Is there a “defy danger” move for masks? How do you roleplay the heroes escaping a dangerous situation or dodging bullets, etc. They’re not really “directly engaging a threat”. Are they defending themselves?
Is there a “defy danger” move for masks?
Is there a “defy danger” move for masks?
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I think it all depends on the specifics. Moves dont activate until you do something the activate them.
Also, superheroes don’t defy danger. They rush right in. 😉
That’s what defying danger means, Troy Ray.
It depends on the situation and the playbook. It could be either they just do it and so no roll or they “Unleash Your Powers” to overcome an obstacle. However, as I pointed out, it really depends on the situation more than anything, taking your example of dodging bullets, if the bullets are from mooks then the Super Teen just gets out of the way, in some way. If they are from the Gun Smith, the Super Villain who can turn anything into a gun, then that’s a different story.
Unleash Your Powers is the closest that Masks has to a Defy Danger roll. Think about it… how would Robin get out of the way of the bullets (acrobatics) vs. Superboy (invulnerability)?
In general, Brandon Metcalf has it right: the fiction drives the moves, so have your players roll to do what they are doing in the fiction. But when you are struggling to find a move to fit an uncertain moment, look to Unleash Your Powers.
Unleash your powers can be “to overcome an obstacle,” and you could maybe defend someone with that “someone” being yourself. Depending on the danger, it could count as taking a powerful blow.
Yeah, like if you really think about what superheroes actually do when faced with dangerous situations, almost exclusively they unleash their powers. This took me a while to figure out (because I’m used to shit like skill rolls or rolling to dodge or whatnot) but in Masks, dodging and skills are all part of unleashing their powers. And Superboy ain’t gonna dodge jack squat
“Yeah I know you want to get over there but the Dread Queen’s mercenaries are laying covering fire with their plasma weapons. When you just run over there you will get hit by them – what do you do?”
Awesome! Thanks guys I appreciate it
But would it be appropriate to do the “defend” action on yourself? And how would that work in the fiction?
I think the only time you can use it to defend yourself is with the specific example of against another PC. Could be wrong though.
I don’t think you ever roll defend someone to defend yourself. If another PC attacks you, they’re the ones rolling, not you.
You roll Defend Someone, and on a hit, the other PC gets -2 on their roll.
You can defend yourself.
Some discussion on PC vs. PC and Directly Engage and Defend here: https://plus.google.com/+TimFranzke/posts/Yc62cZP9nC3
Thank you both for the correction!