Difference between revisions of "The Chase Scene Minigame"

Latest revision as of 16:40, 2 May 2016

The Chase Scene

Officer Fletcher: John, don't run.
John Anderton: You don't have to chase me.
Officer Fletcher: You don't have to run.
John Anderton: Everybody runs, Fletch.
--Minority Report

In the course of an adventure, it will likely come to pass that the heroes will stumble across somebody who doesn’t want to be found, or be pursued by someone they would rather not have catch up to them. When these kinds of situations arise, one of two things generally happens: a combat ensues or one party makes a run for it. Fight or flight, it’s as simple as that.

If you’ve ever watched a cop show, you know that the reasons a person runs are as numerous as the day is long. Why do people run? Because reasons, that’s why. As it relates to a game such as this, the more important question is, “How are you going to catch the scalawags that just bolted?” Or, if your Hero is one of the aforementioned scalawags, “How do I get away from these creeps that are after my hide?”

In a perfect [game] world, the Master would have a detailed map of every locale the crew visits, complete with street layout and detailed building schematics. It might even show the location of every rando on the street, which shops are open, which apartments are occupied, where cars are parked and what the street traffic is like. If this were the case, chases could simply be played out using the combat system. Since this level of preparation is a clearly unrealistic expectation, we have opted for a method to abstract the setting and the mechanics involved. Not every encounter should be forced into a fight to the finish, however sometimes players may feel their hands are tied if there is no reasonable mechanism—or benefit—to taking flight. Maybe the heroes are more pacifistic and would prefer not to resort to violence. Maybe the encounter starts in a crowded place with lots of witnesses and innocent bystanders; what kind of a monster would haul out guns in that kind of setting? There is also the possibility that the Heroes or their quarry are completely outclassed, and their only hope of “winning” is to escape. All of these are reasonable motivations for eschewing a combat encounter, and if you have been playing RPGs for any amount of time, you have probably been involved in a situation like one described above that chews away at the integrity or credibility of the story at the sake of expedience.

In short, we’re saying that sometimes is it’s okay to run, ya yellow-bellied coward. And if someone runs from you, this system will help determine if they live to fight another day or if you can just make ‘em die tired.

Designer’s Note: This may sound ludicrous to some, but as a player in game, sometimes it seems like a more viable option to just hash out a fight scene, even if your characters have no reason to fight or if they have every reason to try and escape. One of the reasons for this is the implied complexity of the chase. How will it play out? Will it be fair? Do I stand a better chance of getting away if I just fight? Another reason might be inconsistencies in the way the game master has resolved these issues in the past. Did he just compare movement scores one time and declare that the villains catch up to you? Did he ask for a single skill check? Did he lay it all out in a tactical encounter that consumed half the night? Almost every game system has (more or less) detailed rules on how the various actors in the story fight, but rarely do we see systems devoted to getting out of one! The chase scene minigame is completely optional, but offers a relatively concrete method of playing out a pursuit encounter, and offers enough flexibility that it may be applied to almost any setting on the fly.

Imbalance of Power

A very common cause of flight is the clear notion that a fight would be entirely one-sided. If a lone villain is beset by an entire crew of Heroes, it might be ludicrous for the NPC to even entertain the notion that he could somehow come out on top. (And if he does stand and fight, maybe that’s when the players should get worried about what tricks he has up his sleeve!). It makes sense for him to run.

“But there are ten of us!” you cry. “How can he possibly escape?” I don’t know. But people do it every day. Criminals flee when entire police agencies are hot on their tails, and sometimes they succeed, even against those odds. It is not necessarily an issue of manpower—though it certainly does help. It is also not an issue of pure speed, either. Many modern law enforcement agencies field patrol vehicles with powerful “police interceptor” engines, designed specifically to grant them a leg up when it comes to resolving pursuits with people driving run-of-the-mill consumer models. Yet people still sometimes elude the police, so clearly a chase is not necessarily a matter of sheer speed. If the environment was a vast, open prairie or deep space, then a chase might devolve into a contest of speed or a running gun battle. These rules are more interested in incorporating an abstracted environment into the mix, and how that may affect the outcome of the pursuit, even if the odds are heavily stacked in the favor of the pursuers or their quarry.

