Director. For example, 1n combat, a Round 1s often
between 3 and 12 seconds of time.
As Director, you won't normally need to announce
the exact time interval you're using for each Round Just
stop your Actors from describing more action than you
believe would fit into that time segment Try to be fair and
allow each participant the same amount of hme. Describe
the Results of everyone's act1ons, making determinations
as you see fit, then go on to the next Round. The actual
length of a Round may fluctuate as the action progresses,
but should be consistent for everybody within any one
Round. You may freely flow in and out of formal Rounds
as the action demands.
INITIATIVE
Initiative is the word we use to describe the order in
which actions are performed Within a Round. Initiative can
be a function of ..