Hello!

Hello!

Hello!

First game ever just last night.

It was a simple issue: Dr.Ghost tried to lure supers with hostages in a research lab to trap some of them

and the team (with a starlight-personified newborn that looks like a nova, that attracted the DR. interest) arrived in place

i had the whole game a strange sensation

they keept doing nothing but “trying to restrain” the villain with raw superpowers (telekinesis, solid light projection, shapeshifting and magic)

They just resisted or body/energy blocked the villain soft moves

i am used to other PBTA where the player should just react to the “what do you do?” question, but in this case, with other “power” moves triggering

one: only when they try to damage the enemy

and the another: only when they try to defend someone/thing else

in a situation in which the villain had as a purpose “grab you and trhow / lure / take / telekinetically push” inside the “cage-chamber” they felt compelled to just “oppose” with the unleash move

where i am wrong? i love this game and i love PBTA but something broke in this frist session and i am afraid they will quit the playtest if i fail the next too..

PS: i tried to being understandable although i am not properly skilled in english, sorry for eventual errors. ^^”

13 thoughts on “Hello!”

  2. Aaron Griffin we played from 20:00 to 00:00

    and they made all the characters creation in the evening

    the game scene lasted about 1hour (very slow game because of the attuning to the rules) so it ended at the first consequence they throw at the villain (after an endless sequence of menaingless power unleashing ç_ç ) because we had to go home i decided to put a hopeless and let the villain surrender

    we will go on with the second part of the first session (chat and adults coming giving feedback) next week

  3. Hmm, I feel like for a first session, I would do some slice of life stuff and use minor villains.

    So maybe next session they can see the fallout of this previous battle. Maybe do two things:

    – Put 2-3 characters together in a scene and ask them leading questions about the villain fight, so they talk to each other about it.

    – Bring up small time villains that can be put down easily, but make them choose: save a civilian, or get the bad guy.

    So maybe they’re at school together, and Player A can’t find a seat at lunch and seed Player C there alone – A and C didn’t get along in the fight last session, but it’s the only seat. Maybe Players B and D are in gym class and have to play doubles tennis. Something appropriate for the setting.

    Then during study hall, their communicators beep. They’re the closest ones to a report of a robbery at a supermarket where the villain shot lasers. Someone needs to go now! But they’ll need a cover to get out of study hall. Someone will need to stay back to deal with the teachers…

    Now maybe this villain has holed up in the supermarket with hostages. If they use their powers, or something goes wrong, they put hostages at risk. What do they do?

  4. You may also want to give them a reason to want some of the Directly Engage payoffs.

    Give the baddie a big weapon, a macguffin, or a hostage so there’s a reason to take something from them

    Have the baddie gear up for a swing, so that the best way of defending yourself is to throw a punch yourself and resist and avoid their blows

    Make the baddie have a personal connection to a hero, so they want to impress the opposition

  5. Masks is about relationship not crime-fighting!

    For my player is something like monsterhearts with superteens.

    Think about Villain…he’s adult so he uses influence and shift labels!

    Hopeless move ? Why surrender?

    If I can’t escape…nobody can! (Pc you can’t save anybody…who you left back ? Why ?)

  6. Leah Libresco that looks good

    also if the answers to “swings” where always something like:

    “i grew up bigger and tougher” (the shapeshifter outcast), or “i go phase myself” (the elemental body newborn)

    probably i understood wrong the moves (i tough that players starts a move for the “when you” and not aiming at the specific options)

    es.

    – i engage => i can take something

    instead of

    – i want to “take something” => i will engage

    the same was on impress ( i would have made them roll a provoke as per the “scope” for which you try to impress her)

    but as i just said probably i got wrong the whole thing and will ask my players to focus on the options outcome they desire and act accordingly with them (isn’t that a subvertion of “fiction first” method?)

  7. I think it’s a balance. If all we wanted was to (as players) take down the villain, we’d roll almost nothing but Directly Engages. But it is a story driven game, so everything else can make sense, too. It can help to ask players why Directly Engage didn’t feel like what they wanted to do (was it missing motivation? did they think using their powers was mostly unleash?)

    We’ve sometimes had people lean too hard toward unleash, but you can always use your powers as part of a directly engage—it’s how you flavor the narration.

  8. All PC direct engage ?

    Start with a question “why last time did you engage something goes wrong ?” built the flashback by the answer … Prepare for a hard consequence in present time!

  10. Well… You always can put citizens in danger, and you MUST. So… The Defend move applies. And, in short, try to provoke all the basic moves. Even Comfort or support when a citizen is in panic.

    If you complete the question… help.

    “What do you do? You want to take a look on the laboratory? You want to provoke him? You want to discover your plans?”

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