Running Your First Session: Bringing It All Together

From Theory to Practice

You've learned about playbooks, Labels, team dynamics, and compelling villains. Now it's time to put it all together at the gaming table. Running Masks is different from traditional RPGs - it requires a shift in mindset from tactical combat management to emotional drama facilitation. This guide will walk you through everything from Session Zero to your first few adventures.

The TV Show Pilot Analogy

Think of your first Masks session like the pilot episode of a teen superhero TV show. You need to introduce the characters, establish their relationships, set the tone, and give viewers (players) a taste of what the series will be like. Unlike a movie where everything builds to one climax, you're setting up ongoing character arcs that will develop over many episodes (sessions).

Session Zero: Setting the Foundation

Before you dive into superhero action, you need a Session Zero to establish expectations, create characters, and build the foundation for your campaign.

Session Zero Agenda

Safety and Expectations

Discuss content boundaries and safety tools
Establish that this is a game about emotional growth
Clarify that failure is interesting, not bad
Set expectations for character interaction
Agree on tone (serious drama vs. lighter adventure)

Setting Creation

Choose your city (or use Halcyon City)
Establish the superhero history
Define the adult hero generation
Create major locations and institutions
Decide on tech level and tone

Character Creation

Choose playbooks (ensure variety)
Create individual backstories
Establish team connections
Define important NPCs
Set up Influence relationships

Team Formation

Decide how the team came together
Establish their current status
Create their base/meeting place
Define their relationship with adults
Set initial team goals

Collaborative Character Creation

Character creation in Masks should be a group activity that builds connections between characters and establishes the emotional foundation of your campaign.

The Creation Process

Character Creation Tips

Encourage Emotional Connections

Ask players to think about how their characters feel about each other, not just what they do together. "Why does your character look up to theirs?" is better than "What mission did you go on together?"

Build in Conflict Potential

Some tension between characters is good - it creates drama. A team where everyone agrees on everything won't have interesting stories to tell.

Connect to the Setting

Every character should have at least two important NPCs - someone who has Influence over them and someone they care about protecting.

Leave Room to Grow

Don't define everything about the characters upfront. Leave space for relationships and backstory to develop through play.

Opening Your First Session

The opening scene of your first session sets the tone for everything that follows. It should immediately establish the game's focus on character relationships and emotional stakes.

Effective Opening Scenarios

In Media Res

Setup: Start in the middle of action, then flash back to show how you got there

Pros: Immediate excitement, natural introduction to characters' abilities

Example: "You're falling through the sky above downtown. How did this team meeting go so wrong?"

How to Run It:

Start with dramatic stakes already established
Let each player describe one thing their character does
Flash back to 30 minutes earlier
Build up to the moment you started with

The Team Meeting

Setup: Characters gathering for the first time or an important discussion

Pros: Natural exposition, relationship establishment, shared goal setting

Example: "You've been called together by [adult figure] who has a mission for you."

How to Run It:

Give each character a reason to be there
Include relationship-defining moments
Interrupt with action before it gets boring
Make the mission personal to someone

Separate Introductions

Setup: Show each character in their "normal" life before bringing them together

Pros: Individual character establishment, clear contrast between normal and hero life

Example: Quick scenes of each character dealing with civilian problems before a crisis unites them

How to Run It:

Keep individual scenes short (2-3 minutes each)
Show what matters to each character
Create problems that powers can't easily solve
Build to a unifying incident

Designing Your First Conflict

Your first conflict should be simple enough to learn the system but meaningful enough to establish character relationships and team dynamics.

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First Conflict Framework

The Threat

Keep it simple: Bank robbery, hostage situation, runaway experiment

Make it visible: Something the public can see and react to

Limit the scope: A few city blocks, not the entire world

Example: A villain has taken over a shopping mall with robot minions

The Stakes

Innocent people: Civilians in danger create moral imperative

Personal connections: Someone the heroes care about is involved

Public perception: This is the team's first public appearance

Example: One character's family is shopping there; this is their debut as heroes

The Complications

Moral choices: Force difficult decisions about methods

Team coordination: Require characters to work together

Individual challenges: Give each character a moment to shine

Example: Villain offers to release hostages if one hero surrenders

The Resolution

Victory with cost: Success but something goes wrong

Character growth: Someone learns something about themselves

Relationship change: Team bonds form or strengthen

Example: Heroes win but property damage leads to public criticism

Essential GM Techniques for Masks

Running Masks requires different skills than traditional RPGs. Focus on these key techniques to make your sessions sing:

