Masks: A New Generation of Heroes

Game Master Cwethan

You play members of the fourth generation, young adults trying to figure out who they are and what kind of heroes they want to be. The rest of the world is telling them what to do, but they’ll find their own path amidst the noise. And kick some butt along the way. After all, what’s the point of being a hero if you can’t fight for the things you believe in?

Masks is based on the award-winning Powered by the Apocalypse system developed by Vincent Baker and used in Apocalypse World, Monsterhearts,Urban Shadows, and more. It’s a rules-light system that fuels some of the best innovations in gaming in the last ten years, and Masks has been built from the ground up to incorporate everything I’ve learned about Powered by the Apocalypse games.

When you take an action that would trigger a move, you roll two six-sided dice, add them together with one of your Labels (a stat that describes your hero), and look to the move to see what the results are. On a 10+, you get what you want, and maybe a little extra. On a 7-9, you get what you want, but at some kind of cost or with a complication. On a 6 or less—a miss—the GM says what happens next, and chances are things get complicated for our young heroes.

Masks produces stories like those found in Young Justice, Teen Titans,Young Avengers, X-Men, and more, using the Powered by the Apocalypse rules to provide an easy but useful skeleton for awesome storytelling!

The Nova – You’re amazingly, egregiously, horrifyingly powerful, and keeping control is a struggle: can you come to terms with your power before it destroys you? Or someone you care about?

The Outsider – You’re not from here, and you don’t quite understand this place, but you find it fascinating: can you find a way to belong? Or will you always be different?

The Legacy – You’re carrying on a long tradition of heroism and nobility: how can you balance that legacy with your own identity?

The Protege – You’re tied to a mentor who trained you: do you want to be them? Or someone else entirely?

The Janus – You put on the mask, become someone different, escape your mundane life, but you know your responsibilities are always waiting for you: who are you really? The mask or the mundane?

The Delinquent – You’re a rabble-rouser, a rules-breaker, and an incorrigible prankster, someone who pushes people away while secretly wishing they would stay close: can you stop being a little s&+* for long enough to let them know you actually care?

The Doomed – Your powers are killing you; they come with some awful, nightmarish fate. But until that end comes, you’re going to work to change the world: how much are you willing to give up for your cause before your doom comes?

The Transformed – You don’t look human anymore and the world won’t let you forget it: can you learn to accept yourself? Can you deal with their looks, stares, and fear without becoming the monster they see?

The Beacon – You’re here because this is awesome, and you may not quite fit in, but screw it, you’re going to do this anyway: can you prove that you actually deserve to be here? Or are you just a wannabe?

Each Label ranges from -2 to +3; the higher the rating is, the more the character sees their self by that light. If you have Danger +3, you see yourself as a threatening, violent figure. If you have Mundane -2, you see yourself as anything but a normal person.

The Labels include:

Freak, which is all about being strange, unusual, unknown, different, unique, powerful, weird, and special.
Danger, which is all about being strong, threatening, violent, destructive, badass, frightening, reckless, and mighty.
Savior, which is all about being defensive, protective, overbearing, moralistic, guarding, patronizing, and classically heroic.
Superior, which is all about being clever, faster, better, arrogant, dismissive, commanding, egotistical, and smart
Mundane, which is all about being normal, empathetic, understanding, kind, boring, simple, uninteresting, and human.

The Labels shift and change over the course of the game as your self-image changes, most often due to the influence of others. As these Labels shift, so does your position in the story: a hero who sees their self as a Danger is better at directly engaging villains and threats, but their low Mundane means they might struggle to connect with ordinary people after a fight.

Much of Masks involves giving, taking, and losing Influence over others. After all, you can’t convince your teammate to stop being a Danger if you don’t have Influence over them. When you do have Influence over them, and you tell them how they endangered civilians, your words might lead their Labels to shift. They might be chagrined at your words, and shift their Danger up, and their Savior down—they see themselves as more of a Danger, because of what you said. Or, they might resist, argue with you, and wind up shifting their Savior up and their Danger down—they don’t care what you say because they define who they are, and they choose to be a Savior.

