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12:20, 28th March 2024 (GMT+0)

Advice needed: Masks Janus.

Posted by CrazyIvan777
CrazyIvan777
member, 298 posts
Tue 8 Sep 2020
at 14:05
  • msg #1

Advice needed: Masks Janus

So, I'm running this Masks game, and my Janus has, as one of their entanglements, 'school'. I'm having trouble coming up with how to make that interesting- all the PC's go to school, and I have things happening there, but I want to be able to come up with something for the Janus that isn't just 'homework sucks, you're spending a lot of time with it' or 'you have detention because you got caught blackmailing Jackie in the bathroom' (she did, in fact, do the blackmailing. She's like mean girl Batman. It's amazing.)
What I'm really looking for is something that's active, not just 'you have to waste more time with school'. She's got family stuff (her parents are supremely over-controlling) and work stuff (she's juggling her schedule so she can go to a party this weekend), but school just seems... I dunno. I'm having trouble coming up with stuff for it.
Thoughts?
DrTachyon
member, 94 posts
Tue 8 Sep 2020
at 14:16
  • msg #2

Advice needed: Masks Janus

Which obligations did they pick re: school? - Schoolwork, athletic team, chess club, photography club, student government?

Are you talking about the obligations, or something else?
CrazyIvan777
member, 299 posts
Tue 8 Sep 2020
at 14:19
  • msg #3

Advice needed: Masks Janus

Obligations, yes, and in this case it's mostly schoolwork- she's being pressured to super-excell in school to get into a good college. But I know my player- anything will be good.
DrTachyon
member, 95 posts
Tue 8 Sep 2020
at 14:23
  • msg #4

Advice needed: Masks Janus

Ah, so there are things like studying for a test, working with other classmates doing a group project, doing research/interviewing someone for a class presentation, etc. Maybe they have to take care of an egg for a week (to simulate what it is like caring for a baby).
Norwood
member, 307 posts
Tue 8 Sep 2020
at 17:30
  • msg #5

Advice needed: Masks Janus

You can go even bigger. They all attend school, but the Janus is the only one who's tuition/scholarship/enrollment is in jeopardy. They can be suspended. They can have teachers start asking questions about why their homework comes in late. They can have it threaten the balance of their life. Yes, this could technically happen to anyone, but by signing up for the Janus playbook, they decided they wanted it to be a big part of their story.
AegisGame
member, 46 posts
Tue 8 Sep 2020
at 19:59
  • msg #6

Advice needed: Masks Janus

This is kind of a dumb one but it could happen: college scouts are coming and want an interview with the Janus. Theyve got to be there, dressed up, and studied up on the school. If they get this, they could be on track for everything they could possibly want. If they mess it up, there are other schools of course, but not that one. And they’ll be another statistic that couldn’t hack it for that college
Ski-Bird
subscriber, 116 posts
Wed 9 Sep 2020
at 00:06
  • msg #7

Advice needed: Masks Janus

The big thing with a Janus playbook is to pit their two lives against one another (both competing for the same time, etc).

Maybe the debate team has a road trip or something?  Forces the Janus to 'miss' a scene with the other heroes.  But, because in reality, sitting a scene out is no fun ... the whole field trip can be a sort of 'side thread.'  Something pertinent to the plot can be discovered by the Janus while acting in their civilian guise.

Something like this plays into the GM Moves Bring Their Obligations to Bear and Make Their Lives Cross Over.

Like ... how many times was Peter Parker taking a trip to the statue of Liberty or something right when Electro or some other sinister weirdo showed up?  Maybe something like that can happen (dovetails nicely with Endanger Someone From Either Life).

I mean, sure, the other heroes show up too ... but maybe now our Janus has a few innocent bystanders that need a bit more protecting than the average faceless bystander.  Maybe your guy absolutely has to focus on stuff like that while the other masks get to do all the punchy-punchy.  Keeping them safe, etc.  And then — icing on the cake — after the dust settles and s/he rejoins the class ... the whole class might hate on her/him.  Accuse them of peacing out and saving their own skin when the chips were down.  Of course, our guy would know it's not true ... but it's not like he could tell them.  They  would know that their Janus-self directly-and-efficiently dealt with the threat.  But those accolades would belong solely to the webslinger persona ... not the high school nerd.  So now, the very thing that makes the hero look cool to the classmates is the exact same thing they might use against the student because they were 'hiding out' when everyone else was in danger.
AegisGame
member, 47 posts
Wed 9 Sep 2020
at 01:49
  • msg #8

Advice needed: Masks Janus

Maybe their favorite teacher is a villain or they have to get into a fight at the school.
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