I am running a learn to play session on Masks on Friday (in Athens, GA, if anyone is nearby and interested). Any advice for a first time Masks GM with likely first time players for a PbtA style game?
I am running a learn to play session on Masks on Friday (in Athens, GA, if anyone is nearby and interested).
I am running a learn to play session on Masks on Friday (in Athens, GA, if anyone is nearby and interested).
If a one-shot, I usually remove the Doomed playbook. There just isn’t time to get much movement on the Doom track.
It really pays to both be on the same page with regard to how powers work. Ask questions aimed at finding the limits of their power. Your goal here is not to rein your players in, but to make sure you both understand how their powers work and what are their limits:
• You chose insect control. Are your insects smarter than average insects or do you need to micromanage everything they do?
• You can walk through walls. Can you only walk through inorganic material? Can you take someone else with you? Can you take objects with you? What happens when you let go of something occupying the same space as something else?
• You have invulnerability as a power. Do you age? Do you need to eat, drink, or breathe?
If a player is uncertain, suggest that perhaps an option is only available if they successfully unleash their powers The beacon may not be able to take others through walls normally, but can if they successfully unleash their powers.
Don’t overthink a one-shot demo. It doesn’t need to be an overly complex scenario. Folks are just trying to get a hang of the mechanics.
Do give them a few opportunities to reject Influence actions. This is one of the more fun and unique aspects of the game. It also really gives players an opportunity to take hard stands on who their characters are.
Make sure you have the principles and GM moves fresh in your mind. If it’s your first time running Masks it helps to know their playbook choices before hand so you can get a good grip on the issues for that playbook. Otherwise take 5 minutes after character creation reviewing the playbooks. Remember to talk to the players about the fact this is a supers game but it’s also about relationships between each other and the adults around them.
Ask LOTS of questions! I also suggest you have a good few benevolent NPC adults prepped for the players to meet and be influenced by.
I’d make it a point to speak with the group about some basic assumptions going into a game of Masks. Having the right expectations going into the game can set the stage for a great time, and having the wrong expectations could be disappointing.
Review the expectations of the players. I forget exactly how it’s worded, but Brendan included a great passage to read at the session start, clarifying that the PCs are heroes, and teammates, regardless of conflict. While they can get in eachother’s way, the core character concept should be folks that recognize the need to work together. If someone comes into it wanting to a be a villain, or wanting to only go on solo missions without the team, they might be in the wrong game.
Be really clear that the game isn’t focused just on the big exciting fight. It’s about dealing with the collateral damage, being underestimated and misunderstood and bossed around; it’s about being the young heroes making their way into a “grown ups’ world”.
The Influence mechanics accomplish this really well; but it would be easy for a player, especially one new to PbtA, to expect a simple hero vs. villain battle game, instead of the experience Masks tends to offer best.
“Yeah, you are super tough, and smashed that Minotaur with your bare fists. But the innocent folks you just saved are looking at you in fear; don’t they understand that you’re on their side? One man shields his child from you, trembling but brave. An old woman brandishes her umbrella at you in an effort to keep something, anything, between you and them. “Stay back!” – She clearly wants you to reduce Savior and increase Freak. What do you do?”
Narrative is important, not powers. All Moves are meant to make the players’ moments within the narrative cooler. They all are meant to assist the players into reaching the end of a narrative arc. Keep this in mind when making the characters, because this makes a big difference from other superhero games.
Don’t forget to make your GM moves!
The easiest mistake to make is to try to run PbtA like a d20 game, resolving combat with an initiative order. If you go around the table and let every player take a turn before you do anything with your villains, all fights will be easy and boring. Villains will be taken down before they can do anything at all.
Understand what moves are available to you and when to make them, make your GM moves, and keep things interesting.
It can feel unfair, at first, making moves without the GM rolling dice. You don’t need to worry about that if you follow the principle of “Be a fan of your players.”