The Rapid & The Repentant

I stole my first ride when I was thirteen. Didn't even have my license, was barely tall enough to see over the steering wheel.  It was a piece of crap, two-door hatchback that could barely get over 30 mph. It was this hideous snot green and smelled like hot dogs. I still dream about that moment every night. The thrill, the rush, the two years I spent in juvie. Why do I boost cars? Not the money, not the street cred — it all goes back to that one perfect moment in that clunker. I'm always chasing that feeling, and one day, I'll be fast enough to catch it again. Now lets drive, junior.

The Rapid & The Repentant is a four page, GMless, and open-narrative tabletop roleplaying game inspired by the classic game of apologizing to other players for purposefully screwing them over. Players will take on the roles of effortlessly cool and stylish car thieves and adrenaline junkies evading cops, cronies, and other crews as they boost slick rides. Inspired by vehicle heist, car chase, and street racing films like Gone in 60 Seconds, Bullit, The Italian Job, and The Fast and the Furious franchise, R&R packs high-octane, cinematic drama.

The game is designed to be a quick, no-prep one-shot, typically running between one to two hours. However, players can easily run multiple heists per session to extend the playtime, if desired. Additionally, R&R can be used to establish characters for other, longer form games involving adrenaline junkie criminal characters.  Players can also run multiple sessions tracking the careers and capers of their fearless crew as they nab everything with rims and a pearlescent paintjob in the city.

The Rapid & The Repentant uses a simple system that uses either a d12 (easy mode) or a pack of modified cards (pro mode) to resolve situations both on and off the streets. During the narratively freeform preparation phase of the heist, players will engage in collaborative storytelling to tell suspenseful and intriguing vignettes for each of the Drivers as they gather whatever edge they can to win the race of their life. 

Once the rides are boosted, the players will take their Drivers to the street, using a rather familiar board consisting of 60 dangerous blocks to race down. Looking at a long distance roadtrip? No problem, the R&R Roadmap has instructions on how to use it virtually! No breezy drive through the park, the players will find their Drivers pursued by corrupt cops, violent gangsters, and all other manner of baddies looking to ram them off the road. If they can make it through the hostile streets, dodge their pursuers, and bring their ride to the cargo dock in one piece, cash, rep, and a family-style cookout await the daring Drivers.

For those who like classic roadsters or always wanted to steal a hover-coupe, R&R is a settings agnostic game. While the default rules language alludes to the sepia-colored early 2000s, players are free to set the game in any setting they wish. Bootlegging in the 20's, outrunning megacorp security in a neon-lit hyper-city, or even stealing a corrupt aristocrat's carriage — R&R is as customizable as any flashy ride on the street.

Stealing cars is a dangerous gig and you are going to need a loyal crew (family?) to have your back. The Rapid & The Repentant supports play for two to four players to take on the roles of the quirky and badass Drivers that make up the crew. Together, they will choose a color to represent their unique strengths and weaknesses: the competitive speedster Reds, the clever techie Blues, the fun-loving charmer Yellows, or the unflappable professional Greens. But be careful, whichever colors are not chosen will determine the opposition the crew will face on the road.

Each Driver has a job to do on the crew as well, that little something besides being a driving god that will spell victory for the crew. Players will choose from six Jobs to further flesh out their Drivers: will they be the new-kid-on-the-block Rookie or the silver-tongued Con Artist? Players will record their Driver information on the handy-dandy Driver's License included with this game!

The Rapid & The Repentant is much like the rides being stolen during play: compact and filled to the chassis with mechanical parts. As such, there is unfortunately no room to discuss table safety in the slim 4-page PDF. But just because the cars are dangerous does not mean the table cannot (and should not) be safe. R&R requires that players make use of all the appropriate safety tools and guidelines at their table, whether in-person or virtual, to provide a comfortable and secure session. While R&R does not touch on very heavy subjects, nothing should be taken for granted and at the very least X-cards and Lines & Veils should be in effect before the players even think of popping the hood on this game. Remember, these aren't just your fellow crewmates — they're family. And family is more important than anything. 

Accessibility: A black-and-white version of the Roadmap with numbers instead of colors has been made available to those with color vision deficiency. 

Content Warnings: The Rapid & The Repentant features the police (as antagonists), vehicle collisions, and non-explicit mentions of violence, injury, and death.