An unauthorized demake of Masks: A New Generation

By Sam Roberts

Masks: A New Generation was created by Brendan Conway and published by

Magpie Games. This game, like that one, is released under the Creative
Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The Basics
You’re like most teenagers, with one small difference: You’re a
superhero. Fight villains, be part of a team, save the day, and
maybe, slowly figure out who you are.

Masks: Retconned is a game of teen superhero adventures,

designed for 3+ players. Most of the players will take on the
role of individual Heroes on a Team. Imagine these as the
protagonists of your new comic book series. One player takes
on the role of GM, embodying the superheroic setting,
supporting characters, and villains.

This game is incomplete, partially by design and partially

because I’m still working on it. Trust your instincts, knowledge
of superhero comics, and experience playing other games;
you’ll be fine!
Creating the Heroes
Before you think about rules, imagine your teenage hero. What
can they do? What do they struggle with? What are their name
and superhero name (if they’re different)?

Mechanically, A Hero is defined primarily by 5 Labels and their

Origin. The 5 Labels represent a combination of how you see
yourself and how others see you. For teenagers, the two are
difficult to untangle.

● Embrace Danger when you fight and destroy things.

But watch out for collateral damage.

● Embrace Freak when you unleash your powers and

immerse yourself in the weirdness of the superhero
world. But prepare to be feared or misunderstood.

● Embrace Mundane when you care for others or center

your humanity. But don’t be surprised if you’re
overlooked or overpowered.

● Embrace Savior when you help others and do the right

thing. But be wary of moralizing and
self-righteousness.

● Embrace Superior when you manipulate others or

show your brilliance. But remember: Placing yourself
above others isn’t a great way to make friends.

Assign the following: +2, +1, 0, 0, -1.

Choose an Origin (or make your own):

● Human — whenever you’re out of your depth,

+mundane, -freak

● Mutant — whenever you feel like a monster, +freak,

-superior

● Godling — whenever you bear the weight of your

divinity, +savior, -superior

● Alien — whenever you share an alien custom or belief,

+freak, -mundane

● Super Science — whenever you put ideas before

feelings, +superior, -mundane

● Magic — whenever you push your magical limits,

+danger, -savior

● Super Soldier — whenever you put others before

yourself, +1 savior, -1 danger

Choose one or two abilities (or make up your own):

Martial arts, a powerful weapon, technology

manipulation, brilliance, super strength, invincibility,
plant control, teleportation, telepathy, flight, energy
blasts, power nullification, fire, powerful senses, size
manipulation.

I’ll list more eventually, but come on, you don’t need me to
come up with a superpower for you — that’s half the fun!
Finally, answer these three questions:

● Outside the team, whose opinion matters most to

you? Add them to your Supporting Cast.

● On the team, who do you clash with the most?

● Who was the first villain you defeated? Add them to

your Supporting Cast.

Forming The Team

By default, your team already exists when play begins, but feel
free to play out that adventure if you prefer.

As a group, come up with a name for your Team. What

brought you together? What did each of you bring to the table
in your first adventure? Why’d you decide to stick together? It’s
fine if these answers are simple (e.g.,“we’re all siblings”)!

The Supporting Cast

Each Hero has a Supporting Cast of friends, villains, and
somewhere-in-betweens that grows over time. Make a sheet
with a column for each Hero and put it somewhere where
everyone can see it.
Taking Action
Whenever you attempt something risky, make sure your intent
and the possible costs are clear, then roll 2D6 and add the
most appropriate Label.

On a 10+, you succeed as intended. Additionally increase the

Label you used by 1 (max 3).

On a 7–9, you either succeed with cost/consequence or the

GM will offer you a difficult choice.

On a 6-, you fail or your action backfires — face a negative

consequence. In addition, lower the Label you used by 1 (min
-2).

Shifting Labels
When you attempt to make another Hero see themselves
differently, it is always risky. Choose one Label to increase by
1, and another to decrease by 1. (This is called “shifting” or “a
shift”.) Explain how you hope to convince them, then
roll+either of the two Labels you chose. (Your score, not
theirs.)

On a 10+, you shift their Labels. Increase the Label you used
as normal.

On a 7–9, you shift their Labels.

On a 6-, they shift their Labels the opposite direction.
Decrease your Label as normal.

When a non-Hero character whose opinion matters to you —

this includes almost all adults and villains — tells or shows
you who you are, they shift your Labels. If you resist the shift,
roll 2d6 (without a Label modifier).

On a 10+, you resist the shift. (Do not increase a Label.)

On a 7–9, you resist the shift and are intent on proving them
wrong! Shift your Labels the inverse of what they intended.

On a 6-, they’ve hit you where it hurts. Accept the shift and
take -1 to your next roll against them.

Teamwork
When you take action but before you roll, another Hero may
say how they aid you in your action. Add +1 to your roll, but
any negative consequences on a 6- or 7–9 affect them too.
Crisis
When you would increase a Label beyond +3, you instead fall
into Crisis. What happens depends on the Label:

● Danger — No matter what you do, someone always

gets hurt; best you can hope for is that it’s a bad guy.

