Train Heist!

#1

I am planning on starting my first Ghost Mountain game in a big way: with a good ol’ fashioned train heist.

I wanted to open this up for conversation, because I don’t know exactly how this will work mechanically. How will players board a moving train? How will they plan out the heist?

I heard a cool idea from someone online: instead of players pre-planning their heist, give them X number of “flashbacks” to spend to explain their planning while in the thick of the heist. For instance, a player could say, "Actually, (flashback!) I knew there would be locked doors so I brought a special gunpowder device to explode the lock."Then they roll a check to see how successful it goes.

#2

for ideas i recommend Firefly " the train Job"

i like the idea of giving them a few specific issues to prep
use L.O.G. to set this up

  1. Location. train and its destination, timer

  2. Obstacles. Guards, locks, other.

  3. Goal. Mcguffin, escape, profit.

but have a few" hangups" to slow them down or test them. cut it as close to the wire as you can to build the tension. if they blow through the Obstacles add more.

figure out the 5 W’s

Who: who hired them and his/her goals
What: what do they need to steal/free from the train
When: is there a time frame for the team (X=rounds to complete the job)
Where: 2 points A:??? to B:??? and a drop off point
Why: the players motivation. bad guys have their family and are being forced.ect
How: how many Cars on the train. are they cargo/travelers/Guards/holding cells.

i recommend if you have a White Board, Draw it out.

#3

It might also be a good idea to limit the number of carts to 4 or 5. Too many and the game will drag. Too little and they will blow through it. I know in my games I make it through about 3-5 scenes per session.

#5

have this happen “off of a bridge over a ravine and in to a river”

i love the break down. nice work sir

#6

now if your doing a longer adventure i recommend

for a different take on trains…
:grin: