The Knights of the Road

The Western States have entered an age of wonders. Technological innovations transform the lives of her people. Automobiles connect vast distances over glistening highways. Radio waves carry new voices, thoughts, and art to ears around the nation. Neon lights hold back the night on the shoulders of massive dams. And the train—ceaseless, thundering, unrelenting—powers it all; pumping food, material, and people through the veins of this great extractive beast.

But these new wonders have not brought blessings to everyone. With the Federal Government in the pocket of powerful Robber Barons and Vampires; the poor, and the land itself, are dispossessed and exploited. In The Western States, many stow away on the freight trains in search of paying work.

And then there are the monsters.

Werewolves prowl the Northern Prairie. Big Foots leave the woods in greater numbers. The dirt itself seems to have risen up in the Dust Bowl of the Southern Prairie. Vampires haunt the elegant mansions of Acadia, ruthlessly running their railroad lines.

The Federal Government has effectively abandoned its people. The wealthy can afford protection, but most communities are struggling to cope. This is where you come in.

You are an adventurer, a laborer, a wanderer, and a monster hunter. As a member of the International Brotherhood of Itinerant Sellswords (IBIS), you travel the rails of The Western States, selling your skills to whatever Neighborhood, Town Council, Grange Hall, or whoever will pay you for your next meal. You are a knight of the rails.

It’s a dangerous, precarious life, and probably not one you had planned to enter, but the people need your help. And righteousness is its own reward. Right? 

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The Knights of the Road is a tiny hack of Into the Odd/Electric Bastionland by Chris McDowell (www.bastionland.com). Players assume the mantle of monster hunters who hop the rails of a dystopian early 20th century, taking contracts to kill creeps and monsters, all the while avoiding the wrath of evil Barons of Industry.

Work together to tell a fun story, solve puzzles, improvise, joke, eat, and enjoy your time together.

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What do you get?

PDF versions of three 16-page booklets: the main rule book, a bestiary, and a book of GM advice.

32 hand-drawn, black-and-white illustrations.

A high-quality PNG of an 18x24" full-color poster map of the Western States (the setting for The Knights of the Road).

A PDF of a printable ready-to-assemble booklet layout, with instructions for putting it together yourself.

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For printing at home, make sure to select long side binding if you're printing double-sided,  flip the page on the long side if you're hand-feeding it. Also, make sure to scale it to fit in your printable area on your printer. Hand-feeding will be more accurate to line up the printed area on both sides of the paper.