Simple, Malleable Foot Chase Rules

[Water Bob]

I've been wanting some easy-to-use-and-remember foot chase rules for my game. I still can't get through the Hot Pursuit/Hot Pursuit On Foot rules--those are too detailed and crunchy for my tastes. I just want some quick-n-easy chase rules that make sense. I've looked at the Pathfinder Chase Rules, and, again, I think them too fussy. I've seen some other rules, here and there, but nothing has yet to catch my fancy. I've also written a few other sets of Chase Rules myself, but, as you can see here, I'm still tinkering, trying to find that sweet spot House Rule that I want to keep.

Here's what I'm thinking: Using simple Opposed Throws.

Ideas and Reasoning to follow.





Opposed DEX: Some people are quick out of the box but don't have the strength to keep the advantage of the lead they've obtained. Sprinters have high DEX scores, and the 100 Yard Dash (300 feet) can be completed by a Speed 30 character in under three rounds (12-18 seconds), which is about right given that World Record holders have times in the 9-10 second range (World Record holders will have the Run Feat, or the Fleet-Footed Feat, in order to complete the 100 Yard Dash in 2 rounds).

Therefore, the first 3 rounds* of a foot chase consists of Opposed DEX throws. Everybody in the race throws a simple DEX check. The character with the highest toss moves his Speed. The character with the second highest throw moves his Speed minus 1 foot. The third highest score moves that character his Speed minus 2 feet, and so on.

*You might want to make this 4 rounds, depending on the weight you put on Sprinting vs. the energy needed for Long Distance Running.

This continues for 3 rounds. Barring an accident or some hindrance to movement, a character will never move less than his Speed minus 5 feet.

For Example...

A Thief is seen rummaging through the PC's pack by two PCs and six NPC guards. The Thief bolts, and the rest run after him. A chase has begun. Your chases probably won't have this many participants. I used this many to explain the aspects of these rules.

Thief: DEX 12 (+1), Speed 30, Running. Throw is 18. 2nd and Moves 119 feet.

PC 1: DEX 12 (+1), Speed 30, Running. Throw is 17. 3rd and Moves 118 feet.

PC 2: DEX 16 (+3), Speed 30, Running. Throw is 9. 5th and Moves 116 feet.

NPC 1: DEX 9 (-1), Speed 30, Running. Throw is 14. 4th and Moves 117 feet.

NPC 2: DEX 17 (+3), Speed 20, Running. Throw is 17. 3rd and Moves 78 feet.

NPC 3: DEX 11 (+0), Speed 25, Running. Throw is 20. 1st and Moves 100 feet.

NPC 4: DEX 12 (+1), Speed 30, Running. Throw is 8. 6th and Moves 125 feet.

NPC 5: DEX 12 (+1), Speed 25, Running. Throw is 5. 7th and Moves 95 feet.

NPC 6: DEX 12 (+1), Speed 20, Running. Throw is 3. 8th and Moves 75 feet.



So...who won the toss? That would be NPC 3. So, he moves his full Speed. The second highest toss was the Thief, so he moves his full movement minus 1 foot. We've got a tie for third place, so both move their full movement minus 2 feet. Note that NPCs 5 and 6 rolled the worst, but their movement penalties are capped at minus 5.

If keeping track of the chase on a standard grid, don't move a character less than his full movement unless the total is 5 feet or more. Thus, in this example chase, all characters will move into their full movement squares except NPC's 4, 5, and 6 (because their movement was hindered a full five feet and thus lose one five foot square on the grid).

Also remember that, under the game's rules, running characters can only move in a straight line. The Hustle movement mode must be used if a character needs to navigate around obstacles during his move.

Use a six sided die to keep track of lost movement as the rounds pass by. Just have the player put the die out in front of him (The GM, of course, can do the same for NPCs). For example, NPC 3 will have no die at this point because the character hasn't lost any feet to his movement rate. The Thief will have the 1 showing on his die. NPC 2 will have a 2 showing on his die. PC 2 will have a 4 showing on his die, and so forth.

Once the die timer reaches 5, the PC will be held back an additional square that round (for a maximum of 2 squares, or 10 feet, in one round, if the character also is in 6th place or worse in the round's Opposed DEX toss).

For example, PC 1 now has a 2 on his d6 timer. If, next round, the character comes in 9th place on round two, his d6 timer will be kept at 2, but the character will move one square less than maximum. Think of it this way: When the timer gets to 5, the character is held back 5 feet from his maxium move. The timer for this character was 2, and on the second round, he suffered another 5 feet, for a total of 7 feet. The character was held back 1 square, erasing 5 points and leaving 2 on the timer. It's not as complicated as I'm making it sound (I fear).

