Chases

[Shane]

Hi guys,

Has anyone done anything specific in terms of modelling chases and pursuits that they would like to share? I am not thinking short-term chases, but long-term ones like the multi-day pursuit of the Uruk-Hai in LotR. I was thinking some variation of the Journey rules with specific roles affectign pursuits in a particular way.

In the game today the party got chased by a superior Orc band; I did a few Travel rolls and a few other rolls, but I wondering how to "formalise" the chase rules? Any ideas?

Regards,

Shane

[Rich H]

Off the top of my head...

Use Range Bands
These will need to vary depending in size and number depending on what you want the scope of the Chase Encounter to look like. Examples: Melee, Near Missile, Medium Missile, Far Missile, Artillery or Neck-and-Neck, Close, Near, Eyesight, A Day's Ride, Far Away... etc

Plus:

Employ Opposed Action Rules
These could be Travel, Athletics, etc rolls. Difference in degrees of success results in ranges being closed/reduced by the same amount or by one amount but with bonus dice to next roll depending on the distances involved; use the former resolution for more immediate/quick chases (ie, seconds and minutes to resolve) and the latter for long/extended chases (ie, hours and days to resolve).

[Stormcrow]

Treat the chase as an opposed action.

Decide how many "areas" the pursued are from the pursuers. Each opposed roll represents a day of travel. One success increases or decreases the number of areas between the pursuers and the pursued.

Players may either roll for themselves or let the character with the lowest skill roll. If they do the former, they split up as some gain more success than others. Anyone using mounts or vehicles may roll a skill assigned by the Loremaster.

Exactly which skill to use depends on the nature of the action. The pursued will usually roll Athletics or Travel, as they will usually be trying to move as quickly as possible. If the pursuers know where the pursued are, they will roll Athletics or Travel as well. But suppose the pursuers have to figure out where their quarry is: they may have to roll Hunting instead to follow the trail. If the pursued are trying to hide from the pursuers, they'll have to roll Stealth.

If the pursuers reduce the number of areas to 0, the two groups have a confrontation. If the pursued stop fleeing, the pursuers may take automatic actions to catch up, or they may continue to roll if they want great or extraordinary successes to get there faster.

The Loremaster must decide if the pursuers have lost their quarry. For instance, if the quarry has been using Stealth to hide from them, and they all fail their Hunting rolls, he may declare the chase ended.

[Evening]

Treat the chase as an opposed action.

Decide how many "areas" the pursued are from the pursuers. Each opposed roll represents a day of travel. One success increases or decreases the number of areas between the pursuers and the pursued.

Players may either roll for themselves or let the character with the lowest skill roll. If they do the former, they split up as some gain more success than others. Anyone using mounts or vehicles may roll a skill assigned by the Loremaster.

Exactly which skill to use depends on the nature of the action. The pursued will usually roll Athletics or Travel, as they will usually be trying to move as quickly as possible. If the pursuers know where the pursued are, they will roll Athletics or Travel as well. But suppose the pursuers have to figure out where their quarry is: they may have to roll Hunting instead to follow the trail. If the pursued are trying to hide from the pursuers, they'll have to roll Stealth.

If the pursuers reduce the number of areas to 0, the two groups have a confrontation. If the pursued stop fleeing, the pursuers may take automatic actions to catch up, or they may continue to roll if they want great or extraordinary successes to get there faster.

The Loremaster must decide if the pursuers have lost their quarry. For instance, if the quarry has been using Stealth to hide from them, and they all fail their Hunting rolls, he may declare the chase ended.

This is great. The only thing I might change is restricting to the rolls to Travel if they are more than a couple miles apart. If they are within eyesight, then definitely Athletics.