The Truth Behind The Masked Fools Masks | Honkai Star Rail Lore

In honkai star rail the masked fools are one of the most interesting factions as they only prioritize fun and entertainment, no matter the costs. Each of them wear a mask they get when they first join and while it might seem like an ordinary mask, there are indications that the masks have other uses. Do the masks give the masked fools powers, are they connected to Aha, the aeon of elation this way or are the masks something else entirely. Thats what we will discuss in this video the truth behind the masked fools masks

Some part of this video comes from the actual lore while others may be speculation on my part as we currently do not know the full story. As such take it with a grain of salt as the point of this video is just a deeper dive into Honkai Star Rail lore.

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#honkaistarrail #starrail #lore #gametheory #gaminglore #hsr #sampo #maskedfools #sparkle

[snowboundwhale]

Sampo is able to move quickly and quietly, escaped from a small hotel room we were in without us noticing because we looked away for a moment, and could move between Belabog's under & over worlds and even bring others with him, seemingly at a time when literally nobody else could, only ever did so offscreen, and he flatly refuses to explain himself when we ask about it or why we can't use his method to get back out. I realise he shouldn't have had his mask at the time but I'm convinced this was done using the Path of Elation's somehow, and if your point about the masks becoming the vessel for themselves holds water then maskless Sampo could still have powers of Elation.
Aha's said to have climbed the world tree and seen outside the universe, and as you said SU Aha always realises they're a simulation and that we aren't the real Akivili, and Sparkle & Sampo can break the 4th wall, so I think Sampo's been leveraging "object impermanence". That despite the immersion and verisimilitude video games like HSR might strive to achieve, the reality is anything offscreen/ out of bounds basically isn't there, not every component of the world is loaded in at all times etc., and Sampo's doing the same thing Sans does in Undertale where he walks off screen in one direction and shows up somewhere else that was distinctly not in the direction he was shown walking. It's been a persistent thing, what powers should we know to associate with Elation, like how a character pulling memory shenanigans is a beeline to probably being connected to Remembrance. Elation so far seems to like bombs and illusions, but also has this apparent knowledge of the 4th wall, and is the "reality" of the HSR universe itself not an "illusion" of sorts? One we choose to immerse ourselves in for fun no less.
Basically if Elation really can just do whatever the Fool want so long as it doesn't "break immersion" for the players and anything that would is only allowed to happen off screen I wouldn't be surprised. It even fits with their dangerous unpredictability and how every Masked Fool/ invitee so far being clearly intelligent but playing the fool, instead of just being foolish by nature; This is a game for them as much as it is for us.

[nilayraha]

Elation is the most interesting path for me. Hope to see more about masked fools and mourning actor and they become more important soon. Specialy want to see an emanator.

[rodon]

7:38 "but this borders on cosmic level of existential horror, and aha is all about fun, right?" Mockery is also part of fun.
Don't forget his backstory, where he climbed the world tree only to face the infinite cold void. Then he saw baby fall and started laughing.
The cosmic level existential horror is exactly the thing he would laugh about, to the point that he literally breaks the 4th wall.

[joaofaria]

There's new info regarding them in the hi3 collab, and they do talk about Sparkle powers a bit too. Spoilers ahead:

I think it's around the lines of: she can take part of her conscious and create those "domains/reality marbles/illusions" that we saw in her confront vs Vita, for example. She doesn't necessarily needs to come prepared (like with a fixed deck of cards in her pocket), she has her memory to craft then in the spot according to the situation.

Take this with a massive grain of salt, since I got it directly from translated bilibili comments.

We also got some new impliccations that comes from the last log in event in HSR: there's a line that further associates Sampo with Diogenes (greek philosopher) which is more food for the theory that he is both a Morning Actor and a Masked Fool. I can expand a bit on that if anyone wishes.

Edit: dropped a comment here expanding a bit more. The most important thing to have in mind guys is to keep eyes open, because nothing is truly confirmed yet and could just be the writers trollling in the end of the day (they're behind Aha afterall haha).