A chase implies that the pursuer is in some sense as fast or faster than the quarry, or that the environment is dense enough to slow a more fleet quarry down to a speed where capture is a real possibility. If the quarry makes it out of the city and onto the open road, maybe they can lay on the coals and easily outstrip even a police cruiser. In that kind of a situation, there is no real chase, the master may simply declare that the faster party gets away for now. In a chase, the quarry is generally the disadvantaged party; they are either slower, or the one blazing the trail of the entire pursuit. They are coming across hazardous situations that might slow them down first, or are actively trying to use the environment to slow their pursuers or effect escape. In any event, the key to a chase scene is the environment itself. The scenery of the environment itself is densely littered enough that flat-out speed is not the determining factor. Thus, chases will tend to be littered with hazards and opportunities, either by nature of the setting or by design of the quarry.

Terminology

As with most systems of game mechanics, this minigame will require a few descriptors for commonly used terms. Some of these terms have been used already, others will be described in more detail later on:

• Quarry—The person/group/vehicle spearheading the chase. This is the target, the hunted party.
  

• Pursuer—The Person/group/vehicle chasing the quarry.
  

• Action Card(s)—These are cards drawn from the action deck. They are used to overcome hazards and take advantage of breaks.
  

• Pursuit Card(s)—These are drawn from a specialized pursuit deck. For ease of play, you may purchase or print your own pursuit deck, or—the horror—use a standard deck of playing cards with Jokers and consult the table in these rules. Pursuit cards will detail various hazards and breaks that will be encountered by the quarry and pursuer as a chase plays out.
  

• Hazard—An obstacle that crops up in your path during the course of the pursuit.
  

• Break—Some fortuitous event or scenery that the quarry may take advantage of to deter pursuit.
  

• Range—An abstracted unit of distance. A unit of range in a foot chase may be a handful of paces, while for a car chase it might be half a city block, or an entire kilometer for an aerial pursuit.
  

• Speed—An abstracted measure of velocity. Speed will clearly differ in a foot chase as opposed to a car chase, however the environment of both is clearly different, as well. Speed determines how many Pursuit cards the quarry will draw from the pursuit deck each round.
  

• Scene Change—A break or hazard that might allow the quarry to successfully get away and end the pursuit.
  

• Flanker--A member of the quarry team that has peeled away from the main pursuit. Can return as reinforcements.
  

• Screen--A member of the pursuit team that has peeled away to contain flankers. Prevents flankers from returning as reinforcements, and can return to the main pursuit team if the pursuer draws the Reinforcements card.
  

Starting a Chase

All that is really required to initiate a chase scene is for one party to declare their intent to run, and for another party to give chase. Initially, the Master will have to determine if the setting or circumstances meet certain requirements; will there even be a chase, here, or is the outcome a foregone conclusion? Are the two parties on a long stretch of desolate highway with one party driving a souped-up interceptor while the other is trucking along in a jalopy? Or is one person on foot and the other on a motorcycle? If the scenery is static, there really is no need to use this subsystem. Simply compare speeds or execute a running gunfight. Another example that may not apply is if the chase occurs in the air. If the altitude is high enough, the only scenery available might be the occasional cloud, but radar or other sensors will not be fooled by that. In that situation, there is no chance for the pursuer to “lose” the quarry, so a chase would then boil down to who is faster, or who can take out who first. Lastly, deep space encounters are generally not suitable for chase scenes. Ship’s sensors are generally quite sensitive, and can detect other vessels at vast distances. Plus, contrary to what is depicted in some movies and television programs, space is…almost entirely empty. Kind of says so right in the name.

