Chase rules on the fly

[Nareau]

I just started my first PF campaign (Kingmaker) last Sunday, and we had a blast. The PC's ambushed some

Spoiler

bandits

, and decided to chase after the two guys who decided to flee.

I had read through the chase rules once, but hadn't prepared anything for this. So here's what I did:

I grabbed a deck of cards, and laid them out face down two-by-two in a line about 6 cards long. I did this twice, since I was running two separate chases simultaneously. It looked kinda like this:

======
======

I then jotted down some skill checks: For the horse chase, it looked like this:
Diamonds: Ride
Clubs: Handle Animal
Spades: Survival
Hearts: Acrobatics

For the foot chase through the forest, it went:
Diamonds: Stealth
Clubs: Perception
Spades: Climb
Hearts: Acrobatics

(P is the PC, N is the NPC)

P    N
 ======
 ======

I put the PC's before the start of the track, and put the bad guys about 4 spaces ahead of them. I decided if the bad guys could get 6 spaces ahead, they'd escape. If the PC caught up to them, they could fight/catch them. I also figured these guys were pretty weak, so they only had a +3 to a couple of the above-listed skills.

Each round, they could advance one space automatically, then flip over both cards where they landed. Those cards represented challenges which required a skill roll with a DC of 10+ the value of the card (aces = DC 11, jacks = DC 21, jokers = DC 15 (usually) and you get to choose the skill to use).

So the foot chase went a little like this:
Having won initiative, the PC advances one space, and flips over his two cards. He gets an ace of clubs (perception DC 11) and a 4 of diamonds (stealth DC 14). His perception mod is -1 due to a low wisdom, but his stealth mod is +6. So he describes how he's going to try to gain ground by stealthily circling around. But he rolls a 3, which won't beat the DC of 14. So he stays put.

Bad guy advances, flips over a 4 of hearts (acrobatics DC 14) and a 10 of diamonds (stealth DC 20). I figure he's good at both of these (gets a +3 to his checks), but in this case it will be easier to swing across the ravine on a rope than it would be to try to sneak away. He rolls a 13, adds in his +3 for a 16, which beats the DC of 14. He succeeds, and automatically advances another space.

The PC goes next, and gets a 8 of clubs (perception DC 18) and a joker. He stinks at perception, so decides he's going to go with the joker. So he decides to pick bluff as his skill this time around (since that's the skill he's best at), and he calls out "Wait, I just want to talk to you!" He beats the NPC's sense motive easily, and so gains on him again.

They go back and forth like this for a few rounds, with the PC easily gaining on the NPC. Finally, right when the PC is about to catch the NPC, the NPC rolls a 1 on a climb check; I decide that's enough he should fall off the boulder he was scrambling up, so he takes just enough damage to knock him out.

It worked out awesomely, and I think I'll do it again. If I tweak it at all, I might allow the "prey" in the chase to modify the course. Instead of making a skill check to advance, you can make a skill check to remove one of the cards you're standing on. This represents a move like cutting the rope you just climbed up, or knocking over the fruit stand to impede your pursuer.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Those are really, really good rules. I rather like them.

 

[IronWolf]

Sounds like a fun way to run a chase! And your on the fly rulings seem much more intricate than mine!

 

[Dingo333]

that is a pretty good way to do it, a lot more fun sounding then: they have the same speed, make a dex check... or: they are a mile ahead, make a con check.

The question becomes, how do you handle differing speeds (monk moving at 90, druid flying by at 100, barbarian charging at 40, halfling in full plate limping along at 15). Realistically, the druid would be on the halfling before the halfling could move past his area. Assuming each card is an area, with say ~40ft across, halfling will take 2 turns making it off his card while the druid blows through 5 in the same amount of time.

It sounds fun, I am just wondering about speed differences and how that would work out

 

[GlassEye]

The chase rules that Nareau linked above give rules for differing base speeds. Essentially, being slower than the base speed results in cumulative -2 penalties when navigating obstacles. Being faster than the base speed gives cumulative +2 bonuses. A major movement difference (like flight) gives a +10.

 

[Nareau]

One aspect of these chases that emerged (totally unexpectedly): The chaser eventually has to deal with the same terrain as his prey. So if his prey gets hung up for a round with a couple of difficult cards, the chaser will eventually come upon the same obstacles. This was a very cool thing to watch, and something I've never seen in other chase rules.

I'm going to play with it a little more. I want to add in some way (maybe a perception check?) to let a character draw an extra card or two for the space they're on. That way, if they're facing two difficult options, they have a chance to "find" another path to take.