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Speaking of superhero RPGs, Magpie Games’ has the pre-launch Kickstarter page for Masks: A New Generation 2E up. Follow today!
Masks: A New Generation might be one of the most melodramatic superhero RPGs out there right now. It was a breakout hit when the game first launched, a decade ago, and it’s not hard to see why. Masks is a superhero game that focuses entirely on telling the kinds of stories that you find in comics like Teen Titans or the New Warriors or the Avengers Academy or Blue Beetle, any of the many titles out there about teenage superheroes who have to deal with both coming of age and their own superpowers.
Now, after a decade, it’s getting a 2nd Edition. With updated rules, revisions, and all-new playbooks, Masks 2E looks to expand the game and make being a hero even more… super. Let’s take a look.
Masks: A New Generation 2nd Edition – 10th Anniversary Kickstarter Coming Soon
When Masks first came out in 2016, it changed the game. It was one of the big breakout PbtA hacks, appealing to players with its diverse range of teen superhero playbooks, and the super-powered world of Halcyon City. If you’ve never played it, you absolutely should.
It’s got a great take on PbtA combat; you can see its evolution in the “DNA” of Avatar Legends, another of Magpie’s big, flashy-powered, but character-full RPGs. There’s a sort of positional game where you decide your approach based on who you’re fighting and what your character is all about. It’s fun. And since the Kickstarter hasn’t even launched yet, there’s still plenty of time to take the old rules for a spin.
“In 2016 Magpie Games released Masks: A New Generation, an ENNIE award-winning tabletop roleplaying game of teenage superhero adventure. Building upon the Powered by the Apocalypse engine that fueled Dungeon World, Monster Hearts, Urban Shadows, and other indie tabletop RPGs, Masks gave players new tools to explore stories like those found in Young Justice, Teen Titans, and Young Avengers, as well as an amazing setting filled with robot dinosaurs, other generations of superheroes, and more – Halcyon City!
Ten years later, Magpie Games is excited to announce the return of Masks: A New Generation with a Second Edition, updating the games’ rules, look, and tools to better support the stories Masks already tells so well. Featuring new playbooks, new locations, and revised mechanics – as well as all new Halcyon City lore – Masks 2E will give your heroes everything they need to figure out who they are in a world filled with heroes!”
As I said earlier, superhero RPGs are stepping into the spotlight right now. And Masks has always been an interesting lens to view that fantasy through. Because of the nature of PbtA playbooks, your superpowers are flexible, but it’s more about the way you play, the fictional stuff your character does, and the reasons they do it that will shape your gameplay and the stories you tell.
While we don’t know when it’s going to launch just yet, you can sign up to be notified when the Kickstarter goes live by following the link below.
See you in the next generation of Halcyon City!
Bell of Lost Souls Staff Writer and DM, J.R. covers RPGs of all stripes and on occasion eats sandwiches. You can ask him about either at [email protected]
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