Remember that starting positions determine the distance between characters when a chase begins. For example, when this chase starts, the Thief could be 30 feet from PC 1 and 60 feet from PC 2 with NPCs 1 and 2 at 100 feet, NPCs 3-5 at 120 feet, and NPC 6 at 210 feet.

If this is the case, only PC 1 has any real chance of catching the Thief, and even then, it's going to take a lot of game rounds to close that 30 foot gap (which can be done more easily than it may seem if the Thief slows his movement mode or fails at an obstacle). If the starting positions I've laid out here are true, then the chase will quickly have particpants drop out, leaving only two or a few.

What if you're not using a grid? Then forget about the d6 timer. Simply figure distance between the chasers and the object of their chase.

For example, this chase starts with the Thief 30 feet from PC 1. On Chase Round 1, the Thief moves 119 feet, while PC 1 moves 118 feet. It's easy to see that the Thief gained a foot on his pursuer. So, at the end of Chase Round 1, the distance between the two characters is 31 feet.

That's what you keep track of each round. Just write it down on a pad and keep it handy to color your descriptions of the chase. For example, as this chase starts, you could say, "You see a man rummaging through your pack. At your approach, he jerks his head up to look at you and bolts." Once the player says that he'll give chase, you say, "30 feet separates you. Roll your DEX! He gained a foot on you this round. Now, separation is 31 feet. Next round."

Keep it simple and easy.

(These Rules Continued)

 

[Water Bob]

Opposed STR: The initial bust of energy wears off after 20 seconds or so, and then a character must rely on his personal strength to pour on the power. Truly great runners have both high DEX and STR scores. Starting on Chase Round 4, STR checks are made instead of DEX checks, and STR checks are used until the chase ends.

The procedure for each round is exactly the same as described above for the DEX based checks. Just roll Opposed STR and keep track of distanced moved (if using a grid) or the distance between the chase participants.





TIRED! Running a foot race can be quite tiring. Not every person is built to run. According to the Local Movement rules, a character can Walk or Hustle without measure*, but there is a limitation on Running.

The Local Movement rules say that a character with CON 9+ can run for a minute without problem and maybe continue for another minute before having to rest.

Therefore, under these Chase Rules, a character with CON 9+ can run for 10 combat rounds without issue, but starting on the round after the 10th time the character runs, the character must make a Fort check at DC 2 to continue. Each round thereafter, whether running or not, the character must make this check with the difficulty 2 points higher.

Example.

PC 1 runs for 3 Chase Rounds. On round 4, he moves at a Hustle. On rounds 5-8, he runs. Rounds 9-11, he moves at a Hustle. Then, on rounds 12-14, he runs. You may want to use a d10 timer, increasing it by one each time the character runs. Once the character has run 10 times, the character must make the Fortitude check at the beginning of each Chase Round or be fatigued.

As stated in the Local Movement Rules, the fatigue condition can be removed once the character has rested for one minute.

A character with CON 8- must roll the Fortitude check after the first time the character runs, but the difficulty for the throw begins at DC 1, increasing by 1 for every round the character participates, thereafter, in the chase.

Note that this Chase Fatigue option won't be used unless a chase participant with CON 8- runs during the chase or a chase particpant with CON 9+ runs on 10 different rounds during the chase. In other words, characters with CON 8- should watch when they run--they're out of shape! And, even if a chase includes all participants with CON 9+, the chase is likely to end before characters run for 10 rounds. I've written this part of the rules to cover the situation when needed.

*If the chase lasts for an hour or more, there are limits to how long a character can Walk or Hustle. Use the Overland Movement rules to adjust these chase rules.





OBSTACLES! Chases are most fun when there are obstacles to overcome. You can pre-plan some obstacles for your chase before the game. You can keep some obstacle ideas on note cards or in a list to use when impromptu chases pop up in your game. Or, you can just make things up as you go. I like that last idea--picturing the race in my head, describing it to my players, as we play it out.

The Chase Rules above use Opposed Attribute checks. DEX is referenced the first 3 rounds as the character's sprinting ability. STR is then referenced, starting on chase round 4, representing the character's ability to slam on the power and deliver the strength needed to succeed in a long distance run. The character's endurance is referenced through his CON score in the fatigue rules. Together, the three physical aspects of a character determine his ability to run.

When designing obstacles, I suggest that the character's skills be tested rather than his raw attributes. Throw in obstacles that test a character's Balance, Climb, Jump, Swim, and Tumble ability.

