Characters / Masks: A New Generation

This is a character/playbook listing for the Masks: A New Generation Tabletop RPG.

Core rules playbooks

The Beacon

The heart of the team. The Beacon doesn't have the same power and skill level as the rest of their teammates; they don't have the same connection; they don't have the same base angst, or mentor, or whatever. What they do have, though, is a drive to be awesome, to do the right thing, to fight the good fight. They're a hero because they want to be.

• Badass Normal: The standard available "powers" of the playbook are such things as being a good martial artist or good with bow and arrows.
• The Heart: As the one who explicitly doesn't have powers, The Beacon usually ends up being this.
• The Leader: A typical role for The Beacon. What they lack in power and skill, they make up in leadership and enthusiasm.
• Non-Human Sidekick: A possible move for the Beacon can net them one of these to help them out with other moves.
• Shout-Out: Meant to emulate characters like Robin (during his "rookie" period) or the Kate Bishop Hawkeye.
• Wide-Eyed Idealist: The Beacon playbook lives and breathes this trope.

The Bull

The bruiser with a heart of gold, The Bull is big, strong and tough. They were created by someone to be a weapon, but they're free now. Making their own choices and forging their own connections with people who matter to them - especially those they like, and those they compete with. The bull is about the push and pull between being a cold, gruff fighter and caring deeply about their teammates.

• Attack! Attack! Attack!: The idea behind the "Punch Everyone" move.
• Bruiser with a Soft Center: The Bull can easily be played as this, especially when interacting with their Love.
• Destructive Savior: The Bull can tear up the scenery in a fight, even if they aren't hitting their opponent.
• Hot-Blooded: One of the main characteristics of The Bull.
• Leeroy Jenkins: Available powers of the playbook and the characterization notes all involve the character acting like this. It is up to the player whether or not the Bull will eventually grow out of it.
• Shout-Out: Meant to emulate characters like Superboy (Kon-El/Conner Kent).
• Unstoppable Rage: One of the Bull's possible moves gives them a bonus to using their powers, as long as they have the Angry condition marked.

The Delinquent

The troublemaker and attention seeker. The delinquent likes to be a rabblerouser and a rebel, the one to provoke others without a care- or so they want others to believe. The delinquent's powers are about trickery, deception, manipulation, and provocation, and they get advantages for being obstinate and ignoring orders and advice.

• Anti-Hero: Most of the time.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: The core character arc for The Delinquent. How much do they really care for their teammates and their city under than facade? Or are they just...
  • Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: A possible way to play your Delinquent.
• The Lancer: He is pretty obviously going to butt heads with any authority in the team. It is up to the player how much this will help or hinder the group.
• Shout-Out: Meant to emulate characters like Roy Harper or Kid Loki.
• The Trickster: The Delinquent doesn't play by the rules, and has access to several possible moves centered around bucking the trend or confusing their opponents.

The Doomed

The dramatic martyr. The Doomed is cursed to ultimately lose their self to some terrible fate. And before that takes them, they're up against a terrible nemesis. Their story is about an unstoppable countdown clock—the more power they use, the closer their doom comes, but there's no way they can defeat their nemesis or change the world for the better without that power.

• The Last Dance: The Doomed knows they are going to get screwed over by fate. They may or may not struggle against it, but they all aim to do something worthwhile with their lives in the time they have remaining.
• Power Degeneration: Continuous use of their Doomsign powers edges the Doomed closer and closer to their inevitable fate.
• Screw Destiny: The only way for a Doomed to change their playbook is to confront their fate on their own terms, and successfully defy it.
• Shout-Out: Meant to emulate characters like Raven.
• Superpower Meltdown: A possibility for their Doom.
• The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: The Doomed has this relationship with their Nemesis.
• Your Days Are Numbered: The Doomed's character arc.

The Janus

The hero with a dual life. The Janus is the only playbook absolutely required to have a secret identity; their struggle is about trying to manage the responsibilities of both lives. They wear a mask, and switch back and forth between their two identities. The whole while, they're constantly confronted by difficult choices of which life they really want.

