ScreenPlay

Locked somewhere deep down inside, it waits until the right moment to be told. Whether you’re gathering around a table with friends, reading a book, or watching your favourite movie, we thrive on discovering the next great story. Stories of morality, growth, depravity, redemption, love and action. Stories told visually in film, television, video games, comic books and more where the action plays as much a role as character and plot (if not more). We are a society raised on explosions, fierce debates, car chases, courtroom drama, fistfights, horrific bloodshed, gritty interrogations and duels provided in the comfort of our own homes. From here, many aspire to become the next generation of storytellers. For those who dare to dream out loud, this game is for you.

ScreenPlay is a tabletop roleplaying game where imagination and co-operation allow everyone a chance to bring their ultimate stories to life. Designed to emulate the screenwriting experience, this game allows players to take on the challenge as one of a team of Writers working under the guidance of a Director keeping the script engaging and exciting. Built on a premise of simple rules and rapid-fire play, this game will allow you to try out new plots, characters and stunts you’ve always dreamed about but never had the chance to share with others. Use one of our upcoming published treatments or start your own. You can even use ScreenPlay to present a remake of your favourite story or correct one you wish has been better with a new cast and the “proper” vision.

What Is ScreenPlay?

Our playtesters put it best: a co-operative narrative roleplaying game. If you know and love roleplaying games and story games, ScreenPlay is a combination of the two used to create the exploits of lead characters in an imaginary world of everyone’s creation. Therein lies the key: everyone helps create the stories told in ScreenPlay. Whether they be epic action-packed tales of intrigue in pre-WWII Europe or on board an intergalactic spaceship or the enthralling mysteries of a bunch of crazy kids solving mysteries from coast to coast, it’s all up for grabs.

ScreenPlay provides everyone (as Writers or the Director) opportunity to help craft an original screenplay (or teleplay, if you’re looking to create an ongoing series) with all players taking turns to build and develop the story using descriptions, outcomes, triggers, potentials, complication rolls, and more. You could even re-tell a better version of a bad movie, reboot your favourite comic book superhero team, or translate a classic book to a limited run engagement in your imagination. The mechanics do not tell you how to create the story, they provide everyone with the tools to create challenging stories where everything introduced from a previous description has a part to play in the next round.

Reviews

“As someone who is both a writer and an avid player of tabletop RPGs, I was really looking forward to trying out ScreenPlay – and it didn’t let me down. ScreenPlay is the perfect blend between both of these things; exactly between a tabletop role-playing game and a collaborative story.” – The Grind (July 28, 2016)

“Screenplay works both for action heavy games and quieter investigative ones. I’ve used it to run a one-shot based on Korean action movies and I’ve participated in a 1940s style horror game set in a museum which evolved into a very quiet character study and investigation. In both these games, Screenplay succeeded in replicating the action with a few minor hiccoughs. 4.75 high plains samurais out of 5″ – Fraser Ronald, Sword’s Edge Publishing (July 26, 2016)

How Does It Work?

ScreenPlay places narrative control of the story in the hands of the players (known as Writers) while the gamemaster takes on the role of the Director by embracing the story crafted at the table and challenging the lead characters in the story. Each character uses a list of open-ended potentials assigned a dice value (between a d4 and a d12), a Difficulty (in a series of odd numbers from 1 to 11) and details (the number of “actions” you can incorporate into your character’s description, or turn). Dice are only rolled whenever one character attempts to complicate matters for another character, not to determine success or failure. Complications are placed on either character based on whether the dice rolled equal to or higher than the other character’s Difficulty (the target character suffers a complication) or rolls lower than (the rolling character suffers the complication instead) and whether the dice rolled an even number (meaning the rolling character chooses the complication) or an odd number (the target character chooses instead).

Resources provide room for characters to provide weapons, armour, gear, skills, backgrounds, and more to a scene. They can be applied to individual scenes to either boost a character’s die value/Difficulty or receive a damage boost. Characters also use their Stamina to remain in the story and can spend Stamina to “cheat” by fudging dice rolls, interrupting in the middle of another description, retaliating against another character, and more. Combined with traditional damage rolls to reduce their Stamina during a scene, players must carefully balance how they lose their Stamina or else find themselves written out of the story.

You can learn more by checking out the Learn To ScreenPlay page for a summary of the rules along with some additional posts on the game’s unique features.

On Sale Now

Designer: Todd Crapper
System: ScreenPlay
Page Count: 92
Features: Complete rules for telling original stories & character creation, hyperlinks, table of contents, bookmarks, printable character & scene notes