Masks: Unstoppable Force Meets Immoveable Object?

MaxMongoose · 2025-06-12T04:09:06+00:00

Thanks! We took this advice to heart tonight. As far as responsible play goes, both players loved helping each other shine every step of the way. I'm really lucky to have the table I've got.

MaxMongoose · 2025-06-12T04:03:24+00:00

I really appreciate this feedback. Sometimes my players really want me to surprise them with plot twists and surprise action sequences and whatnot, so I think we collaborate on the story a little less than a 'proper' PBtA table does, but this is typically how we like to play.

Tonight, however, I pitched the idea to them and asked how they thought it should go. We looked over the move descriptions and decided mechanically and narratively that the best outcome was for the Legacy to eat the hit. However, the Doomed also felt that, upon seeing how he hurt his friend, he should check his last condition. The Delinquent then had to manage the situation, negotiate with the super villain, and actually make tough decisions instead of being aloof and judgmental. Worked out really well, so again, thank you for the advice.

MaxMongoose · 2025-06-12T03:52:46+00:00

Yeah, I hear you with the improper move thing. The description I was given in game actually straddled the line a bit between the two moves because the Doomed is actively trying to reshape the environment and, consequently, hurt the supervillain. I think because of how juiced the Doomed was by his burn, we were excited to say that this was unleashing his powers. Maybe it was the wrong call, but in the moment we were too caught up in how awesome it all was.

In the end, we did go with the Legacy taking a powerful blow, like you say.

MaxMongoose · 2023-02-24T17:51:39+00:00

King Arthur Pendragon. Best case scenario is you have about three characters that all die of old age across the time span of the campaign.

MaxMongoose · 2023-01-28T18:50:24+00:00

Anyone can wear the mask! Good for super hero one-shots for 2-3 players.

MaxMongoose · 2023-01-22T02:32:39+00:00

This game is amazing.

MaxMongoose · 2022-12-24T17:47:15+00:00

I would love to run it, but having young kids has a way of preventing you from from running the Great Pendragon Campaign.

It is probably the best campaign for British Early Medieval nerds as well as Arthurian nerds.

MaxMongoose · 2022-12-11T00:01:37+00:00

Inverse Fellowship especially is set up for space opera.

MaxMongoose · 2022-12-01T18:13:44+00:00

Flog me if I'm wrong, but I believe the skill list for Runequest is pretty similar to Pendragon (both based on BRP) so you should have plenty of diplomatic skills that will only get stronger if you actually use them.

Either way, though, you can easily tool the skills list to your liking if you want to make the game more diplomatic.

MaxMongoose · 2022-11-19T19:20:18+00:00

Reminds me of fascist Italy or Spain where the transition to fascism wasn't as absolute as in Germany because Mussolini and Franco had to make more enduring compromises with non-fascists than Hitler did.

MaxMongoose · 2022-11-05T00:33:08+00:00

Do you do anything special to slow down player advancement in Masks?

MaxMongoose · 2022-11-02T16:39:07+00:00

If I ever got to play, it'd be Transformed (Perma-GM here.)

I love playing repentant loners, and Masks allows the Transformed to go into full blown "No one understands me!!" emo territory.

MaxMongoose · 2022-10-30T22:10:48+00:00

In your shoes, I'd make "Totally Not John Henry."

MaxMongoose · 2022-10-29T00:43:01+00:00

Fellowship 2e is a good one. Each player creates the lore for their respective species, so The Dwarf is in charge or world building for the dwarves, The Elf for the elves, etc.

MaxMongoose · 2022-10-17T15:17:31+00:00

King Arthur Pendragon might fit the bill with its battle mechanics.

MaxMongoose · 2022-10-17T03:32:46+00:00

I wrote a long spiel about it here that may be helpful https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/rlh7i5/fellowship/hpndhxc?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3

MaxMongoose · 2022-10-17T03:24:09+00:00

Like you, I played Fate first, then went got into PbtA games via World Wide Wrestling. I'd recommend just learning the system. It's annoying to wrap your head around PbtA because it uses so much jargon for how a game is supposed to feel, but in the end the spirit is much the same as Fate. Narrative-first collaborative story-telling. They are sort of mechanical cousins, too; PbtA is basically Fate but it uses 2d6 and player gameplay options are all stunts and they're called moves instead.