Occasionally, other skills may be tested with Obstacles. For example, Spot may be used to see if a character notices boxes stacked for easy climbing to the rooftops. If the character makes the Spot check, then the GM tells the player about the option. If the Spot throw fails, then the character continues in the chase as if nothing happened. A Bluff/Sense Motive Opposed Throw could be used to fake direction and dodge around a guard. Knowledge (Local) might give the chase participant of an alley that could half the distance between the character and his quarry. Hide, Listen, Survival could all be used in creative ways.

These rules are meant to be malleable guidelines to help the GM run foot chases in his game. To keep it simple, I suggest using just one obstacle in any given chase round. This way, the game is kept speedy with just the Opposed Attribute checks and the occasional obstacle.

Sometimes, a skill check will replace the attribute check--such as when the chase happens while characters are climbing. Don't make an Opposed STR check and then a Climb check--just use the Climb check to cover the round and move on.

Chase rounds are combat rounds (6 second long), but if a different unit of time fits your chase situation better, then use it. Don't forget to re-read the Overland Movement rules if you do.





Running A Chase: I've written a lot here, but remember these are simple rules. They're mainly opposed throws and occasional obstacle skill checks. If using a grid, you know exactly how far to move a figure, and if you're just sitting on a couch with all of your players around you, you just describe a vivid scene in your players' heads while you scratch down distances between chase participants.

Forget about initiative. That complicates things. When you run a chase, move the characters being chased first, then have the pursuers follow. Considering the example in the first post above, the Thief would move first (whether a GM character or run by one of the players) with the rest moving after the Thief. If it is important to determine which character moves before the others on the same side, then use inititiative to determine that (not who goes first in the chase round). For example, the Thief is moved first, but then initiative is thrown among the pursuers to determine the order of action among them. Again, though, I wouldn't mess with initiative during a chase unless absolutely necessary. I'd just play it out organically. I think that produces the most fun.

 

[Belzbet]

i know simple rules are: If speed is same then CON VS CON (or DEX vs CON, STR vs CON, DEX vs STR, highest vs highest, whatever you want to use, but in the rules I think overland run/chase checks are CON checks not DEX or STR).

If one creatures speed is higher than anothers then the slower creature cannot win an overland/flying.swimming.burrowing chase (a chase where the two creatures have the same type of movement at different speeds; however, hiding is not chasing so a slower creature could hide instead of run; I am assuming the creatures are aware of each other during the chase).

These are simple but creatures with high con will frequently run away and creatures with high speeds will always run away (makes sense, think about a creature with flying, it will win any chase if no PC's have access to flying... thats why track (divination) comes in handy)

Make one check or as many as you want... if you want chases to be dramatic then use more complex rules... If a chase is a flying chase then maybe use combat rules (Dragonlance gives good advice for flying combat, some of the best in any splat book)

NOTE: the OP and the first reponse were long and the OP was looking for simple... I responded without readind the OP or the response (sorry if I am redundant or if I repeated, etc. what has already been said)

 

[Water Bob]

Let me run a few rounds as a chase example to fully explain these rules. Here's the situation. Two PC Barbarians have heard a scream. They know it's their clansmen being attacked. Rushing down the trail, the two round a copse of trees to see an upturned wagon, dead mules, and two humans stabbing the life out of the poor NPC merchant.

The attackers are instantly recognized. Both are clan members, or were clan members as the two of them have been booted from the clan for stealing. They easily see the two PCs running towards them. The bad guys bolt east, running down the side of an incline littered with skree, boulders, fallen logs, and tree stumps. The PCs, of course, run on in pursuit.

The chase has begun.

Bad Guy #1 is Cian McDowd. DEX 15 (+2). STR 16 (+3). CON 9 (-1). Speed 30.

Bad Guy #2 is Silaigne Deepblade. DEX 14 (+2). STR 18 (+4). CON 16 (+3). Speed 30.

Good Guy #1 is Caelis Redbirth. DEX 13 (+1). STR 19 (+4). CON 10 (+0) Speed 30.

Good Guy #2 is Thrallan Stone. DEX 14 (+2). STR 16 (+3). CON 13 (+1). Speed 30.





Remember, we dispense with rolling initiative* and run the chase organically. We want to move those being chased first. Silaigne is the leader among the two bad guys, so let's start with him then move Cian, who would look to Silaigne and follow his lead anyway.

*If combat enuses during the chase, then the GM may have a reason to roll initiative, especially if distance weapons are used.

