Hello everyone! I’m in need of some advice regarding another possible character and how to play them.
I’ll keep it brief on the details. Davey Prendergast, aka Fogchild, is a Janus of supernatural origins. He can manifest ectoplasm in the form of tendrils (web generation) and use them for making basic objects, grapple ropes, weapons, and has been practicing with certain divining powers (supernatural senses).
More to the character parts, I wanted to give the best effect of the Dangerous Web move–cribbing a phrase from JoJo by announcing how he saw his foe’s move coming and planned accordingly. (And like JoJo, it’s mostly BS.)
My question is whether Fogchild’s Mask label would be better served by Freak or Superior. Spooky effects with ghost fog lean one way, but the bravado and cunning lean another.
(Also, I’m thinking Ghostheart from the Deck of Villainy might want Davey dead more than most people…)
Sounds like Freak to me!
Alexi Sargeant Oh? How do you figure?
Ross Eaton Since his Masked self is all ghostly and freakish. 🙂
Alexi Sargeant Fits. I imagine the enhanced physical abilities would be fun to interpret for someone who bleeds fog.
Did you just watch Hellboy II, also? That had me picturing an “ectoplasmic” character based on Johann Krauss, though I was picturing a Transformed (which I guess feeds back to the whole “Freak” discussion.)
AD Kohler Tbh, I’ve never watched the Hellboy movies. I was thinking along the lines of Danny Phantom, with a few bits mixed in from Geist: the Sin Eaters. Most notably the relation to Ghostheart. Fogchild is breaking the rules of life and death, so GH seeks to finish the transition.
Look at the meaning behind the Labels to help in deciding. Is the Mask label seen by others as something strange and frightening, or as something… well, superior, i.e. more capable, smarter, etc.?
I’d actually argue against Freak.
The ghostly webbing, ectoplasm, and general spookiness of his powers is just what his powers are. And that’s noteworthy, but The Mask talks about what Label the character wants to be – what they embody. And while the powers themselves looks spooky, the character plays up their power by describing how its use makes them Superior to the opponent – how they predicted the opponents move, how they predicted everything, etc – and not by leaning on the general spookiness.
So the character tries to make themselves Superior when using their powers, which means that their Mask Label should be Superior.
There’s the possibility for drama here, too. If the character wants to hammer home just how cunning they are, but their powers just make people run away in fear, that’s a point of contention that [EDIT: can be] focused on by the player and/or GM. In a game like Masks, that’s a solid win.
EDITx2: If the player really wanted to play that up, I’d recommend the move “I am what you see”. That’ll bring the whole Freak/Superior split right to the forefront rather dramatically.