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Message: <blockquote data-quote="iserith" data-source="post: 6508968" data-attributes="member: 97077">I read the DMG rules for chases and don't think they're all that interesting. The complications tables are useful, but I'd do without the rest. The trick is to also do away with much of the combat rules as well, especially as it relates to speed. Then it's just like anything else: The players have a goal (to catch someone or avoid being caught). The DM then puts obstacles between the PCs and their goals and asks "What do you do?" The players describe what they want to do. The DM narrates the results of those actions, sometimes asking for an ability check to resolve uncertainty.The rest is just a matter of pacing and description. I like a "three strike" failure condition - if the PCs fail three times during the chase, then they don't achieve their goals (or achieve their goals at a cost or with a setback). Now just decide how many complications to throw at the PCs. The more you present, the greater the chance of failure. So it looks like this:1. DM outlines the goal and stakes of the chase.2. DM presents a complication and asks WDYD?3. Players describe what they want to do.4. DM judges their approach as successful, unsuccessful, or uncertain (assigns DC and ability check).5. Go back to 2 and repeat until the PCs succeed or fail in their goal.The key thing to remember here is that not every action requires a check to determine if it is successful. If a complication is particularly well-handled by, say, the rogue's cunning action, then he just succeeds at his action. Same goes for command or hold person, though some of these things might also just be forms of a Help action that bolster's someone else's attempts to do something. You'll have to adjudicate fairly in the moment as the scene unfolds.You've already got the charts in the DMG to help with complications. You've come up with another: The Surreptitious Hand-off. What other complications spring to mind? Write those up and you're ready to run the thing!</blockquote>

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