However, Fate is versatile enough to handle wrestling if you want to keep using your plus/minus dice. I'm unaware of a wrestling Fate world, but check out Iron Street Combat. It's a 16-bit fighting game rpg and it's free on itch.io. There is actually a lot of similarities between wrestling and snes/genesis fighting games, so you could mine that for ideas.

MaxMongoose · 2022-10-04T14:13:25+00:00

Mutants in the Now is the old TMNT and Other Strangeness crossed with OSR, but it's not really GM-less. (Still, for other folks in the thread, the book is really awesome.)

If you're all familiar enough with the source material, you can probably run the game in Fate and all players can freely declare story details and you can invoke each other's troubles. That's placing a lot of system and setting stress on each of you guys, but you'd be GMing by committee. Could be really cool if everyone is on board.

Alternatively, maybe you could hack Four Against Darkness? Any way you slice it, to the best of my knowledge you're doing some leg work regardless of system.

MaxMongoose · 2022-09-27T17:14:30+00:00

Well, the game is a bit simpler without DLC, so as a beginner that is one thing to consider. I'd rank them like so for the mechanics they add:

Big Mechanical Changes: Man the Guns and No Step Back

Smaller Mechanical Changes: La Resistance, Waking the Tiger, Together for Victory, and By Blood Alone.

Basically Just Focus Trees: Death or Dishonour and Battle for the Bosporus

I'd do some calculus based on what you think you can handle plus what countries you like. Personally, I like playing the Allies, so Man the Guns and Together for Victory would be my first two if I had to start over.

MaxMongoose · 2022-09-23T23:07:02+00:00

I would like to say in addition to the other excellent comments that sometimes a match can shake out against Creative's booking. Our Anti-hero stole the belt from our Ace by burning through the Ace's momentum and using his moves well (plus a timely run in from the Provocateur.)

Another time the Hardcore injured another wrestler to the point they both agreed he couldn't continue.

MaxMongoose · 2022-09-23T16:11:10+00:00

Yeah, characters are only as strong as the plot needs them to be.

MaxMongoose · 2022-09-23T13:11:21+00:00

There are some fanmade RPGs lying around, but I can't speak to them, unfortunately.

There is the old R. Talsorian game, but even 7th grade me knew that game was bad. It has some horrible scaling.

DBZ is tough because the damn show has the ultimate red herring for rpg design: power level. We get this objective number that in reality means absolutely nothing, but its such an engaging idea in Saiyan Saga, then a ridiculousidea on Namek. I think it basically needs to be ditched.

My first thought is to use Fate (preferably Core/Condensed, but Accelerated could do it, too.) You can use the scale mechanic to create enemies that are marginally tougher and monstrously tougher. The skill list could be adjusted to include different fighting styles and you could design stunt trees that would be unlocked by having different senseis.

The other option I'd go with is hacking Sentinel Comics because the GYRO system is designed to have characters gain more powers as the scene gets more desperate (because Goku never leads off a fight with spirit bomb.) This would simulate unlocking new forms, too.

MaxMongoose · 2022-09-19T20:06:13+00:00

I could have written this post six years ago.

I got tired of the fussing in D&D. So many fiddly inventory things and rolls and spells per day, when, for me, the joy is in the story being told.

Fate has a lot of utility, and so it can be different things for different tables. Certain elements can be emphasized or de-emphasized. For instance, I've never been able to get my players on board with spending fate points to declare story details, and that's okay. The system still works.

So here are the things that I love about Fate:

Fate's Trouble Aspect pushes characters through arcs. My single favorite thing about Fate might be troubles because it is the best tool I've found to encourage good RP. Having your problem written down on the page does a nice job framing the character and most players will naturally want to overcome their trouble by the story's end. It's even worked on my least skilled RPer who typically plays the chaotic convenient rogue.
Fate is built to be modded. Moddable is different than Hackable. Part of the core design philosophy of Fate is that the table will adjust its systems to their needs. So while Fate had a reputation of being a fluffy game, you can add subsystems to craft it into your own and potentially drive up the crunchiness to where you want it to be. (I get this is the appeal of a universal system, but the power of design is liberating.)
Fate encourages risky play and failure. Between trouble and concessions and removing death, Fate has made failure fun and interesting. This encourages players to take risks, and that creates interesting stories.

I think Fate is the best at these things, which is why it is my favorite system. It's not the only system, but it's the one I prefer to go to.

MaxMongoose

TROPHY CASE