Theatrix (role-playing game)

Each character has a number of numerically-rated attributes and skills, as well as non-numerically-rated personality traits, and unrated 'Descriptors'.[2]

Descriptors can be a disadvantage, and when they have a negative effect on a character, the player earns Plot Points. Descriptors can also be used to advantage, but in order to do so, the player must spend Plot Points while invoking a specific Descriptor.[2]

Theatrix applies cinematic concepts to role-playing: the players are "Actors" and the GM is the "Director". The Director attempts to frame adventures as if they were screenplays, with a pre-structured plot that consists of a number of agreed-upon acts, scenes, and "pinch-points".[3][4]

Unlike other role-playing games that use dice to determine success or failure, in Theatrix, when the plot reaches a "pinch point", the referee has already decided if the Actors have done enough to succeed, so dice are not needed. (Dice are only used to resolve a situation in the rare event that the Director cannot decide if the Actors have succeeded or failed.)[2] This was a new concept at the time of the system's release.[5][6]

While the Actors cannot change the major structure of the plot, they can influence a scene by spending Plot Points, either to guarantee success or to change a plot point in their favor. The example used in the rule book is of a male character with the "Lady's Man" Descriptor who is about to be assaulted and robbed by a femme fatale; the player invokes the "Lady's Man" Descriptor and spends Plot Points in order to transform the scene from a mugging into a romantic liaison.[1]

The game encourages collaborative roleplaying, using what it calls "Distributed Directing": the players may introduce subplots, although the Director still remains responsible for the overall direction of the main plot.[7]