Beyond Traditional Stats
Forget Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence. Masks doesn't measure what your hero can lift or how fast they can run. Its five stats, called Labels, measure how your hero sees themselves - and the people whose opinions they care about keep pushing those Labels around. It's a direct simulation of being a teenager: you're still working out who you are, and everyone has an opinion about it.
The Social Media Analogy
Traditional RPG stats are like a resume - fixed measures of capability. Masks' Labels are more like the self-image you build out of everyone's comments. When the people you care about keep calling you "the responsible one," you start to see yourself that way, and you get better at acting like it. When they treat you like a screw-up, you start to believe them, and the things they say you're bad at really do get harder.
Labels: How You See Yourself
Every hero has the same five Labels. Each one is a number from -2 to +3, and you add one to your roll whenever a move tells you to "roll + Danger", "roll + Freak" and so on. Your playbook gives you a starting spread, and at character creation you add +1 to a Label of your choice.
Danger
High: You see yourself as tough, threatening, able to hurt people
Low: You see yourself as harmless, gentle, or weak
Basic move: Directly Engage a Threat
Freak
High: You see yourself as strange, powerful, unlike anyone else
Low: You see yourself as basically normal, nothing special
Basic move: Unleash Your Powers
Savior
High: You see yourself as a protector, someone who sacrifices for others
Low: You see yourself as looking out for number one
Basic move: Defend
Superior
High: You see yourself as smarter, cleverer, better than the people around you
Low: You see yourself as out of your depth
Basic moves: Assess the Situation, Provoke Someone
Mundane
High: You see yourself as a normal person who understands other people
Low: You see yourself as cut off from ordinary human life
Basic moves: Comfort or Support, Pierce the Mask
Shifting Labels
Labels move during play. Almost every shift is a pair: one Label goes up by 1 and another goes down by 1. A shift means your view of yourself is changing - you see yourself more as the Label that went up and less as the one that went down. Shifts come from accepting what someone with Influence tells you, from Comfort or Support, from Reject Influence, from acting selfishly with the Team pool, from the end-of-session move and from many playbook moves.
Past the edge: if you ever need to shift a Label above +3 or below -2, you mark a condition instead, and the GM chooses which one. Being pushed further into an identity you're already maxed out on hurts. Later, a Label can also be locked (after your Moment of Truth, or through an advance); a locked Label never shifts again.
Rolling the Dice
Masks is a Powered by the Apocalypse game. When a move triggers, you roll 2d6 + the Label the move names, plus any modifiers, and read the total:
- 10 or more: a full hit - you get what you wanted.
- 7-9: a partial hit - you get it, but with a cost, a hard choice or fewer options.
- 6 or less: a miss - the GM makes a move, and you mark potential.
There's no general 12+ result in the basic moves; a 10 and a 15 read the same. (At least one playbook move does mention a 12+ result - the Janus's I'll save you! - but only for itself.) Modifiers stack on top of the Label: each marked condition gives -2 to its moves, holding Influence over your target gives +1, and teammates can spend Team for +1 each. "+1 forward" means +1 to your next roll that fits; "+1 ongoing" means +1 to every roll that fits for as long as the move says.
The Odds
Exact chances for 2d6 + Label across the whole range, before any other modifiers. Each cell shows how many of the 36 possible rolls land there; "Miss" is 6 or less, and "Any hit" is 7 or more.
| Label | 10+ | 7-9 | Miss | Any hit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -2 | 1/36 (2.8%) | 9/36 (25.0%) | 26/36 (72.2%) | 10/36 (27.8%) |
| -1 | 3/36 (8.3%) | 12/36 (33.3%) | 21/36 (58.3%) | 15/36 (41.7%) |
| 0 | 6/36 (16.7%) | 15/36 (41.7%) | 15/36 (41.7%) | 21/36 (58.3%) |
| +1 | 10/36 (27.8%) | 16/36 (44.4%) | 10/36 (27.8%) | 26/36 (72.2%) |
| +2 | 15/36 (41.7%) | 15/36 (41.7%) | 6/36 (16.7%) | 30/36 (83.3%) |
| +3 | 21/36 (58.3%) | 12/36 (33.3%) | 3/36 (8.3%) | 33/36 (91.7%) |
Every step of +1 is a big swing, which is why a single Label shift matters so much. A hero at -2 misses nearly three times in four - but every one of those misses marks potential, so the things you're worst at are also where you grow fastest. To try rolls yourself, with Labels, conditions and Team built in, use the Dice Roller.
