So I'm going to be running a sandbox game soon and part of the nature of that game is that the players will end up coming up against things which are far more powerful than they are, so running away will be getting used a lot more than I've seen traditionally in games.
What I'd like to find would be some kind of pursuit system that has a little more tactical meat on it than what exists in the 3.0+ systems out there.
The only thing I've found so far has been out of the 3.5 DMG where, if the two parties are of equal speed, make an opposed dex or con check to see who wins out.
It's simple and fast, but I'd just want a bit more flavor than that.
With Pathfinder (which is the system we'll be using) you have the feats Fleet and Run that players can use to beef up their ability to run away, which is fine, but it still makes it an either/or situation in terms of getting away.
In nature when predator and prey chase each other it isn't a strait race, prey tend to run in circles, as it makes it harder for the predator to out run the prey and latch on. Unfortunately how the systems work with running it is supposed to be in a strait line, which removes a lot of tactical considerations and makes it really difficult to use terrain to hide from a pursuer.
So I guess I'm just wondering if anyone has devised a sub-system for running away that allows the characters the chance to out think or out maneuver the chasing monsters and not simply make it an issue of who has a faster move speed.
If the answer is "make it a skill challenge" then what I'm really asking is a pre-made template of a skill challenge. Basically if the situation arises I want to press the "pursuit" button and shift into a prearranged sub-game to resolve it so that it can be used over and over again and let the players build strategies with this sub-game.
What I'd like to find would be some kind of pursuit system that has a little more tactical meat on it than what exists in the 3.0+ systems out there.
The only thing I've found so far has been out of the 3.5 DMG where, if the two parties are of equal speed, make an opposed dex or con check to see who wins out.
It's simple and fast, but I'd just want a bit more flavor than that.
With Pathfinder (which is the system we'll be using) you have the feats Fleet and Run that players can use to beef up their ability to run away, which is fine, but it still makes it an either/or situation in terms of getting away.
In nature when predator and prey chase each other it isn't a strait race, prey tend to run in circles, as it makes it harder for the predator to out run the prey and latch on. Unfortunately how the systems work with running it is supposed to be in a strait line, which removes a lot of tactical considerations and makes it really difficult to use terrain to hide from a pursuer.
So I guess I'm just wondering if anyone has devised a sub-system for running away that allows the characters the chance to out think or out maneuver the chasing monsters and not simply make it an issue of who has a faster move speed.
If the answer is "make it a skill challenge" then what I'm really asking is a pre-made template of a skill challenge. Basically if the situation arises I want to press the "pursuit" button and shift into a prearranged sub-game to resolve it so that it can be used over and over again and let the players build strategies with this sub-game.
