History TabletopGame / MasksANewGeneration

''Masks: A New Generation'', also known simply as ''Masks'', is a UsefulNotes/PoweredByTheApocalypse game by Magpie Games, funded through Kickstarter. The game takes place in a bustling metropolis known as Halcyon City, which has been an [[CityOfAdventure epicenter]] of superpowered activity for three generations so far. There was the [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]], the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]], the [[UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks Bronze Age]]...

...[[UsefulNotes/TheModernAgeOfComicBooks but now, a new generation of heroes is on the rise.]]

* TheAgesOfSuperheroComics: Present in each past generation of superheroes: the [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Gold Generation]], the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Generation]], and the [[UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks Bronze Generation]] (which is actually a composite of the Bronze Age and the [[UsefulNotes/TheIronAgeOfComicBooks Iron Age]]). The player characters and their peers make up [[UsefulNotes/TheModernAgeOfComicBooks the Modern Generation]].

* TheAgesOfSuperheroComics: Present in each past generation of superheroes: the [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Gold Generation]], the [[TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Generation]], and the [[UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks Bronze Generation]] (which is actually a composite of the Bronze Age and the [[UsefulNotes/TheIronAgeOfComicBooks Iron Age]]). The player characters and their peers make up [[UsefulNotes/TheModernAgeOfComicBooks the Modern Generation]].

''Masks: A New Generation'', also known simply as ''Masks'', is a TabletopGame/PoweredByTheApocalypse game by Magpie Games, funded through Kickstarter. The game takes place in a bustling metropolis known as Halcyon City, which has been an [[CityOfAdventure epicenter]] of superpowered activity for three generations so far. There was the [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]], the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]], the [[UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks Bronze Age]]...

** ''The Apocalypse Sonata'': A sci-fi RoadTrip that takes the team on a dimension-hopping quest to prevent intergalactic conqueror Ominus from assembling the last remaining pieces of the music that created the universe and using it for his own sinister purposes.

''Masks'' casts its players as a team of teenage to young adult superheroes, in the vein of ''Comicbook/TeenTitans'' or ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice''. The game's [[{{Splat}} Splats]] (called "Playbooks") suggest your hero's origin and the main issue they struggle with in their superhero career--for instance, you might be an alien from outer space learning to fit into human society, or somebody coming to grips with the way their newly acquired superpowers have changed their body, or the protégé of an established superhero trying to live up to your mentor's expectations. However, the game's central mechanic--and its biggest departure from the design of other Apocalypse games--is the way it handles stats. Rather than having the set, largely static stats found in other games, ''Masks'' uses a system of five "Labels" (Danger, Freak, Savior, Superior, and Mundane) that give you bonuses on dice rolls but also reflect how your character views themself--and since all characters are young adults trying to find their way in the world, these Labels shift up and down constantly. A character can shift their own Labels by coming to a new understanding of themselves, but it's also possible to have your Labels shifted for you if another character has Influence over you.

** This trope is, by name, an ability the Reformed has. It works the same way, too; the Reformed calls out a hero for doing something dangerous or unjust. Whether or not the hero listens is up to a dice roll.

** Ominus of ''The Apocalypse Sonata'' is one for ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}, the Sonata standing in for the Anti-Life Equation.

In short, take your standard {{Superhero}} adventure, add a healthy dash of ComingOfAgeStory, and you have ''Masks''.

* WhatTheHellHero: When you damage, you can choose from a number of options of how you want to handle it. If a player's powers go wrong and hit you, a very valid option can be to verbally lash out at them (provoking them to foolhardy action or making them take a negative condition).

* WhatTheHellHero: When you damage, you can choose how you want to handle it, and one of the options is to verbally lash out at a teammate (provoking them to foolhardy action or making them take a negative condition).

''Masks'' casts its players as a team of teenage or young adult superheroes, in the vein of ''Comicbook/TeenTitans'' or ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice''. The game's [[{{Splat}} Splats]] (called "Playbooks") suggest your hero's origin and the main issue they struggle with in their superhero career--for instance, you might be an alien from outer space learning to fit into human society, or somebody coming to grips with the way their newly acquired superpowers have changed their body, or the protégé of an established superhero trying to live up to your mentor's expectations. However, the game's central mechanic--and its biggest departure from the design of other Apocalypse games--is the way it handles stats. Rather than having the set, largely static stats found in other games, ''Masks'' uses a system of five "Labels" (Danger, Freak, Savior, Superior, and Mundane) that give you bonuses on dice rolls but also reflect how your character views themself--and since all characters are young adults trying to find their way in the world, these Labels change constantly. A character can shift their own Labels by coming to a new understanding of themselves, but it's also possible to have your Labels shifted for you if another character has Influence over you.

** ''The Apocalypse Sonata'': A sci-fi RoadTrip that takes the team on a dimension-hopping quest to prevent intergalactic conquerer Ominus from assembling the last remaining pieces of the music that created the universe and using it for his own sinister purposes.
** ''The Suits'': TheConspiracy in full effect, with mysterious beings infiltrating human society and the heroes unsure of where to turn; even allies in the form of A.E.G.I.S. cannot be trusted.

* BadassNormal: A suggested "superpower" for several playbooks is simple martial arts expertise.

* CyberneticsEatYourSoul: ...or do they? This is a possible question for the Transformed to struggle with.

* HowDoIShotWeb: As a young superhero, player characters are generally just coming into their powers, and unless they roll really well (10+) tend to not ''quite'' get what they're going for. As a character advances, they can learn to wield their powers more reliably.

* SuperpowerLottery:
** The Beacon is explicitly one of the losers, at best the equivalent of somebody who wins $5 in the regular lottery. This is to underscore their assigned role as the PluckyComicRelief.
** On the other end of the spectrum, the Nova has won all five numbers and the powerball, capable of [[RealityWarper bending fundamental]] [[SwissArmySuperpower forces of existence]]. Unfortunately, they tend to cause a lot of [[DestructiveSavior collateral damage]].

* WhatTheHellHero: This trope is, by name, an ability the Reformed has. It works the same way, too; the Reformed calls out a hero for doing something dangerous or unjust. Whether or not the hero listens is up to a dice roll.

** Ominus of ''The Apocalypse Sonata'' is one for ComicBook/Darkseid, the Sonata standing in for the Anti-Life Equation.

** ''Phoenix Academy'': A HighSchool setting in the vein of Anime/BokuNoHeroAcademia, which places the teenage supers in the titular school where they have to balance their responsibilities as heroes-in-training with all the social pressures of the education system.

* Expy: Descriptions of the playbooks in the core rules offer examples of existing characters that match the presented profiles. The list of potential abilities for each one also makes it very easy to recreate said existing characters.

* Expy: Descriptions of the playbooks in the core rules offer examples of existing characters that match the presented profiles. The list of potential abilities for each one also make it very easy to recreate said existing characters.
** A.E.G.I.S. is one for [[Franchise/Marvel S.H.I.E.L.D.]]