Moment of Truth: Great RPG Mechanics
#RPGMechanics Week Four
One of my favorite elements from Masks: A New Generation is the concept of the Moment of Truth. It can often get overlooked unless the GM leans into it or you have experienced players. It’s maybe not as sexy an advance as getting a new move, in part because it is a one-time ability which you wait on everything lines up just right.
You spend an advance to unlock your Moment of Truth, then in play when the pressure is on you get to seize narrative control and say how things change in the world and for yourself. These are custom built within the playbooks— reinforcing themes and giving players a goal.
The Bull has one of my favorite versions: “This is what you do best. You let loose, all the pent up strength and rage and glee, and you break whatever stands in your way. You are a walking demolition crew. What can stand up to you? Nothing. Not buildings. Not structures. Not enemies. Nothing. Of course, now the people who changed you know exactly where to find you…”
I love how it both allows you go big, but also offers some great story consequences. Each Moment of Truth also lets/forces you to lock one of your labels. These stats usually shift in relation to how you feel others see you. But here you lock down a portion of your identity. Players usually have a singular Moment of Truth, but it s possible to have have a second one if you take that as an advance after you’ve taken at least five others. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone do that.
In play a Moment of Truth feels like a big thing. It’s a major investment of character resources. It lets a player play out all of the head canon they’ve had and get that out in the open. It’s a major spotlight moment that everyone can appreciate. If there’s one drawback, especially in a shorter game, its that you can sometimes have two people’s MoT bump into one another– the GM has to juggle that carefully.
I think Moment of Truth, or other big ticket playbook-unique items, are a great way to add energy to playbooks and help them stand out from one another.
There's a similar thing that happens in The Watch related to the phases of the war. At the end of the second phase, each player gets to Change the World in some way. After that the GM gets to inflict Devastating Consequences on every mission until the final confrontation. After that, everyone gets another chance to Change the World. It doesn't differentiate the playbooks in the same way but it feels like the players get to create "big moments" that literally change the world.