• Bruce Wayne Held Hostage: A potential story twist.
• Secret Identity: Their primary character hook.
• Shout-Out: Meant to emulate Spider-Man and similar heroes (the book specifies Miles Morales, for example)
• The Unmasking: The core of the Janus's Moment of Truth.
  Mask off. Costume on. And you're going to save the damn day.

The Legacy

The latest in a family of heroes. The Legacy is part of a larger tradition of heroism, a family with its own enemies, rules, and obligations. They're in the spotlight more than many of their peers— they have a family name to uphold, after all—but their biggest critics are almost always going to be from within their own family.

• Combo Platter Powers: Their power options are sets of five abilities, with the twist that they haven't "earned" two of them yet.
• Legacy Character: The Legacy comes from a long line of heroes.
• Shout-Out: Meant to emulate characters like Robin, Superboy, The Flash or Izuku Midoriya.
• Willfully Weak: A possible move allows the Legacy to pull their punches in order to use a more advantageous stat in combat, with the trade off of not being able to intimidate their opponent.

The Nova

The overpowered conflagration. The Nova is probably the most powerful member of any team. They can reshape the world, bend it to their will—but it's difficult to control so much power. Either they keep the mighty forces they wield under control—straining themselves mentally and emotionally—or they lose control... and other people get hurt.

• Cast from Hit Points: Even ignoring the very nature of this character as someone who regularly takes risks with their conditions, one of their burns, Elemental Awareness, costs both a burn point and forces the Nova to take a condition to use. It's only fair, considering the ability allows a Nova to ask any question and get an honest answer.
• Critical Status Buff: Since you roll + conditions marked for your burn, the more conditions you have (the more hurt you are), the more likely you are to get all 3 burn and be more powerful.
• Destructive Savior: One of the playbook's hallmarks. The Nova has phenomenal cosmic power... but not the greatest control of that power yet. When a Nova really gets going, things tend to go boom.
• Glass Cannon: What the Nova effectively boils down to as a character. Their burns are mighty and allow the Nova to outdo even specialized characters in what they do best, but to even get burns, the Nova needs to play Russian Roulette with their conditions; with no conditions, the chances of failing a burn roll and gaining three conditions (which is more than half your 'health') are nearly 50%, and the chances of getting burn points without suffering conditions are rather low. This means that the Nova won't last long once they start needing to fuel their burns.
• Reality Warper: One of their possible power sets/
  • Reality Warping Is Not a Toy: A frequent lesson The Nova has to learn.
• Super-Power Meltdown: Always a possibility for The Nova, especially on mixed successes
• Shout-Out: Meant to emulate characters such as Jean Grey or Billy Wiccan.

The Outsider

The alien with strange powers. The Outsider isn't from here—they might be from the future, or another dimension, or deep space. They may not understand the people here, or the rules of this place, but something about it fascinates them—and they're trying to find out who they are here, and whether that means they should stay or go home.

• Alien Among Us: One potential advancement is a human identity and disguise, using the Janus's "The Mask" mechanic.
• Can't Argue with Elves: The Outsider relies on having a high Superior stat for their signature moves; one of their moves involves consciously disregarding human customs in favor of their own to give their Superior stat a boost.
• Cool Ship: A possible move grants the Outsider a "Kirby-Craft" that can allow them to use their Superior for alternative moves while they're flying it.
• Shout-Out: Meant to emulate characters like Starfire.

The Protege

The extremely well-trained understudy. The Protégé has an incredibly strong relationship with one adult figure—their mentor. Through their mentor, the Protégé learned the skills they need, gained the resources they require, and found a role in Halcyon City's superheroic scene. But ultimately, they have to decide whether they want to be their mentor... or find their own path.

• The Leader: A Protege that takes the "Captain" move gives the team a bonus by leading them into battle.
• Percussive Therapy: One possible move can have the Protege clear the Angry condition by wading into a fight, specifically in a way that their mentor would disapprove of.
• Seen It All: Or at least, their mentor likely has, and the Protege has studied the files.
• Shout-Out: Meant to emulate characters like Robin.

The Transformed

The monstrous appearance and human mind. The Transformed used to be a regular person, until something happened to them and they changed—now, they are visibly, obviously not a regular human being. They haven't found a way back to being what they once were, and they have to deal with the strange looks and the suspicion for their new form...but their powers may give them a way to find a new home.

