Making chases on foot more interesting?

[diaglo]

from the SRD under the Run Feat...Normal: You move four times your speed while running (if wearing medium, light, or no armor and carrying no more than a medium load) or three times your speed (if wearing heavy armor or carrying a heavy load), and you lose your Dexterity bonus to AC.


also check the Hide Skill.

and Endurance feat and...yadda yadda yadda

there are as many variables as you would like to add to a chase scenario.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

Make sure to leave lots of opportunities for interesting obstacles or hazards - narrow canals, horses and carriages to duck around or under, dead end alleys, that sort of thing. I've tossed around various house rule ideas to make chases more interesting - it'd be neat if someone could give a short capsule version of the TF&T rules so I could see if they mesh with my ideas.

 

[jaults]

There are some fine and dandy chase rules in Spycraft, which I do not have in front of me at the moment...

Jason

 

[silentspace]

I'd love to have a chase scene like they have in movies.

Watch out, that guy spooked the horses! He turned over the barrels! There's an oncoming fruit cart! There are two guys carrying a big sheet of plate glass across the street! (OK so they don't have plate glass in medieval times, so sue me!) That store owner just tossed a bucket of soapy water onto the cobblestones! He grabbed a passing baby carriage and is pushing it into oncoming traffic! Watch out for that scaffolding!

 

[Li Shenron]

also check the Hide Skill.

I was about to suggest this one too!

If the chase takes place in an environment with cover or concealment opportunities (city streets, dense forest, shadowy location), you can occasionally have the runner - once he first gets out of sight - try to get the chaser lose the trail.

I think that a possible way to handle the chase is:

- compare the speeds of the two character and keep in mind the difference if any and reduce or increase the distance every round by that difference OR simply play by turn (probably the runner can benefit of a surprise round to start running)

- allow the runner every now and then to try a way to slow the chaser; the price could be for example that every turn the runner tries to take an advantage from the environment, he is probably spending a standard or move action (you already have many suggestions around)

- once one of the characters is out of stamina, apply the appropriate penalties

I think all of the above can be taken from the core rules, with not too much effort

 

[Frostmarrow]

Make opposed checks. Speed + 1d20. Prey starts at 10. If the predator reaches the prey's number he can try to attack or subdue. If prey reaches 100 first he escapes. Imagine an obstacle at every 20 points, that must be overcome with another check (climb, jump, tumble, et c) before you can continue.

 

[Morrus]

Make opposed checks. Speed + 1d20. Prey starts at 10. If the predator reaches the prey's number he can try to attack or subdue. If prey reaches 100 first he escapes. Imagine an obstacle at every 20 points, that must be overcome with another check (climb, jump, tumble, et c) before you can continue.

That's almost exactly the TF&T system.

A few differences to the one I came up with:

1) Two types of obstacles - one which must be circumvented before continuing, or one which merely slows the runner on a failed check (i.e. for that one round he gets a negative modifier to his roll).

2) The "length" of the chase varies, according to locations etc. Sometimes the chase is not a chase, but a race, in which case the length could be enormous (in the case of a marathon, for example).

3) Obstacles aren't necessarily regularly placed, and sometimes "span" a point-range (say, having to swim a river might cover the point range 50-90, requiring swim checks, not run checks).

There's more, but I can't think of it offhand.

 

[Nyarlathotep]

If you have it, you could check out the chase system from Spycraft... It looks really good for doing all manner of chases.

 

[whydirt]

This thread just reminded me that I always thought it was odd that running ability is mostly increased with feats while jumping is a skill.

 

[Gizzard]

Two of these Freeport add-ons have chase-scenes with examples of how the rules might work. I think they are "Holiday in the Sun" and "Deus Ex" with the latter being cooler.

http://www.greenronin.com/freeportfocus.shtml

I know the same question was asked about a month ago also if you can search for further answers.