Chase rules in TOR

[garcia5156]

Hey all! Just getting started with TOR, and things have gone very smoothly so far. After our first adventure, I was wondering if there are any official Chase rules in the game. It seems that it could be accomplished with simple opposed rules, but what about drawn out Chases? As I couldn't locate them, I thought up some simple guidelines and wondered what you pros might think. Keep in mind, if there are any rules, it would be great if anyone can point them out! Here is what I thought might work (incidentally, these have not been tested out at all):

- A Chase (or Race even) can be worked out as a Prolonged Test between the opponents. The first to achieve 3 to 5 Athletics successes (depending on how drawn out the scene is desired to be) accomplishes their goal (chaser catches, chased gets away, racer wins). Modifiers can adjust the TN according to terrain and other conditions.

- To reflect stamina, the participants can make as many rolls as their Body attribute. After, further rolls will lower Endurance (1 point for further successes, 2 points for further failures). This makes it somewhat similar to Drowning rolls. It also prevents characters from running indefinitely.

- Lastly, to reflect their shorter legs, Dwarfs and Hobbits must achieve one more success than their opponents.

I wanted to keep it simple. I think it might work. What do others do for Chases?

PS- One side question: Once Weary, a full rest (not the half hour kind) is required to remove the condition, correct?

[Mordagnir]

I looked at this problem a few months ago. If you're going for simple, I think your system will work great. For a short chase scene that isn't intended to be a huge part of the plot, I think it's fine.

However, given that chases have huge potential for increasing drama -- they can easily comprise an entire episode -- I also gave some thought to more complex approaches.

I have never played Pathfinder in my life but PF players have some great ideas for chases that can be ported into TOR with some creativity. I recommend just using Google to get some inspiration. Here's one example:

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/extras/communit ... hase-rules

From this example, there are two important concepts I would pull: range and obstacles.
* You could track range several different ways: for my virtual tabletop game, I would probably put a horizontal "line" with the appropriate categories at the bottom or top of the page. The line would be made up of squares big enough to hold, say, four tokens. Now, you can start building tension by moving around the tokens as the heroes get closer or further from their quarry.
* Obstacles are very interesting. After reading a blog post about prolonged actions in the Chamber of Mazarbul -- http://thechamberofmazarbuldnd.blogspot ... skill.html -- I tried to get much more creative in how I used them. I no longer present many tests, if I can help it, that involve one skill used multiple times by a single hero. In the context of a chase, I would come up with several different obstacles -- analogous to hazards -- that require different skills to overcome.

I have no idea where I saw it and I am too lazy to search for it, but I have seen different systems suggesting the use of playing cards to build a chase on the fly. You associate certain types of obstacles with different skills. If the players are watching you pull the cards randomly, it helps create extra tension because everyone at the table is in suspense about what the next challenge in the chase will be.

Two other things about chases in TOR ought to be noted. Don't overlook the potential of multiple day or even week chases ala the Three Hunters trying to save Merry and Pippin. In that sort of chase, you can easily incorporate social encounters and other challenges that are both fun and normally not associated with chases. Second, you can also have fun with the heroes being the pursued instead of the pursuers. Just think of Strider and the Hobbits fleeing the Ring Wraiths from Bree to Rivendell!

[Yusei]

My own improvised chase rule is very simple: the guy running away is X steps ahead. Each round, that guy rolls Atheltics, and adds his successes to that score. The guys that pursue him roll Athletics, and subtract their successes to that score. It works, but it lacks rules about endurance and short legs.

* Obstacles are very interesting. After reading a blog post about prolonged actions in the Chamber of Mazarbul -- http://thechamberofmazarbuldnd.blogspot ... skill.html -- I tried to get much more creative in how I used them. I no longer present many tests, if I can help it, that involve one skill used multiple times by a single hero. In the context of a chase, I would come up with several different obstacles -- analogous to hazards -- that require different skills to overcome.

That's an insightful post, thank you! It helped me understand why I didn't like prolonged actions in TOR.

[Stormcrow]

By "chase" are you asking about Peter Jackson's action scenes, or Tolkien's chapter of LR in which Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli pursue a horde of orcs? They are not the same thing.

[SirKicley]

By "chase" are you asking about Peter Jackson's action scenes, or Tolkien's chapter of LR in which Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli pursue a horde of orcs? They are not the same thing.

Agreed.

The former is probably more like a "prolonged skill test" of Athletics.

The latter is probably more like "tracking" and would be better served via the fellowship roles (such as guide and Hunter etc).

Robert

[SirKicley]

I have no idea where I saw it and I am too lazy to search for it, but I have seen different systems suggesting the use of playing cards to build a chase on the fly. You associate certain types of obstacles with different skills. If the players are watching you pull the cards randomly, it helps create extra tension because everyone at the table is in suspense about what the next challenge in the chase will be.

