The Race Marshal

GM Advice Document The Ultimate RPG Gameplay Guide

What Does the Race Marshal Do

The Marshal’s job is to alternate from personal drama (often called heavy talk) and white-knuckle action of the heist represented by chases, races, reality defying stunts, and con jobs.

The Race Marshal never rolls dice, he takes actions called Marshal Moves. It is only the player’s dice that decide outcomes of moves. The Race Master sets up threats, then asks the characters “what do you do?”. Finally he follows through with consequences.

The Marshal has a lot of responsibility but you are not there to tell everyone’s story. You are there to make the player’s characters lives interesting and to facilitate the players in telling their character’s story.

The Race Marshal will play everybody who is not a player’s character (called Non-Player Characters or NPCs) in the world of the game. The RM should give every named NPC obvious motivations.

Zane The Fiend a rival racer, he want’s to earn prestige by beating your crew in a smuggling run.

George a local warlord wants to crush a rival warlord and take control. Also, it is useful to attach NPCs to the player’s characters to liven up the story and fill out the world.

Zane the Fiend has a past and personal rivalry with one of the characters.

A characters son is married to the son of the rival warlord, and he’s asking for your help in crushing the rival warlord.

This Race Marshal section provides tools to make this the best game possible. The Agenda, Principles, and Marshal Moves will help you know what to say and do to help keep the story and conversation going and to keep it interesting.

Agenda

The Race Marshal is another player at the table and everything they do should be in line with the agenda. Do not pre-plan a story line! Play to find out. Commit yourself to the fiction and its own internal logic and causality. The game should be driven by the players, you have to care about their characters story.

Principles

Honesty

Only the players can say what their characters say, do, think and/or feel. The RM will ask questions about the player’s character’s lives and the players are responsible for answering them and filling in details to round out their character. The RM will fill in everything else, describing the world, and what everyone else says or does.

Reveal the truth, and be honest. The players depend on the RM’s portrayal of the world and the events going on around them, to make decisions about their characters’ actions. Play with integrity, and respect the rules of the game. The players are entitled to the full benefits of their rolls, and resources. Don’t play “gotcha” with your players. The RM is not the adversary, they are the arbiter of the rules. Play with them, not against them, and make their characters’ stories interesting.

Rule Zero Genre.

Rule Zero is often interpreted as the RM being the final arbiter on every rule. But changing some of the rules would make this game very different. If you ignored Be a fan of the player, and Play to find out, it would create a very different experience. The Rule Zero for this game is genre. Make this game about fast cars and the people behind the wheels, and help the players tell their character’s story in this framework.

The RM’s actions should reinforce the desired genre and feel of the fiction. When the RM makes a ruling or changes a rule, they do it to create the desired tone at the table.

Remember, system matters. The way you play matters. And the product of play is genre, and story. Input from RM and players change the product, and the system sets the camera’s focus.

Scene Framing

As RM scene framing is your most powerful tool. Remember, all character’s actions happen within a scene. The scene provides Who’s there, Where they are, and What the obstacle is. For example, a player says he’s going to Work a Gig. To frame a scene, you have lots options: it could be the moment he is hired, the moment he gets paid, or some challenging moment during the gig. Fill in the details of the surroundings, the NPCs, and the mood. Ask the player “What do you do?”, let the character have the spotlight for a moment, then let the roll influence the fiction.

Scene Framing lets you define the Who and Where of a scene. The players will bring the Why and What (History and Goal) and you, the RM, provide the obstacle or challenge. It works much like movies and TV, You cut out anything that doesn’t need to happen, is tangential to the plot, is not thematic, or is simply not interesting. What determines where, and what you cut to? Interest. Whatever is interesting takes priority. Because, instead of trying to herd the players’ characters into the scene, you are setting up the location, and the general gist of the scene ahead of time. It requires trust on the parts of players that you will put their characters in interesting scenes, and some hot water, but not hose them.

TIP: Start Late, leave early.

