Getting Started

What Makes Masks Different?

Imagine if Spider-Man's biggest challenge wasn't fighting the Green Goblin, but figuring out whether he should listen to Tony Stark's advice or follow his own moral compass. That's the essence of Masks: A New Generation, a tabletop RPG that focuses on the emotional drama of being a teenage superhero, not just the action.

The Coming-of-Age Superhero Story

Think of Masks like a combination of:

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse - Young heroes finding their identity
Teen Titans - Team dynamics and growing up together
Young Justice - Adults who don't always understand you
My Hero Academia - Learning to be a hero while being a teenager

The Core Philosophy

Masks operates on a simple but powerful premise: your character is more interested in figuring out who they are than what they can do. While traditional superhero games focus on powers and defeating villains, Masks asks deeper questions:

flowchart TD A["Other superhero games ask..."] --> B["Can I defeat the villain? What are my powers? How do I save the day?"] E["Masks asks..."] --> F["Who am I becoming? What do others expect of me? How do I fit in with my team? What kind of hero do I want to be?"]

The Real-World Connection

Every teenager faces the same fundamental challenge: balancing who they are with who others expect them to be. Masks takes this universal experience and amplifies it through the superhero lens.

Real Teen Experience	Masks Superhero Version
Parents want you to be responsible	Adult heroes want you to follow their lead
Friends pressure you to fit in	Your team expects you to play a certain role
Teachers see potential in you	Mentors push you to be better
You're trying to figure out your values	You're deciding what kind of hero to be

How the Game Works

Masks is a "Powered by the Apocalypse" game, which means it's built around conversation and dramatic moments rather than complex rules. You describe what your hero does; when that action matches one of the game's moves, you roll. Think of it like this:

The Netflix Drama Analogy

Many RPGs play like action movies - lots of planning, tactics, and resource management. Masks plays like a teen drama series - every episode focuses on character development, relationships, and emotional growth. The superpowers are the backdrop for the real story.

The Roll: 2d6 + a Label

Every roll in Masks works the same way: roll two six-sided dice and add one of your five Labels (Danger, Freak, Savior, Superior and Mundane). Labels run from −2 to +3, and they describe how your hero sees themselves right now. They shift up and down during play as people tell your hero who they are.

10 or more: a full hit. You do it, usually with a choice of good effects.
7 to 9: a partial hit. You do it, but with a cost, a complication or fewer choices.
6 or less: a miss. The GM makes a move, and you mark potential. Fill your five potential boxes and you take an advance, so even failures help your hero grow.

Here are the exact chances for each Label value:

Label	10+ (full hit)	7–9 (partial hit)	6 or less (miss)
−2	2.8%	25.0%	72.2%
−1	8.3%	33.3%	58.3%
+0	16.7%	41.7%	41.7%
+1	27.8%	44.4%	27.8%
+2	41.7%	41.7%	16.7%
+3	58.3%	33.3%	8.3%

Instead of hit points, heroes mark emotional conditions (Afraid, Angry, Guilty, Hopeless, Insecure), each giving −2 to particular moves. The next part, Labels, Conditions & Moves, covers all of this in detail.

The World of Masks: Halcyon City

The core rulebook gives you a ready-made home: Halcyon City, a comic-book city where heroes have been fighting villains for generations. The GM's very first agenda is to "make Halcyon City feel like a comic book." Your group fills in the details together, and you can rename it or invent your own city if you prefer.

What Defines Halcyon City

Generations of heroes - The city's history runs through the Gold, Silver, Bronze and Modern generations of heroes, each with its own style
Legacy and tradition - Adult heroes who have been around for decades, and who have opinions about how you should do things
Modern day + superheroes - Social media, smartphones, and superpowers
Coming of age - Your team is the new generation, trying to find its place

What Does Play Look Like?

Instead of "I attack the robot," conversations in Masks sound more like:

Example Scene

GM: "Major Meridian lands beside you. 'Kid, real heroes don't negotiate with villains. Stay behind me and do as you're told.'"

Player: "No. I'm going to stop the villain my way. I'm going to try to talk to them first, see if I can understand why they're doing this."

GM: "Major Meridian has Influence over you, and he just told you what a real hero is. If you accept that, I'll shift your Labels. If you don't, roll to Reject Influence and tell me what you hope to prove."

Why Choose Masks?

Masks is perfect for groups who want to explore:

flowchart LR R(("Why play Masks?")) --> A["Character growth identity, values, relationships"] R --> B["Emotional drama teen struggles, adult expectations, peer pressure"] R --> C["Superhero action powers as metaphor, team dynamics, saving the day"] R --> D["Shared storytelling player agency, improvisation"]

Where Masks Comes From

Masks: A New Generation was designed by Brendan Conway and published by Magpie Games. It was crowdfunded on Kickstarter in autumn 2015, where it raised more than $100,000, and the finished book reached backers and shops in 2016–17; it is generally dated 2017. That year it won the ENnie Silver award for Best Family Game.

The official first-edition line includes:

The core rulebook - ten playbooks (Beacon, Bull, Delinquent, Doomed, Janus, Legacy, Nova, Outsider, Protégé, Transformed), Halcyon City, and everything the GM needs. It was later also released as a Playbook Edition and a Phone Edition PDF.
Halcyon City Herald Collection - in-world newspaper articles plus five more playbooks: the Innocent, the Joined, the Newborn, the Reformed and the Star.
Secrets of A.E.G.I.S. - a closer look at the agency A.E.G.I.S., with the Brain and Soldier playbooks and two playsets.
Unbound - three playbooks (the Harbinger, the Nomad and the Scion) plus new playsets.
Card decks - the Deck of Influence and the Deck of Villainy.

Magpie also offers the ten core playbooks and the player and GM reference sheets as free downloads on its website.

Which edition does this guide cover?

This guide covers the first edition of Masks (the core rulebook released 2016–17). Supplement playbooks and rules are mentioned only in clearly labelled notes. In 2025 Magpie Games announced a second edition, with crowdfunding planned for autumn 2026; its rules may differ from what you read here.

Your First Steps

Ready to dive into the world of teenage superheroes? Here's what you need:

What You'll Need

The Masks: A New Generation core rulebook (at least for the GM)
A GM and a small group of players
Two six-sided dice (2d6) - one pair can be shared around the table
Character sheets, called playbooks (the free downloads are the easiest place to start)
An open mind about emotional storytelling

Try It at the Table

Character Concept Creation

Before getting into the rules, try this:

Think of your favorite teenage character from any superhero media
What makes them compelling? (Hint: it's usually not their powers)
What internal conflicts do they face?
How do adults in their life try to influence them?
What do they want to prove about themselves?

Write your answers down - they'll come in handy in the next part, Labels, Conditions & Moves.