Feel free to work on your character concept(s) here!

Hello! Thanks for having me. I am new to Masks so I'm unsure what playbook I should go for. Maybe I will go with The Transformed or The Protégé.

That struggle of who you are, and what you should be, is interesting. Especially in the world of New Atlantis, which in a way is struggling for the same thing. Is it a regular city that could have been anywhere in the world, or something special? If it needs heroes, maybe the former. A new superhero team will be working to change exactly that.

The Transformed
I'm imagining some whose body is smoke and shadows. They are generally in a humanoid form, but that does little to hide their weirdness. From the checkbox abilities, perhaps "superhuman senses" and "transmuting flesh"? They can change the shape of their body as may be required, alternating between stealth routines and large scale fighting. His origin could be mystical, something like contact with the Shadowfell, if your setting allows for that. His demeanor is like a child who is very excited to talk to people, but has been chided in the past for doing just that. In fact, he is on the younger side and is close to his mother.

The Protégé
A Kung-Fu prodigy with limited telepathy. Their mentor is the leader of a secret, powerful school of enforcers. The Protégé has been elected by him to travel to New Atlantis, as their sole representative. They join the superhero team to maintain peace and also to keep tabs on the state of the city. If things get out of hand, they are to contact their mentor so he can make a move, but they would prefer to show their worth by handling things themselves.
The mentor is not physically in the city, but communicates with them via telepathy. Tell me whether this works or not.

Well, what do you think?
This message was last edited by the player at 17:34, Fri 23 July 2021.

Masks is pretty easy to get into from my experience. By all means, feel free to ask me or experienced players for help if you need it.

Re: The Transformed

The magical/fantasy part of the setting isn't set in stone - I have ideas, but I'll work around what the players give me, especially at this stage. So a plane inspired by the Shadowfell may well exist - though I'd rather it had something to set it apart from the inspiration. Feel free to describe it in detail if you want.

The main thing is that if your character is Transformed... then he was not always like this. Something happened to change him from a normal kid to what he is now, and the transformation is the major source of angst and distress in his life, even as it gives him unique powers. If that is not the case your character might be an Outsider instead - born this way and then brought into this world from the home plane.

Note that you don't have to stick to the checkbox abilities - just to the general feel. The story hooks and themes suggested by the playbook are more important.

Re: The Protégé

I think that works. Bear in mind that the mentor is meant to be a hero - but a secretive martial arts master who works to keep the peace would qualify. The distance is not a problem so long as they can communicate, and the mentor showing up in person would be a good way to raise the stakes.

Hey, thanks for the input. I will ask for help as needed, let's hope I do well!

Re: The Transformed

Yes, I did intend him to have transformed at some point, and have angst with regards to it. I must have left that part in my head, whoops.

His appearance makes him frightening at worst and unnerving at best to look at. He doesn't have any friends of his age, although he used to before his transformation. This leaves him with feelings of isolation and rejection. Hence one of his wishes is to be able to have friends he can have fun with.
His human mother is noticeably freaked out by the situation. She still manages his upbringing and cares for him, but he has observed the shift in her behavior. She might be reflecting upon a struggle of her own related to this development.
I'm not sure if this is too bleak, but let's say he was kicked from school for being non-human, which is how he has enough time to wander about and stumble into a superhero team.

Instead of it being a location with geography and whatnot like Shadowfell, what if the magic dimension is just a pocket dimension full of dark magic? Super beings who use dark magic draw their power from there, but this kid fell into a portal and got drenched in the void, which transformed him.
On second thought, I will flesh it more, but how about the part of sorcerers and mystics drawing power from it?

Re: The Protégé

Sure thing. If we go with this one I will remember to characterize him as ultimately a good guy. Though I suppose you will be playing him in conversations, correct?
And yeah, the mentor showing up in person would really raise the stakes.
Considering Atlantis City is somewhat futuristic, is there scope for a rival martial arts base in there?

I am a little shaky on the five Labels, since they are so different from stats in other games. Freak is both for the application of one's powers, and the alienation one creates or experiences as a result of those powers. But how do you get Spider-Man, who is extremely human as a character but also has explosive superpowers? Does a martial artist or equivalent "peak human" using their running or lifting skills also "unleash their powers" with Freak?
I'm adding this part here since I'm not sure what to do with the Mentor's Embodies and Denies Labels.


As an aside, I looked over The Outsider and noticed their Moment of Truth removes them from the game, or at least attempts to. That is rather odd.

Re: the Transformed

They can't just kick him out of school for changing, unless there is reasonable cause to believe he poses a hazard to the other children. Which may or may not be the case. Perhaps concerned parents got a magic expert to testify to that effect. Then again, it may be easier to say that even if he wasn't kicked out, the whole experience became too miserable for him to keep going there - whether anyone meant him ill or not.

The pocket dimension idea definitely has potential, and I would like to see what you come up with there. "Dark magic" is fine but it may be a good idea to rename it to avoid conflating it with the Dark, unless that is on purpose. As for the transformation, I suppose that raises the question of how he found such a portal. There may be many answers.

When I read your original suggestion, I actually thought his mother may have had something to do with it, but if she is meant to be an anchor of normality in his life, that's good too!

Re: the Protégé

Yeah, while you can arrange to control some NPCs, it really is better for the mentor to be mine. Still, you do get to define him through backstory questions and any notes you have for me - I'll base the characterisation on what you give me.

New Atlantis is huge and has people from all over the world. I think that a rival martial arts school based there would definitely work. But for that matter, where is the master's martial arts school located?

Freak is always used to unleash one's powers - even if those powers are peak human abilities. After all, they still put you beyond the level of most people, and invoke the feeling of a gap in abilities - whether you like that gap or not. Spider-Man presumably could have high Freak and high Mundane - they may often pull you in the opposite directions, but it is possible to have both. But do remember that the Labels shift around a lot.