Once the chased have moved, we'll turn to the PCs to see what they do (follow the bad guys, I'm sure).





Starting Postions:

Both the PCs, Caelis and Thrallan, are moving up the trail and start the chase in the box marked START. Unknown to the players, there are actually THREE bad guys, each marked with a G on the map. Cian starts the chase in the G square farthest south. Silaigne, the bad guy leader, is in the middle G square. In the G square farthest north, closest to the players, is a third character named Morghun Clanson. He is crouched down at the PCs' approach, their sight blocked by the upturned wagon. Morghun will serve as a surprise at the beginning of the encounter. I'll move Silaigne, then Cian, then the two PCs, and finally Morghun last.

Bad Guy #3 is Morghun Clanson. DEX 14 (+1). STR 16 (+3). CON 8 (-1). Speed 30.

The PCs know that both Silaigne and Cian have been booted from the clan and are dangerous. What they don't know is that Silaigne has managed to recruit a second follower from the clan: Morghun.





If playing without a grid, I would sketch out starting positions and note rough estimates of distances for myself but describing the action to the players. I can also show my players this sketch map to give them a better idea of where everyone is located.

Starting distance between Silaigne and the two PCs is 165 feet. Starting distance between Caelis and the two PCs is 140 feet.



"The two murders you know. Silaigne and Cian--both recently kicked out of your clan. Silaigne sees the two of you, and instantly he bolts to the east, running as hard as he can.

"Cian is just an instant behind him, his arms seemingly pumping his legs to follow after the older of the two."



In some cases, a Knowledge (Local) check might be appropriate on this first round, just before the players move, with success indicating knowledge of the terrain: It's fairly flat to the edge of the map above, then there is a swath of trees, followed by a decline to the hill bottom covered by skree, fallen logs, tree stumps, and some large rocks. But, because the PCs' village is close, the GM makes this information automatic: The slope ends in an abrubt drop-off cliff--a rocky ledge towering over the tree tops and mountain river far below.



Now, we dice. Remember, the first three rounds are DEX based followed by STR based checks starting on round 4 plus.

Silaigne: 20.
Cian: 3.

Caelis: 5.
Thrallan: 11.

Morghun: 8.

Silaigne is gone. He moves 120 feet. This takes him to the map's edge, then, off-map, through the copse of trees to the point where the hill starts to decline. Since Silaigne ran, we select a d10 and place it on 1 next to the player.

Cian moves next. He was last in the toss, so he's -4 feet to his movement. This means he moves 116 feet, off the map, following Silaigne. He gets a 1 on his d10 timer and a 4 on his d6 timer.

Caelis now moves, throwing for 4th place, moving 117 feet. Remember, it's straight line movement at this Speed category. If the player wishes to maneuver other than in a straight line, then he cannot run, and his movement is reduced to a Hustle. Put a 1 on the d10 timer and a 3 on the d6 timer.

Thrallan runs, too, getting 2nd place, moving 119 feet. 1 on both d10 and d6.

(Tired. Sleepy. I'll finish this example later.)

 

[Belzbet]

Instead of timers or waht not you can ask yourself: are all of the monsters running or not? They have an ambush situation... do they capitalize or continue running? If they capitalize then no chase ensues... it seems like a chase until all three(or more) of the clan turn around and attack their 2 (ex?) fellows... If all the monsters/clansman run then i would rule that the 1 with -1 to COn cant run far and the others make opposed CON checks (make them if another creature wins more than once or twice in a row then they outrun). I see you end the scene at 120ft that is 4 rounds walking 1 or 2 running; thats not very far, thats a tactical chase not an overland chase)... either play it out for suspense or assume a chase is going to continue alot longer than 120ft (thats not even a football field). Screw playing it out 'combat mode' do opposed CON checks (if everyone is at the same speed) if someone beats another two or three times in a row then they outrun them (or catch them)...

Also obstacles and difficult terrain are negligable cause you can take an "outside" perspective: every creature in the chase has to go through the obstacle so it all balances out so dont take it into consideration... note: this only applies to creatures with the same types of movement and the same speeds... I would say that a creature with high speed or a special movement that no one else in the chase has, automatically wins the chase, think of the burrowing creature [obviously this is spells and special abilities aside])

 

[Belzbet]

I would say from your examples though that your doing fine with the ruling, it may be alittle complex but fine.... I would take out the tactical focus of the chase, dont think about it in terms of rounds, but in ft.

