User summary:
The Players Handbook contains the lion's share of the rules for the game the Theatre of the Adsurb. The game utilizes several typical elements of role-playing games in atypical ways; to highlight this, the author frequently uses non-standard terms for objects or processes. For example, the game master is referred to as the Director and the role is supposed to change hands every three or four sessions. The game also uses an Effects Table (Action Table) to resolve some actions, and action resolution uses a somewhat complex process.
Characters have an Intensity (Level) that determines how well they can do certain things. A character's Intensity increases when they accumulate enough Effort Points (Experience Points). Characters select a Phylla (Type), Race, Sex, and a Calling which is vaguely analogous to Class. Characters have Abilities (Attributes) in Mental (Fortitude, Knowledge, Charisma, Intuition, Stability) and Physical (Vitality, Muscle, Physique, Reflexes, Durability) groups. Fortitude and Vitality are "special" Parent Abilities, because the establish Current Fortitude (Sanity) and Current Vitality (Hit Points), scores that fluctuate during play. Characters also have Preoccupations which are a complex attribute that declares focus and interest.
The game's Action Tables are provided as a separate PDF download.