Scenes are mainly distinguished by what conflicts arise within them, and how those conflicts are resolved. Not all scenes include conflicts, but conflicts always occur within scenes. Ideally, all scenes should revolve around conflicts. Conflicts can be external or internal, interpersonal, collective, or against nature, physical or emotional. The conflict should push characters into a meaningful choice, and the audience (players) should care about the results. Conflicts occur when characters have competing wants, or goals, and a character says “No!” That’s when the dice hit the table! Conflict should show at least one of the following: Plot advancement, premise of a character, the theme of the story, reveal a secret, or a changes to a relationship.

Marshal Moves

These moves are suggestions of way to place the characters in danger and make their lives interesting, or they provide consequences. A lot of time they will be intuitive, as what flows from the fiction. Simply narrate what’s happening.

When to Make a Move, as Race Marshal

Announcing future badness there will be a difficult route ahead.

RM You are nearing the top of the pass, and challenging and difficult mountain down hill is coming, and the semi truck you’re chasing is just ahead of you. What do you do?

Separate them.

RM A garbage turk is coming out of an alley to you right. Player I hit the gas get pass it. That Haul ass, I roll a 7
RM Cool, You and one of the rival cars make it pass the Waste management truck, but your team was a but slower and have to find a way around or what for the truck. The rival going to try and push you into a parked car, what do you do? Make a Threat move. RM Officer Cletus has been waiting at this speed trap all day, he’s been itching to take your Dodge Charger down a notch. He pulls out with his flasher and sirens blaring. Trade harm. RM Fats takes a swing to knock a Buster’s head off. The RM calls for Street fight roll, but Fats rolls a 4. The RM decides to trade harm for harm, he describes how you get a glancing blow in as the buster bobs and delivers a hard upper cut. Take 3 harm and the buster takes 2. What do you do?

Chaining Moves

Moves have a trigger and fallout. Asking the characters “What do you do?” will get them to react to the fallout. The characters response will be the trigger to more moves. This is how the game drives play forward. Like dominoes, a chain reaction knocking the next domino over until they are all knocked over and a new stasis is reached.

Soft RM moves announce dangers and challenges with a way to stop or divert it. These moves are used to set up situations, allowing the character to do something in response.

Ex: Suddenly a European sport car with blacked out windows is barreling down on your tail.

Hard RM moves don’t give the characters a chance to react. They establish an action and its consequences, to which the characters must respond. These usually follow from a soft move.

Ex: A European sports car slams into your vehicle, trying to drive you off the road. Take 2 V-Harm.

Which kind of move you use will help set the tone. Using soft moves empowers the characters, giving them a chance to react and avoid the danger. If they fail to avoid the danger then follow up with a hard move. But sometimes, to increase the risk and set a more gritty tone, the RM may start with a hard move. Some story beats require a grittier tone.

Ex: A panel van collides into the board side of you car pinning you against a building, guys in ski masks and sub-machine guns surround you. Take 4 V-Harm. What do you do?

Escalating soft moves can be chained together to create tension. As the chain gets longer the threatened consequences should get more impactful. It important to let the player respond to the escalating situation and consequences.

RM Ok you’re trying to lose your tail in the narrow streets of the city center. Your tail somehow suddenly appears behind you again. What do you do? Player I look for the best route that will be too dangerous to follow. RM Roll Read the Streets. player Oh no I got a miss. RM As you search your memory of Downton and the GPS for an ally or a route you turn the wrong way down a oneway street and a large delivery truck is heading straight for you. Now what?

Resolving Moves

Moves take place in the fiction, and their effects will be in the fiction. As the RM when describing the results of a move, think about the fiction and how it will change, focus on the characters, and the internal fictional logic.

Dice are rolled by the player when conflict occurs and a move is triggered. The Race Marshal interprets the results. Moves chain, As the RM present the situation, conflict, or danger. Then let the players respond, and If a move is triggered dice hit the table. The RM narrates the conclusion and consequence of the action based on the player’s result. Repeat, the RM narrates the continued danger or conflict until it is resolved and a new scene is called for.

On a strong hit do not take away the character’s success, give them what they want. Sometime even let the player describe his characters success. But remember getting what you want often causes its own complications.

