Theatre-style

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Theatre-style (also theatreform, chamber game, convention larp, parlour larp, or (in Australia and the UK) freeform) is a style of larp. It is typically contrasted with "live-combat" or "boffer" larp.

Origins

The theatre-style of larp appears to have been invented independently in different parts of the world. The first Australian "freeform" was run at CanCon in 1983 using the Traveller setting.[1] Brian Williams credits a series of "fantasy parties" run at the University of York by Andrew Rilstone as the origin on the style in the UK.[2]

Definition

There have been many attempts to define the style. Brian Williams views it as being about a lack of Non-Player Characters (NPCS) or GM involvement.[3] Mo Halker agrees with that, but adds pre-written characters with pre-defined goals, a story with a limited and fixed set of outcomes, and a one-off format as distinctive.[4] Aaron Vanek emphasises the use of representational rather than live-combat and a focus on player-vs-player (PvP) rather than player-vs-environment (PvE) plots.[5] Adina Schreiber, discussing the "traditionally structured New England style", stresses continuous time rather than scenes, multiple plotlines, and that the game outcome is decided by the players.[6] A later definition by Halker, focused on UK freeforms, says that they usually (but not always) involve continuous time, detailed pre-written characters, minimal GM involvement and a minimal system.

In practice many of these defining features can be broken. Theatre-style larps can use heavy mechanics (RTLB Final Voyage of the Mary Celeste; Shifting Forest Storyworks' "parlour larps"), NPCs (Horde games), player-created characters (New Voices in Art), PvE plots (Slash), fixed outcomes (Boats Against the Current), scenes (The Tribunal) and even live-combat (The Black Hart of Camelot or The Rose and the Dragon) while still being recognisably theatre-style.

See also

References

  1. "Free Form Role-Playing", Arcanacon I - 83 handbook (Arcanacon), p. 10. Retreived 5 January 2015. "in the pioneering freeform tournament at Canberra Games Convention '83 participating players were members of the crew of the ship 'Sarten Valador' whose personal role-playing interactions determined all events aboard ship... rather than sitting around a table... the players move about the game environment..."
  2. Me and Freeforms. Retreived 5 January 2015.
  3. So What's All This Freeform Business Then? Retreived 5 January 2015. "All the players are PCs and all are of equal worth to the game... The referee... is relegated to the place of arbiter, adjudicating in disputes between the players... and generally providing information that the character would know but the player doesn't."
  4. Larp and freeform, Vanderbilt and the Yeggman (Livejournal), 6 Jan 2013. Retreived 5 January 2015.
  5. All About Parlor Larps, larping.org, 28 October 2013. Retreived 5 January 2015.
  6. Pop-LARPs, Fair Escape, 4 April 2013. Retreived 5 January 2015.