I'd say that Labels are narrative powers rather than reflective of in-game capabilities. A martial artist can be a skilled combatant but still have low Danger at the moment. That just means that, given their current outlook and mental state, they are unlikely to achieve their current goals through direct confrontation. Maybe they are holding back when engaging a foe and so fight less effectively, or maybe they take down one opponent but are too distracted to notice a bigger problem. A less skilled character with high Danger would still not have as much fighting ability, but might be able to make it count for more through sheer control or drive. The martial artist would still be able to take on bigger threats with less risk to themselves, though - the narrative has to account for such differences in skill. Does that make sense?

With the Mentor, I think it's important to think of the things he wants your character to do... If he expects your character to monitor the situation and avoid biting off more than you can chew, that sounds to me like he embodies Superior and denies Danger. Of course you should still be ready to fight, but rushing into battle isn't how you are supposed to solve problems... and if you accept that, it could make it a bit difficult for you to perform well in situations where direct confrontation is the best solution. There may be other ways to play it too, though. Perhaps his teachings emphasize defending others (Savior) and not thinking of yourself as truly superhuman (Freak).

Re: the Outsider - it is a bit odd, but I think the expectation is that they would refuse. After all, the Outsider wants to be here, for some reason or another. At least until they're ready to leave this life behind.

Re: the Transformed

We could go with that. The people around him change their demeanor so much that he does not feel he can get a normal school experience anymore, so he leaves. There is no point anymore.

But can we say there was an event that made him seem like a danger? That seems to go well with the struggles of The Transformed. Maybe a classmate complained of the sunlight getting in their eyes, so he plunged the entire classroom in darkness, frightening everyone? So he gets a "close watch" at school, but ultimately decides to leave on his accord.

Yeah, I didn't mean to allude to the Dark. In fact the setting write-up appears to say the Dark are scared of magic and psychic powers.
Shadow Magic? Black Magic? Deep Magic? Night Magic?
How about calling that place "The Estate in Shadow"? So users of dark magic have some awareness that theirs is a borrowed power, but for regular use this does not cause them any trouble. The Transformed is a kid who randomly came across this power, so he would not have knowledge of what the place is called, but I will avoid calling it "Dark" in dialogue if he has to speculate.

As for the portal, I had an idea. He was messing around in the woods, when he fell into the portal, imagine it like a pool, and after experiencing something like drowning he emerged different. He does not go back to that place or mention its location because of a mental block. This block is more psychological than magical.
This could be a plot point later, the question of why there was a point of entry to the Estate in Shadow.

A boy needs his mommy. :)

Re: the Protégé

That's a good question... Is China still reeling under the effects of the Black Buddha? In that case, the mentor's school could also be something of a haven for any potential psychics, as well a front against Smoke's remaining forces. I did assign The Protégé and his Mentor some telepathy after all. Perhaps the Mentor's exclusive ability is an expanded use of psychic powers.
What does the existence of the Second Comintern mean with regards to the situation in the country?


I think I get what you mean in the second paragraph. Every character's tier of capabilities in the fiction is in an understood range, but their feelings, the Labels, indicate their success in that specific tier. They can still do what they do, but that may or may not lead to the completion of their objectives.
I know as a fact that the Labels shift around a lot, but I have not wrapped my head around that. Woah, shifting stats!

I need help with that part. The Labels denied and embodied are something the Mentor already embodies & denies, and wants The Protégé to eventually embody & deny, right? Maybe him wanting them to call back in the case of a big deal goes counter to that idea. This occurred to me when you suggested denying Danger, when in the future they may be expected to fight for themselves, just not at the moment.

Re: Transformed

All that sounds very good to me! The Estate in Shadow and Shadow Magic seem fine to me.

Though: woods? Don't forget: this is an artificial island city-state. There isn't much wilderness to speak of. Some of the parks might just be big and wild enough to qualify as "the woods", though, and perhaps something strange has taken root there. Or maybe the experience happened when he was abroad.

Re: Protégé

China is at peace and has largely rebuilt by now, though its economic development has been set back. The Black Buddha's followers have mostly been rooted out, though there may still be some secret cells in the cities or holdout camps in the mountains. But they mostly have their hands full with evading government crackdowns. The cult's remnants are much stronger in South-East Asia.

The real problem would be with China's government. The Second Comintern mostly means a rapprochement with the Soviet Union. Relatedly, though, China is more hardline communist and anti-Western, and state control is at least a little stricter than in our world. Magic-users and psychics are not being hunted to the death like they were under the WUC... but they are sort of being hunted anyway, with an eye towards conscripting them as state superheroes. Those who accept trade freedom for privileges for themselves and their families. Those who don't are liable to get arrested if they seem like a threat. So there is definitely something to run from. If the school is in Mainland China, perhaps it enjoys the secret patronage of some official, or it simply has some form of leverage that allows it to not only operate freely but also shelter such independent-minded individuals. Or maybe it's in Taiwan, a logical destination for fugitives who don't want to flee all the way to New Atlantis.

As for the mentor, well, yes, insofar as I'd expect him to try and shift your labels accordingly whenever he gets the chance. If he accepts that sometimes an aggressive approach is a valid one, then denying Danger may not be the right path (unless he still opposes it more than anything connected to the other options). He may deny Freak to discourage you from showing off and encourage you to focus on martial arts basics, which I think would mostly fall under Danger or Savior anyway. Or maybe he denies Mundane: there is no sense in pretending that you are just another person. Given your talents and training, that is just false humility. And/or you should focus on your training rather than frivolous pursuits.