The Spiderweb | A Gritty Street-Level Superhero Campaign

About the adventure

In an alternate Halcyon City, one where the world is stripped of its lineage of superheroes, invasions from space and metahuman law enforcement agencies, one organization rules supreme—the Spiderweb cartel. With most other organizations destroyed or subverted, it now controls almost all the neighborhoods in the city. Except for the East Side. Home to a large population of immigrants of various ethnic groups—both new and long settled—and students and artists of all stripes, it borders glitzy Downtown and affluent Swan Heights. A few years ago, an increase in crime led to an exodus among the more well-off, leaving its streets and municipal services severely wanting, due to reduction in tax revenue. However, with the ingenuity of its creative inhabitants—the East Side is beginning to undergo a renaissance of sorts and... an increase in green-eyed envy, topped off with mean-spirited malice. Utter and complete pandemonium is kept in check by both the ferocious Helldrake Syndicate and the raging costumed vigilante known as Tarantula Hawk. Beginner-friendly 🔰 LGBT+ friendly 🌈 Play as young adult superheroes 🦹🏻🦸🏾‍♂️ Defend your neighborhood 🛡️ Immerse yourself in a low-power, gritty, street-level setting 🌇 Focus on story, drama and character choices 🎭 Engage in exciting physical & emotional conflicts 🔥 Immerse yourself in improvisatory and collaborative storytelling 💬 In Spiderweb, we'll be creating stories in the vein of Marvel's Defenders and Heroes for Hire, where you play as a team of superheroes that are less about colorful costumes, grandiose names, epic battles, world-saving heroics; and more about friends, living in the same place, and trying to make their homes better. Image by prettysleepy1 from Pixabay

Additional Details

How to prepare

🎤 A mic is required. A webcam is optional. 📜 To prepare, look through the playbooks and have some ideas for Session 0. Think about your hero's name, look, backstory and their abilities, moves and extras. The rules are easy to pick up and will be explained at the beginning of the session and during play. 🕒 If you're joining midway through, you will need to undergo an onboarding session one hour before the session starts.

What I provide

📃 Rules reference sheets, playbooks, and additional info for each playbook. 🖥️ Character sheets and dice roller in Role

Gameplay details

✨ The aim of this campaign is to have a fun collaborative storytelling journey together and to have a positive experience interacting with others. To this end, players are expected to be compassionate, supportive, and respectful of others. 🕸️ Inspired by Gotham and Marvel's street-level New York, The Spiderweb features young adults in a low-power, gritty, street-level setting. Nevertheless, the standard Masks fictional rules still apply—you all chose to be on the team, don't resort to killing to solve problems, aren't openly hunted by the authorities yet, and aren't beloved by the city. Ultimately, the game isn't about murder, death or violence, but about hope and community in the face of adversity. 💡 Masks is a game of discovery and creation. During the game, you will often be asked to answer questions impromptu by inventing new truths about the world and be flexible when new secrets and huge revelations suddenly come into play. Rather than having every backstory detail created beforehand, we'll also generate backstory as we play. 💥 The game works best when players lean into drama and conflict instead of avoiding them. Combat might feature prominently in the game, but they are handled narratively instead of tactically. Therefore, the game isn't about winning but about choices characters make under pressure. 🦺 We'll have safety tools such as a lines-and-veils form to fill in, and a variation of the X-Card to use. Everyone is expected to use them when necessary, and to respect one another's boundaries.

Content warnings

(none)

Safety tools used

Aftercare
Breaks
Lines and Veils
Open Door
Session 0
Stars and Wishes
X, N, and O Cards

How will character creation work

📃 You will have access to the character playbooks, setting info, and additional instructions before your first session. 📑 In keeping with the low-power, gritty, street-level tone of this setting, only the following playbooks will be available: Beacon, Bull, Delinquent, Janus, Protégé, Transformed. And if you're familiar with the game, the following as well: Joined, Newborn, Reformed, Scion

Players can expect

• Find a game to join solo or search for a professional game master for you and your friends/coworkers/family.
• Book your session and wait for the Game Master to approve you.
• If you don't have a blast with your first game, your next game is on us.