● Freak — All anyone can see is the monster. Anything

you do only makes it worse.

● Mundane — It’s obvious you’re not cut out to be a

superhero. Time to hang up the tights.

● Savior — You can save them all. You will save them
all, no matter what it costs you.

● Superior — You alone can do what must be done, and

nothing can stop you from seeing it through.

You are in Crisis until it feels like a narratively appropriate time

to return to normal. Sometimes your Crisis might last just a
single, devastating moment; other times you might be in Crisis
for a multi-session arc. The most reliable way out of Crisis is
the comfort and support of a teammate (and a corresponding
label shift), though that in some cases even that might be
insufficient.

The important thing is for you and the rest of the table to lean
into the high drama — whatever happens, it should have major
ramifications for your Hero and the narrative.
Potential & Growth
You’re still growing into yourself. This is represented by
Potential and Growth.

There are three ways to gain Potential:

● If a Label would shift below -2, instead gain 1

Potential.

● The first time a member of your Supporting Cast

causes problems for you each session, gain 1
Potential.

● As a result of the End of Session (see below), you

may gain Potential.

When you have 5 Potential, erase them and choose one of the
following. You may choose the same option more than once.

● Develop a new power

● Gain a signature weapon, tool, or pet

● Gain a vehicle or mode of transportation

● Gain a lair

● Shift your Labels (1 up/1 down) and change your

costume or codename

● Introduce or claim a non-Hero character (even a

villain) as part of your Supporting Cast
 ● Improve your reputation with an important
person/organization

Growth may codify something that’s already happened to your

character or cause a new change — whichever you prefer and
don’t worry about consistency.

When your character has chosen 3 Growth options, unlock

these additional options:

● Moment of Truth

● Defeat a major villain for good (kill them, reform them,

debilitate them — your choice)

Other Growth options may unlock based on what happens in

the campaign.

For shorter campaigns, decrease the amount of Potential

required for Growth.
Moment of Truth
When you choose Moment of Truth, your Hero is set on a path
of self-actualization. Choose the Label your hero most
embodies and upgrade it to an Adult Label:

● Danger ➡️ Mighty
● Freak ➡️ Fantastic

● Mundane ➡️ Inspiring

● Savior ➡️ Champion

● Superior ➡️ Supreme

An Adult Label is locked at +3 and cannot be increased or

decreased.

This is your Hero’s time to shine. When the right situation

presents itself, take authority over the narrative and describe
how your Hero rises to the occasion and become who they
were meant to be, not just in their own eyes but the world’s.
The Hero may stick around for a little while afterwards, but
once they’ve had their moment of truth, it’s time for them to
graduate. Do they become a paragon of the city? Leave the
planet? Retire? Whatever you decide, this part of their story is
over. Make a new character.
The Session

Starting the Session

Whenever you sit down to play Masks: Retconned, choose
one player to roll 2d6 and see what’s new.

On a 10+, ask another player what their Hero wants most right
now. The GM will describe a new opportunity arising.

On a 7-9, choose a member of another Hero’s Supporting

Cast. The GM will tell you about an emerging situation
involving that character.

On a 6-, something terrible and portentous disrupts whatever

the Team was doing.

Some ideas: An alien ship appears in the sky. A deadly villain

bursts into an already difficult fight. A mentor stumbles into the
room and collapses in your arms.

Ending the Session

At the end of each game session, choose the one that best
describes your Hero:

● They grew closer to the team. Choose a Hero you feel

closer to and ask them to shift your Labels.
● They grew apart from the team. Choose a Hero you
feel alienated from and shift their Labels.
● They grew into their own self-image. Gain 1 potential.
Designer’s Notes: Sam’s Soapbox
For over a year now, I’ve been in a Masks campaign.
Technically, it’s been 2 separate series, a number of one-shots,
and a collection of single-session games that used
completely different rulesets. But all of it tied into a single
massive story — my group’s own little pocket universe,
published by the fictitious ABC comics.

This game represents my riff on Masks, inspired by my

group’s multi-year epic. It’s a streamlined, campaign-oriented
“0th Edition” that intentionally leaves plenty of empty space
for players to make it their own as they go.

I drew inspiration from a few games besides Masks itself:

● I stole the demake concept from John Harper’s World

of Dungeons.
● Aso by John Harper, Bootleggers was my first
encounter with the “only design what the table needs
to get started and invent the rest on the fly” approach.
● The Crisis mechanic is basically a direct lift of Darkest
Self from Avery Alder’s Monsterhearts 2e.

Hopefully you’re inspired to build on this design, with new

origins, custom moves, and things beyond my imagining. If
this game strikes you as impossibly loosey goosey, I
recommend you try Masks: A New Generation. I wrote this
game not because I had issues playing it but because I
reliably had a blast.

Special thanks to Angela, Artemis, Ted, and Tommy. The New

Guard are my favorite superheroes (…after Spider-man).