Hello everyone. I recently posted the summary of the previous Masks campaign that I ran (which was also the first time I GM’d a Masks game). And I’m currently planning for another campaign, this time utilizing the Spiderweb playset from Masks: Unbound.
I have seen only one Actual Play of Masks (on Youtube) that used the Spiderweb playset (couldn’t find any podcasts of it) so I’m kind of going in blind. And I’d really like some help.
As listed in Unbound, a Neighbourhood has 1 of 5 Virtues:
Charity, Fortitude, Justice, Renewal, Solidarity
and 1 of 5 Vices:
Anger, Apathy, Greed, Jealousy, Laziness
Unbound gives examples of Solidarity and Apathy but not the rest. In the Actual Play I saw, they also used those specific 2, leaving me at a loss of examples for the other 8.
So, if anyone can give me some examples of the other Virtues and Vices, I’d be very grateful and have a good basis to go on portraying them in my upcoming campaign.
Thank you in advance.
Charity: This neighborhood welcomes in anyone in danger, it never turns away people in need.
Fortitude: This neighborhood stiffens its back in the face of direct threats. It won’t back down from a challenge or an ultimatum.
Justice: This neighborhood has a sense of right and wrong (which may or may not match up with the heroes) and is willing to make sacrifices to make restoration to those who have been wronged and punish the guilty.
Renewal: This neighborhood gets knocked down, but you ain’t never gonna keep it down. No matter how many times villains trash the rec center, people keep tacking up tarps and shooting hoops anyway. In every broken place, something new eventually puts up shoots.
Anger: This neighborhood seems a little like the Justice one—it’s willing to join the fight. But the energy is tinged by bitterness or vengeance. This neighborhood might not care what (or who) they break when settling scores. And is particularly dangerous to a Reformed or a Scion.
Greed: This neighborhood is on the take. Whatever their conflicts with the Spiderweb, how could they imagine it gone? Expect a danger of betrayal if someone makes your allies a better offer.
Jealousy: The neighborhood has a strong sense of pride, but it’s not rooted in a firm sense of themselves (as it possibly is in Renewal) but in a comparative understanding. This neighborhood may be eager to deflect threats into other communities.
Laziness: Unlike in the apathy neighborhood, people haven’t given up hope, so you may feel buoyed by allies you find. But they’ll often overpromise and seldom see a fight through. They might be idealists in theory, but not in practice.
Brian Lagoda is about to run Spiderweb, so he may have some good neighborhood thoughts.
Leah Libresco These are some really good examples. Thank you very much.
My pleasure! It definitely helped to have some C.S. Lewis under my belt. He writes very specifically and vividly on the virtues in Mere Christianity (https://amzn.to/2Wdlig7).
amazon.com – Mere Christianity: C. S. Lewis, Kathleen Norris: 9780060652920: Amazon.com: Books
I’m less eloquent than Leah, but she’s right that I’ve got a spiderweb game queued up and I’ve been thinking about this stuff. I really think, like playbook abilities, neighborhood virtues and vices will look different for each individual neighborhood. What I’ll be listing here (soon) are examples I’ve considered, more than definitive answers. One thing that was on my mind was “how can I think about these so that every pair is possible?” For instance, what might it mean for a neighborhood to have both charity and greed?
Brian Lagoda Oh wow, that’s 25 different possibilities. I’m definitely interested in checking all of them out.
Charity: Neighborhood folks, no matter how little they have, make a point of sharing with the destitute and down-and-out, attracting the Spiderwebs casualties to the local shelter or church-run soup kitchen.
Fortitude: Locals can’t be intimidated by the Spiderweb’s threats. Goons might smash up a store, but the proprietor won’t pay a cent of protection money—so the Spiderweb might just try to bulldoze him.
Justice: The neighborhood contains at least one influential institution focused on righting the wrongs of the Spiderweb—a legal clinic, a neighborhood watch, a crusading local paper, etc.
Renewal: Everywhere they can, neighborhood members are reclaiming space left by the Spiderweb to rebuild or resolidify a thriving community. Heroes might be able to rely on scrappy but potential-filled institutions like a neighborhood gym or garden.
Solidarity: Neighbors have each other’s backs. If the Spiderweb messes with one neighbor, the whole community will come out in force to hit back.
____
Anger: Neighborhood people can be blinded by their rage, lashing at any perceived interlopers, even heroes trying to help.
Apathy: Neighborhood folks have found a precarious peace within the Spiderweb, and would rather keep their heads down and maintain that than respond to injustice.
Greed: It’s every man for himself here, with neighbors jockeying to get what’s theirs. Heroes can expect to be extorted and price-gouged unless things change.
Jealousy: The neighborhood is united by suspicious envy of another, more prosperous neighborhood nearby, and occasionally someone launches a scheme to steal from the other neighborhood or at least disrupt it.
Laziness: The Spiderweb enriches members of this neighborhood, incentivizing them to pursue leisure activities and let civic institutions rot—or be co-opted by criminal enterprises.
Work got in the way of writing things down, but I’m back.
I really like the way the Spiderweb book phrases the virtues and vices in terms of how the GM will manage the fiction. Here are some of those examples, “During the game, I’ll…
Charity: make sure that someone in the community will back the heroes when their situation is truly dire.
Fortitude: turn losses for the community into opportunities for reconciliation and action.
Justice: give the heroes an easy time finding NPC support when they’re doing what the community thinks is right.
Renewal: let the heroes’ good deeds echo in new institutions that they inspire.
Solidarity: offer civic institutions where the heroes can get advice and assistance, as long as it seems they have the community in mind.
Anger: have NPCs jump to conclusions and lash out, muddling situations that otherwise could have been handled cleanly.
Apathy: let NPC indifference highlight how thankless and uphill the struggle against the Spiderweb really is.
Greed: have members of the community sacrifice the common good if they stand to gain personally.
Jealousy: put a spotlight on the way members of the community resent the heroes for their abilities (super and mundane alike).
Laziness: have the community capitulate with evil, worsening the status quo if it lets them get on with their personal drives.
Brian Lagoda, I love how you framed these as GM moves.
These are all so very helpful. Thank you Alexi Sargeant and Brian Lagoda. I really wish I had actually played a Spiderweb game before running one but c’est la vie.