I’m running a decently successful Masks game, but there has been one noticeable issue. One of the players has created a character that is on another power level compared to the rest of the team. He’s had his moment of truth early and essentially there really isn’t anything I can throw at the guy for external threat.
I let my players have a lot of narrative say in the world (since play by post is slow normally) and this players character has established that several “justice league” members couldn’t take him on alone.
Can you be too powerul in Masks?
What Playbook are they?
It sounds like it. My advice, if you haven’t done so already, is to talk to the player about it. Tell them the situation, tell them you feel you’re having trouble challenging their character, and tell them you feel their character’s power level is well beyond the other characters.
That being said. If you can’t threaten the character, threaten people, places, and things the character cares about.
They are playing transformed, and seem to really like the system so there’s a chance they’ll see this
It’s hard to beat light speed movement, nigh invulnerability, and inhuman strength.
He’s a great player, but when I approached him about my concerns a few weeks back we figured out ways to involve him without decreasing his power.
Now a couple players are asking why their characters are even there if the Transformed could just do everything.
Well, I’m trying to learn this system, but there are more ways to challenge a character than outright combat. Perhaps a social threat, something his powers cannot combat?
Just nitpicking, but where did he get “light speed movement” from? Not from the Transformed or any other “normal” playbook.
But other than that… Can he fly or is his movement limited to 2.5 dimensions (Running and leaping over tall buildings)?
What does he do when he is needed in two places at the same time? Which of these does he neglect or does he try to do on both situations together switching at light speed every few moments? Sounds like a great chance to confuse the two situations on a 7-9
I guess I have been throwing super fights mostly. Perhaps a social challenge would be a good change of pace.
Light speed travel (including space and flight) comes from impossible movement. It fit with his theme so I allowed it at the beginning when it was actually just really fast instead of practically instantaneous. Or maybe there was a miscommunication…
When the characters are too powerful to challenge in fights, I double down on the CW aspect of the game. My Legacy, Doomed, and Nova are all hugely powerful, so I make a lot of their real challenges things they can’t fight their way out of, or make it so fighting makes things worse (surprisingly easy with a Nova).
I don’t have a Transformed in my game, so I don’t have good examples on doing this to them, but I’d focus on their Hooks, or make it so that winning the fight removes ways for them to return to normal, or things like that.
Hard choices rather than straightforward fights is the way to challenge this type of character.
“Now a couple players are asking why their characters are even there if the Transformed could just do everything.”
Well, why are they there? And I don’t mean that directed at you – that’s something you should flip back at them. They’re a team of superheroes, and they all have different strengths. Apparently the Transformed has brute force on lockdown. Great – that’s a perfectly acceptable role on a team. But what about the others?
Put them in a situation that they can’t tackle with bruteforce. Someone with that power is going to draw attention. The attention, say, of a ghostly psionic – one who specializes in messing with people’s minds, and can’t normally be physically hit. Or something similar. Make the rest of the team realize they do have uses for a superhero team, and make the Transformed realize they can’t do this on their own.
What are the other playbooks, outta curiosity?
I’d echo a lot of what was said here. My friend Jason says the thing he loves about Masks is that it understands you can’t beat Superman in a straight fight. You beat him by threatening his emotions. That’s why his arch-nemesis has no special powers at all. Just cunning and resources.
If he is essentially the strongest person on the planet have the setting react like it. Have every villain, hero, tech company, and government agency be looking for a way to take him down. If it doesn’t already exist start introducing nulifier tech. Target him with mind control or clone plots for people who want to use his power.
On a mechanical side of things attack his labels every chance you can, everyone should have an opinion on this guy. Keep hitting his highest and lowest unlocked labels until enough conditions pile up that he has a hard time doing anything.
Thanks for the advice all around guys.
As one poster requested, the other play books are: the Janus, protege, delinquent, outsider, and doomed.
I’m definitely going to mix up the encounters and introduce less brute force methodology.
I don’t see as much a problem with power level: old-school justice league had superman on a whole different level than the others, but Batman was still in charge.
Treat him with Superman-type threats, not Batman-type threats. Superman in a fight is always boring.
Look at some of the great villains for Thor or Superman for inspiration.
My instinct would be to make a villain match for him.
Force a close battle or two and make the deciding factor of the good guys winning being teamwork.
He’s too strong? Evil duplicate!
Just zap him with a ray after an OOC talk. Light Speed movement plus punching means massive, sound-barrier breaking explosions ALL THE TIME…you don’t have to tell stories around that, just make it Sonic or Subsonic speed.
As people have said to put the team in more thinking based scenarios, here are a Few I Would like to suggest:
-The team has to go to a place that nullifies superpowers, The stronger of them must deal with a bigger adjustment than those who are weaker, and the Outsider Retains theirs due to them being natural.
-Have him be captured by some group on his level of power in exchange for sparing his friends, and the rest of the team must use their wits to rescue him.
-Give him some diseased maniac obsessed with him(Perhaps an old baddie of the Protege’s Mentor?) who is obsessed with the idea of corrupting a “God” Ala Joker in Injustice. Have a constant eye on him forcing him to keep playing the games or innocent people die, face him with impossible decisions of who to save and who to let die. Meanwhile, the Rest of the team has to find this puppetmaster and take him out before he causes their friend to kill.
-Tournament Arc! Offer for the team to join Some Inter-Steallar/Dimentional/Whatever-scope-you-want with something enticing as the grand prize(E.G. Something that would Help the doomed) But put in some sort of system that makes certain things illegal when facing fighters weaker than you to level the playing field a bit for “Entertainment Value”(I.E A Certain Speed limit, Ring outs, Pin Times ETC.) Create an environment where Brians can overcome Brawn any day.
-Tournament arc Variant 2, If he is WAY too strong put him in a separate division that lets him fight unabated but against much stronger foes. This time, however, offer everyone something they want personally in Different divisions, is anyone is in the same power tier, put them in the same division compeating for a prize equally useful to both of them.
Hope you find these helpful.
Who does he care about?
“Now a couple players are asking why their characters are even there if the Transformed could just do everything.”
Have their characters ask in game and use the scene and the drama of their feelings to push some labels around.
Remember to always have adults using their influence to tell players who they are, who they should be, and push those labels around.
Also don’t forget that “Take a Powerful Blow” can be from words instead of punches. You might be invulnerable to physical harm, but no one is immune to emotional damage.