Mind's Eye Theatre
Encyclopedia
Mind's Eye Theatre is a live action role-playing game
based on the White Wolf
World of Darkness
universe, sharing a theme and setting originally with the table-top role-playing game
Vampire: The Masquerade
and now with its revision, Vampire: The Requiem
. (The rules for Mind's Eye Theatre have likewise been revised.) Other games or "venues" include: Werewolf: The Forsaken
, Mage: the Awakening
, Changeling: The Lost
, and others.
Conflicts and skill challenges were settled in the previous edition with a "rock-paper-scissors
" system often referred to as "throwing chops" or "hand jamming". The new Mind's Eye Theatre system, however, uses a random card-draw mechanic. Every player carries a deck of ten playing cards (2-10, plus an Ace), and adds a skill modifier to their draw.
The game possesses many rules both for game play and player safety. Some groups, however, use the game as background material, while using home-grown sets of rules for their actual game-play.
In 1999 Pyramid
magazine named Mind's Eye Theatre (the original version) as one of the Millennium's Best Games. Editor Scott Haring said "Mind's Eye Theater was the first to take an established pen-and-paper RPG
and do the translation to live-action. And it is easily the most successful live-action game, too."
Local gaming stores, Conventions and LARPing websites have information concerning games in a particular area.
is the official worldwide fan organization of White Wolf. They have affiliate organizations across the world playing a distributed role-playing game in which thousands of players assume the roles of the World of Darkness' inhabitants. Despite being separated by distance, many of these players (through e-mail, IRC, and conventions) have characters in the same world, or chronicle. Some Camarilla regions (such as Camarilla UK) run their own storylines independent of the global setting.
It also has traditional and computer-assisted role-playing games in addition to the LARPs.
September 26. 2010, It was announced that the Camarilla will no longer be owned and ran by White Wolf/CCP, and would become a NPO again. Because of the trademark on The Camarilla, the club will change its name to "Midnight Dance" in the US.
The Camarilla hosts venues of both Old World of Darkness and New World of Darkness.
genre.
games, as well as Dark Ages: Vampire, and Werewolf: the Apocalypse. It hosts both monthly local and annual national events.
* Storytelling Adventure System
Live action role-playing game
A live action role-playing game is a form of role-playing game where the participants physically act out their characters' actions. The players pursue goals within a fictional setting represented by the real world, while interacting with each other in character. The outcome of player actions may...
based on the White Wolf
White Wolf, Inc.
White Wolf Publishing is an American gaming and book publisher. The company was founded in 1991 as a merger between Lion Rampant and White Wolf Magazine, and was initially led by Mark Rein·Hagen of the former and Steve and Stewart Wieck of the latter. Since White Wolf Publishing, Inc. merged with...
World of Darkness
World of Darkness
"World of Darkness" is the name given to three related but distinct fictional universes created as settings for supernatural horror themed role-playing games. It is also the name of roleplaying games in the second and third settings...
universe, sharing a theme and setting originally with the table-top role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
Vampire: The Masquerade
Vampire: The Masquerade
Vampire: The Masquerade is a role-playing game. Created by Mark Rein·Hagen, it was the first of White Wolf Game Studio's World of Darkness role-playing games, based on the Storyteller System and centered around vampires in a modern gothic-punk world....
and now with its revision, Vampire: The Requiem
Vampire: The Requiem
Vampire: The Requiem is a role-playing game published by White Wolf, set in the World of Darkness, and the successor to the Vampire: The Masquerade line. It was first released in August 2004, together with a new core rule book for the World of Darkness...
. (The rules for Mind's Eye Theatre have likewise been revised.) Other games or "venues" include: Werewolf: The Forsaken
Werewolf: The Forsaken
Werewolf: The Forsaken is a role-playing game set in the new World of Darkness created by White Wolf Game Studio. It is the successor to Werewolf: The Apocalypse, the "game of savage horror" from the old World of Darkness line of games, but has moved to a more personal sort of horror, reflecting...
, Mage: the Awakening
Mage: The Awakening
Mage: The Awakening is a role-playing game developed by White Wolf, Inc. and based in their World of Darkness setting. The characters portrayed in this game are individuals able to bend or break the commonly-accepted rules of reality to perform subtle or outlandish acts of magic. These characters...
, Changeling: The Lost
Changeling: The Lost
Changeling: The Lost is the fifth supplementary role-playing game line published by White Wolf, Inc. It uses the Storytelling System for rules and is set in the new World of Darkness setting...
, and others.
