Evangelynn Zeal AKA "Seraph" THE JANUS
HERO NAME: Seraph
REAL NAME: Evangelynn Zeal
LOOK: White woman, formal clothing, concealing costume, hood
ABILITIES: Heightened Physical Abilities, Impossible MobilityLynn can 'grow' three pairs of wings, like great bird wings if birds had eyes on their wings. Grow isn't really the right word for it, its more like she can make them appear and disappear at will. They aren't a part of her body but the appear to grow from her back.
When she is using them she can obviously fly, but she can also use them to move quicker and more nimbly and they're strong enough to let her fly so they're pretty useful as bludgeons too. Even when they aren't 'out' she can feel them, like she's aware they're there but they really don't do anything when they're like that. They can't seem to interact with anything like that either., Supernatural SensesLynn's wings are covered in eyes which she can see through. Rather disorienting but they give her a massive field of vision, even when they aren't 'out'.
When she's actively looking through them she can often notice or even just see things she otherwise might not be able to. They're probably able to see at a different spectrum than normal human eyes or they could just be magic. She doesn't know what the deal is.
LABELS
| DANGER | FREAK | SAVIOR | SUPERIOR | MUNDANE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| +0 | -1 | +0 | +1 | +3 |
CONDITIONS
| AFRAID | -2 to Directly Engage a Threat | |
| ANGRY | -2 to Comfort or Support or Pierce the Mask | |
| GUILTY | -2 to Provoke Someone or Assess the Situation | |
| HOPELESS | -2 to Unleash Your Powers | |
| ___ | INSECURE | -2 to Defend Someone or Reject Others' Influence |
POTENTIAL
| ___ | ___ | ___ | ___ | ___ |
Every time you roll a miss on a move, mark potential.
MOVES:
The MaskYou wear a mask and hide your real identity. Choose what Label you try to embody while wearing your mask:
⬜ Freak ⬜ Savior ◼️ Danger ⬜ Superior
Once per session, you can affirm either your heroic or secret identity to switch your Mundane with your mask’s Label. When you reveal your secret identity to someone who didn’t know it already, mark potential
Mild ManneredWhen you try to use your civilian identity to deceive, trick, or slip past someone, roll + Mundane. On a hit they buy your facade. On a 7-9, choose one:
- you’re still under observation
- you leave something incriminating behind
- you’re forced to make a fool of yourself to sell it
On a miss, one of your civilian obligations rears its ugly head
Game FaceWhen you commit yourself to save someone or defeat a terrible enemy, mark a condition and take +1 ongoing to all rolls in direct pursuit of that goal.
At the end of any scene in which you don’t make progress towards that goal, mark a condition. When you fulfill your goal, mark potential.
Feature - Secret IdentityYour mundane life comes with a series of obligations. Choose a total of three obligations.
(Family Appearances, "Boyfriend", Popularity)
When time passes, roll + your Mundane to see how you’re managing your obligations. On a hit, things are going pretty well—you have an opportunity or advantage thanks to one of your obligations. On a 7-9, you’ve lapsed on one obligation, your choice. On a miss, you haven’t given your normal life anywhere near the attention it deserves; the GM chooses two obligations that are going to bite you in the butt.
Moment of TruthThe mask is a lie, and some piece of you has always known that. Doesn’t matter if others can see it. You’re the one that can do the impossible. Mask off. Costume on. And you’re going to save the damn day. Of course, you better hope nobody nasty is watching…: LOCKED
TEAM MOVES:
When you share a triumphant celebration with someone, ask them if they see you as the person wearing the mask or the person underneath. If the former, mark potential and clear a condition. If the latter, take Influence over them if you reveal yourself.
When you share a vulnerability or weakness with someone, tell them a secret about who you really are. Give them Influence, and shift your Mundane up and your mask’s Label down.
BACKSTORY
- Why do you keep a secret identity?
"That's a pretty dumb question. Even if there weren't like the Tangee going around and taking people you know who my father is? I'd be disowned in a second if they didn't turn me in themselves. Daddy would probably get a ton of donations off it too, how he was 'called on to sacrifice his first born' or something like that. As much as he likes to talk about forgiveness he loves that Old Testament stuff."
-
Who, outside the team, knows about your dual identity
"Grace Petersen. I mean we might not be great friends anymore but we used to be like sisters, except I actually liked her. Once. I guess. sigh Look, I might've cut her out of my life because we were getting older and she had her own deal and I had mine and she totally didn't fit into my new life but we were best friends once. And growing six freaky wings overnight is way bigger than who got boobs first or who was turning into a real geek and who might've actually had a shot at being popular.