Influence allows for a quick and easy way to understand whose words can cause your Labels to shift. You care about what they say, so your self-image is tied up in how they view you, what they say about you, and what you accept about their perspective on the world.

Of course, you are just a young superhero, trying to find your way. And that means in Masks, all the adults have influence over you by default. But you can resist what they say to free yourselves of their words. You just have to stand up to them, and tell them that you make your own path…easy, right?

Hero Name: North Star (because everyone follows me)
Real Name: Tycho Simpson

Look:Man, Shifting, white, haunted eyes, adaptive clothing, adaptive costume

Abilities:
Memory Manipulation, Psychic Constructs, Superhuman Strength and Speed

Nemesis: My nemesis is my future self, the being that I am prophesied (or destined, depending on your point of view) to become. A psychic ruler of minds and master of the entire world, who controls all he sees (and what he can't see as well).

Team Moves: When you share a triumphant celebration with someone, give them influence over you and spend 1 team from the ppol to clear one box on your doom track.

When you share a vulnerability or weakness with someone, give them influence over you and ask them if they honestly think there's hope for you. If they say yes, mark potential or clear one box of your doom track. If they say no, mark a condition or mark your doom track.

Potential: _ _ _ _ _
*every time you miss a roll on a move, mark potential.

Advancement:
_ Take a move from another playbook.
_ Take a move from another playbook.
_ Take a move from another playbook.
_Someone permanently loses influence over you; add +1 to a label.
_Rearrange your Labels as you choose, and add +1 to a label.
_Unlock your Moment of Truth.
_Clear a doomsign; you lose access to tht move for now.
_Get burn and three flares (from the Nova's playbook).

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When you've taken five advances from the top list, you can take advances from the list below.

_Unlock your moment of truth after you've used it once.
_Confront your doom on your own terms; if you survive, change playbooks.
_Take an adult move.
_Take an adult move.
_Lock a label, and add +1 to a label of your choice.
_Become a paragon of the city for however long you have left.

Labels:
Danger: +1
Freak: +1
Savior: +1
Superior: -1
Mundane: 0

Conditions:
_Afraid: (-2 to engage a threat)
_Angry: (-2 to comfort or support or pierce the mask)
_Guilty (-2 to provoke someone or assess the situation)
_Hopeless (-2 to unleash your powers)
_Insecure (-2 to defend someone or reject others' influence)

Backstory:
*When did you first learn of your doom: as a child, the cult that raised me told me it was my sacred duty to rule mankind.
*When I was rescued by (insert Dr. Fate/Strange character here) found me, she knew that I would need a place to learn to use my powers safely, so she guided my power to allow me to form a demiplane.
*I oppose my nemesis because I don't want to be the authoritarian dictator of a future world where I control everyone's minds and will. I think it's the worst thing that you could do. And because it would be so easy to become that person.
*The hero that raised me has been training me to harness my power safely, so definitely her.
*(assuming that we are starting as a team) they are the first real friends I have ever had.

Doom:
What brings your doom closer:
Overexerting yourself, facing danger alone

Doom Track: _ _ _ _ _

Doom Signs:
X Portal: Mark your doom drack to appear in a scene with anyone you want.

Sanctuary:
Features: A meditation space; art, music, and food; a library of valuable tomes (really my memories of my future self).

Downsides: I will need to mark one box on my doomtrack; The best I can do is a lesser version, unreliable and limited.

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Labels
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Danger : 0
Freak : 0
Savior : 0
Superior : 0
Mundane : 0

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Influence
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Have Influence on:

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Team Moves
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List your team moves

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Advancement
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Write dowsn any current advancements.

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Backstory
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List Questions, then answers.

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Relationships
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We'll answer these questions in discussion.

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*Any Other Abilites Unique to your Playbook
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Yep.