How Labels Change the Game
Labels aren't just flavor text - they set your odds on every move and create a feedback loop between how you see yourself and how well you do. Here's how it works:
Example: The Perception Spiral
Scenario: Alex (playing a Beacon) scans a villain's hideout for the security system's weak point.
- GM: "You're sizing up the room - that's Assess the Situation. Roll + Superior."
- Alex: "My Superior is -1. My hero doesn't really believe they're the smart one."
- Result: Alex rolls a 5 total - a miss. Alex marks potential, and the GM makes a move: the alarms go off.
- Consequence: The team's tech whiz, who has Influence over Alex's hero, snaps, "Maybe leave the computer stuff to me next time."
- Mechanical Effect: Someone with Influence just told Alex's hero who they are. Alex can accept it (the GM shifts Superior down - here it would drop to -2 - and another Label up) or roll to reject their Influence.
Conditions: Emotions Instead of Hit Points
Masks has no hit points. When a hero gets hurt, scared or rattled, they mark one of five conditions. When a move says "mark a condition", you choose which one, unless the GM names one (often after a hard move). Each marked condition gives -2 to specific moves, and each one has an action that clears it at the end of any scene in which you do it:
| Condition | -2 to | Clear it by |
|---|---|---|
| Afraid | Directly Engage a Threat | Running from something difficult |
| Angry | Comfort or Support, Pierce the Mask | Hurting someone or breaking something important |
| Guilty | Provoke Someone, Assess the Situation | Making a sacrifice to absolve your guilt |
| Hopeless | Unleash Your Powers | Flinging yourself into easy relief |
| Insecure | Defend, Reject Influence | Taking foolhardy action without talking to your team |
Notice that most clearing actions are things a sensible hero wouldn't do. That's the point: a teenager who's angry really can feel better by smashing something, and the game rewards you for playing it out. You can also clear a condition when someone comforts or supports you, or when you defend someone, and plenty of other moves (the end-of-session move, Team moves, playbook moves) clear them too.
Taken Out
If you need to mark a condition and all five are already marked, you are taken out: you lose consciousness or flee. The GM tells you when you come back into another scene, and you may clear one condition.
Influence: Who Matters to You
Influence represents whose opinion actually affects your character. It's not about power or authority - it's about emotional connection. Someone with Influence over you is someone whose words, actions and opinions you care about.
Understanding Influence
High School Parallel
The Principal has authority but might not have Influence - you don't care what they think of you personally.
Your Best Friend has no official authority but huge Influence - their opinion of you matters deeply.
Your Crush might have Influence even if you barely know them - you care how they see you.
Superhero Version
The Mayor wants you to be more careful. Like every adult, they start with Influence over you - but you can push them out of your head.
Your Teammate criticizes your recklessness - that hits hard because you respect them.
Your Nemesis calls you weak - it stings because part of you worries they're right.
How Influence Works
Influence is simple bookkeeping: either a character has Influence over you or they don't. There's no number and no limit on how many people can hold it.
- Giving it: at any time, you can give Influence to any character who doesn't already have it over you. Your playbook tells you who starts with it, and all adults have Influence over you when first introduced.
- Holding it: when you have Influence over someone, take +1 to all moves targeting them - including rejecting their Influence.
- Taking advantage of it: surrender the Influence you hold over someone to choose one: give them -2 on a move they just made (after the roll), inflict a condition on them, or take an extra +1 on a move targeting them (after the roll).
- Gaining it twice: if you already have Influence over a teammate and would gain it again, you immediately shift one of their Labels up and one down, your choice. Over an NPC, you take +1 forward against them instead.
The big one: when someone with Influence over you tells you who you are or how the world works, you either accept what they say - and the GM adjusts your Labels to match - or you reject their Influence with a roll. If they don't have Influence over you, their words don't move your Labels at all.
Example: your mentor, who has Influence over you, says your recklessness makes you more dangerous than heroic. If you accept, the GM might shift your Danger up and your Savior down. If you reject and roll a 10+, you could cancel your mentor's Influence and take +1 forward against them, and clear a condition by immediately proving them wrong.