The faster talker successfully got the mark’s fingerprints. He describes how they drank a shot of whiskey together and pocketed the shot glass. A new challenge appears putting that finger print to use.

A weak hit is a success, give the player what they want with a cost. It can easily be represent by the improve idea of “Yes and or but”. Moves will sometime ask the Players or RM to choose options. Some of these choice imply their opposite when not chosen. Those implication can be used as complication, when you need to keep things moving and haven’t thought of another problem or move.

Option: Don’t gain Heat, implies that the move risked the gaining of a heat. Then RM can either make a move and/or apply the risked +1 heat.

RM, when a move is failed it is your turn to make a move. This is a good time to make a hard move. The previous RM move and the move the player took should guide you into what is a good hard move to make, It should follow from the fiction. Make as hard a move as the genre calls for.

The player is making a Haul Ass move to overtake the lead car. On fail make a hard move, crash cause +1 v-harm, as they were starting to pull a head the rival’s car slams right into their back wheel, send them out of control for a moment bashing into the road side railing.

Partial Success 7-9

This a success with a cost or complication. This is the most common roll in the game, and Is part of what drives the move chain forward. This is still a success for the player. Ask what the player was trying to do, and then give them half of that, tell them what a success will cost and ask them if they are willing to pay it, or give them an opportunity to get what they want. The other option is give them a hard bargain.

Ex: Carnac is using feels to get pass a pair of guards into a laboratory, he has been posing as their friend, he rolls an 8. 1) He get through but one of the guards will be a chaperon him, 2) They require a bribe he’s going to have to spend a resource to through, 3) One of the guards heads in to ask permission, the other turned his back on him, he might be able to act fast to overcome the one guard remaining.

Hard Bargins

RM offer the players a choice, their choice should have consequences and drive play forward. This is a true dramatic moment where the player can show who their characters are by what they choose. Sometimes you’re offering an opportunity and other times your telling then of possible consequence. Think in the fiction here are some examples.

”The road is open and clear, but you’ll be exposed, do you go” “You can get the drop on him, but you’ll have to leave Doc behind and alone” “The Secretary is new and looks like an easy target for a hack, But you’ll have to go in person.” “You are under fire, you can get away, but one of you’re crew may take some fire” “You’ve gotten around the obstacle in the road, but now you may not have enough speed to make the coming jump” “You’ve befriended him, but he wants that mod you have on your car for himself.” “You lost your Tain, but you also lost track of who you were following.” “You made the jump, but the landing caused you some whiplash, take -1 forward”

General Moves and Custom Moves

General moves are for when players make an action that needs to be resolved but does not meet the requirements of any existing move. Then the RM may call for a roll based on a stat.

General Move Roll + Stat on 10+ they succeed, on a 7 to 9 they succeed with a consequence or are offered a hard bargain, on a miss they fail and must face the consequence of the RM making a Marshal or Threat move.

The RM should create custom moves for threats, situations, or challenges that the players may trigger by their actions. Custom moves should add to games enjoyment ditch them if they don’t. They also should fill in the space with a more details and focus that drive the story than a General Move.

Custom moves are new moves for the player’s characters to make, not for RM: when a player’s character does specify, they roll+ specify. On a 10+, specify. On a 7–9, specify. On a miss, specify. Generally, on a 10+ they’re fine, on a miss they are fucked, and on a 7–9 they should get what they want with cost, and given a chance to refuse success if the cost is to high.

Not all custom moves need to follow the above form, the minimum needed for a customer move is the trigger and the outcome. If the player does specify then specify.

Here are some example custom moves tied to a threat.

Racing Ace When you are racing Ace and he rams you, take additional v-harm (+1), he’s got that ram plate for a reason.

Losing to AceIf you lose to Ace he’s going to demand your car, roll + Sauce On 10+ choose 1, on 7 to 9 choose 2 on a miss he and his gang will take your car.

Her are custom moves used to fill out the challenges in the next heist.

