I have been tossing ideas around for a game session, this is one that got tabled for a while but I wanted to share it. It still needs a little love to get going as I haven’t gotten to writing the story. Excuse typo’s or other oddities as this is a copy right from my own notes.
Basic idea: Players choose character sheets face down. Each sheet is made to have a dedicated Arcana and a special weapon attuned to it. Each one has a way to be hidden from view but drawing the weapon transfers the properties to a ‘mask’ over the owner’s face. Those are the basic properties of each, while players might invest in improving them as the game goes on.
Death – Mask of Darkness, Shadow Weapon
Fate – Mask of Misdirection, Opportune Weapon
Forces – Mask of Blur, Cloaked Weapon
Life – Mask of Faces, Mutation Weapon
Matter – Mask of Iron, Quicksilver Weapon
Mind – Mask of Lies, Forgotten Weapon
Prime – Mask of Disbelief, Energy Weapon
Spirit – Mask of Tribes, Fetish Weapon
Space – Mask of Void, Remote Weapon
Time – Mask of Displacement, Phased Weapon
In more detail:
Death: Focusing more on the shadow element, the weapon seems to meld visually in whatever shadows touch it. Though they have to be provided by clothing or similar. Once drawn/activated, a mask of darkness covers the user’s face. It is one way so they can see through it but no one can pierce it from the other side.
Fate: Focusing more on chance, the weapon isn’t actually specified. This is more of a power activated that somehow there is a weapon nearby that the user can wield. Though this could be a tire iron as much as a giant sword. Each situation has it’s own merits. When ‘activated’ the owner’s face will never be seen clearly. There is always something blocking the field of vision, a blurred movement or similar that just ‘happens’ to keep from being identified.
Forces: Simply the use of light makes this the more direct use of invisibility. The weapon has light bent around it so it is almost impossible to see. When drawn/uncloaked, the owner’s face becomes a blur of muted colors.
Life: This is more a set of bracelets as much as weapons, transforming the user’s hands into tools for killing. Claws, paws and many other weapons of nature are used. When activated/transformed, the users face never hold the same feature. Shifting slowly and changing through the day including eye and hair color. Reverting when de-activated.
Matter: Quicksilver of legend, a metal that can shift to the owners will making for not only weapons but tools just the same. The fluid nature doesn’t hold well with mechanized parts though so the simpler the design the better. When activated/drawn, the owners face bears a Golem like mask that goes around the head. Changing the material and features each time it is used.
Mind: The power over thought and memory make this weapon as invisible as with Forces. Instead of bending light, it just bends attention. People just think the weapon just belongs there, or they don’t even notice it at all. There are more important things to worry about, like what to get for lunch. When unmasked, the owner takes on the same properties. They arn’t memorable and just seem to blend in, moreso if another member is nearby.
Prime: One of the most tricky of all Arcana to hide. It is also using the most offensive way of hiding by not doing so. The fundamental disbelief that people get when encountering magic is harnessed. People just can’t believe that a person would even cary such a weapon with them. It just seems impossible and impossible things are easier to ignore than confront. When drawn, the owner gains the same power, people just can’t believe that ‘you’ are doing such a thing. It has to be someone else. (Need to do more research on this one)
Spirit: These weapons arn’t really that when encountered. It might be a tool of sport or just a simple walking stick. Things mundane and acceptable to the normal world around. But when activated, it harnesses the powers of spirit as a Fetish would. While limiting in what weapon could be used, it balances with the flexibility of powers as it’s properties can change once a day. The owner takes on a tribal mask akin to the spirit power currently being used.
Space: One of the most difficult to find weapons is one that isn’t actually on you. Reaching across space to where it’s stored, the owner may retrieve their weapon from afar. Once brought out, their face becomes a window to the voids of space though not being open like an actual portal.
Time: The weapon is another hard to find as it’s constantly shunted a millisecond into the future. It exists in times reach of the owner just ‘not quite there yet’ where it doesn’t exist yet in their possession. Once drawn into the current time, the owners face takes the similar property. The vision is blurred as it seems as time speeds up around their head. Making movements blur with the ‘speed’ and hiding what details are underneath.
While these are general descriptions of the powers, they are not all powerful. They are taken from the owner’s mastery in their Arcana, as such, they are forced to have at least 2 dots in the Arcana. After that, they are free to spend their other points as wanted.
Level 1 – Item is what it is, no power other than a strange aura.
Level 2 – Basic cloak of identity, can be broken with some work. Larger/better weapons harder to use with abilities.
Level 3 – Easier to hide a larger weapon, Identity protection expanded to body instead of just face.
Level 4 – Granted a Lower (rank 2/3?) power aligned with the item’s focus.
Level 5 – Granted a Unique power aligned to the item’s focus.
Background - The Masks of Arcana
A masked group that takes on any job given the right price. Magical mercenaries though only one of each discipline. They are wanted by the mage groups for crimes, though they are brushed under the rug as some of the council use them. If seen, there is a bounty live or dead so it still isn’t much of a protection. Worse yet is the group works for other supernaturals just the same as mages. Even a job here or there comes from humans who don’t know better until it is too late.
Past all the work and bounties, the masks themselves are items of power desired by many. Their past and creation is a mystery. While some replica’s have been made throughout history, it had taken too much effort to match the original complexity, or craftsmanship as some say.
Out of Char prep:
There are character sheets printed for each arcana. Each one has have two dots pre-set in that Arcana as well as a 5 dot Merit for the Mask. While the two Arcana points do go against their starting total, the merit points do not. For these are balanced a bit more with a ‘Wanted’, ‘Infamy’ and ‘Gaes’ drawbacks.
‘Wanted’ – Dead or Alive for a bounty for the group though a requirement to also turn in the masks is given. The masks help protect the user’s identity so it is a battle for catching the group in the act.
‘Infamy’ – representing how well they are known for in the mage and supernatural world. While opposite of ‘Fame’, it has similar balances. While your group is easy to identify and is rightly feared, that can be used by an able player.
‘Gaes’ – Each of the characters are under a complex Gaes to ‘Never reveal the identities of a Masked One.’
A ST will give their players options on what Arcana to play, just depends on the group. Though basic examples are letting players pick the Arcana, letting players pick 2-3 sheets blindly to choose between, having them get stuck with the one they blind pick or assigning them a character. With this style of game, it can be adjusted from 2-5 players (though if you can manage all 9…) and leave backups for flexibility of introducing NPC’s, new players or replacing dead ones.
Characters are part of a secret organization within the secret society of mages (meta, I know). As such, besides having a true name and a shadow name, they also have a masked name. More of a nickname to go by in the group so it can also be changed or picked by someone else.
Leadership of the Masked Ones will change depending on which masks are left. There isn’t a ‘master mask’, at least not that anyone knows of. What is suggested is that the one giving missions have more than one mask. Though it would be better if they have to be complimentary or opposing elements (Death/Life, Matter/Prime).