Carnie Masks

[battlewraith]

I'm curious how people picture the carnival of shadows masks actually working. The descriptions I've read on places like the wiki describe them as porcelain masks. 

 

I've always pictured it as, once the mask is put on, it actually becomes the wearer's face. So the effect would be like whiteface and makeup rather than actually wearing a mask. The old comic from the retail days seemed to support this somewhat--when Vanessa becomes pissed her mouth is clearly represented as an actual mouth moving, not the static opening of a mask. This would also make sense in terms of porcelain mask breaking easily, restricting vision, and being a potential weakness if someone could just run up and pull it off of your face. Also, despite the fact that all of the carnies are psychically connected, there is still some sense of individuality as indicated by the various named bosses. 

 

Anyways, just curious on people's takes.

[Snarky]

They wear masks?   😷 

[JasperStone]

 

I always thought of it as bonding, like in The Mask. 

[Frozen Burn]

2 hours ago, battlewraith said:

I'm curious how people picture the carnival of shadows masks actually working. The descriptions I've read on places like the wiki describe them as porcelain masks. 

 

I've always pictured it as, once the mask is put on, it actually becomes the wearer's face. So the effect would be like whiteface and makeup rather than actually wearing a mask. The old comic from the retail days seemed to support this somewhat--when Vanessa becomes pissed her mouth is clearly represented as an actual mouth moving, not the static opening of a mask. This would also make sense in terms of porcelain mask breaking easily, restricting vision, and being a potential weakness if someone could just run up and pull it off of your face. Also, despite the fact that all of the carnies are psychically connected, there is still some sense of individuality as indicated by the various named bosses. 

 

Anyways, just curious on people's takes.

 

To me, they are masks.  Full masks.  Like the two I own:

 

 

 

But of course, the Carnie masks are magical, unlike mine.  😄  

 

So, whether they are porcelain (or other material - hard and thick paper mache like mine) and being fragile, it is inconsequential as the magic would protect it.  That same magic would also keep it on the user's face so it's not easily torn off by someone just walking up to them - the mask wants to be worn and bonds with the user - but yes, can still be torn off with great force (similar to the wooden mask in Jim Carey's The Mask movie - they had to really tug and pull to remove the mask from someone).

 

Also, any limitations of the static mask do not seem to be an issue for me.  Field of view is fine/normal, if not enhanced by the dark psychic magic of the mask itself - this is noted by the solid colored eyes on all the Carnies' masks.  Mouth doesn't need to move as you can still hear what is being said, and frankly, it's more creepy and daunting to a foe to not see the mouth moving.  Which also leads me to not buy into the mask becoming the wearer's skin / whiteface with makeup. 

 

Additionally, supporting mask not being absorbed into the wearer's face - each mask is pretty much identical across all carnies - same expression, same look, same makeup across all minions, LTs, and bosses (with maybe a few exceptions for the top brass).  Also, when Desdemona puts on Vanessa's mask, she is truly wearing the mask that looks just like what was on Vanessa's face - not a morphed version of Des' face + mask.  For these reasons, I believe they are truly masks worn, and not absorbed. 

And yes, there is still individuality from the user wearing the mask, but the souls within the masks influence, corrupt, and mostly take over the wearer.  We kind of learn about how this all works in Madelaine Casey's arc "Upon the Psychic Plane" and the pendant she was wearing.  I think stronger willed people can resist and retain some of their individuality whereas weaker willed people are completely overtaken.  

 

 

[Scarlet Shocker]

let me be the first to say "DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!"

 

 

 

Also if your mask was absorbed would your face get more HP?

[Techwright]

17 hours ago, Frozen Burn said:

 ...but yes, can still be torn off with great force (similar to the wooden mask in Jim Carey's The Mask movie - they had to really tug and pull to remove the mask from someone).

 

 

I can just imagine a discussion on this with a Steel Strongman:

 

[Latex]

I believe the Porcelain masks contain fragments of Giovanna Scaldi's soul, she willingly undertook this ritual and died during it in attempt to counter the Church and a Bishop called Abelard. She was an extremely powerful mutant psychic in 17th century Venice that turned an entire town of elites into her puppets.

Description of the masks is like an 'Eyes Wide Shut' masquerade vibe, full-face, porcelain & enamel, containing a fragment of Scaldi's soul that basically overtakes you(?). But the masks all look similar to Giovanna Scaldi whom was a courtesan serving the elites of Venice in the 1700's. Here are some direct quotes written by Sean Fish (Manticore).
 

Quote

Venice in the 17th Century was a city-state in the early stages of a long and swirling decline. It’s role as the preeminent trading center in Europe was soon to be overshadowed by the Dutch and the eventually the English. Yet there still remained a great deal of wealth and power in the island city, and with it came a commensurate level of hidden and not so hidden debauchery and sin. While the nobles and merchants of Venice put on a show of piety and moral uprightness, in private many of them were hedonists to the core. Wild orgiastic parties and illicit love affairs with beautiful courtesans were the rule of the day, as were experimentations with darker practices, including black magic. Magicians, fortune tellers, alchemists, and sorcerers all worked the Venice scene, scamming nobles, priests, and captains of industry alike, sometimes with real magic, sometimes with simple chicanery. It was a time of great opportunity for those willing to seize it by any means necessary.