• Can't Stay Normal: Not and maintain this Playbook, at any rate. The Transformed's nature is tied in with their monstrous appearance. Note that this can change if the character switches Playbooks.
• Destructive Savior: The Transformed is second only to the Nova and perhaps the Bull in the amount of collateral damage they can do.
• Emergency Transformation: A possible origin.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: Often is one of these, as a result of the Transformed's monstrous appearance (and tendency toward collateral damage).
• Horrifying Hero: A large part of the Playbook's drama. The Transformed is obviously inhuman-looking, and tends to evoke fear and mistrust, if not a full-on pitchforks-and-torches reaction.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: The distillation of this Playbook's dramatic base. The Transformed is no longer human and can (unless they change playbooks) never be again.
• Mutants: One possible source for the Transformed's powers - genetic manipulation.
• Shout-Out: Meant to emulate various comic book characters like Cyborg, Beast Boy or Beast.
• We Can Rebuild Him: A possible origin for the Transformed.

Additional playbooks

The Reformed

Haunted, redemptive, dangerous, tarnished. The Reformed is still young, but even in their short time, they've done things—if not quite unforgivable, then pushing the limits. They filled the role of the villain, and they did it willingly and knowingly. And now they'retrying to do better, to be better, but redemption doesn't come that easily. Released in the Halcyon City Herald.

• Bad Powers, Bad People / Bad Powers, Good People: Their options for powers include things like poison control, vitality absorption, and fear manipulation.
• Heel–Face Turn: Underwent one as part of their Origin Story.
• Reformed Criminal: This is their entire deal.
• What the Hell, Hero?: It's the name of one of their possible moves; the Reformed can call out a hero's actions to potentially gain influence over them.

The Newborn

Curious, strange, quixotic, dogmatic. The Newborn is a kid trying to figure out how the world works, and clinging to principles in an attempt to impose order on their understanding of it. They don't quite know for sure what their ideals are or should be, but they're testing them out with every action and idea. The rest of the world has a vested interested in reshaping the Newborn, thanks to all of their potential power. Released in the Halcyon City Herald.

• Artificial Human: The Newborn is a recently created being, either through technology, magic, or random chance. They even have an extra condition called "Damaged," indicating that they can be repaired.
• Blank Slate: It's the name of their extra. The Newborn is easily influenced by the world around them and taking the lessons they learn to heart can progress their characterization.
• Shout-Out: Emulates other artificial heroes like Vision and Red Tornado.

The Innocent

Hopeful, troubled, out of place, noble. The Innocent is the kid version of a dangerous person, in whom anyone else can see the potential for great nobility... and the potential for great horror. Their story is all about simultaneously being an unformed font of possibilitywhile having clear evidence for a particular life path in front of them. Released in the Halcyon City Herald.

• Future Me Scares Me: The central player hook is finding out that at some point in the character's future he becomes evil (can be anything from Took a Level in Jerkass to full-blown super-villainy) and struggling with Screw Destiny.
• Fish out of Temporal Water: How much focus on this trope (aside from the central hook) the character will have is up to the player and game master, but nevertheless there will be some amount of surprise in how much Halcyon City has changed in the future.
• Growing Up Sucks: While this is something that can apply to the other Playbooks or even the game as a whole (depending on the gameplay), this is the character type that struggles with it the hardest having a perfect picture of what the future may bring.
• Shout-Out: Clearly one for Iron Lad.

The Star

Arrogant, ambitious, flamboyant, delightful. The Star is a young celebrity, aware of their status and interested in obtaining more of it. They're a showboat, but they're also still a superhero, and those two poles pull them in drastically different directions. Should they make sure they land the last strike on the villain, so they can take the credit? Or should they avoid interfering with their teammate's fight and possibly messing things up? Released in the Halcyon City Herald.

• Celebrity Superhero: Their core concept: the Star is a teen celebrity, and deals with being both that and a superhero.
• Corporate-Sponsored Superhero: One of the potential upsides of having the Star's audience is earning money, as long as they keep the fans happy. They can even have a PR agent!
• Glory Seeker: The Star is at their best when they're the center of attention.
• Shout-Out: Basically Booster Gold or Iron Man at their most narcissistic.