Many of the published adventures by Pathfinder have "chases" built into them as an encounter.

Instead of "pulling cards", there's a matrix of random whoopsies, during the chase, associated with dice rolls.

One of my favorite (as a player in Curse of the Crimson Throne campaign) was a chase in a horrible section of a city, where it was common for people to live on makeshift built up shackled on top of one another - like some of those images in 3rd world countries in movies I've seen. Leaping over tin roofs, cloth roofs, broken down shacks etc. Random stuff that causes balance checks, or athletic checks, jump checks, reflex saves, etc, and some that have no effect. Another one that I recall was a chase in wagons going across a desert while being pursued by camel riding would-be bandits. Random stuff like dips in the sand, sudden dunes, or hills, etc, sometimes the wheels spit up a gout of sand into the face of the wagon behind etc etc.

Each round - dice is rolled and if an "event" occurred, you rolled on a the random whoopsie chart.

In a non-desert setting you could have fallen logs, low-hanging tree branches, rocks, dips, hills, creeks, cliffs, etc etc.

Robert

[SirKicley]

- Lastly, to reflect their shorter legs, Dwarfs and Hobbits must achieve one more success than their opponents.

Ah - but dwarves are excellent sprinters....very dangerous over short distances!


Robert

[trystero]

Tales from Wilderland has some pursuit rules inherent in the discussion on pp. 104-106 ("The Journey" and "Hunted!" sections): these are built onto the Journey rules, so they integrate well with the game system. They're definitely better suited to long-term chases like the Three Hunters pursuing the Uruk-hai, though you might well be able to adapt them to shorter-term actions like a foot race.

[Throrsgold]

I devised these Chase Rules for a Middle-earth d20 campaign I ran before TOR came out. The PCs were a party of Rohirrim scouting Isengard when they were discovered and needed to make a run for it. The following is the text, as written...hope they are of use.
The fleeing party will be pursued by a Crebain Swarm that will harry and slow the party in order to allow the pursuers (12-18 Orc Soldiers riding Wargs) time to catch up. The players will have 15 rounds of a head start.
Determine PC movement rates, adjusting for encumbrance (Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook: pp. 170-172, 188; Pathfinder RPG Bestiary: p. 177). Determine at what mode they will travel: walk, hustle, or running. The Crebain Swarms fly at 40’ and can maintain “running” speed (x5) indefinitely as some swarm members will accelerate to continue pursuit while others rest. Wargs move at 30’ [they are still merely lightly encumbered while carrying up to 399 pounds] and can maintain running speeds (x5) for 18 rounds before requiring a CON check (+4 bonus) to continue running (DC 10 and the check increases by for each check that has been made).
The Mounted Chase Sequence: Each round, characters take their actions in order of initiative. At the beginning of the round, the character declares their movement mode: walk, hustle (x2 speed), or run (x3 speed for a character in heavy armor or heavy encumbered; x4 speed for a character in medium armor, light armor, or no armor, medium encumbered, or in heavy armor or heavy encumbered with the Run feat; or x5 speed for a character in medium armor, light armor, or no armor, medium encumbered with the Run feat). All characters taking part in the chase sequence (including passengers) are using some portion of their attention staying up on the chase: keeping their balance, paying attention to the terrain, or something which keeps them from focusing their entire attention on their actions during this round. Moving in a chase uses up a move action every round.
On any character's turn (unless they're a passenger), there is a chance that they will encounter an obstacle. The type of terrain the character is currently traversing determines this chance:
Open: This terrain is a flat, unobstructed landscape that does not interfere with travel, such as gravel/paved roads, grassy/open plains, or a salt flat. The likelihood of encountering an obstacle is 1 in 12 per round.
Close: This terrain is a somewhat restricted landscape where changes in speed or direction are common, such as a narrow road or a wide forest. The likelihood of encountering an obstacle is 1 in 8 per round.
Tight: This terrain is a severely restricted landscape where sharp changes in direction and speed are required, such as a dense forest. The likelihood of encountering an obstacle is 1 in 4 per round. Movement costs in this terrain type are doubled.
If an obstacle appears, roll 1d12 and consult the table below. Also, decrease the distance that character covers for that round by ½.

