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yyako · 2 days

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Meet Sydney Allan! He was an ordinary high school student, but puberty was a little harder on him than most. Now he's got five eyes, six wings, a constant light source around his head and diamond skin. Recently he ended up in the crossfire of a supervillain's rampage and ended up saving some innocents, but he's reluctant to call himself a superhero. Even as other heroes try to recruit him, he just wants to hide away and live a quiet life... but his just-in-case hero name would be Nephilim.

#art #masks a new generation #masks ttrpg #masks rpg #almost a hero #nmc #not sure what I'm gonna tag all my supers now #but most of them have been repurposed for masks

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heybiji · 6 months

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haveyouplayedthisttrpg · 2 months

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Have you played MASKS : A New Generation ?

By Brendan Conway

Young superheroes grow into their powers and the paragons they will one day become, while grappling with villains, adult pro heroes, and the tribulations of young adult life.

A Powered by the Apocalypse game

#tabletop rpg #ttrpg #poll #poll time #usa #2010s #pbta #powered by the apocalypse #masks a new generation #masks ttrpg

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temporalhiccup · 10 months

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Intimacy in TTRPGS

(art by @geezmarty)

It's been a while since I geeked out about ttrpg design and I thought I'd dive into it! Some time ago there was discussion about intimacy and romance in games, and I wanted to talk about that today.

In particular this is about the Reveal Your Heart move in Apocalypse Keys and how it's a response to games that came before it.

Above is the Comfort or Support move from Masks: A New Generation. It's representative of what a lot of similar Powered by the Apocalypse moves are like (and many PbtA games since Masks have emulated this too).

In my experience with Masks it created a lot of lovely drama, "on a hit, they hear you" suggested that on a miss, they didn't. This often lead to delicious moments filled with angst: misunderstood feelings, good intentions not being enough, or being interrupted at the worst possible moment!

My main issue with this move and those like it (and it came up with various groups and players) was that most of the time it's hard for a player to correctly guess what would actually comfort or support another character in the moment.

It was also interesting that this was a move that was mostly about the person you were trying to comfort or support! Like most PbtA games, you're statistically more likely to roll a 7-9, which meant the target of the move was the only one who benefited mechanically.

This lead to a lot of awkward play. If we were lucky, the target of the move would speak up and offer a clear alternative "Oh that wouldn't actually comfort my character, he doesn't like being hugged or touched. I think what he'd want to hear in this moment is that he matters to you, that you think he's an important member of the team."

But most of the time something would go wrong somewhere - the target player wouldn't feel comfortable with speaking up, the triggering player would insist that this is what their character would do, etc. So the move would effectively not trigger, or we'd pretend it would and everyone would be awkward.

It just reminded me too much of my own personal experiences, where I would have to pretend I was happy with someone trying to comfort me because they had good intentions and it didn't matter if I was actually comforted or not. Seeing it play out, again and again, in Masks was something that always made me feel uncomfortable.

The trigger includes keywords like "offer" (suggesting acceptance is not guaranteed), "in a way that could be meaningful to them" reminds a player to place the target of the move's preferences first. Both results require the target to "open up to you", if they don't, the rest of the move just doesn't trigger.

Thirsty Sword Lesbians, which has a lot of Masks DNA in it, addresses this in an interesting way. It spells out a few things by refining the trigger and response of Emotional Support.

It felt a lot better in play, but for Apocalypse Keys and my own design preferences I wanted to shift the move into a different direction!

Reveal Your Heart (like every move in the game) taps into the relevant central themes. In this case the PCs are Omen-Class monsters who struggle with staying in control and handling difficult emotions (as well as the horrifying truth that they may become a Harbinger one day, and bring about the apocalypse instead of stopping it!).

The trigger here is dependent on a revelation of some kind, what are you revealing to another? This suggests vulnerability, or at least an innate truth of self. "try to sincerely connect to another" replaces the awkward and difficult task of trying to figure out what would comfort another person. This is a move that prioritizes an attempt towards intimacy, whatever that may look like. This is usually much easier to figure out, the question then becomes "how vulnerable are you going to be in this moment?"