Nabbing Larry’s Prints If you’ve arranged a meeting with Larry Baldman, and are attempting to get a copy of his finger prints. Roll + Brawn on 10+ you get both, on 7-9 choose 1, on miss you get neither.

CIA Cash Facility When you try to infiltrate a CIA Cash facility Roll + Poise on a 10+ choose 2, on 7-9 choose 1, on a miss you get none and RM will make it interesting.

Create your own custom moves to make Quick and Quarrelsome the game you want it to be. Maybe you want more mystery, then create a new peripheral move.

Investigate When you take the time to search a location for clues, Roll + Savvy, on 10+ you find all the clues, and hold 2, on a 7 to 9 you find some of the clues and hold 1, on miss you find a Clue. For each hold you may ask the RM a question about the clues you received, The RM doesn’t have to answer question that will immediately give away the mystery but he should be free with information.

Maybe the player sees his shadow character as military sniper and feels none of the advancements show that specialty. Then make new character moves for the player to take as advancements.

Sniper When attacking form a vantage point in secret, deal savage harm (+2 harm) and ignore armor.

Ghillie Suit if you character is attempting to hide, Roll + Poise on 10+ you go completely unnoticed, on a 7 to 9 they know someone or something is there but not who or where exactly, on miss you don’t blend in.

A character move can be used to incentives certain behaviors for the character that the player wants to engage with or explore.

Family is All When ever you put the families interests above your own, mark an experience or gain a family point. ** Berserk** If you take harm in a street fight, fight to contain your rage Roll + Poise on a 10+ take + 1 on-going to harm you deal, on a 7 to 9 take +1 forward to harm you deal and you can’t stop attacking until the one who hurt you is down or someone intervenes, on a miss your are blinded by rage and will attack all who stand in your way and mark an experience.

Easy Mark if someone manipulates you and you decide to believe them or do what they want mark an experience.

Rules for Prep

Heists Design

A heist can be long and complicated or short and sweet. There might be lots of rolls and danger, or a few quick actions. Play to find out what happens! Let a heist be however long it is.

The Leader can set up a new heist by choosing a target, by approaching a potential client and asking for work, or by being contacted by an NPC who needs to hire a crew for a job.

A heist is made up of four parts: the briefing, the challenges, the twist, and the resolution. The only part you really have to prepare is the briefing, the rest can be discovered in play. Provide the Leader and their crew with the briefing information so that they can plan how they will approach the heist. Do let them spend too much on time preparing remind them there are flashback moves that can be used.

A heist is complete when the goal stated in the briefing pitch is completed, and the reward is doled out. But finish the story with a series of Heavy Talk scenes where the players can give a story resolution to their character’s stories and the effects the heist had on them.

The Journey

These are somethings that thinking about when planning a heist that will be helpful, and will help to make each heist more interesting and focused on the players.

Briefing

The briefing is made of two parts:

Mr Nothing is requisitioning a crew to infiltrate a foreign country and bring back a dangerous virus. He’ll let your romantic interest rot in prison unless you help.

The prince of Lesotho created a custom virus that can be used as a targeted assassination weapon. He has an elite force of transporters and scientists with the latest technological toys at his disposal. He has a secret compound in the African desert. The virus was released in the London Underground, resulting in a race against time across Northern Africa to find a possible cure.

Challenges

What are the major challenges that must be overcome? Allow the Leader and crew some time to start planning the heist. Their plans and the NPCs goal and resources will help you create the obstacles that are stopping the characters from completing the heist. Try to include the location you created for the briefing but don’t force it if the players have other plans. Create countdown tracks for your challenges and ideas.

Don’t think of RM vs Players, Think about the bad guys plans and what happens if he got everything he wanted. Then role play the world and NPCs working to achieve their goals. Remember the agenda and make the characters life interesting. Don’t plan solutions, as RM your job is to create problems for the characters to overcome, let them surprise you with their solutions.

The Prince of Lesotho commissioned the virus to kill King Charles of England. If the characters do no intervene he will succeed in killing the king but the virus escapes and kill many civilians. His scientist are running the last tests in Northern Africa.

