The Great Soul Train Robbery
January 11, 4pm
On the road to hell there was a railway line. An express train to the infernal city of Dis, crewed by furies and carrying treasure and souls to damnation. You’re going to rob it.
The Great Soul Train Robbery is a tabletop roleplaying game for 2–6 players and 1 gamemaster about Desperados robbing the train to Hell.
This game...
Works for 3–6 players, plus one gamemaster
Offers a compact experience perfect for a one-shot
Uses the quick-to-learn Honey Heist system ("Sweetened by Honey Heist")
Provides all the materials and inspiration you need to pick up and play
Tells memorable stories of damnation or redemption among hell-bent Desperados
This game is about a small group of desperados who want, for various reasons of their own, to rob the Soul Train to Hell and loot it of its supernatural treasure! Each car will bring them face to face with various horrors and they'll have to pay in sin or love to survive!
You will create a desperado character and confront the horrors of judgement and supernatural torture at the hands of imps, Pinkerton detectives, souls the desperados knew in life, Furies, and the Conductor.
Spin an allegorical Weird Western yarn as your sharpshooters, fiddlers, homesteader widows, and other Desperados attempt a Hellish train heist. Will you claim your prize from the train, or be overcome, damned, or broken by the heist?
This game uses a simple system based on Rowan, Rook, & Decard's Honey Heist. Your Desperados are a motley crew with mixed motives, so they all have two stats: Lover and Sinner. Use one to make human connections and perform selfless acts, and the other to do dirty deeds and brutal acts.
You and your fellow Desperados have heard rumors of a fabulous prize aboard this Hell-bound train, and you've stowed away on the caboose to rob the thing. To claim your prize, you’ll make your way forward through the train car by car, using your wits, guns, or heart to navigate obstacles—like damned souls challenging you to poker games, or Pinkerton guards patrolling with leashed hellhounds.
The Great Soul Train Robbery is perfect for low-prep or no-prep oneshot gameplay. The game is packed with tables of inspiration for you roll on or choose from, ensuring that every train car (and every play-through) is different and exciting.
When that lonesome whistle sounds, will you have the grit and the gristle to knock over the hell-bound train? Will you lose your own soul in the process?
To sign up, follow the link here.
FAQ
What will the GM provide?
As your host, I will attempt to provide all general supplies including: dice for everyone, hardcopy character sheets, pencils, rules reference, cheat sheet (for some games), and, of course, a story for you to play!
What do I need to bring?
Only whatever you need--personal hydration, personal meds, preferred set of dice if you have a set, and/or a preferred means of writing if a pencil and the character sheet isn't ideal. Some folks like to have a notebook for noting NPCs and other details for playing in TT RPGs, but that's entirely up to you.
Do I need to have played a table top RPG (TTRPG) before?
No experience needed! Generally, the games that I select for game play are going to be simple and ideal for a one-shot (a single stand alone game).
Is there a way for me to see a sample play-through of the RPG we're playing?
Typically, the answer to this question is almost always yes, but be aware that the play-throughs on YouTube/Twitch may not have the same tone or tenor as our game. In my experience, they tend to lean hard into comedic or dark tones and that may not be what the group wants to play. Here's a play-through on YouTube of The Great Soul Train Robbery--just as an fyi: it's a group of white cis men.
What system are we playing?
For gamers, The Great Soul Train Robbery is "Sweetened by Honey Heist". This is a simple, easy to learn narrative system that is still reliant on dice, but heavy on the storytelling.
Will there be breaks?
Yes, we will probably have at least one get-up-and-move break. There may be others where we pause the game, and you are welcome to get up at any time without questioning. (If you're not coming back, it would be nice if you can send me a quick note saying your done via email.)
Can I invite friends?
Short answer is no. But the longer answer is that if you want to have someone else participate with you, they'll need to fill out this form on their own. If this is something you feel strongly about, please send me a follow up email once you've finished this and let me know who your friend is. If you want the game to be entirely run for a group of your friends, then we can schedule can discuss and schedule a game for you separately via email. (Email FranzFreelancing@gmail.com)