Starting Distance

When the chase begins, the Master will determine the starting distance. Distance is measured in “units,” an arbitrary linear distance. If the quarry and pursuer start off very close to one another, the initial distance might be very small, perhaps only one or two units. If the pursuer spots the quarry on the other end of a city block, the Master might start the distance at ten units, or even more. Five units may be considered a “standard” starting point.

The master will also need to declare a pre-determined end point for a failing chase, called the Escape Distance. The heroes simply cannot pursue a villain who has pulled dozens of units ahead of them; if that’s what really interests the players, you all should probably look into playing a different kind of game. If the quarry manages to get X units ahead of the pursuer, then they have proven their speed, skill or luck is greater, and that the pursuer has little to no chance to catch up. The chase ends, and the quarry escapes; for now, at least. If you want the potential for a longer, more drawn out chase, you can set the escape distance higher. You might consider a distance of 10 or double the starting distance a good rule of thumb.

Sid Scorpio has the Talix saboteur at gunpoint, when a flash grenade goes off. When the spots clear from Sid’s eyes, he sees the spy is making a break for it! If the henchman had run when Sid’s gun was on him, the Master might have started the chase distance at 1, but since Sid was blinded for a moment, he decides to start the chase at a distance of 6 units, and an escape distance of 12 units.

Current distance can be kept track of by using dice, counters or just noting it on paper. Whatever works for you.

Ending Criteria

All chases eventually end. As soon as any of the following criteria is met, the chase is concluded and will end either in the quarry escaping or being caught. What happens when the quarry is caught is up to the players and the Master. The ending criteria are as follows:

• One party chooses to end the pursuit
  

• If the quarry reaches the pre-determined Escape Distance
  

• One party loses all his Wind, Handling or Nerve
  

• One party or their vehicle is incapacitated from combat actions taken during the chase
  

• Pursuer reaches range zero or pulls ahead of the quarry
  

• Quarry succeeds at an escape maneuver
  

• If headed toward a destination, the required units of distance have been traveled.
  

Relevant Skill

In a chase, one will be relying heavily on certain skills to determine how well they perform. The skill used will vary depending on what kind of chase is taking place.

• Foot chase: Use Athletics Skill. Any character that has a racial bonus or edge that increases their pace can add 1.
  

• Car chase: Use Driving skill.
  

• Mounted animal/Motorcycle chase: Use the Riding skill.
  

• Aerial chase: Use the Piloting skill.
  

Like combat, chases are broken up into rounds. At the beginning of each round, each party draws some action cards. You draw a minimum of 1 per round, and action cards that are unused may be kept in your hand. The quarry and pursuer will make a check against the relevant pursuit skill at a TN of 3. For each success and bump, you can draw one additional action card into your hand, up to the maximum hand size, which is your relevant skill +1 cards. These cards are blind; keep them face down for now and do not look at them. The action deck, minus any cards held by the quarry and pursuer, gets shuffled each round prior to the draw during a chase.

These cards will be used later to overcome hazards that crop up or to take advantage of any breaks.

Multiple Participants

A chase may consist of multiple individuals on either side, but for simplified resolution and bookkeeping, each group will represent one entity (the “quarry” and the “pursuer,” as described previously). Having additional bodies on your side can certainly help out, but among the crew, one of the heroes should be elected the “primary” member of the quarry or pursuit team, if conducting a foot chase. This will probably be the hero with the highest Athletics skill. For vehicle pursuits, the primary is always the driver. For each additional member of the pursuit/quarry team, that team adds 1 to the skill check each round when determining the number of action cards drawn. Additional members can also participate in combat actions during the chase (refer to the section on “Running Gunfights,” below). Members of the quarry team may choose to peel off singly or in groups during the pursuit (these members are the “flankers”). They are considered to have escaped, and will not face the possibility of capture unless reunited with the rest of the group during the chase (from the result of pursuit cards). If the pursuit team has additional members to spare, they can detail members to chase (these members are called the “screen”), but these side pursuits are inconsequential to the primary chase. Flankers can come back later on in the form of reinforcements, if that break is drawn. However, each member of the screen will negate one of the quarry’s flankers. Be careful when it comes to separating your group, though! If the target of the pursuit team peels off from the quarry team to be a flanker, the pursuit team may opt to follow him, instead, and that character will become the primary of the chase, which may be bad news if he is not as capable in the relevant chase skill as whoever was previously at the helm!