Twist

A twist is an unexpected challenge that the character must overcome. It’s a monkey wrench the RM throws into the players plans. It can come in the form of a threat or an unexpected plot twist.

A character’s estranged sibling got infected with the virus, now you have to save them too, or a rival team is also after the virus, but why?

Resolution

The resolution is the wrap-up and consequences of the heist, and awarding resources. Think about the consequences if they fail in the heist, and then think about what will happen if they succeed. Then decide how much reward they will receive for their efforts. Vehicles are expensive to maintain, and going to ground takes resources as well, you can afford to be generous.

Additional Details

Don’t forget that each character may have their own arc that is separate for the current heist. Characters may have goals or desires to accomplish, it ok to allow screen time for them to accomplish these goals.

When planning the heist it’s ok to leave blanks to be filled in latter, The player may fail a roll or take a hard bargain and that is the perfect time to add details to the heist’s challenges or twist.

If a challenge or heist is multi-stage consider having the outcome of the pervious stage impact the current stage. It might provide +/- 1 ongoing or +/- 1 forward to certain actions in the current stage.

Flashbacks

RM when the players use the planning moves, It’s time to raise the stakes, the characters are putting it all on the line, and you should too. The moments that the players use these moves should be dramatic and challenging, they’ve realized they needed something more than their Poise and Brawn. It’s time to push play forward fast and hard.

Threats

No buster survives without rustling a few feathers. The most basic threats are enemies and rivals. Threats are the dangers or conflicts that afflict the characters and that transcend the details of the heists. There are often multiple threats in play at any given time. Each threat should have a name, at least one NPC, a motivation, and a desire that involves one or more of the characters. Threats have Marshal Moves, and may have custom moves which can be used to reinforce their theme.

Law Enforcement

A particular agent of the law may have made it his personal project to capture the characters. They can bring the resources to bear in his vendetta.

Marshal Moves:

Government Agents

The government has taken interest in the crew’s activities. They see the crew as an asset to be used to their advantage.

Marshal Moves:

Crime Lords

Organized crime has its fingers in many pies and their reach is long, something the crew did was in their territory and they demand a cut.

Marshal Moves:

War Lords

Many parts of the world are controlled by evil, sadistic war lords, and they don’t take lightly to the crew’s activities.

Marshal Moves:

Financial

Bankers rule the world, and they don’t like those who don’t recognize their power, or try to take their money.

Marshal Moves:

Gangs

Every big city is chopped up into little territories, each controlled by a gang. Many gangs have their own street racers, and consider the family rivals.

Marshal Moves:

Chop shop

The local car thieves know the crew has the best cars. They can resell all those mods for a pretty penny.

Marshal Moves:

Race course

Not all threats are people, sometimes it’s a place. There is a legendary race route that has yet to be overcome and a crew member has an obsession to beat a time or finish a certain dangerous or notorious route.

Marshal Moves:

Race Generation

Create a countdown track with a segment for the number of times you expect the dice to hit the table. Each time the dice are rolled that should be moment in a cinematic scene. Within each scene the character will have a chance to perform multiple actions and interactions. Allow the players to play tactically and work together. Provide the characters with a chance to showoff and to achieve goals beyond the race.

It helps to think like a movie director, what is the external challenge? and what is an internal challenge? Take a moment and look at each character and the strings you may pull as the RM. Then incorporate these challenges into the race. If you need a few ideas review the suggested race scene.

An external challenge represents obstacles on the race course.

Road block, oncoming traffic, red light, harpin turn, fruit cart, sabotaged vehicle, and more An Internal challenge is a personal or emotional conflict to be overcome.

Fear of heights, lack of confidence, vehicle problems, Ego, impress a lover, earn respect, courage for chicken, and under estimating the opposition.

There is a lot we can learn from children’s cartoons like “Yu-gi-oh”, and “BeyBlade” they can make a children’s game dramatic, thrilling and entertaining; we can adapt some of these tropes to make races, chases and heist just as enthralling.

First every character should have a personal reason for racing, It might be as simple as to become the fastest, earn money for a sisters surgery, to get revenge, or to save a relative for a mysterious fate. When the players create their characters they should have a reason they are part of underground street racing scene. The RM may use these reason to engage the characters and to draw them deeper into the world.