Conflicts and skill challenges were settled in the previous edition with a "rock-paper-scissors
Rock-paper-scissors
Rock-paper-scissors is a hand game played by two people. The game is also known as roshambo, or another ordering of the three items ....
" system often referred to as "throwing chops" or "hand jamming". The new Mind's Eye Theatre system, however, uses a random card-draw mechanic. Every player carries a deck of ten playing cards (2-10, plus an Ace), and adds a skill modifier to their draw.
The game possesses many rules both for game play and player safety. Some groups, however, use the game as background material, while using home-grown sets of rules for their actual game-play.
In 1999 Pyramid
Pyramid (magazine)
Pyramid is a gaming magazine, publishing articles primarily on role-playing games, but including board games, card games, and other sorts of games. It began life in 1993 as a print publication of Steve Jackson Games for its first 30 issues, though it has been published on the Internet since March...
magazine named Mind's Eye Theatre (the original version) as one of the Millennium's Best Games. Editor Scott Haring said "Mind's Eye Theater was the first to take an established pen-and-paper RPG
Role-playing game (pen and paper)
A tabletop role-playing game, pen-and-paper role-playing game, or Table-talk role-playing game is a form of role-playing game in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech...
and do the translation to live-action. And it is easily the most successful live-action game, too."
Games
People wishing to participate can find or create a local game, some of which are part of a larger setting run by an organization like the Camarilla, One World By Night, Isles of Darkness, or The Garou Nation.Independent
Independent groups create their own worlds using and based on the chronicle material published by White Wolf. The books have a large number of optional rules and variations for the settings, so the style, theme and rules of the game can vary a good deal between such games, even if they follow the published books. Some independent groups are regional clusters of related games in which characters can travel back and forth.Local gaming stores, Conventions and LARPing websites have information concerning games in a particular area.
The Camarilla
The CamarillaCamarilla (fan club)
The Camarilla is the official worldwide fan organization of White Wolf Publishing. White Wolf is an Atlanta based company that specializes in fantasy and modern horror and is best-known for its role-playing games set in the World of Darkness...
is the official worldwide fan organization of White Wolf. They have affiliate organizations across the world playing a distributed role-playing game in which thousands of players assume the roles of the World of Darkness' inhabitants. Despite being separated by distance, many of these players (through e-mail, IRC, and conventions) have characters in the same world, or chronicle. Some Camarilla regions (such as Camarilla UK) run their own storylines independent of the global setting.
It also has traditional and computer-assisted role-playing games in addition to the LARPs.
September 26. 2010, It was announced that the Camarilla will no longer be owned and ran by White Wolf/CCP, and would become a NPO again. Because of the trademark on The Camarilla, the club will change its name to "Midnight Dance" in the US.
The Camarilla hosts venues of both Old World of Darkness and New World of Darkness.
One World by Night
One World by Night, (OWbN, often pronounced Obi-Wan) is a global independent chronicle of games set in a shared setting. OWbN is set in the Old World of Darkness.The Garou Nation
The Garou Nation, (otherwise known as TGN) is a collection of games (currently only in North America) set in a shared setting. Like OWbN, TGN is set in the Old World of Darkness, but unlike OWbN, TGN strictly focuses on the Werewolf: The ApocalypseWerewolf: The Apocalypse
Werewolf: The Apocalypse is a role-playing game and series of novels from the now defunct World of Darkness line by White Wolf. In the game, players take the role of werewolves known as Garou , as well as other lycanthropes: warriors who are locked in a two-front war against both the spiritual...
genre.
Isles of Darkness
Isles of Darkness (otherwise known as IoD) is an independent LARP group based in Britain, which runs most New World of DarknessWorld of Darkness
"World of Darkness" is the name given to three related but distinct fictional universes created as settings for supernatural horror themed role-playing games. It is also the name of roleplaying games in the second and third settings...
games, as well as Dark Ages: Vampire, and Werewolf: the Apocalypse. It hosts both monthly local and annual national events.
Publications
- Mark Rein-Hagen, Ian Lemke et Mike Tinney, The Masquerade, 1993, 2nd ed. 1994
- Richard E Dansky, Beth Fischi, et al. , Laws of the night, 1996
- Mind's Eye Theatre (July 2005) Core Rulebook
- Mind's Eye Theatre: The Requiem (July 2005)
- Mind's Eye Theatre: The Awakening (August 2007)
- City in the Sand (PDF Only)* (July 2009)
External links
- Mind's Eye Theatre website
- White Wolf's Mind's Eye Theatre forum
- Interview with Eddy Webb - Freelance Mind's Eye Theatre Developer