Thinking About d20 Chases

[Water Bob]

I just noticed something to consider for these rules. When a character runs, it must be in a straight line. Therefore, most chases would happen at the Hustle movement category with rounds using the Run category occuring when possible on straight-aways.

A tactic to end a chase quickly would be to switch to the Run category when possible.




A character is also limited to the number of rounds he can Run all-out, based on his CON score. Another tactic might be to wear out your opponent until he is tired.



Also...when a character runs all-out, as fast as he can, in a straight line, but is limited to the Hustle category because of Difficult terrain, I tend to use the Run Speed modifiers and DC, not the one for Hustle.

Thus, if a character with base Speed 30 is in a Chase, his max Speed will be at a Hustle (60'), with the DC at 10 and +/- 10 indicating a speed change of 5 feet.

But, if a character with a base Speed 30 is in a Chase and running as fast as he can, but limited to Hustle because of the terrain, in a straight line, then the Chase DC is 15 with +/- 5 indicating a 5' change to Speed.




Changing between the Run and Hustle movement categories during a chase can prove to be a tactical decision for the players.





I'm also thinking that any obstacle avoidance should use the same throw as the Chase check, instead of making two separate throws.

In the example above, the Grath warrior, Gerald, runs into a patch of knee high grass that conceals a toppled tree trunk. The Chase check is at a DC 13, and Gerald throws a 17 (+1 for his Balance skill) to easily make the check and increase range from his pursuer by 5 feet.

The same d20, the 17, should be used when Gerald Jumps over the tree trunk. Use the same throw but add different modifiers--in this case, it's the 17 + Jump skill.

Avoiding the obstacle is not a separate action or maneuver. It's part of making the throw to successfully navigatge the field, so using the same throw makes sense to me.

 

[Water Bob]

d20 CHASE RULES - THE SLICK VERSION that helps use of these rules on the fly


These rules can be as detailed as you want to get, but they can also serve as a quick-n-easy set of mechanics that get the job done.

If you're interested in easy, here's how you can use these rules....





First off, only use these DC's.

Flat Terrain           +/-  5' Speed
----------------     ------------------
DC 0     CRAWL              20       
DC 5     WALK               15
DC 10    HUSTLE             10
DC 15    RUN                 5

The d20 rules recognize two types of terrain: Standard and Difficult. When using these Chase rules, choose terrain as you would by the rules. Assume Standard terrain unless the terrain is rough enough to be considered Difficult. If the terrain is Difficult, then cut a character's Speed in half. Penalize the amount of ground covered during the round but leave the DC as-is.

If you do this, using the rules I laid out above, then a character will not move faster than his base Speed unless a total of 20 or more is thrown. That's an easy flag in the game to recognize. When the total is 20+, then check to see if the character improves his base Speed that round.

Typically, your chases will happen at the Hustle movement category because this is the highest speed a character can move and still navigate obstacles. The Run category is reserved for straight-line, non-obstructed movement.

If you've got other terrain features that would normally encourage you to alter the DC, instead of changing those base DC's, consider the terrain feature as an obstacle. Avoidance of obstacles is considered part of movement and not a separate action.

Note that these rules will provide for hair-raising chases in the James Bond vein (set in a Swords & Sorcery setting, of course). Remember that roof top chase in the Bourne Ultimatum with Jason jumping across streets from balcony to balcony, through rooms, across the roofs of Tangiers. Use your imagination and think of a Conan chase like that across the roofs of Shadizar in the Maul. That's what you can do with these rules.

You (the GM) can pre-plan a chase on grid paper, or you can run the chase totally in your players' heads keeping track of only the distance between the character being chased and the characters chasing him.

Tactically, chases will go on for a long time unless one of two things happens: The person being chased fails an obstacle roll, allowing the pursuers to catch up with him, or the pursuers find straight-aways, allowing them to run, while the person being chased is stuck with avoiding obstacles (because Running at 4x Speed is double Hustling at 2x Speed). If Speed is different--as with a character with the Fleet Footed or Run Feat--then that will have a huge influence on the outcome of the chase as well.







QUICK EXAMPLE OF USING THESE RULES:

The PCs are strolling through the bazaar of Shadizar when the GM says, "Up ahead of you, you see that thief--the one that stole your bag of silver from the room when you were in Arenjun. He's leaning over a vegitable cart, probably plying his trade. He sees you the moment you see him, and he immediately darts off in the opposite direction."

The players respond by chasing him, and the race is on.

This particular chase is spurr-of-the moment. The game was getting a bit bogged down, and the GM wanted to spice up things before calling it quits for this night's game session.

The GM says it's about 30 yards from lead PC to badguy. That's 90 feet. So, that's the beginning distance between the thief and the PCs.

The bad guy is moving as fast as he can, but with all the people and the quick turns needed, the fastest Speed allowed is the character's Hustle movement. This means that the chase starts out at a DC 10. Throwing 20+ on the Chase roll will improve Speed by 5 feet for that round. Throwing a negative number on the Chase roll (possible with negative modifiers to the Chase roll) means that Speed for that round is decreased by 5 feet.

Because of the thick throng of people, all the carts, and the business of the marketplace at this time of day, the GM decides that the Chase checks will be made using the character's DEX attribute instead of their CON scores.

Roll initiaitive as normal. Run the Chase like a combat round. Keep track of the distance between the lead PC and the fleeing Thief. And, throw in some exciting, hair-raising obstacles from time to time--just make 'em up as you go.

Boom. You're off to the races.

 

[kitcik]

I would give those rules a shot.

 

[Water Bob]

I would give those rules a shot.

Thanks. If you do, let me know how it goes. I'm open to suggestions for changes, too.

I was going to use the Hot Pursuit rules for my chases, but I think I'll just go with these rules instead. These are much less complicated, provide the same degree of result, and fit within the existing game rules better than what I see in the HP supplement.

I'm a big believer in play-testing, though. I could change my tune later. So, I'm interested in play-test reports (and I'll be looking keenly at these rules the next time I run a chase).