Next races should have stakes for the characters that’s more than just winning or losing. The characters should be racing for family, friendship, hate, and love; these emotions can fuel future heavy talk scenes. The characters should be racing for stakes that will force the character to make choices, and will have consequence in the fiction; like pink slips, money for a purpose, to fight corruption, to free a kidnapped character, to impress a potential lover, to overcome a lack of internal focus, or to progress a heist.

Finally races are filled with sudden changes of fortune, strategies, tactics, and internal struggles. This keeps us engaged waiting to see how the character will win, and what stunts will they pull this time. As RM we need to play our opposition smartly they will use the terrain, and surprise to gain advantage. They will use traps and tricks to lure the characters into disadvantaged positions which will force the players to think of solution to overcome the challenge. If they lose their characters are not dead but they fail to get the stakes they wanted today and will have to find another way. This allows the RM to play hard and fairly because the end of the character’s story is rarely at stake.

Kids cartoons remind us to engage the characters into the situation, and make it personal. Every conflict should have more at stake than just winning or losing. Those stakes should be related to character’s motivations and desires, and show us who the character is. Finally don’t be afraid to use all the resources available to the Non Player Characters (NPCs), forcing the characters to find creative solutions.

The RM is wanting to create a chase scene, where a thief is trying to escape with an important hard drive. The info on the hard drive should be import to one of the characters to personally motivate them. There are two player characters involved in the chase. The chase should be quick, taking two turns, so the RM creates a 5 segment countdown track. The opposition track will be 3 segments with a trigger for every turn, and will be marked on a miss, meaning the thieves will escape in three turns or less if a miss is rolled. The thieves have a fast modified asian import, and the passenger has a shotgun to make it dangerous to approach. The RM imagines the race will happening in one overall location, a set of streets in a warehouse district, with several big semi trucks hauling loads, providing obstacles and options to use for stunts.

Running the Race

Take a moment and review the stages of the race, think of the how the obstacles and challenges in each stage may manifest. Then review the number of segments in each stage and adjust them for difficulty and spotlight. Then review if there are any secondary or dramatic goals the player are hoping to accomplish with the race and how you will spotlight those challenges. Finally prepare for the unexpected the players will find a way to overcome these obstacles in ways you never expected.

Draw the segments of the count down track for each stage, and add a note of the obstacle for each stage. Then choose a player to start off the race, and ask him what does he do, and how does he do it? Then based based on his actions description have him roll the triggered move, and narrate the results and make a move for an NPC. Then repeat for all the player character involved in the race. Then establish a poll position for each player and NPC.

1st place Tabasco, 2nd place Shredded (NPC), 3rd place Jane Micheal Vincent, 4th Ronald, and last is Fluffy (NPC). Then for each round each player will get a turn from last place to first. Going from last to first give the race a more head to head feel, the the trailing person passing the leader and leader possibly regaining the lead. Narrate the NPCs action and successes based off the the players rolls. At the end of each round note the new race order.

1st Jane Micheal Vincent, 2nd place Shredded (NPC), 3rd place Tabasco, 4th place Ronald and last place is Fluffy (NPC)

Then repeat, spotlighting how they overcome the obstacles and face their dramatic moments. When presenting new Obstacles, encourage the players to Read the Streets ask questions and then narrate what the character does to overcome the challenge. Once the count down track is full marked off, declare the winner and have that player narrate their success.

There will be three basic moves primarily triggered during race scenes Haul Ass, Till the Wheels Come Off, and Read the Streets. That may seem pretty boring, but they allow the players to try anything they have ever dreamed of doing in a vehicle. The simplicity of the rules allows the RM and players the ability to shape the game with their narration. The world of Quick and Quarrelsome is cinematic allowing cartoon physics. It still important to keep in mind narrative positioning, the character must be narratively in a position that triggers the move or makes it possible, and the scope must be in accordance with what is possible. If there is a count down track, the player can narrate something that moves him forward in accomplishing the goal, but not an absolute win.

