Masks: A New Generation

Like other PbtA games, Masks uses playbooks instead of classes.  The games basic playbooks can be downloaded for free here, and more are available in other supplements.  Although playbooks determine a characters' power options, the playbooks focus more on the characters story/origin, for instance The Doomed, The Legacy, or The Transformed.

Playbooks provide both abilities (ie. powers) and special "moves", which only players with that playbook can take.  In addition to their playbooks, characters also pick one of five "labels", like Freak or Savior, which describe both how they view their identity, and how others view them.  

These labels are not fixed, and are designed to change over the course of the game, providing different bonuses/penalties when combined with  each playbook.  For instance, one way to change labels is to take a special "team move" a character can "Act Selfishly", where the character gains a bonus to a roll, but changes their Label in the process (eg. by insulting a teammate as they show them up).

​As a PbtA system, everything a character wants to do is handled through a "Move".  There are both basic moves, which anyone can take, as well as playbook-specific moves, adult-only moves, etc.  The core moves  are: directly engage a threat, unleash your powers, comfort or support, pierce the mask, defend, asses the situation, provoke someone, and take a powerful blow,

To determine the success of a move a player rolls 2d6.  A result of 6 or less fails, a result of 7-9 succeeds, but potentially with a complication, and a 10+ succeeds fully.  The exact details of success or failure vary however, depending on the move.

Unlike other PbtA systems Masks also has the concept of a Team Pool and special Team Moves.  The team pool provides a bonus to actions taken when working as a team, and the team moves allow a character to celebrate a victory, or share a weakness, with another team member, in order to receive a playbook-specific benefit.