Masks and the two-playbook cycle
May. 23rd, 2021 01:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mneme posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
labcatsWe played through an entire campaign of Masks, a new Generation over the last year and a half. Mostly during the Pandemic.
The thing that's not entirely obvious at first is that Masks runs on a two playbook cycle. You pretty much always start with one playbook, with its own power set and issues -- and then once you've run through it, you switch to a second playbook (probably partially guided by how you've taken your power set or where you are narratively in the game; someone who has been pushing their initial powers to be strong and stronger might switch to the Nova or the Doomed; someone who has been courting a mentor might switch to the Legacy or the Protégé, someone who has been playing a lot with your relationship to your "normal" life might reasonably swap to the Beacon or the Janus, etc.
(Of course, since you don't get the power set of a new playbook, nor their origin events, you don't have to cleave exactly to their chrome--but it's going to be hard to work with a playbook when you can't see the character undergoing their unique team moves or Moments of Truth, so you're going to need enough storyline justification for those moves (and a few other non-optional moves for some playbooks) to really be able to buy a given playbook change.)
Why two playbooks? Well, for starters, that's by default how it works. When you get access to advanced moves, you have the option to (and are eventually forced to, if you don't retire the character or have them become a hero of the city; advances aren't optional and you have a chance of getting experience on every roll of the dice, after all) change to a new playbook. (If you haven't played Masks before, this doesn't mean you lose everything you had from your previous playbook! It's all about the story, so you keep your stats, your powers (probably) and whatever moves and other features you want to and can justify keeping from your old playbook, while getting the starting moves and features from the new one. It can be a pretty sweet deal as long as it fits your vision of the character!).
But while you get a shiny new unchecked advancement list for the new playbook, the below the line ("advanced") advancements don't get unchecked. So since you've already marked off "change Playbooks", you can't do it again when you run out of advancements; you have to retire the character or advance them to a Hero of the City.
Of course, since the "two playbooks" rule isn't a rule, but an effect of how the system, there are, technically, ways to get around it. The Doomed doesn't have a "change Playbooks" move, but "confront your doom on your own terms, and if you survive, change Playbooks" so arguably you can do that and also a regular "change Playbooks" advance. And the Beacon's Drives allow you to change playbooks without checking off "change playbooks" if you run through the whole list -- so technically it's possible to play a character that changes playbooks four times.
Except, probably not. Sure, some people might choose to make their characters into NPCs after their first playbooks, either dropping from the game, or more likely, making up new PCs. And other players might try to follow a "three or more playbooks" cycle.
But unless you have an unusual and unusually committed group, at a certain point you'll hit a place where most of the PCs are all about to grow up (one way or another) and that's usually the right time to wrap up the story. If the GM's on the ball, that's also the point where the GM will try to stage a climax so it makes dramatic sense to end the game on a high note, rather than either a forced restart or ending the game with "and then we all retired or became Heroes of the City," but either way, the mechanics have told you to take a break, and that's ok.
So, this is kind of satisfying overall, except for one thing for me: What about the players who don't want to change playbooks?
Yes, yes, if you don't want to change you can retire your PC (making them a Hero of the City doesn't cause them to retiring them from the hero business, but they're not a PC any more). But the game doesn't really give you an option to stay in the same playbook, doubling down on the things that playbook is about.
But what if it did? A really neat for a hack (expansion really) would be a set of Advanced Playbooks, which you could only switch into if you had already been the playbook they're based on. That way, when you hit the end of life of your original playbook, there would be two options that didn't involve retiring:
* The original Change Playbooks option. Change to a a new Basic playbook, which represents de-emphasizing the original problems and issues you were focused on while a new set of issues and problems become your focus.
* And a new option (also accessed with the Change Playbooks advance): When Changing Playbooks to an Advanced playbook, you'd pick up not a playbook that represented new issues and problems and implied a somewhat different power set, but instead one that doubled down on or responded to one of the two issues that your previous playbook hit -- because in fact the vast majority of playbooks have two big things going on, so it's probably (I just came up with this idea, so I haven't done more than concept work!) easier than you might think to make a playbook that focuses on just one of those issue or delves into them in a deeper issue.