Spotlight Management

The Challenge: Ensuring every character gets meaningful screen time and development opportunities

Practical Tips:

Use the "Yes, and..." technique: Build on what players give you
Ask targeted questions: "How does your character feel about what just happened?"
Create individual moments: Give each character a scene that highlights their struggles
Connect to backstory: Bring in elements from their character history
Rotate focus: Don't let one character dominate every session

Emotional Pacing

The Challenge: Balancing action, drama, and character development for maximum emotional impact

Practical Tips:

Follow intense scenes with quiet moments: Give players time to process
Build to emotional climaxes: Not just action climaxes
Use downtime effectively: Casual scenes often have the biggest character moments
Watch player energy: Adjust pacing based on table engagement
End sessions on hooks: Emotional cliffhangers work better than action ones

Relationship Facilitation

The Challenge: Encouraging meaningful character interactions and relationship development

Practical Tips:

Create shared challenges: Problems that require teamwork to solve
Use NPCs as relationship catalysts: Adults who have opinions about the team
Facilitate difficult conversations: "What would your character say to that?"
Reward vulnerability: Give mechanical benefits for emotional openness
Show consequences of relationships: Make connections matter to the story

Common First-Session Mistakes

Learning from others' experiences can help you avoid common pitfalls when starting your Masks campaign:

Focusing Only on Action

The Problem: Treating Masks like a tactical combat game

Why It Happens: Traditional RPG habits are hard to break

The Fix: Ask about feelings and relationships as much as actions

Example: Instead of "What do you do?" ask "How does this make your character feel?"

Perfect Adult NPCs

The Problem: Making adult authority figures either perfect mentors or pure obstacles

Why It Happens: Wanting to avoid frustrating players

The Fix: Make adults caring but flawed, with their own agendas

Example: A mentor who gives good advice but doesn't understand modern teen problems

Avoiding Failure

The Problem: Letting heroes succeed at everything to avoid "ruining" their characters

Why It Happens: Misunderstanding that failure drives growth in Masks

The Fix: Embrace failure as character development opportunity

Example: A failed save that leads to guilt and character growth

Ignoring Labels

The Problem: Not actively shifting Labels based on character actions and perceptions

Why It Happens: The system feels unfamiliar compared to traditional stats

The Fix: Regularly ask how others perceive character actions

Example: "The crowd sees you destroy the robot. How does that change how they see you?"

Solo Hero Syndrome

The Problem: Letting individual characters solve problems alone

Why It Happens: Traditional "spotlight" thinking from other RPGs

The Fix: Create challenges that require team cooperation

Example: Problems that need multiple character strengths to solve

Rushing Character Creation

The Problem: Not spending enough time on relationships and connections

Why It Happens: Eagerness to get to the "real game"

The Fix: Invest time in Session Zero; it pays dividends later

Example: Spending a full session on character creation and team building

Typical Session Structure

While every session is different, most successful Masks sessions follow a loose structure that balances action, character development, and team dynamics:

Building an Ongoing Campaign

After your first few sessions, focus on developing the elements that make Masks campaigns special:

Character Arcs

Each character should have a personal journey that unfolds over multiple sessions:

The Beacon: Proving they belong and finding their unique contribution
The Legacy: Defining their own heroic identity separate from family expectations
The Protégé: Growing beyond their mentor and becoming independent
The Delinquent: Learning when to rebel and when to cooperate
The Janus: Balancing their two lives and deciding what matters most

Track Progress: Keep notes on each character's growth and unresolved issues

Relationship Evolution

Team relationships should change and deepen over time:

Initial Bonds: Surface-level cooperation and mutual respect
Testing Phase: Conflicts that reveal true character
Deep Connections: Trust, vulnerability, and mutual support
Found Family: Unbreakable bonds forged through shared struggle

Facilitate Growth: Create situations that require trust and vulnerability

Escalating Stakes

Challenges should grow in scope and personal significance:

Local Threats: Neighborhood villains and small-scale problems
City-Wide Issues: Major villains and systemic challenges
Personal Vendettas: Enemies who know the heroes personally
Existential Questions: Challenges to core beliefs and values

Make It Personal: The biggest threats should target what heroes care about most

Practice Exercises

Exercise: Plan Your First Session

Using the framework from this tutorial, outline your first session:

Opening Scene: How will you introduce the team and establish tone?
First Conflict: What simple but meaningful challenge will they face?
Character Moments: How will each character get spotlight time?
Relationship Building: What opportunities for team bonding will you create?
Session Ending: What hook will bring them back for session two?

