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Chase Scenes

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Shadowjack

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« on: <03-09-17/1626:48> »
Any idea how they work? The only way I can make sense of it is if it's just purely decided by roleplaying or if the pursuant spends plot points orr has other movement boosting advantages. Assuming you are at far distance and we both move at a normal speed, how can i ever catch you if you move every narration? I could require athletics tests to try to close the gap, but that seems somewhat against the spirit of Anarcy. How does your group handle it?
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Gingivitis

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« Reply #1 on: <03-10-17/1602:20> »
I don't see why a series of athletics or piloting tests wouldn't work for this.  I would give it a limit, like 3 turns max.  Whoever has the most winning turns catches (or escapes) the other.  I think if you make it to Far distance, the separation would be considered insurmountable unless the chaser is in a vehicle and the other is not.

Spending Plot Points to double time it during a chase would not be fair because either the GM has far too many or cannot spend enough per Turn to catch up.  When you assume that everyone is double timing it, might as well ignore it as a factor.

I have run a van vs motorcycle (and a big rig with a tanker full of biodigested shark slurry) chase scene but it wasn't about escaping, it was about shooting back and forth at high speeds and Plot Points were spent on obstacles rather than speed.
« Last Edit: <07-15-17/2324:25> by Gingivitis »
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Shadowjack

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« Reply #2 on: <03-10-17/1739:25> »
The book says something like "Anarchy doesn't concern itself with movement speeds", it also lists a use of Athletics to be Running, but doesn't explain how that works. Rolling Athletics/Pilot as an opposed roll and awarding the winner by closing or increasing the gap by 1 range category might work fine if the chase begins as close range or maybe even near range, but it seems tricky when it's further than that. One other thing to consider is slow tanky vehicles vs fast squishy vehicles (van vs bike), statistically the van is much stronger, so as the GM I would give a bonus to the bike, perhaps +2 or +3 dice, that way you can't  just power game and use big tanky vehicles with no drawback.

Not allowing plot points to be spent on movement during a chase scene seems like a good call as it quickly devolves into everyone doing so. To recap, how does this sound?

The faster vehicle grants the driver between +1 and +5 dice depending on vehicle speed disparity
Plot points cannot be used to increase speed during chase scenes
Opposed Piloting/Athletics to determine if gap is closed or expanded by 1 movement category each turn
If the fleeing party moves beyond far range they have escaped
When obstacles come up you have to roll Piloting/Athletics to avoid a crash
In some cases you may have an opportunity to take a risk and catch up or retreat by 2 movement intervals, this requires a difficult vehicle test, your pursuant gets a chance to match your success
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Gingivitis

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« Reply #3 on: <03-11-17/0312:07> »
That all sounds pretty good.

If you want an extended chase, you have the players and opposition jocky for the Close (which means catching) or Far (which means escaping) positions.  it might take a long time depending on rolls but if that is what the Scene is about, then that serves its purpose.

If you want a quick chase, you just set a limit like 3 or 5 turns and see who wins the most.  This would be more in line with Scenes that are not based around the chase or maybe even occurring between scenes as players get from one Scene to another.

SR5 had the "end run" where you could take a risk to escape, like you state.  That to me feels like Live Dangerously and a Glitch Die.  An Exploit means a double win and a Glitch means a crash.
« Last Edit: <07-15-17/2326:57> by Gingivitis »
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