A first for the blog today – a guest post, by esteemed friend of the Burn, Neil Gow! He’s written below about setting up a one-shot of Masks, the ultimate game of teenage superheroes Powered by the Apocalypse. Neil’s a fantastic PBTA GM – I did a multi-table Masks game last year with him – and as a player in the game he’s writing about, can confirm how well it all slotted together. Check out more PBTA posts on here too!

A Short Game of Masks: Getting It Right

I love a good game of Masks – it’s easily the most satisfying superhero game I have played, understanding that the really important parts of any superteam are not the ‘What’ of an encounter, but the ‘Why’ – emotions, relationships and complications are far more important than how many feet someone is knocked back. Sadly, the traditional short one-shot of Masks tends to deliver half of that experience. You get the build up of some awesome interplay, but rarely any pay off. So, when I had the chance to run a double-slotter (a ‘long shot’ if you will…) of the game at the Revelation convention in Sheffield, I was determined to make it count! So, how did I prepare?

While you’re reading this, I should tell you about my Patreon. Patrons get access to content 7 days before they hit this site, the chance to request articles or content, and the chance to play in one-shot games, for a very reasonable backer level of £2 per month. If you like what you read, want to support the blog, and have the funds for it, please consider supporting here. Telling people about the blog, and sharing links/retweeting is much appreciated also – thanks!

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