JMV is trying to stop an airplane from taking off, He shoots his grabbing hook attempting to attach his car to the plane and slow it down, He makes Till the Wheels Come Off’ role. The result will determine how the countdown clocks are marked. It won’t just allow him to completely stop the plane. But the player or RM can narrate something cool about how he pulling the plane off the runway, or now dangling in the air.

List of Suggested Race Scenes

  1. Hairpin turns
  2. Red Light with cross traffic
  3. Highway going the wrong way
  4. Narrow street with parked cars
  5. 18 wheeler with car hauler
  6. 18 wheeler pulling across the street
  7. Busy city streets
  8. Pedestrians crossing
  9. Food cart
  10. Tunnels
  11. Train Crossing beat the train
  12. Head to head NOX boost
  13. The start jockeying for position
  14. Hills taking flight
  15. Drawbridge
  16. Narrow bridge
  17. Off course
  18. Narrow alley
  19. Parking garage
  20. Jump
  21. Round-about
  22. Divert off-road
  23. Access road, parallel to the main road
  24. 180 turn around barrel
  25. Road construction
  26. Police
  27. Pedestrian river walk

First Session

Before the First session, print out the playbooks, vehicle sheets, and basic move reference sheets. Have extra dice and pencils available. Then prepare a comfortable play space. It’s often advisable to have some drinks and snacks, as you will be playing for several hours.

Guide everyone through the character creation process, It’s important to do this as a group. Remind them of their role, and that as the RM you’re not there to kill them, but to play the world with them and make their lives interesting. Once everyone has an idea of who their character will be, guide them through the History process, make sure each character is connected to the leader. Each character should have a vehicle. Review what their vehicles are and ask what stunts and tricks they hope to perform. Ask them questions about their characters motivations.

Hey Rob, you created a character named Doc is he a real doctor? A PhD of American Humor, nice. How did Doc meat the Leader? What, really, doing stand up in Coffee Shops. Why did Doc get into street racing and crime?

Now that the players have their characters. It’s time to start playing, the first session is for you and them to get a feel of who their characters are and how capable they are. Frame a couple action scenes, think of the heist scenes at the beginning of a James Bond movie, or an action movie kicker. Intersperse the chance for a few Heavy Talk scenes. End the first session with some possible heist suggestions or hooks.

After the first session, write notes of what and who they interacted with. Then create some possible threats that they will have to deal with. Then, design the upcoming heist that will be began in the next sessions. (See the How to Prep a Heist section.)

Next Session

In the next session, you’ll review the current heist and threats in play. Decide which threats will be bringing their resources and contacts too bear. Then, review the goal of the heist and think of a few obstacles that could prevent the characters from achieving that goal. Do not plan solutions. You work in the “problems department” and the players work in the “solutions department.’

Try to start a session with a high action kicker to get things moving and to set the tone. End the session on a cliff hanger or with a question, then the next session can resolve those.

Next Heist

When the characters complete a heist, and receive their reward, they will likely need to go Off the Grid. Give them an option to retire their characters and create a new ones. Once you know who will be the Leader for the next heist, it’s time to call a scene to set the hooks for the next heist. That scene should provide some very personal reason for the Leader to take on the heist. Then let the Leader assemble the team for the heist.

Retirement

Retirement is the little death. When a character no longer has the emotional wear-with-all to keep going, they retire. A character in retirement gains a trauma, and permanently marks a sadness segment. Traumas are expected to have major impact on the fiction and the character’s story. As the RM, remind them of the drawbacks of their trauma at opportune times, and when it’s the most dramatic, bring their trauma to the forefront.

Scene types

There are several iconic scenes types listed below, they are ment to spark the RM’s imagination. This game will often move back and forth between chases, races, and Heavy Talk, but mixing a few other types of scenes will spice things up.

Chases and Races

Chase, races, and crazy stunts are the combat scenes for Quick and Quarrelsome. They are the bullet time, where everything slows down to action by action, and every move matters. As the Race Marshal you will be breaking races into individual cinematic moments. Each of these moments should provide an obstacle to overcome, challenger to be bested, and a goal. Consequences should often have longer reaching story effects beyond the moment, and often beyond the race.