(For instance, here's a partial list:
* The Janus is all about your relationship to your Mask--and your relationship to your mundane life.
* The Delinquent is all about doing the wrong things (often, and breaking the law) for the right reasons...and about having a complicated--sometimes good, sometimes bad--relationship with your team.
* The Bull is all about your sometimes shifting classification of people as your Love and Rival, and your willingness to break anything that gets in your way. (alternatively, if you focus only on the features and celebration moves, it's about your Love and about your Rival).
* The Legacy is all about your privilege as a Legacy hero--and about your relationship to your Legacy.
* The Doomed is all about your Doom/power cycle and your relationship with Nemesis.
(I may go back and do the Nova, the Transformed, the Protégé, and the Outsider but I'm pretty sure they also each have two themes; after all, two main themes is about right for a playbook for most PbtA games!))
So for instance, you could have two natural Advanced playbooks for the Doomed. Either way, when you end the Doomed's Doom arc (without dying), you have defeated your doom, and often conquered your Nemesis. So if you wanted to continue a uniquely Doomed-style arc, two ideas seem fun to me:
1. Double down on Doomed. Sure, you defeated your Doom. But something's happened, and now you're Even More Doomed. This is for someone who ran through the Doomed arc and isn't done with the dangerous power redemption or ruin cycle that makes the Doomed so fun--so in or after defeating your initial doom (and Nemesis) you've picked up a new Doom. Since you've chosen to focus on your Doom and it's good to change things up, I wouldn't tie your Doom to a Nemesis this time (mechanically; of course if the narrative didn't involve their defeat they would still be a threat, and you could hold on to the Time Passes feature that represents that if that was still important to you so it wouldn't need to be handled in the Advanced playbook). Instead, the new playbook would focus on the feeling of doom and the doom/bust cycle, where you gain amazing new powers but using them just hastens your doom.
2. Double down on Nemesis. Again, defeating your Doom often means defeating your Nemesis too, so here I'm tempted to go in a different direction than making the playbook an Avenger who is now locked into a cycle of revenge against the same implacable enemy without Doom. How about instead, the player has conclusively defeated their Nemesis via the time-tested method of coopting them. If the Nemesis is or controls a group you're now the one in charge. If they're a single powerful enemy, they've now acknowledged your rightness and put their power and resources under your command. Either way, you're not doomed any more, but your relationship with your former Nemesis puts you in a precarious position, balancing being a Hero and your relationship with a former (if they're even former) villain or villainous organization. You might have to deal with other enemies of your former Nemesis, or dissention from within, or...well, just use your imagination or the many, many stories that use this trope!
I'm sure I could go further along this thought for other playbooks, but again that's all the time I have for this update. Feel free to comment with your own ideas!
Just one more thought. For Masks as it stands, even though the hack of letting people by default run through three playbooks (just add a second "Change Playbooks" box on the advanced moves chart) would probably work mechanically, it's just not that appealing. It's already (for some character ideas) stretching the concept to do one playbook switch; having a second is generally going to be even harder to justify.
But having Advanced playbooks would change things. It's still the same hack--add a second "Change Playbooks" box on the advanced moves chart, and even though some people might cut their journey off early or extend it using one of the few ways to get more than one (now two) playbook changes, the game would likely end after two playbook changes per player.
But see, now you'd have four basic (yes, basic. Because extra playbook changes and early exits makes the actual number impossible to calculate but the game as a whole will generally move on the normal schedule) paths you could take:
1. You could follow the original default course and switch to entirely new playbooks each time, playing a character who has multiple distinct stages in their life and often goes through different power sets as they cast around for who they really want to be.
2. You could play a character who plays two different basic playbooks, looking for a direction, then decides they've found it for now, picking one of the Advanced playbooks for one of your two original playbooks.
3. You could reverse #2, and play a character who goes through one of their Advanced arcs before switching into their final playbook and issue.
