Masks: A New Generation | The Tomorrow Academy: Year One [Intro to Xenobiology]

About the adventure

Farewell to Yesterday... History Lesson: (https://youtu.be/EtHKXjw843o) 20 years ago, the world was struck by a Solar Storm now known as the White Event. An event that forever transformed the world and heralded the emergence of the Deltas – people with superhuman powers. For the last 20 years the world has struggled to come to grips with the destruction and rapid changes unleashed by the Event. Welcome to Tomorrow! The Tomorrow Academy, is an independent, coeducational boarding school, a combination middle/high school that stands ready to meet, match, and expand the minds and passions of some of the brightest Delta students in the world. We understand that our students possess both unique gifts and face special difficulties. We are dedicated to providing a safe environment with an expert staff ready to provide the best education and care on the planet! Zero to Hero. Much like Harry Potter, Buffy or Young Justice this game is intended to follow the development of a group of young heroes from ages ~13 to 23. The game is intended to be a balance between the trials and tribulations of school life and challenges of being a teen superhero. Each Semester is intended to be an adventure and each year a full story arc. With the setting advancing and the threats escalating every year through the 7+ years of Academy life. Each year will be a bit of a reset and while the starting game system will be Masks the game will likely grow into another system such as Mutants and Masterminds, Fate, Savage worlds or Aberrant. Inspirations: Harry Potter, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Smallville, My Hero Academia, Young Justice, Teen Titans, X-men: Evolution, Kim Possible, Danny Phantom, Ben 10, The X-men, Generation X, Avengers Academy, and many more.

Additional Details

How to prepare

You will need Discord a (clear) mic and optionally a webcam. Nothing else is required as characters and rules will be introduced in the first session. The game will be hosted in Foundry but only an internet connection is needed I will provide the Foundry link and the discord channel before the game. If the the player wishes to develop a backstory for their character we can discuss it but the intent of the game is to follow the characters as they grow and develop their own story in the game.

What I provide

I have set up the game in Foundry which will handle all the rules, setting information, the character sheets, the die rolling and most anything else we will need. I also have a Discord set up for voice. There are a collection of PDFs and notes that are available in both foundry and discord which the players can access I have a large collection of character art for anyone who desires it but can freely include personal art as well.

Gameplay details

I would consider this game to be a significant hack of the MASKS RPG and not totally true to that game or its style. None of the playbooks from the traditional Masks RPG are available instead there is a list of new school themed playbooks, such as the School Idol (The Idol), The Nerd (The Brain), or the High School Hustler (The Delinquent). Players should definitely expect a more structured and standard style of play then most Masks games, in fact the game is intended to make the system more more broad and robust, and ultimately easier to translate to another system eventually. The game is still quite collaborative drawing concepts from several other RPGs allowing the players to guide the development of their class, their classmates and the school. However there are other elements that are darker and less player responsive, and while combat will start off light hearted, much like one of its primary inspirations, Harry Potter, things will eventually take a darker more serious turn escalating into a fully mature setting with real repercussions and stakes. There is an overarching plot that span across all the academy years (again like Harry Potter or Young Justice) dealing with elements of intrigue, trust and confronting threats no one else can or is willing to deal with. A large part of the game is about the personal growth that comes with responsibly and maturity. I expect the game will feature a fair amount of "arms length" roleplay. Player's are certainly welcome to inhabit their characters and do their voices but the overall intent is that there is some distance between the player and the character. The game will be held in Foundry (you only need an internet connection to access) with voice over Discord (mic required, webcam optional.) The games I run tend be a theater of the mind with maps & images so a hybrid style perhaps. I tend to forget to take breaks during a session but have no problem with people taking breaks for themselves as needed. For this game The Session zero is a special full session in and of itself. During this I will layout the setting and then we will be building the characters and the their academy class as well as discussing what we are all hoping to see from the game and what we are hoping to get out of it.

Content warnings

(none)

Safety tools used

Debriefing
Lines and Veils
Luxton Technique Discussion
Open Door
Session 0
Stars and Wishes

How will character creation work

Characters will be created in a session zero. In session zero I will introduce the general guidelines for the game, the setting, and the rules. Also during session zero the group will create their characters and their classmates. The game does not use the standard playbooks for Masks instead using a suite of school inspired playbooks. Also, though optional it is preferred that players will randomly draw their powers. Since the character will be ~13 at the start of the game their is not much room for a characters backstory though I am open to pitches. The intent is that the character will mostly develop from a blank slate being molded by their experiences during play.

Players can expect

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