If the pursuit involves vehicles, flankers and screen are counted on an individual, per-vehicle basis. If all the members of the quarry and pursuit teams are in their one vehicle per side, people can’t just bail out effectively. They might be able to get out of the vehicle, but they will not be an effective reinforcement later on as they will have no means to catch up on foot. However, if the primary target bails from the car, the pursuit team may opt to chase them, instead.

The Master declares that the Talix spy has one additional member of his quarry team (the guy that tossed the flash-bang grenade). As such, the quarry team gets a +1 bonus to the check for drawing action cards. Shortly into the pursuit, however, the grenade-tossing member of the quarry team peels off. Sid, working alone, has no choice but to follow his intended target, the spy he had at gunpoint. The quarry team now has one unscreened flanker.

Speed

After action cards are drawn, both parties will need to declare their speed for the round. Like distance, speed is an arbitrary measurement of velocity. It is also related to distance in that a party in the chase will cover one unit of distance per one unit of speed per round. Speed ranges from 1 to 5. This isn’t a track meet or a drag race; fractions of a second won’t matter so much here in the potentially cluttered setting of a chase. All participants are considered to be somewhat hampered by the nature of this endeavor, and thus all are on relatively equal footing when it comes to how fast they can go.

Not only does speed determine how much distance you cover in a round, it also determines how many pursuit cards you will face each round. For every unit of speed chosen by the quarry, he will draw one card from the Pursuit Deck. Whatever hazards or breaks the quarry faces, the pursuer will have to overcome, as well. If the pursuer is moving at a higher speed than the quarry, he will face additional hazards that the quarry did not. If he is travelling slower, he will only have to face (in order of progression) a number of hazards/breaks that the quarry faced equal to his own speed.

Sid barrels after the Talix spy. The Master declares that the spy is running at a speed of 4 this round. This means that the spy will face up to 4 draws from the pursuit deck. If Sid tries to close the distance a bit by going at a speed of 5, he will have to face up to 5 draws. If he takes a more cautious approach (which might not be such a bad idea, since his poor roll a moment ago only gave him 2 action cards) and chooses to move at a speed of 3, he will only have to face the first three draws the spy has to face.

Whoever declares their speed first is at a slight disadvantage. The party with the fewest action cards in his hand will declare first. If this number is equal, the party with the lower skill declares first. If this is equal, the party with the lesser Reflex trait value. Failing all else, each participant cuts the action deck. The party showing the lowest impulse card declares first. If it comes to this, also make sure to shuffle the deck.

In addition to determining the number of pursuit cards you will draw in a round, speed also alters the difficulty of the hazards/breaks shown on the pursuit cards. For each unit of speed, add 1 to the TN shown on the card. Dodging a pedestrian or trying to dart into an open doorway is more difficult at a dead run than a more cautious trot!

Like the distance, your current speed should be noted with a d6, counters or on paper. Some hazards will reduce or limit your current speed, and if your speed is reduced, the number of pursuit cards that must be drawn are reduced, as well.

The Pursuit Deck

For the chase scene, you will require a specialized ability deck called the Pursuit Deck. Like an action deck, this is a standard 54-card deck, and in a pinch can be simulated with a deck of playing cards and the table in this book on page XX. If you wish, you can print out your own cards and use those, or if you’re especially kind and benevolent players, you can buy a set from us, because we like to eat, too. Plus, our cards will be kind of glossy and easy to shuffle, and have a nifty logo on the back and stuff.

Designer’s Note: Really, you should buy cards from us. Some of us are a bit on the not-skinny side of things, here because of the eating. Did I mention we like that? It’s the best. Just like our cards.

