Author: Magpie Games

Playbook Spotlight: The Doomed

“Something about your powers dooms you. It’s just a matter of time before It all goes wrong. Everybody carries around the heavy burden of their own death. Yours Is heavier than most.

“Until the day that your doom comes for you, though…you will do 

amazing things.” 

The Doomed knows their fate, and it’s not good. They’re haunted by the knowledge that at some point down the road, their doom will come for them, be it the demon that’s hunting them or their powers exacting one final price. But their doom gives them access to powers that the other heroes don’t have. They can call on it, bringing it ever closer but giving them great power in the moment. They also have a Sanctuary, some space that is theirs where they can use their powers fully and solve problems that no other hero can solve. They can really do amazing things…if only they weren’t chained to such a fate. 

The Doomed is inspired by such characters as Raven (Teen Titans), Veil (Avengers Academy), Velocidad (Generation Hope), and Hellboy, among many others. 

Playbook Spotlight: The Transformed

“You can remember what it was like, to look normal. To have skin. To not feel every eye turn to you once you stepped outside. To not hear the gasps and exclamations. You remember when you could look forward to a life of normal problems. When you weren’t labeled a monster every step of the way. 

“Those were the days, huh.”

The Transformed used to look normal, maybe even unexceptional, but all that went away with some change. Maybe it was a mad science experiment, or a mutation, or live-saving cybernetics. Regardless of what it was, the Transformed is now very obviously not a regular human. They can’t hide their change, no matter how much they might want to. Many regular people see them as just a monster. Their struggle is all about that question: what are they now? Are they the monster that everybody sees them as? Are they the voice in their head, regardless of what their body looks like? Or are they some middle point between the two? 

The Transformed is inspired by characters such as Cyborg (Teen Titans), Mettle (Avengers Academy), Beast (X-Men), and The Thing (Fantastic Four), among many others. 

(Note: Brendan Conway is still ruminating on the playbook name for this one, but we’re going with Transformed for now.)

Playbook Spotlight: The Beacon

“You don’t have to be doing this. You could probably have a life that’s just fine, somewhere safe. You could probably be content, growing up to get a decent job, a decent apartment. It’d probably be nice.

“But come on. Super-powers! Aliens! Wizards! Time travel! You are so far out of your depth, but who cares! This is awesome. Everybody should try it.”

The Beacon doesn’t have the same kind of capabilities or accomplishments that validate their teammates. But that’s not going to stop them; they’re going to be here, and do awesome things, and love every minute of it. The Beacon has a series of drives, things like “Punch someone you probably shouldn’t” and “Kiss someone you probably shouldn’t” that reward them for experiencing life and trying new things. They’re all about proving themselves to the others while keeping their shining, mundane heart.

The Beacon is inspired by characters such as Kate Bishop/Hawkeye (Young Avengers), Kitty Pryde (X-Men), Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel), and Kid Flash (Young Justice), among many others. 

Playbook Spotlight: The Bull

“You’re big, and strong, and tough. You’re the one who knows what fighting really is, and you take joy in it. You’re a badass stone-faced destroyer. And, sure…you’ve got a soft-side, too. But you don’t show that to just anybody. Only the people you care about most. And everybody else? They can eat your fist.” 

The Bull is a fighter with a heart of gold. Their powers are always about strength, toughness, and fighting ability—they’re ass-kickers. But deeper down, they’re driven by their relationships to two people on their team—their Love, and their Rival. Their Love is somebody they care about deeply, romantically or not as they choose. Their Rival is somebody they butt heads with all the time. Even though the Bull may put on a gruff exterior, they’re all about these feelings beneath the surface. 

The Bull is inspired by characters such as Superboy (Season One of Young Justice), Ms. America Chavez (Young Avengers), Wolverine and X-23 (X-Men),  and Molly Hayes (Runaways), among many others.

Playbook Spotlight: The Protégé 

“You proved yourself to someone who’s been there, done that. They’ve been training you for ages. And now, you’re trying to decide…do you want to be them? Or do you want to find your own path?”

The Protégé is all about their relationship with their mentor. Their mentor is the source of their training, their equipment…maybe even the reason they’re in the superhero scene to begin with. The Protégé’s mentor has even given resources to the team as a whole. And the Protégé is, without doubt, one of the most qualified on the whole team to be involved in superheroics—they may have an even better idea of what it takes than the Legacy does, and it shows in their moves. But for all that the Protégé owes their mentor, they may not want to actually become their mentor. That push and pull drives the playbook. 

The Protégé is inspired by characters such as Robin or Aqualad (Season One of Young Justice), Terry McGinnis (Batman Beyond), Cyclops (X-Men), and Armor (X-Men), among many others. 

Playbook Spotlight: The Delinquent

“You’ve got these powers. They’re pretty cool. But there’s a whole shit ton of people trying to tell you what to do with ’em.  You know what they need? More than just someone to say no to them. They need someone to give them as much shit as they give you. And hey! You’re the perfect hero to do it.”

The Delinquent is a troublemaker, a rabblerouser, a clown, and a rebel. For all their bravado, the Delinquent also cares deeply about the team, and what other people say or think. After all, why cause havoc if not for an audience? A lot of their moves play with the team dynamic of Masks in a way that keeps their attention on their teammates, for good or ill.

The Delinquent is inspired by characters such as Quentin Quire (Wolverine and the X-Men), Kid Loki (Young Avengers), Arsenal (Young Justice), and Chase Stein (Runaways), among others.

Playbook Spotlight: The Janus

“Wake up. Breakfast. School. Work at the coffee shop. Home to make dinner for your little brother. Homework. Sleep. Repeat. Day in, day out. It burns you up. You could get out there and make a real difference. Help people. But instead you’re stuck, here in this life. Trapped in this cage. That is…until you put on the mask. And then, you’re free. Or at least, so you pretend.”

The Janus is the only playbook in Masks that is absolutely required to have a secret identity, because it’s all about the tension of living two lives and balancing them. Often unsuccessfully. The Janus has a number of obligations in their civilian life, anything from schoolwork to jobs to taking care of family to dating someone, and those obligations have a way of interfering with their superheroic exploits. But the Janus can draw strength from their duality, in a way other playbooks can’t. 

The Janus is inspired by such characters as Spider-Man (both Miles Morales and Peter Parker), Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel, Artemis (Young Justice), and Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle (Young Justice). 

Playbook Spotlight: The Legacy 

“You’re the latest in a storied heroic lineage. Whether or not you’re biologically related to your predecessors doesn’t matter now; you’re part of a family that shares a name and a cause. And everybody is watching and waiting to see if you’ve got what it takes to uphold the family name. No pressure, right?”

The Legacy is just the latest in a long line of heroes sharing their name and their cause. Expectations are high for the Legacy, both from within the family, and from the rest of the world. But just because the Legacy has the name, doesn’t mean they’re completely ready for the burden…or that they even want to shoulder it. The Legacy is all about balancing the advantages and benefits of their superheroic tradition with their own decisions and way of doing things. 

The Legacy is inspired by characters like Kid Flash (Young Justice), later versions of Robin or Batgirl like Tim Drake or Stephanie Brown, Wonder Girl/Cassie Sandsmark (Teen Titans), and Blue Beetle (Young Justice), among others.