9 thoughts on “Any word on mechanics that may be shared?”

  1. Yup! We’ll be releasing a full set of playbooks and basic moves when the Kickstarter launches (and maybe a bit earlier). We’re in our final pass on the rules, and we want to make sure they are really solid before going live!

  3. Yup! We’ve got 10 playbooks (each one represented by one of the 10 heroes you see in the art) and a solid set of basic moves. Brendan’s been working hard to make the game easy for folks to pick up and play while also supporting long-term adventures.

  6. Vincent Shine: Every playbook has a section for abilities with some predetermined options. They vary heavily depending on the playbook; the Nova has stuff like “Sorcery” and “Elemental Control,” while the Outsider has stuff like “Density Control” and “Radical Shapeshifting.” You’ll pick some (the number varies between playbooks), and they give us an overarching idea of what your character can do. The lists are there to support each playbook’s particular archetype and niche. 

    For situations when you’re doing something crazy with your powers (“Yeah, you have super-speed, so I guess that means you can create a cyclone if you run in circles really fast,”), there’s the basic move unleash your powers. That move lets you do fun things with your powers, but ensures that it won’t always go to plan. One way or another, when you unleash your powers, interesting things happen. After all, you’re still learning how to use your abilities!

    Nicholas Hopkins: The short answer is: Masks provides lean mechanics for playing young superheroes learning about and establishing themselves in a world of superheroes. My take on Worlds in Peril is that it provides mechanics for playing adult heroes balancing superheroic action with their regular lives. Think Young Justice/Teen Titans vs. Watchmen.

    There are a bunch of differences, big and small, so I’m going to try to focus on some of the higher-level pieces:

    – Masks has shifting, changing stats, called labels. Labels represent how your character sees their self. The changing nature of labels reflects the changing identities of the young superheroes Masks is all about. 

    – Masks has more basic moves all about interpersonal communication and drama. For example, Masks has moves for provoking others, building others up, and understanding others. Superheroic action is definitely a mainstay of Masks, but so is arguing with the team, and trying to connect with that teammate you’ve got a crush on. 

    – The primary relationship mechanic in Masks is Influence. If somebody has Influence over you, then you care about what they think, do, or say. You have an advantage whenever you use a move targeted at someone you have Influence over, for good or ill—you can both punch them in the face and make them feel good about their self more easily. Influence also determines whose words will change your labels, shifting them up and down. 

    Hope that answers your questions! Let me know if you have more!

  7. Brendan Conway Thanks! Yeah that answeres my Question. 🙂

    I like the more focused approach on the Superhero-Topic. Worlds in Perils Superpower-Mechanics felt a bit clunky to me but i still have to test them to find out if it is like that in actual play too. Having the Powers bound to the Playbook is a good idea and if you want to customices switching them out wouldnt be to hard i gues.

    Another Question: Is there a Reason for Drama inside the Mechanics? Influence been used for good or ill would be a start but is there a mechanical reason for being selfish?

    For me it sounds like that being cheerful and a Teamworker would be the default playstyle and that wouldnt work to well with a game which focuses on Teenage-Drama. Are there moves or something similar for that or do the Playbooks have something build in to force a bit of drama?

  8. Vincent Shine: Glad you like the abilities! I’m pretty darn happy with how they’ve worked so far.

    As for drama, rest assured, there’s a ton of that! 🙂 There are a bunch of pieces in the game, including many specific playbook moves, that increase the drama and tension in the team. But here are a few examples.

    You fill in relationships at the start of play that inherently complicate your connection with the other members of your team. What’s more, you give influence to some members of your team, but maybe not everyone—that disparity is another source of tension: “Why do you care what he says, and not what I say?” 

    Then, there’s the team mechanic. The entire team shares access to a pool of points called the team pool. There are a few ways to add to it, from defending or building up teammates, to sharing vulnerabilities or moments of triumph. You can spend one team from the pool to give a teammate +1 on any move they just made, as long as you can actually help them in the fiction. So far, so team-work-y.

    But you can also spend team from the pool selfishly. If you spend a team and do something that disregards, insults, or otherwise messes with a teammate, you can actually shift your own labels, mid-roll. That means you can give yourself the boost you need to get a hit on a roll, but at the cost of doing something that messes with the other PCs. 

    Finally, a lot of teen-drama comes from the GM, through NPCs who push the PCs in different directions. And every now and then, it is extraordinarily satisfying to watch the teens band together against the adult jerks in their lives—that’s what these stories are made of! 

  9. Brendan Conway Wow. That sounds really cool and well thought out. The funny part is, that i had a similar concept for an rpg i was working on (something similar to cowboy beebob or Firefly) where there was a comradery-Pool for all of the Members. I really like the approach! I am now really curious if it works out as good as it sounds.

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