Basic Moves: The Engine of Play
Moves are triggered by what happens in the fiction: when your hero does the thing a move describes, the move triggers and you roll. There are seven basic moves, each tied to one Label - Danger, Freak and Savior drive one each, while Superior and Mundane drive two each. Two more moves round out the core set: Take a Powerful Blow and Reject Influence.
The Seven Basic Moves
Directly Engage a Threat
When: You directly engage a threat - you fight
Roll: 2d6 + Danger
On a hit: You trade blows. On a 10+ pick two, on a 7-9 pick one: resist or avoid their blows; take something from them; create an opportunity for your allies; impress, surprise or frighten the opposition.
Unleash Your Powers
When: You unleash your powers to overcome an obstacle, reshape your environment or extend your senses
Roll: 2d6 + Freak
On a hit: You do it. On a 7-9, mark a condition or the GM tells you how the effect is unstable or temporary.
Defend
When: You defend someone or something from an immediate threat
Roll: 2d6 + Savior
Against an NPC threat: on a hit you keep them safe and choose one: add a Team to the pool, take Influence over someone you protect, or clear a condition. On a 7-9 it costs you: you expose yourself to danger or escalate the situation.
Against a PC: on a hit, they take -2 to their roll. On a 7-9, you expose yourself to cost, retribution or judgment.
Assess the Situation
When: You assess the situation
Roll: 2d6 + Superior
On a hit: Ask the GM questions - two on a 10+, one on a 7-9 - such as what here is the biggest threat, what's in the greatest danger, or how could we end this quickly. Take +1 while acting on the answers.
Provoke Someone
When: You provoke someone susceptible to your words; say what you want them to do
Roll: 2d6 + Superior
An NPC: on a 10+ they rise to the bait. On a 7-9 they can instead choose one: they stumble (you take +1 forward against them), they err (you gain a critical opportunity), or they overreact (you gain Influence over them).
A PC: on a 10+ both, on a 7-9 one: if they do it, add a Team to the pool; if they don't, they mark a condition.
Comfort or Support
When: You comfort or support someone
Roll: 2d6 + Mundane
On a hit: They hear you. If they open up to you, they mark potential, clear a condition or shift their Labels. On a 10+, you can also add a Team to the pool or clear one of your own conditions.
Pierce the Mask
When: You try to see the person beneath someone's mask
Roll: 2d6 + Mundane
On a hit: Ask questions - three on a 10+, one on a 7-9 - such as what are you really planning, what do you want me to do, or how could I gain Influence over you?
Two More Core Moves
Take a Powerful Blow (inverted)
When: You take a powerful blow - physical or emotional
Roll: 2d6 + the number of conditions you have marked. High is bad.
10+: choose one - remove yourself from the situation (flee, pass out); lose control of yourself or your powers in a terrible way; or take two options from the 7-9 list.
7-9: choose one - lash out verbally (provoke a teammate to foolhardy action, or take advantage of your Influence to inflict a condition); give ground, so your opposition gets an opportunity; or struggle past the pain and mark two conditions.
Miss: you stand strong. Mark potential as normal and say how you weather the blow.
Reject Influence
When: Someone with Influence over you tells you who you are, and you won't accept it
Roll: 2d6 with no Label added (the official reference sheet names none), +1 if you hold Influence over them, and −2 if you're Insecure
On a hit: You hold to yourself. On a 10+ choose two, on a 7-9 one: clear a condition or mark potential by acting to prove them wrong; shift one Label up and one down; cancel their Influence and take +1 forward against them.
Miss: Mark a condition, and the GM adjusts your Labels.
Because Take a Powerful Blow is inverted, the odds table reads backwards: with no conditions marked you stand strong on 15/36 rolls (41.7%), but with two marked that drops to 6/36 (16.7%), and with three or more only 3/36 (8.3%) or fewer. The more battered you are, the worse a big hit goes.
Moves in Practice
Because each move rolls a different Label, your self-image decides which approaches work for you - and the scene keeps tempting you toward the ones that don't:
Example: The Combat Dilemma
Situation: A villain is threatening civilians. Your character wants to stop them.