[untamedrose]

Just putting this out there, ever since Sparkles Monodrama Trailer came out I've always had the theory that Sparkle is either an emanator of Aha or Aha itself/themselves or possessed by Aha. After all, Aha is able to masquerade as a human without being detected for a long period of time, like that time it/they were on the Star Rail as a nameless, and then they blew up the Star Rail.

[MaliciousVeracity]

The masks do grant power. While I'm not sure if its ever said in the game itself, the official hsr hoyoverse site has a "guide to penacony" booklet, in which it states that the masks are granted to them by Aha and allows them to access the powers of the path, and that each of them has their own unique mask.

So I'm guessing Aha gifts masks to all his followers, whether Masked Fools or Mourning Actors, and the Masked Fools steal the Mourning Actors masks on top of the ones that are personally theirs.

[jackinuzuki]

The masked fools can basically become a toon character, If it is fun(According to AHA), it can happen. AHA can give them toon force/more power, if it makes THEM laugh and the scenario fun.

[DrSlackr]

To be fair.. any 'maskless' masked fools we meet could simply be hiding their mask from us, using their Elation powers. Since wearing such a mask openly could spoil any pranks they might want to pull.

[yukio_wp]

I think masks have a similar role to IPC's cornerstones, menaing that they are pieces of Emanator's power.
We know that Diamond, an Emanator of Preservation, split their power into several cornerstones that were given to high-ranking IPC executives as this sort of power boost.
So maybe the same thing's with the masks. Perhaps a certain Mourning Actor, unlucky to have been blessed by Aha, decided to rid themselves of this power (or something like that) and split it into many, many masks which were later stolen by the Fools.

[chaddickhaut]

I could see the masks as being conduits for Aha's power. Look at how masks feature in Genshin, for instance: when Childe uses his Dark Legacy transformation, his mask goes on. Likewise, the Fatui ("fools") super soldiers all wear masks of some sort as well. Yes, I get you can't use examples from other games as evidence for what's going on in Star Rail, but HYV does like to iterate on similar ideas between games to the point that I think you can interpret each game according to themes found in the others. For example, I think Vera's Melancholy has as much to say about Star Rail as it does about Genshin, and The Legend of the Shattered Halberd beats striking similarities to the history of Acheron's homeworld.

[marcchristianchan-chan]

I mean that's what the mask is, that's what the point of the mask is

[rinoakirova]

Judging by Sparkle's line about the upcoming crisis in Jarilo-VI, it does seem to imply that the Mask holds some intrinsic power - Be it a literal ability or perhaps just status within the faction.

[baz]

Maybe the mask do not contain the person's whole consience, but a part of it, like their doubt, worries, common sense or other things that would stop someone from pursuing nothing but elation. By putting on or removing their mask the lose that part of themselves and can go all out on fun. That would explain why they all seem unhinged. Normal people wouldn't be able to have fun all the time. You could feel pity when accidently hurting someone else, sadness, etc... All kind of things that a follower of elation would want to avoid, so the mask could be some sort of double edged gift from Aha, allowing you to have fun all the time by removing a bit of your sanity.

[Redishrat_Ch]

History fictiologist Has edited some part of this
































































































why not?

[kevinhanandi]

Well now Vita from honkai impact also become sort of a member of the masked fools, you know someone who has the power to destroy civilization just to prove a point or bored, and I beleive hi3 and hsr will be more connected

[GlacianShiverrr]

Is there a possibility that sparkle is an emanator? Given how strong she is despite not being serious

[divinedoodoo]

It's probably like a watered down version of the stonehearts

[Wolfy-pwpy]

We going to get 5 star Sampo with a mask

[ShineEdgateAshton]

Time to put in the for real this not just sim universe

[muhammadhanry]

What is the interesting part?
Sparkle Mask❌
Sampo Mask✅
I think sampo doesn't like the mask or a way of Elation path so he put off his mask...but until some disaster or emergency he got no other choice to get back the mask to gain a full power..
At this point.. Sampo want to protect Jarilo 6 from that disaster/enemy....