Theatre-style live-action role-playing

In role-playing games, theatre-style live action role-playing (LARP) is a style of freeform, live action game distinguished by four principal attributes. While not every theatre-style LARP has all of these attributes, strength in these areas distinguishes theatre style LARP:

  1. The organizers are likely to have pre-written characters for the players to play; if not, they may provide much more proactive plotting and guidance during the event. The organizers in general provide more direction and are more likely to supply goals for the character.
  2. The action is likely to be generated or instigated by the players in what is called "Player versus Player" (or PVP) style game play. "Theatre style" describes an event in which players play in a background, ethos, or environment set up by the organizers, but may have a great deal of latitude in choosing how to behave and what to do within the setting. Organizers are more likely to provide guidance and less likely to prohibit or penalize changes of heart or compromises.
  3. It is likely that the game setup will involve elements of character versus character play. This means that characters may have mutually exclusive or irreconcilable goals, and may be in direct conflict, in some cases actually "killing" or sending each other out of the game.
  4. It is likely that combat will be symbolic combat, simulated with cards or a numeric system involving dice or some other randomizer such as rock, paper, scissors, or other more complex rules methods, rather than by fighting with padded weapons. Historically, the distinction of not involving live combat was seen as paramount, though some modern theatre-style games have used elements of live combat successfully.

Theatre style is not a specific brand or genre of LARP, but rather a style of LARP. Most Mind's Eye Theatre games could be described as theater-style, for example, though their organizers tend to identify them more heavily by genre than by style.) Typically the term has been heavily used by GMs in the northeastern United States, producing eclectic games, especially those produced at the three Intercon LARP conventions.