Your Options:
- Directly Engage a Threat (Danger): Fight them head-on and trade blows
- Unleash Your Powers (Freak): Tear up the street to cut them off
- Defend (Savior): Put yourself between the villain and the civilians
- Assess the Situation (Superior): Look for the clever way to end it quickly
- Provoke Someone (Superior): Taunt the villain into chasing you instead
The Drama: You'll lean on your best Label - but the moves themselves don't shift Labels. What shifts them is how the people with Influence react afterwards: the hero who smashed the villain through a bus shelter is about to hear exactly what the police captain thinks of them.
Team, Potential and Growth
The Team Pool
The team shares a pool of Team points. The GM adds one at the start of every session, entering battle against a dangerous foe as a team adds two (more or fewer depending on the leader and the team's state), and moves like Defend and Comfort or Support can add more. Spend Team one for one to give a teammate +1, or act selfishly - remove one Team and shift one of your Labels up and one down, even after rolling. When time passes, the pool resets to one Team. The Team Dynamics part covers it in detail.
Potential and Advances
Every miss marks potential; so do many other moves. Your potential track has five boxes - fill it and you take an advance from your playbook's list (new moves, +1 to a Label, unlocking your Moment of Truth...). After five advances, a second list opens up, including adult moves, locking a Label and changing playbooks.
Team Moves
Each playbook has two Team moves: one for when you share a triumphant celebration with someone, and one for when you share a vulnerability or weakness with someone. What they do depends on the playbook.
Moment of Truth
Once you unlock it, you can trigger your Moment of Truth at any time: read your playbook's script aloud and take control of the story for that moment. Afterwards, you permanently lock one Label - some part of you is now set in stone.
How It All Works Together
The beautiful thing about Masks is how Labels, Influence and moves create a self-reinforcing cycle of character development:
Try It at the Table
Reading the Room
For each scenario, identify:
- Which move would be triggered
- What Label you'd roll with
- What a hit gets you
Scenario A: You throw yourself between a teammate and an energy blast fired by a villain
Scenario B: You try to calm down a panicking civilian
Scenario C: In the middle of a fight, you scan the warehouse for something to use
Scenario D: You blast through a wall with your heat vision
Show answers
- A: Defend (Savior) - your teammate is safe, and you choose one: add a Team, take Influence over them, or clear a condition. On a 7-9 you also expose yourself to danger or escalate things.
- B: Comfort or Support (Mundane) - they hear you, and if they open up to you they can clear a condition and calm down.
- C: Assess the Situation (Superior) - ask "what here can I use to...?" and take +1 while acting on the answer.
- D: Unleash Your Powers (Freak) - the wall comes down; on a 7-9, mark a condition or the effect is unstable or temporary.
Influence Mapping
Think about a character you created in Getting Started. Who would have Influence over them and why?
- List 3-5 people whose opinion would matter to your character
- For each, explain why their opinion carries weight
- Consider: it's not about power, it's about emotional connection
For Game Masters: Making the System Sing
Key GM Principles
- Ask about Labels: "How does it feel when everyone expects you to be the responsible one?"
- Use Influence strategically: "Tell them who they are or who they should be" is a GM move - put it in the mouths of NPCs who hold Influence, at dramatic moments
- Make misses interesting: A miss marks potential and hands you a move; make it change the situation, not just stall it
- Inflict conditions with purpose: Naming the condition ("mark Guilty") after a hard move tells the player exactly how the scene landed
- Focus on relationships: The action is the backdrop for emotional drama
Why This System Matters
Masks' design solves several problems that traditional RPGs struggle with:
Character Growth Through Play
Instead of gaining levels, characters evolve through their choices and relationships
Meaningful Social Mechanics
Relationships have mechanical weight and affect gameplay directly
Emotional Realism
Conditions are feelings, and the way to clear them is the way teenagers often do - by acting out
Natural Drama
Conflict emerges from character choices as much as from external threats
Related Topics to Explore
Powered by the Apocalypse Design
How PbtA games create narrative focus through their moves
Social Psychology in Games
How game mechanics can model real psychological phenomena
Narrative Game Design
Designing mechanics that support story rather than simulation
Adolescent Development
The real psychology behind Masks' character growth systems