Storm City

Gameplay

Masks is a tabletop roleplaying game in which you play young superheroes who are growing up in a city several generations into its superheroic age. In Storm City, rather than teenagers, we’re playing powered people of various ages, who aspire to be heroes, but are somewhat dysfunctional.

Masks is a “Powered by the Apocalypse” game – a rules-light system encourages cooperative play.

Our first choice of playbooks should be the ones from the main book – we’re not going to encourage the use of playbooks from supplements at the start of the game.

We’re making a couple of changes to the rules to reflect the shift in focus from teenagers to dysfunctional heroes.

There’s a great overview of Masks on  the Magpie Games website: https://www.magpiegames.com/masks/

and you can download the Playbooks and Moves from there too.

If you want to buy the game, you can get it in PDF form via DriveThruRPG here: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/193258/Masks-A-New-Generation

Note: Various sections on this page and its subpages quote the Masks core book. The text of the Masks book is licenced under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International – where modified the changes will be noted.

“I have no powers and not nearly enough training but I’m doing this anyway. Being a superhero is amazing, everyone should try it.”

Young Avengers Vol 2, #1 

Concept:

Dysfunctional superheroes in a city where the sole recognised hero has vanished, trying to do good, without messing up so much the authorities start a crackdown on powers as other cities have done.

Aim:

To have fun exploring how people can overcome their limitations and make a difference, even in a world that doesn’t always want them.

Tone:

Humourous play in a setting where grim darkness is just over the horizon. Think Mystery Men for tone – there’s laughs and hopes and heroism. The “big heroes” stay off-screen like in Season 1 of Titans. A lot of comedy fails. Overcoming your limitations is hard, but possible and meaningful.

Subject Matter:

Government induced superheroes, super-drugs in common circulation, organised crime, disorganised crime, discrimination (against mutants), potential of player-induced martial law crackdown, competition between wannabe heroes.

” You know, think of all this, San Francisco, like one big, totally immersive, multi-dimensional videogame and you’re player one, okay? And your job is to make sure that everyone stays safe and no one gets hurt. ”
Gar, Titans – 2019

Why play Masks?

Note: adapted from Masks page 33 – changes to remove the teen focus while keeping the “Growing Up” angle

Because we can all relate to these characters and their stories. We all have to grow up eventually, so you’ve either done it already, are doing it right now, or are going to do it someday. We’ve all felt it when someone else’s words have changed how we saw ourselves, and we’ve all had to decide whether to take that, or to reject it and find something else. And that means what these characters are going through, even with all the spider-demons and the super-police and the costumed burglars, is relatable and even real to us.

Because these stories of young heroes and their superpowers and their battles are about regular human drama, writ big and large and loud. They’re melodramatic and they’re engaging, and they’re over the top, and if you invest even a bit of yourself you’ll get sucked in.

Because everyone wants to tell you who to be. And you’ve got to find your own path…

Finding Yourself

Note: adapted from Masks page 8: Finding Yourself

In this MASKS game, we may not be playing teenagers, but we’re still playing characters trying to figure out who they are. You’re inexperienced with your powers, they are dysfunctional, and the world hasn’t allowed you to figure out what the mutagen has done to you. You probably have an idea of who you are, but the world around you is telling you what to do and who to be.
It’s the same story we all face as we grow up. We don’t just become exactly what our parents, teachers, or mentors want us to be…and we don’t completely abandon or ignore what they say, either, whether we want to or not.

Being Part of a Team

All the characters we play are choosing to be part of a team, and will stick with that team even when things are hard. So we’re agreeing to make characters that will do that.

“When you play MASKS, you and your friends tell a story, almost as if you’re
writing a comic together, each of you taking on the roles of the main characters
in the story.”

Masks, pg 7

Game Principles

• The game is intended to be light, fun, sometimes humorous, and to tell character stories. If its becoming grim and dark, we’re going in the wrong direction.
• We’re collectively responsible for making everyone else feel included, welcome, and the game fun for them.
• The players are more important than the game: if someone is upset, unhappy, or not enjoying the game – we’ll stop and try to fix that. Having fun is our goal.
• The concept and tone we collectively set for the game is more important than the rules: the rules are flexible and can bend.
• This game is expected to be silly sometimes, expect things to go wrong for your characters, and for them to be part of a joke.

“Since roleplaying involves improvising, we don’t always know ahead of time what to brace ourselves for.  … “

Avery Alder – 2014

• Your Character
• Your Team