"I... I don't think Grace hated me for it. Why didn't she hate me? I'd hate me if I was her. But I showed it to her and it was just like old times. Grace geeking out over something, and Evangelynn showing up again. Not Lynn posturing for her minions. Just Evangelynn. It was... nice. And it's always nice like that whenever we talk about this stuff but Grace was always a superpower superfan. It's kinda cute..."
"So whatever, Grace knows. She could probably turn me in any day if she wanted to. I would. But I guess 'Grace' is better than 'Lynn'. Big surprise. I guess I don't pick on her anymore like I did. Like she was something I stepped in. Like that makes me a saint or something."
- Who thinks the worst of your masked identity?
"Well I mean my family does for sure. But Adrian does too. He's kinda like my boyfriend. Fiance if you ask our parents. Adrian Prince. Son of Senator Adam Prince. Yeah, that Adam Prince. I mean I don't think I like Adrian that much. I guess he's kinda hot but... no, he's not even that hot. He might not be so bad except thinks he knows everything about everything and he blows up if you correct him about anything and he's wrong literally all the time. But Daddy and The Senator work together on a lot of stuff now and they thought we were a good match too. He even does HUAC stuff, like they're trying to make him into this next great leader. Yeah, right. I don't know if anybody in my family's heard anything about 'Seraph' but I know Adrian has. *snort* I made sure he knew about Seraph. He thinks some masked hero wannabe made it their mission to make him look like an ass whenever they could and you know what? That might be the first thing he's ever been right about!"
-
When did you first put on the mask? Why?
"You kidding? I can fly! Flying is like a top tier power, one of those things every kid wishes they'd get even if it came with crazy nightmare wings. I wasn't going to let something stupid like an alien invasion and occupation ruin it for me. So the costume and the mask, they were just stuff I did to do that and not get hassled about it. If you believe what the Tangee say they're only looking for people who are causing problems anyway. Not me. I was just trying to live my best life which isn't hard for the daughter of Blair Zeal."
"Except, you know, that's all you are. The Daughter of Blair Zeal. He didn't used to be so bad but that changed after The Battle of Halcyon. Now we had to be the smiling perfect family all the time. And I was growing up in the right ways so I was the pretty perfect princess who showed everybody that everything was just fine. You know, so long as you do everything exactly like you're supposed to. So maybe me flying around was like my own little protest. Clowning on HUAC operations, especially if Little Prince Adrian was in charge, definitely was."
"Like I probably didn't need to actually do anything like that but Adrian sucks that much. And those HUAC guys? They're always creeps to me when they show up and plan stuff with Daddy. I can't do anything about it as Lynn but Seraph can whup them all day long. It feels great! And they're scumbags anyway. Like this one time they actually raided an elementary school because they thought some kindergartener was this threat to world security. Real big men, terrorizing little kids like that. So yeah I had to show them what it looks like when someone bigger and badder picked on them for a change! They ran like they were the kids the first time someone fought back. The kids though? I don't think I'll forget the way they looked at me when I showed up with my big freaky wings with the eyes and all that. I... I think I get why people used to do this. Little kids looking at you like you're some hero. Their hero."
- Why do you care about the team?
"I mean I didn't want to run off and fight the Tangee but I guess I'm in it now. Made too much noise and got noticed by HUAC and AEGIS and DAGGR and whatever other stupid acronyms are running around out there. Gotta keep it up right? It's not like joining a team of people who actually wanted to do this and know what they're doing is going to hurt my chances any. And I mean I'm trying to be smarter about it. 'Lynn' needed to be the center of attention and look how that worked out. I'm thinking 'Lynn' kind of sucks. Maybe Seraph needs to be a team player and be a better person and I don't know. A hero? There aren't any more of those anymore. But maybe this team can do it. And maybe I can do it if I'm here for it. I'm not going to give up without trying. Maybe I'll see what those kids saw in Seraph. Or what Grace saw in Evangelynn."
---
- Why is Seraph's dual identity so important to them? What person or thing keeps them from abandoning their civilian life and simply becoming a full-time superhero?
"Seriously? Even if there wasn't the whole Tangee invasion what would that even look like? I'm still in high school! Who even wants to be a hero all the time anyway? Sounds like what a crazy person would do! Though I guess it's not like I can really judge anyone for that. The better question is why even try to do anything at all. Its not like things are bad for me. At least not as bad as it is for other people. Didn't really know that before. Guess I didn't care. But still! I've got my family, and friends, kinda. And plans! You think I want to stay here all my life, living in my parent's house? Well mansion but whatever. I got my whole life going on plus the hero stuff and I can keep those things apart no problem so I can totally do both. Why would anyone choose to give everything up for like, punching people? Crazy people, that's who! I mean it's fun and all flying, and maybe I can help people or whatever but I'm not going to make it my whole deal. Who would? Crazy people."