After both parties declare their current speed, the quarry draws the first card from the pursuit deck. Each draw represents some bit of scenery or an event that comes across the quarry’s path. Some are hazards—obstacles that must be overcome or events that must be dealt with. Others are breaks. These are opportunities that the quarry might take advantage of with some skill and luck.

The quarry has some simple choices as to how to deal with each draw. Some hazards and most breaks can be ignored with no penalty. The quarry chooses to focus on flat out speed. In this case, the pursuit card is discarded. If the quarry chose not to interact with an optional bit of scenery/event, the pursuer does not have to deal with it, either. If the quarry has any more pursuit cards to draw based on his speed, he would then draw the next card. Most hazards and some breaks cannot be ignored; they must be dealt with in some fashion. To overcome a hazard or take advantage of a break, find the TN on the pursuit card. Adjust this by your speed. Most hazards and breaks will be resolved by using the relevant skill for the chase (i.e., Athletics, Driving, etc.), though some may be overcome by another skill, item or ability. If a locked gate hazard comes up, instead of using Athletics to vault over it, you may make a strength roll to bust through it, a jump belt to clear it on the run, or try using some marksmanship to blow the lock off with your blaster pistol. Feel free to be creative if you wish. Once the quarry has decided how they will overcome the hazard, draw an action card from your hand. If the number in the skill result section is equal to or higher than the TN on the pursuit card plus your speed, the hazard is overcome or you have taken advantage of the break. If your skill result is less than the TN, you can opt to draw another action card from your hand and repeat until the hazard/break is dealt with or you run out of action cards. Lastly, the quarry can sometimes opt to ignore a hazard and face the consequences for failure. Failure usually results in some form of chase “damage” or the loss of some speed or distance. If the quarry has any distance left to cover in the round, he draws the next pursuit card.

The Talix spy, running at a speed of 4, used both of his action cards to take advantage of a break on his first card, which was a scene change (the Master described it as the Agent backtracking and bolting down an alleyway. His next pursuit card is a hazard: a fence. The master decides that a chain link fence spans the alleyway, and the quarry has no more action cards to overcome it, so he must face the consequences, which are a loss of 2 speed while he clambers over it. Since he has already covered 2 of the 4 units of distance he would cover this round, he draws no more cards from the pursuit deck as he heads to the far end of the alley with Sid (at speed 3) now closing the distance…

Since the pursuer is chasing the quarry, whatever hazards the quarry faces, the pursuer will come across, as well. The pursuer usually has a slight advantage here, however. With the added distance, the pursuer has additional time to see any obstacles/breaks coming, and how the quarry dealt with it. If the quarry had to dodge a pedestrian in his path, the pursuer will, as well, but he will have more time to see it coming and shift accordingly. Every unit of distance the pursuer is behind the quarry will reduce the TN of the check by 1 (though the TN is still increased by the pursuer’s speed, just as for the quarry). If the speed and distance adjusted TN is zero or less, the pursuer can safely ignore the hazard or take advantage of the break without playing an action card from his hand. Distance will not adjust the TN of all hazards/breaks, however (a fence is going to be difficult to climb regardless of how early you spotted it!). Also, some hazards/breaks cannot be ignored even if the TN is less than zero. As with that damnable fence, the pursuer still has to get over it, regardless of how much of a cakewalk it might be!

Sid sees the Talix spy skid on his heels ahead and double back to dart down a dark alleyway. The TN for taking the scene change break is 3. Sid is jogging at a speed of 3, so the TN is increased to 6, however, he is 6 units of distance behind his prey, so the TN is reduced by 6 to zero. Sid doesn’t have to play one of his two action cards to take the break, and heads down to tackle that fence, which he cannot ignore and doesn’t get any easier to climb because he saw it coming. With an initial TN of 4, increased to 7 due to his speed, it takes both of Sid’s action cards to climb over the fence. Luckily he still had both of them!

