So, Motobushido is about a pack of motorcycle-riding samurai. The PCs were all soldiers in a huge war and their side lost. The game is about what happens after that, after the world has moved on and the PCs are basically pariahs.
The first thing that happens in the game is a flashback to the founding of the pack. The players will play the first founders and the session sets up the tone of the pack, details of the world, etc. Any First Founders that survive the flashback become NPCs for use later.
The players then bring in their own PCs. These can be decedents of the First founders or new blood. PCs have several aspects to them but one of the biggest is your role in the pack. You have:
- Bosozoku – Full fledged pack member without any additional responsibilities
- Den Mother – you have the pack leader's ear and often the "other leader" when he's away
- Trail Blazer – the fastest rider in the pack, often sent ahead to scout new areas
- Enforcer – close to the pack leader, you follow orders without question, often assigned the messier tasks
- Historian – in charge of designing the pack's masks and mon, keeping spirits high and bolstering confidence in battle
- Tail Gunner – a combo of the rear guard, quartermaster and grease monkey
- Prospect – you get to be the new guy
- Pack Leader – in charge of the pack, your word is law and you must be ready to enforce that
PCs also have a range of Birth Signs and Fighting Styles to pick from when making their character. You round out the PC with Maxims which fall into 3 types: Pack, Sword and Highway.
Finally, the Pack has 3 resources they need to manage: Sustenance (food and money), Operation (fuel and spare parts) and Moral. The current level of these are randomly generated at the start of the game.
The game itself uses cards, not dice. The PCs get a deck and the GM gets a deck. You have Gambits and Duels covering the 2 types of tests you may need to make. Minor actions that may have significant side effects are Gambits. Duels are actions directly against another opponent and usually very significant in their outcomes.
For a Gambit, the GM flips the top card from his deck at the same time you play a card from your hand. The difference between the cards (Player's – GM's) determines what happens. If it's 0 or lower the player can choose a "No, but" or a "Yes, but" outcome for the action they were taking. If it's 1 or higher you get a "Yes, and" where the GM gets to add a beneficial boon in addition to your action. There are ways to modify your card values, but I won't get into those here.
Duels are… more involved. They factor in a few other PC stats and situations and have some varied outcome possibilities. It's about 10 pages worth of rules, but they aren't complicated.
That's the quick and dirty rundown. I can try to answer questions if people have them but that kinda covers the basics.