The Joined

Unsure, supportive, jealous, defiant. The Joined is a mix of emotions and ideas, defined more by the hero to whom they are connected than by anything else. Released in the Halcyon City Herald.

• Bash Brothers: Can be these with their counterpart on the team.
• Fastball Special: One of their bonded moves is named this in honor of the technique.
• Shout-Out: Emulates heroic duos like the Wonder Twins and Cloak and Dagger.

The Brain

Brilliant, guilty, impulsive, obsessed. The Brain is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of genius, with no powers outside of their intellect. With it, they can create wonders in their chosen field... but also horrors like their Shame. Released in Secrets of AEGIS.

• My Greatest Failure: The Shame extra, which can take the form of a superweapon, a villain, or some other scientific catastrophe.
• Science Hero: Their primary hook.
• Shout-Out: Emulates super geniuses like Shuri and Riri Williams.
• The Smart Guy: Usually fulfills this role on the team.

The Soldier

Devoted, commanding, competent, conflicted. The Soldier works as a member of both the team and the AEGIS organization. This gives them access to a lot of assistance, backup, and influence, but also ties them to AEGIS's orders and beliefs, which might not work with those of the team. Released in Secrets of AEGIS.

• Attack! Attack! Attack!: One possible move lets the Soldier sacrifice defense for an all-out offense instead. Failing the roll will put someone in grave danger as a result.
• Awesomeness by Analysis: If the Soldier has a chance to observe their opponent before a fight, they can get up to three chances to completely No-Sell something that the opponent throws at them, or throw them off guard mid-battle.
• Determinator: The Soldier can take a move that lets them suffer a penalty to their Savior stat instead of getting knocked out of a battle, allowing them to keep fighting, even if the odds are against them.
• It's Personal: A potential move gives the Soldier an ongoing bonus against anyone who betrays them, or their cause; it lasts until the perpetrator is brought to justice.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: If the Soldier chooses to change their playbook, it comes packaged with AEGIS losing influence over them permanently; the former Soldier is no longer marching to the beat of AEGIS's drum.
• Shout-Out: Meant to emulate heroes like Captain America.
  • If it wasn't clear, every one of the Soldier's possible moves are named for quotes from Cap in the MCU.

---

The Harbinger

Released in Masks: Unbound.

• But Now I Must Go: The Harbinger's final advancement is to either return to the future and accept how they have changed it, or jump to another point in the past and continue their mission elsewhere.
• Retroactive Precognition: The Harbinger has studied the 21st century and can attempt to remember things that are still to come. They can also have knowledge of complex things that have become mundane in the future.
• Set Right What Once Went Wrong: The Harbinger time-travels to the past to prevent a future disaster, but the temporal effects on their memories mean that what they need to do is not always initially clear.
• Shout-Out: References other time-traveling characters, notably Impulse from Young Justice.

---

The Nomad

Released in Masks: Unbound.

• Aloof Ally: The Nomad subverts the game's influence system, limiting the number of connections they can have, though rewarding them for the ones they do create. In this way, they are described as always having one foot out the door.
• But Now I Must Go: While most heroes round off their youthful careers by either retiring or by becoming a paragon of the city, the only final option for the Nomad is to disappear to parts unknown, never to be seen again (unless they change playbooks first instead).
• Shout-Out: Emulates other displaced characters like Star-Lord and Blink from the Exiles.

---

The Scion

Released in Masks: Unbound.

• Archnemesis Dad / Evil Matriarch: One or both of the Scion's parents is a supervillain, and their primary reason for being a hero is to oppose them.
• Fake Defector: Straddling the line between hero and villain, the Scion can pretend to switch sides at a moment's notice in order to gain an advantage over a foe. Failing to pull it off successfully can cause witnesses to draw the wrong conclusions.
• No-Respect Guy: Often starts off as this due to their familial ties. One of the Scion's central advancement mechanics is gaining respect from the right people in order to differentiate themselves from their villainous parent.
• Shout-Out: Emulates characters like Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch.
• This Is Unforgivable!: The Scion can reject the influence of someone by marking off conditions, signifying how they declare that person irredeemable. It also makes their attacks more effective.

---