When the quarry interacts with the scenery, he has the opportunity to make a simple obstacle more confounding for his pursuer. When making the skill check for a hazard or break, if the quarry gets one bump, it increases the base TN of the hazard by 1 and halves the distance bonus the pursuer would receive. Each subsequent bump raises the TN by an additional point, and with two or more bumps, the pursuer loses his distance bonus.

On the next round, the Talix agent faces an obstacle hazard. The master says it is a garbage can. The agent gets one bump to his check, which increases the TN from 3 to 4, as well as reduces Sid’s distance bonus from 5 to 2 (rounding down) as the empty can rolls unpredictably in the narrow alley. The agent draws another obstacle hazard, and gets even luckier this time, getting two bumps. The Master decides that the next obstacle is a vat of used cooking oil from a restaurant. The goopy liquid coats the pavement, making it very slick (With a base TN of 5, now) and because Sid thinks it’s just water, he doesn’t get his bonus for distance. He runs after the agent, tracking right through the slick, and burns through his action cards trying to overcome the hazard.

A final note on pursuit cards: They are intended to aid the Master to a degree by helping him create randomized scenery that might fit the setting, but they are not intended to usurp his authorial control. If a hazard or break is drawn that absolutely does not fit the setting, the Master has final say as to what the card actually is. If it is established that you are running down a city street, a “locked door/gate” hazard makes little sense. He may declare the pursuit card is blank, meaning no hazard or break comes up and the quarry or pursuer moves onto the next pursuit card, or he may declare any inapplicable results are converted to a simple obstacle hazard (maybe that “gate” was a toll station, and you have to jump over the barrier arm). How this is dealt with is up to you, but in the essence of fairness, results should be applied consistently.

Hazardous Conditions

Running from/down the bad guys can be a risky business. In all the haste and excitement, plenty can go wrong, and if enough bad things happen, it can take a person out of the chase. This is where chase “damage” comes into play.

Each type of pursuit will have a different method to determine how long you can keep up the chase in the face of being abused by the scenery; there are only so many hobos you can trip over before your body gives up; once you sideswipe enough cars or jump enough curbs, some vital component of your car will give out, and you’ll skid out of control.

• For foot chases, the statistic is called Stamina. It is the sum of the character’s Fortitude trait value and Strength trait value.
  

• For car/bike/mount chases, the statistic is called Handling. It is the sum of the character’s Reflexes and Acuity.
  

• For aerial pursuits, the statistic is called Nerve. It is the sum of the character’s Knowledge and Essence.
  

If some hazards are ignored or if you fail to overcome them, you might suffer chase damage. If either the quarry or pursuer is reduced to zero chase damage, they are forced to end the pursuit. The quarry will soon be caught by the pursuer and a combat may occur. If the pursuer loses all his chase damage, he is forced to end the chase and the quarry automatically escapes.

Sid slips in the fryer oil and uses all his action cards trying to overcome the hazard. Ultimately, he fails. The card says he suffers 1(1) damage. Sid’s player draws an action card from the deck, and sees that he has drawn an extra damage card. He draws another card for a total of 11 points of Stamina lost. Ouch! It doesn’t take him out, yet, but one more nasty spill like that, and the Talix agent will get away because he’ll be too banged up to continue running after him!

After any pursuit card is dealt with, and before the next one is drawn, either the quarry or pursuer can opt to halt their forward progress for the round. They will draw no more pursuit cards and whatever remaining distance they would have covered based on their speed is lost.

Closing In

After all pursuit cards are drawn and dealt with, adjust the distance and begin the next round. The distance is adjusted by the difference in distance covered by both parties. If both quarry and pursuer moved at the same speed during the round and were not hampered or slowed down by any hazards, then the distance is unchanged. If the quarry traveled further, he pulls ahead. If the pursuer traveled further, he closes in.

