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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pdzoch" data-source="post: 6992638" data-attributes="member: 80982">I've done two chase scene so far.  Neither were like the examples in the DM's guide.  My problem with the chase rules I have read (this is a caveat to point out that I may not have seen the ideal ones out there) is that the procedure seems to focus on catching up to or evading the target to prevent a melee encounter or capture.  The procedures for the chase essentially involved interaction with the terrain and not so much with the target.-- dodging, avoiding, placing obstacles to movement or sight to facilitate the escape.Chase 1:  Party hastily escape town hopping on the nearing object to escape they can find -- a couple of horse drawn wagons.  They have two NPCs with them they are protecting, one of which is an old man.  One of the party has land vehicle skills.  The party has a head start and heads out of town.  Because the 2nd wagon does not have a skilled driver, I penalize him for movement and he can not execute a dash (full move) with steering, so he starts to lag behind.  The pursuers hop on horses and they chase after the wagons.  They easily catch up to the wagons (by coming within arrow range).   What plays out is a standard western cowboys/indians wagon chase.  The archers start with ranged attacks from the back of the wagon at the pursuers, who do not have ranged weapons.  On the table, I place the figure maximum range apart where the ranged attacks start.  Instead of moving each figure each round, I instead move only the difference in move speed, so the pursuers eventually get closer and closer, and the trail wagon falls further and further behind.  The party archers shot at the horse to defeat the pursuers and get away.  Only a few got close enough to snatch the NPC away, but they met the same fate when the party slew their horse and the pursuer failed to make a dex save to grab onto the wagon. [It was also a bit surprising as I had intended the horses to be part of the adventure treasure for the party (and get them off the wagons)]Chase 2: Ship pursuit at Sea.  Pretty much played out the same way as above, except the very competent captains of the ship steered the ships.  The faster ship was in pursuit, and the open ocean did not provide much means to delay the pursuer.  I allowed the ship crew to roll group skill checks to see if they afforded any advantages to the captain's command, most of which did not result in extra distance but better angles for the archers and balistas to fire upon each other.  Crews were also allowed to aim at ship parts (sails, masts, riggings, etc) to cause a delay.  Eventually, the ships closed with each other (but it was close -- they almost disabled the pursuing ship enough to break away) and the melee fight broke out on board.  Due to the attrition during the ranged phases, the melee was very one sided when the party engaged in the melee.  The turn radius of the ships also had an effect, and the pursuing captain had to react or anticipate the movement.  The wind also was a factor as it limited the amount of change (tack) the ships could take and still move full speed.  I had another ship encounter (planned for another aspect of the ocean) where the pursuers were in a rowed vessel, so they were not limited by wind direction, but did have a limit on chase duration.Anyway, those were the chase scenes I ran and how I approached them.  Mostly narrative, with some elements of encounter management/combat rolls tossed in.  I hope it was helpful.</blockquote>

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