4. Finally you could play a character who is all about one playbook's issues, and proceeds to play through the original playbook, then one Advanced line--and then the other Advanced line, just having fun working through the two different issues in combination and together.
The thing that's not entirely obvious at first is that Masks runs on a two playbook cycle. You pretty much always start with one playbook, with its own power set and issues -- and then once you've run through it, you switch to a second playbook (probably partially guided by how you've taken your power set or where you are narratively in the game; someone who has been pushing their initial powers to be strong and stronger might switch to the Nova or the Doomed; someone who has been courting a mentor might switch to the Legacy or the Protégé, someone who has been playing a lot with your relationship to your "normal" life might reasonably swap to the Beacon or the Janus, etc.
(Of course, since you don't get the power set of a new playbook, nor their origin events, you don't have to cleave exactly to their chrome--but it's going to be hard to work with a playbook when you can't see the character undergoing their unique team moves or Moments of Truth, so you're going to need enough storyline justification for those moves (and a few other non-optional moves for some playbooks) to really be able to buy a given playbook change.)
Why two playbooks? Well, for starters, that's by default how it works. When you get access to advanced moves, you have the option to (and are eventually forced to, if you don't retire the character or have them become a hero of the city; advances aren't optional and you have a chance of getting experience on every roll of the dice, after all) change to a new playbook. (If you haven't played Masks before, this doesn't mean you lose everything you had from your previous playbook! It's all about the story, so you keep your stats, your powers (probably) and whatever moves and other features you want to and can justify keeping from your old playbook, while getting the starting moves and features from the new one. It can be a pretty sweet deal as long as it fits your vision of the character!).
But while you get a shiny new unchecked advancement list for the new playbook, the below the line ("advanced") advancements don't get unchecked. So since you've already marked off "change Playbooks", you can't do it again when you run out of advancements; you have to retire the character or advance them to a Hero of the City.
Of course, since the "two playbooks" rule isn't a rule, but an effect of how the system, there are, technically, ways to get around it. The Doomed doesn't have a "change Playbooks" move, but "confront your doom on your own terms, and if you survive, change Playbooks" so arguably you can do that and also a regular "change Playbooks" advance. And the Beacon's Drives allow you to change playbooks without checking off "change playbooks" if you run through the whole list -- so technically it's possible to play a character that changes playbooks four times.
Except, probably not. Sure, some people might choose to make their characters into NPCs after their first playbooks, either dropping from the game, or more likely, making up new PCs. And other players might try to follow a "three or more playbooks" cycle.
But unless you have an unusual and unusually committed group, at a certain point you'll hit a place where most of the PCs are all about to grow up (one way or another) and that's usually the right time to wrap up the story. If the GM's on the ball, that's also the point where the GM will try to stage a climax so it makes dramatic sense to end the game on a high note, rather than either a forced restart or ending the game with "and then we all retired or became Heroes of the City," but either way, the mechanics have told you to take a break, and that's ok.
So, this is kind of satisfying overall, except for one thing for me: What about the players who don't want to change playbooks?
Yes, yes, if you don't want to change you can retire your PC (making them a Hero of the City doesn't cause them to retiring them from the hero business, but they're not a PC any more). But the game doesn't really give you an option to stay in the same playbook, doubling down on the things that playbook is about.
But what if it did? A really neat for a hack (expansion really) would be a set of Advanced Playbooks, which you could only switch into if you had already been the playbook they're based on. That way, when you hit the end of life of your original playbook, there would be two options that didn't involve retiring:
* The original Change Playbooks option. Change to a a new Basic playbook, which represents de-emphasizing the original problems and issues you were focused on while a new set of issues and problems become your focus.
* And a new option (also accessed with the Change Playbooks advance): When Changing Playbooks to an Advanced playbook, you'd pick up not a playbook that represented new issues and problems and implied a somewhat different power set, but instead one that doubled down on or responded to one of the two issues that your previous playbook hit -- because in fact the vast majority of playbooks have two big things going on, so it's probably (I just came up with this idea, so I haven't done more than concept work!) easier than you might think to make a playbook that focuses on just one of those issue or delves into them in a deeper issue.
