7 4 Theatrlx - The Core Rules
To demonstrate this power, we'll give a brief ex ample here. The situation at hand is a murder. The Actors have arrived on the Scene after the fact, as part <strong>of</strong> a police investigation. Two <strong>of</strong> the Actors are portraying police detectives, more interested in handguns than fingerprints (Primary Descriptors <strong>of</strong> 'Sharpshooter' and 'Loads <strong>of</strong> Connections and Informants' respectively). Another Ac tor is portraying a psychic called in to help in the investi gation <strong>of</strong> this bizarre series <strong>of</strong> murders (Primary Descrip tor <strong>of</strong> 'Psychic'). And the last Actor is portraying a consult ing private investigator with extraordinary powers <strong>of</strong> deduction and inference (Primary Descriptor <strong>of</strong> 'Percep tive'). The Director has described a room in brutal disar ray, and the body <strong>of</strong> a large man lying on the floor, his limbs arrayed at impossible angles. The Director has carefully set up the clues so far, the most important <strong>of</strong> which is the inexplicable escape <strong>of</strong> a gorilla from a local travelling circus. One <strong>of</strong> the police detectives states casually that this must have been the work <strong>of</strong> the escaped gorilla, however unbelievable. This is a natural Statement, and the kind that gets made all the time in a roleplaying game. The private investigator turns, and using her Primary Descrip tor <strong>of</strong> 'Perceptive', makes a Disapproval <strong>of</strong> the earlier Statement. The private investigator declares that the bruises upon the victim's neck show that he died <strong>of</strong> strangulation, and that their size indicates that the perpe trator had hands not the size <strong>of</strong> a gorillas, but <strong>of</strong> a woman's. This is not only a Disapproval that falls within the domain <strong>of</strong> the private investigator's Primary Descrip tor, but also a Statement in its own right. The private investigator adds a Plot Point to turn this hypothesis into concrete fact, making sure that she will not be wrong. Th1s is not what the Director expected at all. To make matters worse, the Actor portraying the psychic now adds to the damage by touching the corpse, thereby receiving a 'flash <strong>of</strong> clairvoyance'. She declares that the killer was indeed a woman, and that she has come from far <strong>of</strong>f, another land, seeking her victims here. The psychic then also pays a Plot Point for the Active. dramatic use <strong>of</strong> her Descriptor, guaranteeing her veracity as well. Well, that's it for the Director's planned plotline. Fortunately, the Statements made do open up many interesting possibilities for the plot, as will <strong>of</strong>ten be the case. Just as fortunately, most <strong>of</strong> the Director's planning will still be usable for this new, deviated plotline, as is also most <strong>of</strong>ten the case. If the Statements made had not been so kind to the time and planning the Director had already done for the Episode, then the Director may very well have denied them. Statements may be the best opportu nity for the Actors to step in and help 'write' the story in progress, but they must do so in a way that's respectful to the work others have already done. IMPROVISE FOR SUCCESS The above improvisational techniques can become critical to the Success <strong>of</strong> your actions. Such determina tions are based largely upon how well you roleplay. Accordingly, making your actions dramatically appropri ate, and improvising, should greatly improve your chances <strong>of</strong> Success. Take liberties with the Stage and use State ments. They're free. For example, next time you're trapped in a bUilding complex, and looking for a way to ambush the h1red killers that are out for your hide, don't ask the Director what you ought to do. Simply declare 'Aha! No one ever thinks about up. I'll hide myself in the supports above this false ceiling, break into the building's air duct system. and crawl to a position behind the enemy lines!' Make that Skill in Urban Combat Tactics meaning ful. Did the false ce11ing or the air duct system even exist before you just declared them? The Director never spe cifically said they didn't, and that's where your opening for improvisation awaits. CONSISTENCY With everybody involved in the story being able to control part <strong>of</strong> it at any moment, it's easy for things to get out <strong>of</strong> hand. We're going to need a few guidelines to help make this work Our basic guideline is Consistency. In order to keep Consistency, no improvisation may alter any previous Information that has become fact. The reasons behind the Information may change, and new Information may be added, but any new declarations must logically (or illogically, depending upon the mood <strong>of</strong> the Director) fit all previous known Information. For example, imagine a small band <strong>of</strong> brave knights (they all have the Personality Trait Brave) entering a dark cave. They've come here upon rumors <strong>of</strong> something evil making <strong>of</strong>f with the local maidens. The Director, who's known to have a predilection for dragons, describes that about them by the lurid light <strong>of</strong> the torches, they can see great claw marks and burned patches at the cave's entrance The Actors moan and give the Director vile looks, but they proceed on. The Director then describes the movement <strong>of</strong> some great beast ahead, the metallic scraping, and the unbearable heat. The knights round the corner swords drawn and shields at the ready. when one <strong>of</strong> the Actors suddenly declares 'We round the corner only to find the king's minister, operating a large furnace in the cave, and turning a great wheel with a metal rim to make that scraping sound.' The other Actors turn to the creator <strong>of</strong> this event with stunned expressions, but the Director's smiling. Without skipping a beat, the Director declares that the minister turns to them w1th a sour look and cries out' 1 would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for you meddling knights!' Theatrix- The Core Rules 75
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()eslan: David Berkman, Trav1s Eneb
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1J [Bll f)f tf)J[1J§ c INTRODUCTIO
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Downtime Pregaming APPLAUSE JELLYBE
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8 Theatrix - The Core Rules
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10 Tlleatr1x - The Core Rules
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Chapter V- Lights ... Camera ... Ac
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pretend to be this other person tha
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¢ A league of super-powered heroes
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c;> her tormenting her employees wi
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- Page 38 and 39: Example Skills The following page c
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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