Like in most Apocalypse Keys moves, I wanted each narrative choice to lead to a mechanical reflection. This further supports the idea that the narrative and emotional are mechanical and structural truths in the game - roleplaying and characterization are not separate aspects, they are connected to the act of playing. It also gives the players room to interpret what that means, "they gave you hope", what does that hope look like to you? How does it quell and calm the Harbinger that shifts and aches in your soul?

But! In general, I love how much intimacy and romance have flourished in the indie ttrpg space! It's definitely improved my play experience, and it's something I love to design around in my own games!

Essentially this move offers the players the room to name the feelings they have and lay bare the nature of their relationship. By the end of the move there's usually a sense that we've learned something essential about the relationship between the characters. No matter how small, it bears significance.

Many of the moves in Apocalypse Keys focus on relationships and intimacy of some kind, it's just very very queer that way.

#design breakdown #ttrpg design #indie ttrpg #sword queen games #masks a new generation #thirsty sword lesbians #apocalypse keys

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worstgirleva · 4 months

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RIBBONS is a setting guide for Masks: A New Generation that shifts the fiction from teenage superheroes to magical girls

Live a double life as you attend school, save your town in your free time and have to deal with teen drama in both of them

#ttrpg #rpg #pbta #masks a new generation

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nikodraws · 11 days

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I've been sitting on Jayce's adult design for a fucking millennia but Austin asked me not to post it. Well he finally showed up in the new game and was rude to children the way god intended so now I'm free to do what I want! My favorite part about Jayce growing up is that he didn't get better or become a nice person or even get a serious handle on his temper. He just embraced being a Huge Bitch. He's always liked his immense and terrifying power and was terrified of what people would think about the fact that He wasn't as afraid of his powers of they wanted him to be. Not anymore! He simply. Stopped worrying about other people worrying and excepted that himself as an unpleasant bitch! Who's going to stop him? No one is who. He can't be that unpleasant. His boyfriend still likes him and his friends still kick down his door whether he likes it or not so it can't be that bad.

#art #digital art #artists on tumblr #ttrpg #illustration #oc #ttrpg art #masks a new generation #masks ttrpg

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kattenkvvaad · 5 days

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Omen recently got their hands on the mask that turned them, and has conflicted feelings on what to do with it. Character: Omen (they/she)

#art #artists on tumblr #OC #original character #digital art #OC Art #Masks A New Generation #Masks: A New Generation #Masks RPG #Masks TTRPG #superhero #superhero OC #TTRPG #TTRPG character #cat #furry #anthro cat #anthro #MASKS:: Omen

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azurecanary · 7 months

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I am once again asking for Brennan Lee Mulligan or Aabria Iyengar to GM Masks: A New Generation on Dimension 20 or Worlds Beyond Number

#masks a new generation #brennan lee mulligan #aabria iyengar #dimension 20 #worlds beyond number

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jollycryptid · 11 months

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SPIDER-VERSE INSPIRED COLOUR STUDIES USING MY HERO OCS

#spider man across the spider verse #spider punk #hobie brown #spider man 2099 #miguel o'hara #jolly's art #digital art #sketch #masks rpg #masks a new generation #powered by the apocalypse #digital painting #painting #bisexual #transgender #oc #TTRPG #art study #across the spider verse

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valkyrie-girl · 5 months

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I think its been a minute since I posted some art for the Masks campaign I'm in. Have Rebecca Cheval, my character's evil mom.

#rebecca cheval #rebecca masks #masks rpg #masks a new generation

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myopinionisimportant · 1 year

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Something I really love about Powered By The Apocalypse games is how changing the basic moves really illustrates the genre you're playing with.

Like, in Apocalypse World itself, intimidating someone and actually hurting someone are governed by the same stat - it's a violent world, so credible threats of violence are the shortcut to getting people to do what you want. Meanwhile in Monsterhearts, they're completely separate stats, and in fact attacking someone is relatively likely to have negative side-effects, because as it turns out, teenagers who are good at violence are not automatically good at dominating people socially and often get in trouble with adults or others in their social circles.