After taking a nasty fall and losing most of his stamina, Sid must be careful for the remainder of the chase. This round the Talix agent runs all out at a speed of 5, while Sid limps along at a speed of 3. They both passed all hazards this round with no incident. 5-3=2, so the agent pulls ahead by two units, increasing the range from 5 to 7. The next round, however, the agent rolls poorly for drawing action cards and is stonewalled by his first hazard, which effectively reduced his speed to zero for the round. With an excess of action cards, Sid felt safe sprinting for a round to try and catch up (and also, with an escape distance of 12, if he lets the agent get 5 more units ahead, he will escape), so he chose to move at speed 5. Sid passed all the hazards he faced this round, and managed to close the gap from 7 to 2.

Running Gunfights

A chase scene needn’t be all about the running and the driving or the aerobatic maneuvers. It can easily include good old-fashioned violence, as well. One method of ending a chase is to incapacitate one party or the other or their vehicle. Since the entire point of a chase is to establish distance between the quarry and pursuer, this violence is limited to ranged weapons (and sometimes explosives!)

At any point during the hazard resolution phase, any member of the pursuit or quarry team may take one combat action for the round. One simply declares their intent to act. If any other individuals want to act, they can declare as well. The parties state their intended actions. This is not a race to see who pipes up first. Resolving the order of actions is explained below.

Shooting on the run is very difficult, giving a -4 penalty to your roll. However, if the quarry sets aside an action card from his hand, he can hold steady for just a moment and negate the penalty. If he chooses not to use an action card from his hand, he will draw one from the action deck to resolve the combat task, and suffer the -4 penalty. If multiple individuals declare combat actions, the characters that use action cards from their team’s hand will go before those firing on the run. Combat actions for both groups (those drawing from the hand and those drawing from the deck) are resolved simultaneously with their respective group; all participants using hand cards will fire at the same time, but before those using deck cards, who will all fire at the same time, themselves.

If a weapon is fired using a card from the deck, it is considered unaimed, and suffers the appropriate penalties, so trying to fire rifles and heavy weapons on the run is exceedingly difficult; yet another situation where pistols can be handy!

Individuals in a foot pursuit may commandeer cards from the hand (which represents the group as a whole lagging behind and being less capable of dealing with hazards). In a vehicle pursuit, the primary will dole out cards to any individuals (this represents the driver being able to keep things steady for just a moment so someone on board may take a steady shot).

If the result of your combat action is a critical failure (CF on the skill result table), then congratulations! You have plugged an innocent bystander. You monster!

Resolve the combat action as you would in a normal combat encounter. If the target is incapacitated, they fall out of the chase. If a member of the quarry team falls out, treat them as a flanker, however if the pursuit can spare a screen, this flanker will be captured. If the primary of either group is incapacitated and they want to continue the chase, decide on a new primary to continue on.

If any member of the pursuit or quarry teams suffer any wounds that reduce their pace, they affect the roll each round for drawing action cards the same as if the primary had reduced pace. If the gimpy member of the team peels off to be a flanker or screen, this penalty is removed (he is no longer slowing the group down).

As Sid closes in, the Master declares that the spy is taking a combat action to shoot at Sid, who has just drawn very close. Sid sees that things have just turned lethal and chooses to defend himself. Sid uses a card from his hand, while the Master decides that the spy will not, so Sid fires his blaster pistol first. Since he used a card from his hand, he doesn’t get the -4 penalty. He hits the spy in the leg, causing a wound that reduces his pace (meaning the spy will get a -1 penalty to his action card draw roll next round!) Since he was not incapacitated by Sid’s attack, the spy fires wildly behind himself while on the run. He would get a -4 to his roll, but it doesn’t matter; his action card shows a CF! The spy’s shot goes far astray and hits an innocent bystander. The Master declares that a fry cook from the restaurant stepped into the alley to investigate the ruckus from the spy tipping over the oil barrel, and caught a laser beam in the belly for his trouble. Sid must end this quickly, before the ruthless Talix agent hurts any more people on his home world of Rial IV!