The characters live their lives a quarter mile at a time and every quarter mile will be action packed.

Sometime a race is just a race, but it can be so much more. What do the racers care about: ego, status, money, lover, safety, life? A race will be much more exciting when there are stakes beyond winning and losing. Give them meaningful choices to make character-wise or plot-wise. What do the choices tell us about the character?

Give them a choice between winning and risking their life. The NOX tank is leaking, will one last boost secure the win, or will it explode destroying your car and possibly forcing your character into early retirement,

The character planned to propose to the love of their life tonight, but their family needs them to represent in a race. Can they do both, or will they sacrifice the win to arrive onetime for their date.

Do you find out what the race organizer are really doing during the race by following and helping them rob a train and lose the race, or does your ego force you to beat a rival?

Heavy talk

These are emotional, and deeply personal scenes, driven by dialogue or physical expressions of emotion between player characters. A Heavy Talk scene gives the players’ characters a chance to truly speak their inner thoughts, and act out their true desires. When dialogue is hard, then they will express emotion through strong physical actions, whether they be love or violence they can convey as much, if not more meaning.

Heavy Talk is core to the game, because it is the only way to reduce Sadness. Each playbook has multiple version of heavy talk moves, allowing players more options to personalize these scenes with another player character. If players are avoiding engaging in Heavy Talk, they soon will be retiring their characters. If players are having trouble engaging in Heavy Talk, allowing them to treat heavy talk scenes like confessionals from reality TV. But Heavy Talk blossoms when it is expressed as short but deep personal dialog among player characters.

A Lawman character who has been in deep cover, and has been dating the Hot Head. He’s about to reveal that he’s been in deep cover, and that he used him, the hot head, to get into the organization, but his love for him is real. This is a defining movement for both players characters by how they will react going forward.

The Leader just discovered her sister has been scammed by her best friend, she is speechless and speaks with her fists, laying out her best friend.

Procurement and Upgrade

Another important beat is when the heroes have a moment to breath and can assemble the gear they need for the next big action scene. It’s a chance for the characters to acquire new vehicles or add mods. The characters will express their individuality through their acquisitions.

The brain needs a few new cars, he walks into a prestigious, high-class auction for rare, one of a kind, cars. He’s about to get kicked out, for not looking like the usual investor. He takes a moment to show off his resources gained from the last heist.

Repair Montage

A beloved vehicle comes back as almost scrap, Can it be saved and ready for the next race. This is import question for the character’s future, spend a series of vignettes on its repair.

The Leader’s special car was nearly totaled a few scenes back, he gathers the Brain and the Shadow to help him restore it for the final scene of the heist. A montage of scenes happens as they describe their repair rolls, The Leader upgrades the engine, The Brain adds a new mod, and the Shadow does some body work.

Con Job

There is often a McGuffin (an item that is key to the plot) that the characters must acquire to complete their heist: a finger print, a voice phrase, a usb drive, computer access, a party invite, etc. This is your chance to propose challenges that can’t be overcome with violence. The characters are encouraged to use trickery and sneakiness to accomplish this task.

The Fast Talker needs to make the mark say his passphrase into his voice activated safe. He poses as a bartender at the mark’s favorite watering hole and engages him in a conversation to get all the words needed on tape.

Street Fight

Occasionally, a member of the crew will find themselves without their vehicle and forced to engage in a physical challenge. These are dangerous scenes for the characters as they will often take Harm, and must engage in dangerous situations where they risk being taken out, and gaining Sadness.

While in your hideout, a group of thugs break in with murderous intent. The characters grab their weapons to defend their hideout.

Party

A party is a chance to play up the criminal underworld, to make it real. The RM can introduce new NPCs , and possible threats. It’s a time for the characters to interact with the local street racing scene and to see how their reputation has spread.

A group of street racers recognize the characters as their own, and hide them from the police, in exchange for a chance to prove themselves against the characters crew in a race.