Masks: A New Generation RPG: Discussion – Page 46 – Powered by the Apocalypse G+ Archives

Hello!

I’ve just discovered Masks through another PbtA game. As a long-time superhero RPG fan, not to mention of shows like Young Justice and comics like The Uniques, I picked up the PDF right away and am excited to get a chance to check the book out.

I sadly missed the opportunity to pitch in on the Kickstarter, so I was curious. Is there any chance to pick up a hardcopy of the game anywhere? Electronic devices are frowned on where I work and I’d love to have something to read during lunch, not to mention I’m one of those old fogies who still likes the feeling of paper between his fingers. 🙂

Thinking about doing a series of posts about “Dual Class” characters in Masks.

Thinking about doing a series of posts about “Dual Class” characters in Masks. Like the Beacon who is also part of a Legacy. The Bull with a Mentor. The Protege who is also an Alien. ~~The Delinquent Star, rebelling against their image~~ The Janus Popstar, trying to move away for entertainment and into heroism.

Would people be interested in that?

Protege’s mentor: how much space should he take in the game?

Hi guys,

I’m currently running a game with a protege in it. I’m struggling with his mentor. I don’t want him to be like “go here, do that”, nor do I want him to do the heavy lifting. I feel like it could give the players that “we are second grade heroes” feeling.

On the other hand he should be a pretty important character. So we should see him do awesome stuff sometimes.

Also he embodies superior and denies savior. I have trouble with the latter: it sounds to me like “don’t be so heroic kid, saving people is not that important”.

And of course there are other characters to whom he’s not that important. How could I make him present “just enough”?

Hi all, + Magpie games

Hi all, + Magpie games,

Recently some friends and I started playing a Masks campaign ( we are having a blast!) and we have encountered a situation that needs qualification. Namely, how do we handle powers like Regeneration, Healing, and Vitality Absorption. Narratively we understand the intent of these abilities, but mechanically we have had a few snags.

Do abilities like those above have a game mechanic/effect, and as such how would that work? Do they remove conditions? and…. if not what is the purpose for having them. By that I mean if we can just describe a broken bone, as a result of ‘taking a powerful blow’ as an example, and we can just narratively justify the recovery of a broken bone, why would we need a power like regen, or healing (like a sanctuary) or vitality absorption? Do powers like Sorcery (cosmic control/powers), or Emotion Control allow for the removal of conditions?

Anyway, we figured we would bring the question here to all of you because you must have had something in mind when the game was developed, and those that are playing might have had a similar concern/question.

Thanks,

Jim

So, I just discovered Masks today and have been reading and toying with the system.

So, I just discovered Masks today and have been reading and toying with the system. Here are some of the character concepts that I have come up with and I am wondering if they fit and are categorized right.

Grin (The Beacon) – A brilliant but bored young woman who takes to super hero work to find a real challenge in her life. She is a master of martial arts and acrobatics along with just being generally pretty good at everything (I also want her to do tech but that isn’t an option expressly available to the Beacon, can she have it anyway?).

Raptor (The Janus) – A popular young man looking to do something of meaning with his life. He has developed flight as a super power including the tertiary powers of enhanced vision, biological avionics, and enhanced physique. A frightening experience where a villain discovered his secret identity early in his career has made him hyper vigilant in separating his secret identity from his superhero identity to protect the people he loves. Little does he know that his new girlfriend is the very villain who discovered his secret in the first place.

Mark 5 (The Bull) – A robot created to be the ultimate war machine. Imbued with the ability to learn in order to evolve past the previous failed models, Mark 5 quickly grew past their initial program and developed a personality all their own. Mark 5 hates being treated as a thing and not a person more than anything else in the world. They are dedicated to proving their humanity. Strong, Tough, and self repairing, with an encyclopedic knowledge of combat techniques, and no capacity to feel physical pain Mark 5 is hard to keep down.

Unchained (The Nova) – A young apprentice wizard opened the wrong book and ended up getting the Ur-Spell, the root of all sorcery, stuck in his head. With a mortal mind he can only express tiny fragments of the spells potential at any given point. This still makes him one of the worlds strongest raw magic users. How much of Unchained’s personality is the young sorcerer and how much is the spell reworking his mind is up for questioning.

Hey people!

Hey people! My group is going to start a Masks game soon, does anyone know where we can take a look at the Joined playbook? It’s flavor caught one players eye.

Just purchased the PDF, I’m having an issue interpreting something.

How does giving villains more conditions make them “more dangerous”? I realize it gives them access to more condition moves, but it seems that they’re closer to only being around long enough for the players to make 1-2 condition causing moves and removing them from the scene.

Maybe I’m just missing something obvious?

I’ve been looking at the Reformed beta playbook, and I noticed something that bothered me.

I’ve been looking at the Reformed beta playbook, and I noticed something that bothered me. The team moves. Unlike other team moves, they say ‘ask players something, and then do this’. It doesn’t say, ‘if they answer one way, do this’ or ‘if they don’t answer, do this’. It takes a bit of power from the other players, as there’s no benefit to answer the questions-influence will be taken any way. There’s also no penalty for not answering.

Was this a purposeful design choice?