(For instance, here's a partial list:
* The Janus is all about your relationship to your Mask--and your relationship to your mundane life.
* The Delinquent is all about doing the wrong things (often, and breaking the law) for the right reasons...and about having a complicated--sometimes good, sometimes bad--relationship with your team.
* The Bull is all about your sometimes shifting classification of people as your Love and Rival, and your willingness to break anything that gets in your way. (alternatively, if you focus only on the features and celebration moves, it's about your Love and about your Rival).
* The Legacy is all about your privilege as a Legacy hero--and about your relationship to your Legacy.
* The Doomed is all about your Doom/power cycle and your relationship with Nemesis.
(I may go back and do the Nova, the Transformed, the Protégé, and the Outsider but I'm pretty sure they also each have two themes; after all, two main themes is about right for a playbook for most PbtA games!))
So for instance, you could have two natural Advanced playbooks for the Doomed. Either way, when you end the Doomed's Doom arc (without dying), you have defeated your doom, and often conquered your Nemesis. So if you wanted to continue a uniquely Doomed-style arc, two ideas seem fun to me:
1. Double down on Doomed. Sure, you defeated your Doom. But something's happened, and now you're Even More Doomed. This is for someone who ran through the Doomed arc and isn't done with the dangerous power redemption or ruin cycle that makes the Doomed so fun--so in or after defeating your initial doom (and Nemesis) you've picked up a new Doom. Since you've chosen to focus on your Doom and it's good to change things up, I wouldn't tie your Doom to a Nemesis this time (mechanically; of course if the narrative didn't involve their defeat they would still be a threat, and you could hold on to the Time Passes feature that represents that if that was still important to you so it wouldn't need to be handled in the Advanced playbook). Instead, the new playbook would focus on the feeling of doom and the doom/bust cycle, where you gain amazing new powers but using them just hastens your doom.
2. Double down on Nemesis. Again, defeating your Doom often means defeating your Nemesis too, so here I'm tempted to go in a different direction than making the playbook an Avenger who is now locked into a cycle of revenge against the same implacable enemy without Doom. How about instead, the player has conclusively defeated their Nemesis via the time-tested method of coopting them. If the Nemesis is or controls a group you're now the one in charge. If they're a single powerful enemy, they've now acknowledged your rightness and put their power and resources under your command. Either way, you're not doomed any more, but your relationship with your former Nemesis puts you in a precarious position, balancing being a Hero and your relationship with a former (if they're even former) villain or villainous organization. You might have to deal with other enemies of your former Nemesis, or dissention from within, or...well, just use your imagination or the many, many stories that use this trope!
I'm sure I could go further along this thought for other playbooks, but again that's all the time I have for this update. Feel free to comment with your own ideas!
Just one more thought. For Masks as it stands, even though the hack of letting people by default run through three playbooks (just add a second "Change Playbooks" box on the advanced moves chart) would probably work mechanically, it's just not that appealing. It's already (for some character ideas) stretching the concept to do one playbook switch; having a second is generally going to be even harder to justify.
But having Advanced playbooks would change things. It's still the same hack--add a second "Change Playbooks" box on the advanced moves chart, and even though some people might cut their journey off early or extend it using one of the few ways to get more than one (now two) playbook changes, the game would likely end after two playbook changes per player.
But see, now you'd have four basic (yes, basic. Because extra playbook changes and early exits makes the actual number impossible to calculate but the game as a whole will generally move on the normal schedule) paths you could take:
1. You could follow the original default course and switch to entirely new playbooks each time, playing a character who has multiple distinct stages in their life and often goes through different power sets as they cast around for who they really want to be.
2. You could play a character who plays two different basic playbooks, looking for a direction, then decides they've found it for now, picking one of the Advanced playbooks for one of your two original playbooks.
3. You could reverse #2, and play a character who goes through one of their Advanced arcs before switching into their final playbook and issue.
4. Finally you could play a character who is all about one playbook's issues, and proceeds to play through the original playbook, then one Advanced line--and then the other Advanced line, just having fun working through the two different issues in combination and together.
