Anyone Can Wear the Mask (Ultimate Edition)
A downloadable game
This is an imaginary story (which may never happen, but which then again may),
About someone with great power, who chose to use that power only for the good of all.
Anyone Can Wear The Mask is a tabletop RPG about a superhero, a supervillain, and the city they share. Throughout play, you’ll record the adventures of a great hero as they defend their city, stand up to those in power, and eventually confront a terrible nemesis. You’ll draw maps, roll dice, pull cards from a deck, and make a living record of the city and its people.
Ultimate Edition
This is the final version of the game, complete with a:
- Fully-illustrated, revised rulebook with interior and cover illustrations by Elijah Forbes
- Fully-narrated audiobook, ready by Aaron Catano-Saez
- Playingcards.io virtual playspace & Google Docs character tracker
- The first issue of ACWTM: CityScapes, Capt. Turbine & Node City, with interior illustration by Saly Lockheart
ACWTM: CityScapes
ACWTM CityScapes are pre-generated superhero scenarios, with detailed information on a Hero, their City, and the various threats that put that City in peril. Use them to kickstart your next game of Anyone Can Wear the Mask, or drop the characters, locations, and threats into your superhero RPG of choice!
Check out the full collection for more info!
About the Game
- Players: 1 to 3
- Required Materials: A standard 54-card deck of playing cards (with Jokers); 3 to 5 six-sided dice; a journal and materials to write with
Credits
- Writing: Jeff Stormer
- Based On: Beyond the Rift by Dee Pennyway
- Layout: Background and designs by Leo Cheung
- Art: Cover & spot illustration by Elijah Forbes; ACWTM: CityScapes: Capt Turbine & Node City artwork by Saly Lockheart
- Sensitivity Consulting: Consulting on ACWTM: CityScapes: Capt Turbine & Node City by Cole Burkhardt
- Audiobook Narration: Aaron Catano-Saez
- Special Thanks: Jen Frank, Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster, and Jack Kirby
Press Coverage
Actual Play Podcasts
- Dungeons & Pop: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
- Delinquent Comics: Part One, Part Two
- Fandible: Part One, Part Two
- Moon Harbor Heroes: Part One, Part Two
- Moon Harbor Heroes - Anyone Can Wear the Mark: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
- Party Of One
- One-Shot: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
- Paradigm Academy: Part One, Part Two
- Protean City Comics: Hero File, Part One, Part Two
- Protean City Comics Pride Annual: Issue #1
- Quest Friends!: Part One
- Roll Out!: Part One, Part Two
Interviews & Review
- Character Creation Cast: Part One, Part Two
- Draw Your Dice
- Listen to These Nerds
- Psych in RPGs: Part One, Part Two
- Under the Capes
- War Rocket Ajax
- Yes Indie'd
Awards
Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $20 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Exclusive content
Support this game at or above a special price point to receive something exclusive.
Community Copies
For each copy of Anyone Can Wear the Mask, sold, a copy of the game is made available to members of the community for whom the listed price would be a hardship. If you are unable to purchase a copy of the game at full price, please claim one of these free copies, no questions asked.
Run a Game!
Buy at this level, and in addition to a digital copy of the game, Jeff will run a custom game of Anyone Can Wear the Mask for you and a friend.
Build a CityScape!
Buy at this level, and in addition to a copy of the game, Jeff will work with you to create your own custom scenario (complete with powers for the Hero, noteworthy locations & neighborhoods for the City, and potential threats for the Villain), which can then be either be made available for free to everyone, or kept for your personal collection.
Download demo
Development log
- ACWTM: The Ultimate Edition Has Arrived!Oct 20, 2021
- Production Updates: Audiobook, CityScapes & MoreApr 11, 2021
- NEW: Support for Playingcards.ioMar 16, 2021
- Version 1.2 is LiveJan 31, 2021
- Version 1.1 - Minor Rules UpdateJan 05, 2021
Comments
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I cannot say enough about how wonderful, evocative, and elegantly-designed this game is. My partner and I are running a game collaboratively, and we keep stopping play to marvel at how exciting and imaginative the game is: it truly guides you to channel your creativity and passion into engaging with and designing a world, characters, and a narrative structure, while leaving an incredible amount of space for your imagination. I'd also add that, if you're new to the hobby (as we are), this is a perfect entry-point: the set-up and gameplay are really accessible and simple, especially when combined with the spreadsheets to track your ideas/characters. Highly recommend!
