[Masks] Take a Powerful Blow - Lose Control of your Powers in a Terrible Way

General
1

One of the things that’s always hung me up with “lose control of your powers in a terrible way” is that I’ve mentally always had a problem with it when it’s someone like Daredevil or Luke Cage or Robin or just…

… well, anyone who’s not Jean Gray, basically. Jean Gray is easy. Everyone else makes my brain hiccup. Wolverine can berserk and kill a bunch of people, but not in Masks (death’s not on the table).

I figured it out (I think) on the treadmill this morning.

“You lose control of your powers” is essentially the same narrative as “Your powers catastrophically fail you”, and once that’s in my mind, the option becomes more rich for many more characters. Your senses are overwhelmed and you’re left helpless when you need to act. Something happens where all your gymnastics and martial arts and gizmos just… can’t help, at all. Someone’s in the hospital because you couldn’t do anything. That kind of stuff.

Maybe this was always obvious to everyone but me, but just in case I thought I’d share.

Also to solidify my thinking about it.

1 Like
2

Another point for this that the phrase is “You lose control of yourself or your powers in a terrible way.” Relevant text from the book. (pg. 71)

You lose control of yourself or your powers in a terrible way means the GM gets to tell you how your powers go haywire, cause collateral damage, make the world around you unstable, and all kinds of other bad stuff. Losing control of yourself means that you might say or do something awful. The GM chooses which you do, and what exactly that looks like.

2 Likes