Review: Masks
Sept 16, 2016 21:08:01 GMT -8
Post by lowkeyoh on Sept 16, 2016 21:08:01 GMT -8
Masks is finally out!
DriveThruRPG for $14
What is Masks? It’s a PBTA Superhero game where you get to play a group of teen superheros, a la Young Justice, Teen Titans, New Mutants, and the Young Avengers. You don’t necessarily have to be teens, but the game is built assuming that you’re at the very least new heroes. Characters retire when they become fully fledged heroes and go and star in their own solo books.
Characters aren't really built around powers, they’re built around archetypes. The Transformed is the character whose power makes them different (The Thing, Hulk, Beast) and The Protege comes from a long line of Heroes. The Doomed is a hero that is, well, doomed (Magik, Raven) and The Bull is just someone who likes to hit things. Each of these playbooks comes with a selection of powers, but generally powers are going to be narratively based and not mechanically. If you’re looking for a game that’s going to let you ‘feel’ your superpowers mechanically, a la Hero System’s Bricks dumping dice on the table or Savage World’s Augmented Heroes rolling 1d12+6, then you’re going to be disappointed. Powers in Masks are going to be trappings. They’re going to be story elements. But that’s ok, because what Masks does better than any other superhero game is tell superhero stories.
There is no damage in Masks. You don’t die and you aren’t killing bad guys. Outside the grim and gritty 1980s Heroes don’t die. They win and they lose, but they don’t die. What you do have are conditions. The conditions are Angry, Guilty, Afraid, Hopeless, and Insecure. When you take damage that you don’t just shrug off, you gain a condition. When you have a condition, you gain a penalty to certain actions. When you’re Afraid you are at -2 to Confront Someone. If you gain ALL the conditions, you’re out. You flee, you get mind controlled, you pass out. Doesn’t matter, you’re out of the combat. The way you clear conditions is through roleplaying. Other people can Comfort or Support you, but you can also choose to do bad things. If you’re Angry you can hurt someone or break something important. If you’re Hopeless you can fling yourself into an easy relief.
This means that ‘damage’ and ‘healing’ are narrative constructs and not just numbers on a page. It makes for FABULOUS roleplaying. A con game I was in involved one of our hero's sucker punching the villain after he was in hand cuffs in front of the police commissioner and an adult hero because he got angry in the fight. That's way better than casting cure light wounds.
Advancement is based on failing rolls, so even if you spend all game botching stuff left and right, you're learning and growing stronger.
Another great mechanic is that stats aren't set in stone. Your team influences you and as you interact and are influenced by your team you change and grow. Hanging out with Batman makes you more resolute in fighting crime. Hanging out with Spider-Man might make you more able to balance your civilian identity. Other heroes can shift your stats as you develop and grow. As you grow you can lock stats into place as certain traits are iconic to certain characters, but your personality and your stats are dynamic at all time.
It's a rad system that handles one shots and campaigns beautifully and seems to have a lot of support in terms of an official setting with characters and villains to use if wanted and new archetypes.
Check it out, it's fantastic.
DriveThruRPG for $14
What is Masks? It’s a PBTA Superhero game where you get to play a group of teen superheros, a la Young Justice, Teen Titans, New Mutants, and the Young Avengers. You don’t necessarily have to be teens, but the game is built assuming that you’re at the very least new heroes. Characters retire when they become fully fledged heroes and go and star in their own solo books.
Characters aren't really built around powers, they’re built around archetypes. The Transformed is the character whose power makes them different (The Thing, Hulk, Beast) and The Protege comes from a long line of Heroes. The Doomed is a hero that is, well, doomed (Magik, Raven) and The Bull is just someone who likes to hit things. Each of these playbooks comes with a selection of powers, but generally powers are going to be narratively based and not mechanically. If you’re looking for a game that’s going to let you ‘feel’ your superpowers mechanically, a la Hero System’s Bricks dumping dice on the table or Savage World’s Augmented Heroes rolling 1d12+6, then you’re going to be disappointed. Powers in Masks are going to be trappings. They’re going to be story elements. But that’s ok, because what Masks does better than any other superhero game is tell superhero stories.
There is no damage in Masks. You don’t die and you aren’t killing bad guys. Outside the grim and gritty 1980s Heroes don’t die. They win and they lose, but they don’t die. What you do have are conditions. The conditions are Angry, Guilty, Afraid, Hopeless, and Insecure. When you take damage that you don’t just shrug off, you gain a condition. When you have a condition, you gain a penalty to certain actions. When you’re Afraid you are at -2 to Confront Someone. If you gain ALL the conditions, you’re out. You flee, you get mind controlled, you pass out. Doesn’t matter, you’re out of the combat. The way you clear conditions is through roleplaying. Other people can Comfort or Support you, but you can also choose to do bad things. If you’re Angry you can hurt someone or break something important. If you’re Hopeless you can fling yourself into an easy relief.
This means that ‘damage’ and ‘healing’ are narrative constructs and not just numbers on a page. It makes for FABULOUS roleplaying. A con game I was in involved one of our hero's sucker punching the villain after he was in hand cuffs in front of the police commissioner and an adult hero because he got angry in the fight. That's way better than casting cure light wounds.
Advancement is based on failing rolls, so even if you spend all game botching stuff left and right, you're learning and growing stronger.
Another great mechanic is that stats aren't set in stone. Your team influences you and as you interact and are influenced by your team you change and grow. Hanging out with Batman makes you more resolute in fighting crime. Hanging out with Spider-Man might make you more able to balance your civilian identity. Other heroes can shift your stats as you develop and grow. As you grow you can lock stats into place as certain traits are iconic to certain characters, but your personality and your stats are dynamic at all time.
It's a rad system that handles one shots and campaigns beautifully and seems to have a lot of support in terms of an official setting with characters and villains to use if wanted and new archetypes.
Check it out, it's fantastic.