On the flipside, Masks has a basic move to protect others, a move anyone can use (and that potentially anyone can be good at, although that's getting into other mechanical stuff). Monsterhearts has a similar move, but it's more limited and appears only on a non-core skin, and Apocalypse World doesn't have the option at all, as far as I recall. So in your superhero stories, characters can always save civilians or teammates, while in teen dramas it takes a special type of person, and in the post-apocalypse nobody is sticking their neck out for anybody, no way no how.

I really like how it works out!

#apocalypse world #pbta #Monsterhearts #masks a new generation

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heybiji · 2 months

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salvo

#ocs #original character #sketch #tony salvo #antonio salvo #masks: overlook city #ocs please drag me out of this art slump #is it really a ttrpg unless i get heart eyes for an npc #anyway... art hard lately #but we must keep drawing #ttrpg #masks a new generation

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psychikatz · 6 months

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Copy that, Copycat!

@halcyon-copycat some fan art for youuuuu

#oc belongs to @prettyflower34 #my art #fan art #masks ttrpg #masks oc #masks a new generation #copycat masks #art #ttrpg oc #friend ocs

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penandpaperandpopcorn · 5 months

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There's a lot I like about Masks: A New Generation, but if I had to pick one single favourite, if you absolutely twisted my arm, I'd probably say 'shifting labels.'

If you're not familiar, Masks is a roleplaying game about teen superheroes, telling stories in the vein of Young Justice, Teen Titans, or Runaways. It's got lots of potential for drama, angst, heroism, and climactic battles against giant robots.

Labels, in the game, determine your character's strengths and weaknesses – a character with high Saviour will be good at protecting innocent bystanders, while one with high Danger is better at beating the villains in a brawl, and so on. The thing is, unlike in a lot of other RPGs, your labels aren't some physical aspect of you, like strength or toughness or even intellect – they're more about how you see yourself. And naturally, that means they can change.

Now, like I said above, Masks is built around teen heroes, and that means one of the big themes of the game is that everyone has their own idea of who you are or who they want you to be, and boy oh boy, will they make that your problem. Villains will tell you they see great potential in you, friends and mentors will tell you all about who you really are inside, regular people in the street will yell at you because they think all superheroes are secret robots, and every time that happens, it can change how your character sees themselves.

Yes, even the 'secret robot' thing.

So whenever someone does that to your character, there's a good chance they will be able to shift your labels, and twist you into a new version of yourself, making you better at some things and worse at others. Sometimes that’s a good thing. Maybe your mentor tells you to be more responsible, and you take that on board and get better at protecting your friends. Maybe a friend tells you how smart you are, and you use that cleverness to see through a villainous scheme.

But life isn’t simple, and sometimes the things your friends say to you can pull you in a different direction than the one you had in mind. You can try and resist, of course, but you might not want to risk it. Yelling at a good friend that they're wrong about you might be bad for the relationship, and as for standing up to a mentor...yikes. On the flipside, the villains probably don't have your best interests at heart, but that doesn't stop them from saying things that boost your ego, things you want to listen to. Do you accept a boost in power, knowing who it’s coming from?

By adding that amount of mechanical weight to these social interactions, Masks encourages some really interesting choices, and opens the door to triumphant moments where your hero throws off everyone else's influence and shouts to the world 'this is who I am!'

And I think that's pretty damn cool.

#pen and paper and popcorn #tabletop roleplaying #masks a new generation

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matthewmaycreate · 6 months

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I once wrote a really in depth concept for a superhero TTRPG story. I should really run it sometime.

#artists on tumblr #dnd art #dnd character #digital art #angst #fantasy #superhero #superheroes #comic books #comic book art #masks #ttrpg #ttrpg art #ttrpg character #masks a new generation

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tobespierre · 9 days

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oh, the perils of having a crush on one of the other teens you’ve been assigned to a superhero team with. it’ll only ever be a dream sequence for clove, because theo would never be this self-aware about his own feelings :p

(both characters use he/him, the one with the longer hair also uses they/them)

#ocs #ttrpg #masks a new generation #masks: a new generation #masks ttrpg #superhero #clove clayton #others’ ocs #theo maze #driven into a frenzy by hyperfixation and had this finished in two days #levels of art productivity unimaginable to 1 year ago toby

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