- What is the biggest consequence that Seraph fears will result from them being unmasked? Who besides Seraph herself would be at most risk of being hurt?
"You think I was kidding when I said Daddy would disown me? Maybe if there weren't the Tangee it might not be that bad, like eventually. Like make up when he's dying or something. But he hates superpowers and I got them so he'd hate me if he found out. That's just like common sense. And the Tangee probably wouldn't like it. All the one's I met don't seem to be all that chill. They'd probably take it out on my whole family, not just Daddy. I mean as much as he'd probably deserve it my mother is just sort of sweet. And dumb. And then Ginny and Bethany, what, just because they're my little sisters? Plus Grace, I guess she's sort of helped out enough with me trashing HUAC stuff she'd be in trouble too. Oh and Adrian, no way the Tangee wouldn't think I wasn't working with him but he sucks so whatever."
"But then there are all the other people. Like what would people say if they find out I'm Lynn freaking Zeal? They'd never trust me for anything again like I'm a spy or something! Or make me do something really bad. Plus I mean there's all the social media stuff. I'm just doing what everybody did before the invasion but now apparently it's called "propaganda" and "tone-deaf", at least before the trolls and comments get deleted. I mean it's probably not great the Tangee and HUAC and all them like me doing it since it makes it look like everything is great and normal. But still how much would it suck if all anybody thought of when I'm out there trying to maybe be a better person was dumb stuff I posted online?"
- Why are Seraph's obligations important to her? Who is she really failing if she neglects them? What would the consequences be?
"Why should I ruin my life over this stuff? I'm popular at school but it's not like that's just automatic. You gotta keep on top of that stuff otherwise you got someone coming after you. Plus it's like my life. It's something I want to do, like this hero stuff is something I want to do. And I get to keep doing it if I show up for the family stuff. I'm there being perky, pretty, and perfect at services. I'm "dating" someone who's going to be connected and important. I basically can do whatever I want because I'm doing the stuff Daddy needs me to without being told to. I've been doing it way longer than I had powers even. I've got practice. When I don't, that's when things get messy. That's why I mess with Little Prince Adrian through his HUAC stuff. Daddy decided I was supposed to date Adrian so I date him. I can't just "decide" I want to break up with him because that's not supposed to be my decision. That's just the way it is."
PLAYER QUESTIONS
- What kind of player are you?
I tend to overthink concepts in the pregame process a little (a lot) but that typically means I wind up with something I really care about in the end. I always stick with games until their end and have been doing play by post for a while so I know that can come sooner than you'd expect. So I take the approach that you need to enjoy the ride for however long it lasts and that generally means I'll be engaged and pushing things forward as best I can. And I love cooperative games, so Masks is perfect. More than any other system I've played I've seen Masks games just sort of transition nicely to really fun roleplay opportunities, with lots of back and forth between players and I love that sort of stuff. Drama is the name of the game and Masks loves drama.
- Why are you excited for this game?
I mean I'm going to take a second look at any Masks game that pops up no matter what, but I'm excited about this one in particular because I haven't really seen the Iron Red Soldiers setting used that much. It's not my favorite of those found in Masks Unbound but it's a unique take and one that I haven't personally done before. And the central premise is one I haven't really done in any sort of game before so it's something brand new in a system I've loved playing in the past.
- What are your expectations for this game?
A lot of Masks games I've played secret identities weren't much of a thing, either the game setup it didn't make sense or the group did things in one "mode" the whole time, like they were always students at a superhero school or always on a mission. This sort of game setup seems like one where that won't be the case and that would be really fun to play out. It's the reason why I picked the playbook I did, since that sort of dynamic is something I haven't really done before and even if the game doesn't quite turn out that way the playbook can still give me a taste of that. Otherwise all the standard Masks action and drama and finding your own way in the strange world you're in would be just my speed.
- Why do you think you would be a good fit for this game?
I just love being part of games. And this setup is one where the characters can all have different agendas and goals but they're thrown together to work towards some common end. And the setting is one where you can get friction when those agendas conflict. I'm a collaborative player and I think I can work pretty well with a group to keep things moving, since slowdowns are inevitable but they can be killers in play by post. But really it's about telling stories together, otherwise what's the point of doing games like this? I want to make something with other people and I play with that in mind. I don't ever know what my character is always going to think or do or have happen because where's the fun in that?