I've purchased and really enjoy this game! But I'm having trouble finding the audiobook version. How would I access that?
Apparently it disappeared from itchio at some point--just readded it, thank you so much for letting me know!! You should find it in your downloads for the game now.
Waiting for community copies :'(
I had a blast playing this! I love the way each step of the hero's arc is described and I love how each player has clear directions for what they need to do in each part of the game! And the playingcards.io playspace worked so well!
I am curious if there's an FAQ out there somewhere because my group ran into some questions. Like, if an Ace is drawn before the King of the same suit, what do we do with the card? Or what happens during the downfall if the Hero has more renown than there are cards left in the deck?
This doesn’t just tell a strong story–it tells a strong story with meaning and impact. It gets into the kinds of detail that are easy to skip, but that make the setting and the stakes more memorable. A great game, with an important message about adversity and hope.
I love this game and have made three volumes worth of 'comics' from each run! Quick idea/question. It's possible to make the hero a 'team' right? Like if we just list out each team member and almost treat them like a single character it could work?
Absolutely--the rules dictate what happens to the Hero, but there's no rule that says the Hero can't be six people.
I grabbed the og game immediately upon release because it took the rules from one of my fav solo/small group rpgs (Mnemonic: Beyond the Rift) & ported it to one of my fave genres (superheroes).
The addition of a virtual playspace with the playingcards.io table & google doc character keeper make this the most accessible solo rpg i've ever interacted with & i SUPER look forward to the day when I get to play this w/ a couple of friends!!
I'm guilty of being a sucker for a finalized layout with artwork. I read ACWTM back in May and it seemed like a cool game, but reading it now in its beautiful, finished form and I'm truly captivated by it. I'm looking forward to doing a full video analysis in February!
I appreciate how the main rulebook is both apolitical and applicable to a broad variety of opinions and beliefs which may or may not be in line with that of the author.
I do not appreciate how the two CityScapes available upon release are not.
If you thought the game was "apolitical" then you misread about half the text in the game. I'm glad the CityScapes were there to make things more explicit for you.
I listened to this on the party of one podcast and it was amazing. Fingers crossed for a part 2!
Listened to a couple of podcasts running the game. It sounds like an absolutely grand old time. The way I've been doing the math on time for how a full-length game runs, looks like it will be longer than the advertised 2-6 hours with how many cards it takes minimum to get to the Downfall. Maybe take some away due to Collateral Damage, though it'll still be a while, maybe a game not finished in one sitting. What might you recommend for a shortened game?
Great question! I'm going to add this as a note in the back of the book, but: What I've been doing for shorter APs is instead of using a full deck, pulling the top 10 cards off and using that as my "deck." The only thing to make sure of when you do this is, if there are any kings in the mini-deck you've pulled, that you add in the Ace of the corresponding suit. Then, just shuffle in the Joker into the back half of your mini-deck as usual.
I listened to the Character Creation Cast series on this game. I'm really excited to give it a try!
Picked this up after I heard it on Character Creation Cast and One Shot today, and I'm looking forward to when I get to play this with my friends. This is a cool game. Keep up the cool creative work.
This looks amazing! And exactly what I want in my superhero stories (and why Superman will always be my favorite)! Are you planning to do a print run at some point? I'm 100% getting this, but would love to have it on my shelf if it's an option. Thanks!
Sliding in two years later to say: We said "No" originally, but the answer turned out to be "Yes": https://jeffstormer.com/shop
Awesome, thank you so much for reaching out and letting me know! Just placed my order!
Just finished two runs of Anyone Can Wear the Mask as a solo player, and loved it. The rules encourage recurring characters, building to dramatic climaxes, all of the things that make extended superhero runs so satisfying. I'd been looking for something that emulated the feel of superhero comics for a long time, and this definitely does it.
This is easily one of the best games for emulating the sheer joy and beauty of superhero media.
If you like the best of superhero comics, you need to pick this up