Speed shouldn’t matter. In most RPG systems characters, mounts, and vehicles are going to have a specific maximum distance they can move in any given round. Some include modifiers for things like difficult terrain or pushing the character\/mount\/vehicle to the limit, but regardless of the specifics, with a bit of math it should be easy to determine an objective maximum speed for any character.<\/p>\n
So, given that, all chases should be a simple matter of figuring out which character moves fastest, right? If a velociraptor\u00a0can move six hexes per round, and is chasing Dr. Erin Rivers,\u00a0who is limited to no more than four hexes per round, than it\u2019s inevitable that no matter how far apart they begin, eventually our heroic paleontologist is going to be a raptor snack, right? Or, if Dr. Rivers finds\u00a0a motorcycle which can also travel at six hexes per round, then they\u2019re doomed to continue an unending pursuit, like two mythical figures locked in an eternal struggle, neither ever gaining ground on the other, forcing the gamemaster to check the rulebook to see if there are any guidelines for implementing exhaustion, starvation, or perhaps even velociraptor boredom.<\/p>\n
Of course not! Movement rate shouldn’t be completely discounted, but if you want to make your chase encounter fun and exciting, then relative speed should only manifest as a minor bonus or penalty to other checks involved in the chase.<\/p>\n
So, what are the ingredients for a good RPG high speed pursuit?<\/p>\n
Location, Location, Location!<\/strong><\/p>\n Whether the characters are trying to outrun an enraged triceratops on an island forgotten by time, escaping enemy starfighters in the debris field of space junk and dead satellites orbiting a forgotten world, or racing Mini Coopers through the back alleys of London, it\u2019s important that the setting be interesting.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a reason action movies rarely take place on a flat, empty plane.<\/p>\n Skills to pay the Bills<\/strong><\/p>\n The vast majority of tabletop RPGs include some sort of subsystem to represent the abilities a character has, and as a gamemaster you\u00a0should be encouraging their players to think creatively about using those skills. A chase encounter should be no different.<\/p>\n Certain skills are going to be obvious for a chase: If the characters are on foot, things like athletics, climbing, or even swimming and acrobatics are going to be useful. Riding or animal handling if the character is using some sort of animal, or driving or piloting if there\u2019s a vehicle involved.<\/p>\n What if the character is particularly skilled at social interaction, though? If they\u2019re on foot or mounted, and there\u2019s a crowd, why not let them attempt to convince the bystanders to slow down or detain the person chasing them? Stealth could be used to blend into a crowd, or duck down an alley without being seen. Some sort of familiarity\u00a0with\u00a0their environment might allow the character to figure out a short cut, or how to use the terrain to their advantage. A working knowledge of\u00a0the local criminal element\u00a0could allow the character to lead their pursuer to a more dangerous area of the city.<\/p>\n If nothing else, a high\u00a0bluff check might be used to convince the other party members that a tyrannosaur’s vision is based on movement, giving one character the opportunity to run away while everyone else stands around like a bunch of suckers, waiting to be eaten.<\/p>\n The important thing for a GM is to be flexible. Your players\u00a0might surprise you, and that might lead to an awesome moment.<\/p>\n Environmental Hazards<\/strong><\/p>\n Regardless of where the chase takes place, there should be plenty of obstacles to contend with. You can describe a really interesting and thematically appropriate location, but if you don\u2019t use it, you might as well have set the scene in an empty hallway.<\/p>\n If the characters are running through a busy open air market, there could be dense crowds, local law enforcement, and oblivious fruit sellers pushing their cart across in the path. If the pursuit is done on airboats in a mad scientist’s experimental jungle biome, there could be sandbars just under the water, territorial wildlife \u2013 i.e. pteranodons\u00a0and spinosaurs\u00a0\u2013 and sudden dangerous whirlpools. Trying to follow space pirates through an asteroid belt, the characters could have to contend with the asteroids themselves, or perhaps the pirates seeded the belt with mines they\u2019re able to activate after they’ve already passed, or maybe whatever material the asteroids are composed of is interfering with the players\u2019 ship\u2019s sensors.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t be afraid to provide opportunities for the players to be awesome. Put an obvious ramp in place to let them bypass a bridge by leaping their motorcycle across the narrow river. Give them the chance to leap from their stage coach and on to a bounty hunter\u2019s horse.<\/p>\n How the players and NPCs are able to deal with these hazards, either through role-playing or rolls should determine how the chase goes. Go into the challenge with a number of successes required for the players to \u201cwin\u201d the chase.<\/p>\n Of course, then you have to figure out what happens when the characters being chased escape, or \u2013 perhaps more interesting \u2013 if they\u2019re caught.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"