I am quite puzzled by the Hook Record Sheet (last page of the GM Sheets).
It seems it lacks a field to write down the name of the character involved in the hook pair ?
Also, from this sheet, I assume hook pairs are supposed to be symmetrical in term of which labels are modified: say, if NPC1 is +Freak and NPC2 is +Mundane, it means NPC1 should always be -Mundane and NPC2 should always be -Freak ?
When I read and re-read the chapter about hooks I can’t find where it is explicitly explained. It seems it is implied that a pair of hooks push/pull the same labels.
Any experience on using hook pairs ? There is mechanically a back-and-forth between two labels, and from the experience I had it feels like we are going in circles (and I have heard that from other people).
If only one label is common, it seems it will help move the character somewhere: for example a Legacy unsure of his ego could have NPC1 +Superior/-Savior and NPC2 +Mundane/-Superior and then have an incentive (mechanical and fictional) to find a NPC who will help keep his Savior up and/or Mundane down ?
Most of the times I have GMed, I haven’t planned specific labels to be push/pulled by specific NPC: I have just let the fiction speak for itself and I went with the wind as far as choosing which label to pull. I feel like I am missing something great. I would greatly appreciate any input on the use of hooks from experienced GMs of Masks 🙂
Hooks don’t have to be diametrically opposed, I say; they just represent visions for the PC’s life. So, you can have a scientist who thinks the Transformed is a Danger to their friends and family!! +Danger and minus Mundane right? But no reason the other side can’t be a Hank McCoy Beast figure who tells the PC that the lives you save define your worth, not what you look like — going for +Savior and minus Freak.
Yes, just making the Hooks only exist at either end of a single spectrum is the most obvious and easiest way to develop them, but I found in my first season of play they just circled around and never accomplished anything because they just fought with each other and the PCs chilled in the middle. So, instead, I think it’s better each Hook operate on its own axis: thereby screwing with four of the PCs stats, ultimately.
Yeah, I don’t see the hooks as having a push to counter their pull–they’re just focused on getting a PC to be more of whatever their hook label is. They don’t even always do it by using influence to shift labels, either. Many of the hooks seem to be just as much about setting up situations that demand a label, rather than just telling them that they are a label.
Thank you very much for your insights 🙂
Yeah, pretty much. That said, and I think this is important: NPCs have Agendas. The book doesn’t say this, but I think Hooks who don’t want anything concrete are pretty useless. Like, there’s no real bite behind an NPC who is telling you “you’re a hero! (bump up your Savior!)” unless they want you to do something about it. This may just be me, others may have more luck with NPCs who appear just to say good job or bad job every session — but my Hooks, now, have agendas.
The Exemplar mentor wants a PC to join the Young Exemplars, thats why he keeps insisting she’s a better hero than the team. The best friend wants to date the PC, that’s why he keeps insisting the PC is Mundane and doing mundane mortal things with him like going to the movies. And so on. That’s how I treat it now.