 

Quote

And so it was that the Pope turned to Brother Abelard, now in his 60’s but still looking like a man of no more than 40, to deal with the massive outbreak of heresy in Venice. The Inquisitor was more than happy to serve the Bishop of Rome. The mutant monk set forth immediately, and unlike many of his fellow Inquisitors, he traveled alone. He found that having a retinue not only slowed him down, it sometimes led to difficult questions. Not everyone – especially members of the suspicious Inquisition, was willing to believe that his powers came from God and not witchcraft.

 

Quote

Frightened and desperate, Giovanna knew that she couldn’t hide for long, but she had no idea how she could escape either. It was her friend and confidant Uriel who came up with a rather radical solution. He had long been investigating the nature of Giovanna’s power, and had determined that Giovanna could project her entire soul and mind out of her body and into someone or something else. It was clear that Brother Abelard could read minds, so he might detect Giovanna if she put her mind into another body to escape the city. But what if she put her mind into a specially prepared object? Uriel knew several spells that he thought might enable an item to carry a soul, at least for a time.

Not knowing what else to do, Giovanna agreed. She chose an enamel mask that she thought looked a bit like her and Uriel performed the necessary rites and rituals. Giovanna projected her entire soul into the mask, something she had never done before, even with a person. Her body died immediately, and all the world went dark for her. She knew nothing of the outside world. The plan was for Uriel to spirit her out of the city and find a suitable body for her to possess for her own.

 

Quote

Vanessa found herself wandering into a dusty, decrepit curio shop in one of Venice’s less traveled corners. As she poked around, looking for a souvenir, she came across a once beautiful wooden box containing what must have been at one time a lovely porcelain mask. The wooden case had warped slightly and was covered with scratches and scuffmarks, while the mask itself had become discolored and chipped in several places. She felt strangely drawn to the piece, and made the shopkeeper an offer he gladly accepted.

 

All the way to her hotel room, Vanessa grew more and more obsessed with trying the mask on. She had planned simply to drop it off and then head out for more sightseeing, but by the time she arrived, all she could think about was finding the right materials to clean the mask properly. A trained art restorer, Vanessa could work wonders with a little soap, water, and a toothbrush. She settled down with the mask and over the next few hours carefully restored at least some of its former glory. Then, her work complete, the next step was obvious. She put it on.

 

The mask had passed through many owners in the hundreds of years it had been passed about Venice, but never before had someone been so perfect a match for the dormant psyche of Giovanna Scaldi. She had felt her distant cousin’s arrival almost as soon as Vanessa set foot off the train in Venice. In fact, it was the first thing Giovanna had felt in a very, very long time. Up until that point, she had existed in a void, alone with her thoughts for the intervening centuries. She had long ago given up straining against the confines of her porcelain prison, and had in many ways gone quite insane. But Vanessa’s presence snapped her out of her madness – at least to a degree – and now the time was at hand. She would be free once more!

 

When Vanessa put on the mask, Giovanna’s mind flooded into hers, nearly overwhelming her. The sudden melding of two sets of memories drove Vanessa’s body into shock. She collapsed to the floor unconscious. As she lay there, her mind and Giovanna’s fought for control over the body, even as they exchanged information about their respective worlds. Their thoughts, emotions, memories, and morals combined in a kind of psychic soup, until many of the boundaries between the two were eroded completely. Neither could win the titanic battle of spirits for total control. It was only the next morning, when the maid found Vanessa sprawled on the floor and removed the mask, that the conflict ended.

 

Frightened and badly shaken, Vanessa packed the mask away and eventually returned home to Paragon City, ostensibly to finish her graduate work. Instead, she spent her time learning everything she could about Giovanna Scaldi and the mysterious mask. She consulted with some of the city’s foremost experts on occult matters, including several prominent members of the Midnight Squad. They ascertained that while the mask itself did have magical properties, Giovanna’s power was entirely psychic based, rather than mystic in origin. She was, in all probability, a mutant.

 

Sorting through the memories that Giovanna passed onto her during their mind meld, Vanessa knew that Giovanna had been a powerful psychic, capable of influencing and even controlling other peoples minds. She also knew that Giovanna somehow fed on the souls of those who “sinned.” The access to such power was quite tempting, but Vanessa was too frightened to put the mask on again, even though it called to her constantly.

 

Then events forced her hand. When the Rikti invaded, Vanessa felt as powerless as anyone. These aliens were overrunning the city from every direction. There was nowhere to run and it seemed that the heroes were dying as quickly as the attackers. Vanessa knew she had to do whatever she could to fight back against these strange monsters. She took a chance and put the mask on. The two psyches fused once more, but this time Vanessa was ready for the shock and had prepared her own mental defenses. She prevented Giovanna from totally taking over her mind and even came to an accord with the woman in the mask – they needed to work together or the aliens would destroy both of them.

There is much more lore on the Carnival of Shadows, I get the feeling the OG Developers had a soft-spot for them, there's a ton more reading from Page 120 onward of the 'COH Bible'.
 

CoHBible-1.pdf

Edited 17 hours ago by Latex