Theatrix

Infobox RPG
title= Theatrix


subtitle=
caption="Theatrix" cover
designer= David Berkman, Travis Eneix, Brett Hackett
publisher=Backstage Press
date=1993
genre=Universal
system=Custom
footnotes=Flowchart-based action resolution, with or without dice.

Theatrix is a role playing game produced by the defunct Backstage Press and no longer in print. Primarily diceless, the game includes rules for using dice to resolve actions. [Cite web
title = Theatrix Summary
accessdate = 2007-10-21
url = http://www.amadan.org/Theatrix/Theatrix-summary.html] The game applies cinematic concepts to role-playing-- the players are "actors" and the GM is the "director." The games attempts to frame adventures in the model of screenplays, which have a structured plot comprising of a number of agreed upon acts, scenes, and "pinch-points". [Cite web
title = RPGnet : The Inside Scoop on Gaming
accessdate = 2007-10-21
url = http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/reviews/rev_6.html] [Cite web
title = The Raven's Mutterings
accessdate = 2007-10-21
url = http://raven.phoenyx.net/mutterings/2004/11/] Players use plot points to guarantee success of an action or take minor control of the story. This was a relatively new and controversial concept being championed by few in mainstream RPGs at the time of its release. [Cite web
title = Essay: The Origin of the Threefold Model
accessdate = 2007-10-21
url = http://www.darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/theory/threefold/origin.html] [Cite web
title = rec.games.frp.advocacy info
accessdate = 2007-10-21
url = http://www.darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/theory/rgfa/] Characters are described with personality traits not represented by a numerical value instead of hard "attributes", also a relatively new concept at the time of its release. [Cite web
title = Building Stories, Telling Games
accessdate = 2007-10-21
url = http://www.skotos.net/articles/BSTG_46.shtml] The game encourages collaborative roleplaying, using what it calls "Distributed Directing", whereby the players may introduce subplots though the GM remains responsible for directing the main plot. Theatrix has many methods of resolving action and conflict without dice. Most notabable is the use of extensive flow-charts, printed on card-stock. [Cite web
title = The RPG Times - A creative look at roleplaying
accessdate = 2007-10-21
url = http://www.rpgtimes.net/rpgtimes/article.php?article_id=427&origin=archive]

References

External links

* [http://www.darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/reviews/theatrix.html Review of Theatrix, by John Kim]
* [http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/11/11373.phtml Review of the "Ironwood" supplement by RPG.net]