Michael R. Underwood
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My take on a Masquerade Ball environment
🕑 Added 2025-11-24 20:01:59 +0000 UTCA fun bit from the PAXU Daggerheart panel: the team mentioned a Masquerade Ball environment in Hope & Fear, which is fabulous.
Separately, I started writing a Masquerade Ball environment a month or two ago but hadn't completed or polished it. So the announcement inspired me to go back to what I had and polish it up to share with Patrons.
I'm excited to see how the two versions differ, but it'll be a bit of a wait. :)
Fortunately, you all don't have to wait long for my Masquerade Ball, it's included in this post.
This environment is long and has a lot of features because it could easily be used across one or more full sessions, if not an entire story arc. And I wouldn't expect most GMs to use all of the features involved, especially the Action features that set off various plots at the party.
MASQUERADE BALL
Tier 3 Social
The premiere party of the season, with magnificent costumes and intricate masks, attended by dignitaries, politicians, nobles, scoundrels, and unwelcome guests with mysterious motives.
Impulses: conceal identities, create opportunity, display grandeur, foster relationships, intimidate interlopers
Difficulty: 17
Potential Adversaries: Courtesan, Herald of Conquest, Monarch, Spy, Trickster Spirit
FEATURES
The Game of Thrones - Passive: A single conversation at this ball could determine the fate of an entire nation. Nearly everyone at the ball seeks the attention of one or more major figures in the region’s politics. Gaining access to the highest-status NPCs at the ball requires previous arrangements or completing a Progress Countdown (4 to 8).
Whose attention is most sought-after? Who here has power but is not in-demand? Why? Who is fully concealing their identity and why? Who is posing as someone else?
A Mask of Mirrors - Action: Attendees will categorize one another by the intricacy of their mask and outfit, and most prominent figures will be recognizable despite the masks. PCs must arrange for their outfits and masks in order to pass muster, as anyone without suitable attire gains disadvantage on all social rolls in the scene due to their shabby appearance. Characters with especially exceptional outfits gain advantage on relevant rolls, and the truly deft can signal faction affiliation through their outfit without the broader audience of attendees knowing. PCs might use Knowledge to design their outfit and Finesse craft it, or employ an ally to create their garb.
Who made your outfit and mask? What do they look like? What identity, concept, or historical figure is your outfit meant to communicate? What secret messages does it contain that only those in the know will recognize?
A Fox in the Henhouse – Action: Spend a Fear to reveal that an attendee has been murdered under mysterious circumstances. The murderer is still at large, but the hosts are trying to keep the party from falling apart. Identifying the murderer requires a Progress Countdown (6) before a Consequence Countdown (4) triggers, signaling panic consuming the attendees and bringing the whole night crashing down.
Who is killed, and how? Who discovered the body? Who stands to gain the most from their death, and who benefits from the party falling into chaos? Who uses the instability as a distraction to make a bold move (social, martial, magical, etc.)
Belle of the Ball – Action: Introduce a mysterious figure of incomparable beauty in a magically-intricate outfit and masque suggesting a figure out of folklore. They catch the attention of the whole party not just because of their appearance but because no one knows who they are. The mysterious figure is here on a mission – find a spouse, expose a rival, or something more sinister. Identifying the mysterious stranger requires completing a Progress Countdown (8) before the figure accomplishes their task and vanishes from the party (Consequence Countdown 4).
Who is this figure, really? When have the PCs met this figure in a very different situation? Who helped them gain entrance to the party and such a magnificent outfit?
Dangerous Liaisons – Action: Two characters whose coupling or romance would prove scandalous or disastrous steal away to be intimate, but they are discovered. Activate a Standard Countdown (4) for the witness to relate what they’ve seen. If the witness is not stopped before the countdown triggers, news of the liaison reaches the worst possible person. Gain 2 Fear.
Where do the lovers go for their assignation? Who are the lovers and why would they otherwise be unable to meet? Why would their discovery be disastrous, and for whom? Who is the witness, and who do they go to inform of the liaison?
Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts - Reaction: Reveal an interloper attempting to eavesdrop on the current conversation. The PC with the highest Instinct or a relevant experience may make an Instinct Reaction Roll to notice the eavesdropper before anything too delicate is said. On a failure, the conversation is overheard until the eavesdropper is identified and leaves or is chased off. If the eavesdropper escapes with critical information, gain 1d4 Fear.
Who is the eavesdropper and how are they trying to pass unnoticed? Who do they represent? How are they disguised and who do they claim to be associated with?
Silvery Barbs – Reaction: On any result with Fear on a social roll, spend a Fear to force the PC to mark 1d4 Stress as they are mocked for a fumbled word, inelegant metaphor, or other failure of comportment.
Who stands to gain from the PC being ridiculed? Is this a specific effort to undermine the PC or mere jockeying for status? What do they find themselves wishing they’d said hours later, when the moment has long since passed?
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This product includes materials from the Daggerheart System Reference Document 1.0, © Critical Role, LLC. under the terms of the Darrington Press Community Gaming (DPCGL) License. More information can be found at https://www.daggerheart.com. There are no previous modifications by others.
Comments
Michael R. Underwood
This is a great pull - I'd meant this to be a Fear feature to make it a bit less brutal. I'll want to give it a test to see whether the Fear cost should be higher, or if it should maybe be only on a Failure with Fear. Let me know how it goes if you use it at your table!
Austin Lance
Great stuff! We absolutely need more high society encounters in our RPGs. I'm curious how you settled on Silvery Barbs being all Fear instead of Failure with Fear? 45% chance to lose d4 Stress for every social roll can be quite serious for a longer encounter.