 

[Belzbet]

Believe me I have done dragon vs flying PC with similar speed (with approximately same COn) in the tactical mode... it is not fun... I as a DM had to plant my monster dragon so that me and the PC's could fight otherwise it was neverending... Rolling over and over almost ruins the suspense... I looked for precise rules (Dragonlance offers some of the best) but found that all or nothing (either outrun or not) is more fun and makes for opportunities to RP and discover (or simply fight)...

 

[Belzbet]

If you want tactical chases then I have gravely misunderstood the OP (which after overreading it i think i did), and I think what you say works fine, but I think you can still but 'priority' on creatures with high speeds and special forms of movement.

Screw multiple checks, if two creatures with 30ft speed where chasing, and one creature (creature A) is 40ft ahead of another (creature B) then it will take at least 2 rounds for creature B to catch up to creature A (assumig both boldted in a run and that creature B got less in initiative)... but if creature B won initiative then it would catch up to creaute A in round 1...
Also... if they are adjacent then make CON or DEC (STR) checks, if one creature wins two times in a row then it catches the other.

If creature A is more than 120ft (4X 30ft; running speed for fast runners) away from creature B then creature B could only catch up to creature A if it made better CON checks we are assuming 120ft is in line of sight; so if creature A had to take a breath [i.e. failed a CON check] and creature B didnt it could catch up in 1 or 2 rounds.. (this turns into overland not tactical; magic aside.... That is because we are assuming both are sprinting at full speed ahead...

Sorry though i went on alittle to long I dont expect many to read this...

 

[delericho]

I agree with Belzbet - a chase consisting of nothing but opposed checks is going to get very old, very fast - it's no more exciting than a combat where the two sides just stand toe-to-toe and trade full attacks every round. You really need something more - choices for the PCs to make, an evolving tactical situation.

The last time I ran a chase scene (which was under 3e), I tried to use an adapted form of the Skill Challenge rules (from SWSE's "Galaxy of War"). Unfortunately, I can't recommend that - it sucked.

I've also seen "Hot Pursuit", and it seems interesting.

However, at the moment I'm considering that the best thing might be a "bidding" system for chases.

At the start of the chase, determine how far apart the various groups are. I would suggest not really worrying about exact distances, but rather consider that a distance of 1 is effectively touching distance (but just barely), while a distance of 10 represents the end of the chase - the pursued character has created so much distance that they have thrown off pursuit. Most chaces I would recommend starting with a distance of 4-6 between the two groups.

Each round, the pursued character describes what he's doing to evade pursuit, declares a skill check he's going to be made, and sets a target DC (which for simplicity should be a multiple of 5). He then makes this skill check. If he succeeds, he moves 1 step further away from all pursuers. If he fails by 5 or less, he still moves 1 step further away but in this case the target DC is reduced by 5. If he fails by 5 or more, then target DC is reduced by 5 and he doesn't increase the distance.

Next, each pursuer (starting with the closest, if there are multiple groups) gets to make a choice. They can:

- Drop out of the chase. No check is necessary, but they can't then re-enter the chase later. They're done.

- Match the pursued character. They must make the same skill* check as their opponent at the target DC (possibly reduced by 5, as above). If successful, they decrease the distance by 1.

- Match and exceed the pursued character. They must make the same skill* check as their opponent at a DC 5 higher than the target. If they succeed, they decrease the distance by 2. If they fail, they don't move at all.

- Try to "out-bid" their opponent. In this case, they describe what they're doing instead, declare a skill check they're going to make, and then checks. They can set a new target DC for this check as either 5 or 10 points higher than that faced by their opponent. They then roll; if successful they decrease the distance by 1 or 2 (depending on the DC they set). If they fail, they don't move forward at all.

* In some cases, rather than rolling the same skill, they should roll the opposed skill. For example, if the pursued character chose to Hide, the pursuers should roll Spot; if they chose to try to throw them off using Bluff, the pursuers would roll Sense Motive, and so on.

Note that the pursuer must declare what they're doing before they roll, because if they fail at whatever DC they settle on then they don't move at all, so it matters whether they've decided to match the pursued character at DC 20 or better them at DC 25. (Also note that this approach does give the advantage to the pursued character, since he gets to set the parameters of the test. That's almost certainly right, though - unless the pursuers can call in help, or cut off the escape, or otherwise outdo the pursued, I suspect the advantage should lie with the quarry.)

I think that's probably about as simple as I can make it without just resorting to a simple dice-fest of opposed rolls, or without pre-planning a specific map and specific obstacles. I should also note that I haven't tested this, so it may well not work at all!

 

[LostSoul]

Where are the decision points for the players?