Session Template: "The team comes together when [inciting incident] because [personal stakes]. They must [main challenge] while dealing with [complication]. Success means [positive outcome] but also [cost or consequence]. This sets up [future storyline] for next session."

Exercise: Relationship Web Creation

Map out the initial relationship network for your campaign:

Draw each PC and their key relationships
Include at least 2 NPCs per character (one with Influence, one they care about)
Mark which NPCs are shared between characters
Identify potential relationship conflicts and growth opportunities

Exercise: GM Technique Practice

Practice essential Masks GM skills:

Emotion Questions: Write 10 questions that ask about feelings rather than actions
Label Shifts: Practice describing how actions change perceptions
Meaningful Failure: Design 3 scenarios where failure leads to character growth
Adult NPCs: Create 2 adults who are caring but create conflict

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Players Are Too Focused on Tactics

Signs: Detailed combat planning, optimization talk, treating powers like video game abilities

Solutions: Ask emotion questions during action scenes, make success about character growth not tactical superiority, reward creative problem-solving over optimal builds

Characters Aren't Connecting

Signs: Players only interact during missions, no personal relationships developing, team feels like strangers

Solutions: Force downtime scenes, create shared challenges that require trust, ask about character reactions to each other's actions

The Game Feels Too Serious

Signs: Players seem stressed or overwhelmed, every scene is heavy drama, no fun or humor

Solutions: Include lighter moments and team bonding, celebrate victories more, let characters be teenagers who joke around

Players Resist Failure

Signs: Frustration when dice rolls fail, avoiding risky actions, treating failure as punishment

Solutions: Demonstrate how failure creates interesting stories, reward players for embracing failure, make consequences about growth not punishment

Essential Resources and References

Core Materials

Masks: A New Generation RPG rulebook
Playbook sheets for all players
Two six-sided dice per player
Index cards for NPCs and notes
Character relationship maps

Inspiration Sources

Young Justice (TV series)
Teen Titans (comics and animation)
My Hero Academia (anime/manga)
Ms. Marvel (comics)
Champions (comics)

GM Tools

NPC motivation tracker
Relationship evolution notes
City location maps
Villain scheme timelines
Character arc progression charts

Safety Tools

X-Card for content boundaries
Lines and Veils discussion
Check-in procedures
Session debrief protocols
Player comfort monitoring

Final Advice for New GMs

Embrace the Learning Curve

Masks feels different from other RPGs, and that's okay. Don't worry about getting everything perfect in your first few sessions. Focus on creating emotional moments and meaningful character interactions. The mechanical mastery will come with practice.

Trust Your Players

Players often have the best ideas for their characters' emotional journeys. When they suggest a direction for their character development, say "yes" more often than "no." Their investment in the story will make your job easier and the game more engaging.

Keep the Focus Narrow

Resist the urge to create massive, world-threatening plots early on. The most compelling Masks stories are often very personal - focus on the relationships between characters and their immediate community before scaling up to cosmic threats.

Make Failure Interesting

In Masks, failure isn't about punishment - it's about growth and dramatic tension. When characters fail, ask yourself: "How does this make the story more interesting?" and "What can the character learn from this?" The answer will guide you to meaningful consequences.

Your Heroic Journey Begins

You now have all the tools you need to run Masks: A New Generation. You understand the unique focus on emotional growth, the innovative mechanical systems, and the techniques needed to facilitate meaningful teenage superhero stories. Remember that every great GM started with their first session, and every amazing campaign began with characters who were just learning to work together.

You're Ready When You Have:

✓ A clear understanding of what makes Masks unique
✓ Characters with meaningful relationships and conflicts
✓ A simple but personal first challenge planned
✓ NPCs who will have Influence over the characters
✓ An attitude of curiosity about what the characters will become

The most important thing to remember is that Masks is about the journey, not the destination. Your characters will grow, change, and surprise you. Your team will face challenges that test not just their powers, but their values, friendships, and understanding of what it means to be a hero.

Now go forth and create stories worth telling. The next generation of heroes is waiting for you.