1d12 Roll Effect
1 Birds Flushed Underfoot: Make a Will save (DC 15). If you succeed, make a Reflex save (DC 10) to avoid falling off your mount when it is startled; if you fail, you were also startled and must make a Reflex save (DC 20) or fall off your mount. If you fall off your mount, make a Ride check (DC 15) or take 1d6 damage + movement mode modifier [+1d4 if moving at run (x3), +1d8 if moving at run (x4), or +1d12 if moving at run (x5)]. In any event, you suffer a –5 penalty on the next Perception roll you attempt.
2 Deep Mud: You have encountered a deep mud obstacle that stretches for 1d20x10’. Through this obstacle, the maximum movement mode is walk and characters moving within this obstacle suffer a modifier of –4 to all possibly related (GM’s discretion) activities. Do not roll for further obstacle encounters until out of this area.
3 Dense Brush: Make a Perception check (DC 20: +2 if moving at run (x3) movement mode, +5 if moving at run (x4) movement mode, or +7 if moving at run (x5) movement mode). If you succeed, make a Ride check (DC 15) to leap it; if you fail, you plow into the brush and your movement costs for this round are doubled [Strength check (DC 20) negates increased movement cost].
4 Fallen Tree: Make a Perception check (DC 20: +2 if moving at run (x3) movement mode, +5 if moving at run (x4) movement mode, or +7 if moving at run (x5) movement mode). If you succeed, make a Ride check (DC 15) to leap it; if you fail, you did not see it in time and must make a Ride check (DC 25) or fall off your mount. If you fall off your mount, make a Ride check (DC 15) or take 1d6 damage + movement mode modifier [+1d4 if moving at run (x3), +1d8 if moving at run (x4), or +1d12 if moving at run (x5)].
5 Hidden Ditch: Make a Perception check (DC 25: +2 if moving at run (x3) movement mode, +5 if moving at run (x4) movement mode, or +7 if moving at run (x5) movement mode). If you succeed, make a Ride check (DC 15) to leap it; if you fail, you did not see it in time and must make a Ride check (DC 25) or fall off your mount. If you fall off your mount, make a Ride check (DC 15) or take 1d6 damage + movement mode modifier [+1d4 if moving at run (x3), +1d8 if moving at run (x4), or +1d12 if moving at run (x5)].
6 Oops! You generated a Random Encounter. Roll on the Random Encounter Table.
7 Plowed Field: You have encountered a plowed field obstacle that stretches for 1d20x10’. If this obstacle is encountered during the winter or fall, the maximum movement mode is hustle. Too, characters moving within this obstacle suffer a modifier of –2 to all possibly related (GM’s discretion) activities. If this obstacle is encountered during the spring or summer, the maximum movement mode is walk and characters moving within this obstacle suffer a modifier of –4.
8 Rough Patch: You have encountered a rough patch of ground that shifts or gives way underneath you! Your mount must make a Reflex save (DC 20) or it stumbles, taking 1d6 damage + movement mode modifier [+1d4 if moving at run (x3), +1d8 if moving at run (x4), or +1d12 if moving at run (x5)]. If the mount stumbles, you are unceremoniously thrown to the ground and take 1d6 damage + movement mode modifier [+1d4 if moving at run (x3), +1d8 if moving at run (x4), or +1d12 if moving at run (x5)]. Note: A Soft Fall Ride check will not negate this damage!
9 Soft Sand: You have encountered a soft sand obstacle that stretches for 1d20x10’. Through this obstacle, the maximum movement mode is walk and characters moving within this obstacle suffer a modifier of –4 to all possibly related (GM’s discretion) activities. Do not roll for further obstacle encounters until out of this area.
10 Stream: Make a Perception check (DC 20: +2 if moving at run (x3) movement mode, +5 if moving at run (x4) movement mode, or +7 if moving at run (x5) movement mode). If you succeed, make a Ride check (DC 15) to leap it; if you fail, you did not see it in time and must make a Ride check (DC 25) or fall off your mount. If you fall off your mount, make a Ride check (DC 15) or take 1d6 damage + movement mode modifier [+1d4 if moving at run (x3), +1d8 if moving at run (x4), or +1d12 if moving at run (x5)].
11 Swamp: You have encountered a swamp obstacle that stretches for 1d20x10’. Through this obstacle, the maximum movement mode is walk and characters moving within this obstacle suffer a modifier of –4 to all possibly related (GM’s discretion) activities. Do not roll for further obstacle encounters until out of this area.
12 Tree!: Make a Perception check (DC 20: +2 if moving at run (x3) movement mode, +5 if moving at run (x4) movement mode, or +7 if moving at run (x5) movement mode). If you succeed, make a Ride check (DC 15) to dodge it; if you fail, you did not see it in time and must make a Ride check (DC 25) or hit the tree, taking 2d6 damge + movement mode modifier [+xd4 if moving at run (x3), +xd8 if moving at run (x4), or +xd12 if moving at run (x5)]. The value of x is determined by the size of the tree: roll 1d6:
1 = Small (2 dice)
2 – 3 = Medium (4 dice)
4 – 5 = Large (8 dice)
6 = Huge (12 dice)