Masks: A New Generation vs Night's Black Agents
Compare Masks: A New Generation and Night's Black Agents side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Masks: A New Generation | Night's Black Agents | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Modern, Superhero | Horror, Modern |
| Play Style | Narrative, Rules-Light, Character-Driven, Drama, Beginner-Friendly, Open Source, Superhero | Investigation, Espionage, Character-Driven, Gritty |
| Core Mechanic | PbtA moves: roll 2d6 + Label. 10+ = strong hit, 7–9 = hit with complications, 6− = miss (GM makes a move). Five shifting Labels (Danger, Freak, Savior, Superior, Mundane) represent how the hero sees themselves, and others can shift them. Influence and team mechanics drive interpersonal drama. | GUMSHOE engine. Investigative abilities auto-succeed: if you have the skill and there's a clue, you find it. General abilities (combat, athletics) roll 1d6 + spent points vs. difficulty 4. Point pools refresh between sessions, creating resource-management tension. Four play modes (Burn, Dust, Mirror, Stakes) tune mechanics to your preferred espionage tone. |
| Dice | 2d6 | d6 |
| Complexity | Low | Medium |
| Accessibility | Medium | Medium |
| Runnability | High | High |
| License | CC BY 4.0 | GUMSHOE SRD (CC BY 3.0 / OGL) |
| Cost | $$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Magpie Games | Pelgrane Press |
| Year | 2016 | 2012 |
| Best For | Teen superhero drama where identity, relationships, and emotional stakes matter more than punching villains. | Groups who want spy-thriller action fused with supernatural horror: burned agents unraveling a vampire conspiracy through investigation, chases, and tradecraft. |
| Highlights | Labels system makes identity the core conflict, 10 distinct playbooks, low prep for GM, encourages drama and character growth | Investigation never stalls: clues flow automatically, Conspyramid campaign structure is a well-designed GM tool, four tonal modes let you dial in the spy genre you want, highly modular vampire creation system, works stripped of vampires for pure espionage |
| Considerations | Labels shifting can frustrate players who want a stable character identity, Influence mechanic requires careful tracking, adult moves can overshadow teen PCs, limited mechanical growth beyond Label shifts | NPC combat math can feel unbalanced against PCs, multiple point pools to track can bottleneck play, narrow genre focus limits reuse, requires significant GM prep for conspiracy networks |