Reinforcements

Some pursuit cards are marked “Reinforcements.” If this card comes up for either the quarry or the pursuer, any flankers that may be in play have re-encountered the pursuit! They can rejoin at will, or they can take a combat action as though they had drawn a card from the quarry’s hand, even though their card will come from the deck. If the flanker takes a shot, he remains a flanker, and may come back into play if the reinforcement card comes up again.

Wounded and limping across the street into the next alley, the Talix agent draws a pursuit card. It is Reinforcements! The member of his team that peeled off at the start shows up again. As Sid crosses the street chasing after the spy, the flanker takes a shot from the corner nearby. Sid decides to fire, as well, but can’t spare an action card, so the flanker goes first (as though he had drawn from the quarry’s hand). His card from the deck is a hit, and Sid also suffers a leg wound, so he is now limping, too. Sid’s shot on the run is at -4, but he is a crack shot with a blaster, so he still manages to hit. The shot hits the flanker in the head and causes enough damage to incapacitate him. Now he really won’t be participating in the chase anymore! If any further reinforcement cards are drawn, they are ignored.

Scene Changes

A chase may begin in one setting (say, a city street) and the opportunity may arise for the quarry to change the setting of the chase. They might dart into a building from the street, pull off the highway into the city or float their plane over a ridge and into a canyon complex.

The key aspect of the scene change break is that it breaks line of sight between the quarry and the pursuer for a moment. If the quarry can take advantage of another scene change before the pursuer re-establishes line of sight, the quarry is able to shake off his tail; the pursuer is faced with too many possible routes that the quarry may have taken, and they have gotten away.

If the quarry is able to draw and take advantage of another scene change break before the pursuer is able to resolve the previous scene change, he manages to escape.

Into the next alley, the Talix spy draws a final pursuit card, getting a scene change. The master decides that the ladder of a fire escape dangles down. The spy pulls himself up and climbs onto the roof. Sid is hot on his tail, and reaches the fire escape. He doesn’t have any action cards left in his hand, though! Sid’s speed is reduced to zero for the remainder of the round. Their speed had been equal this round, so failing at the last unit allows the spy pull one unit of distance ahead, to 3. The next round, spy’s first pursuit card is an obstacle—an AC unit he must dodge around. While the quarry deals with that hazard, Sid tackles the fire escape and manages to climb up, re-establishing line of sight. The spy draws another scene change—a moment too late—and darts through the roof access door. Sid sees the door swinging shut and gives chase. He bypasses the AC unit (a TN 0 obstacle, thanks to his distance), and makes it to the door before it shuts, re-establishing line of sight yet again for this second scene change. The spy is just ahead, barreling down the hallway of an apartment building, the blood from his leg wound leaving a dripping trail on the carpeted hallway.

Results of Evasion or Capture

All good things come to an end. If the pursuer reaches range zero, he has caught the quarry. For a foot chase, the pursuer grabs the quarry by the collar or arm or some such and forces them into an encounter. For a vehicle pursuit, the pursuer forces the quarry to stop by some means; a coup de grace to their engine or tires, P.I.T. maneuver, etc. For an aerial chase, the pursuer has the quarry completely straddled such that if he were to open fire, his aircraft would surely be fragged and his only choice is to land or bail out. Whatever the case, the pursuit is over.

Getting caught after an all-out chase can be demoralizing, not to mention the exhaustion of the chase itself. If the quarry is caught, he must make a fear check, and the result follows him into whatever encounter he faces at the end of the pursuit.

Whichever side is successful may draw a chip for the community bounty pot, or for their personal pool if only one Hero was involved.

There is no external penalty for a pursuer that fails to capture the quarry. Just a stinging sense of defeat and knowledge that you let one get away…

The agent wheels around to draw a bead on Sid, and fires, hitting him in the chest for minimal damage. The agent turns down the hall and draws his first pursuit card, an obstacle. The master says that one of the apartment dwellers has opened their door right into the spy’s face! Since he doesn’t have anymore action cards, the spy suffers the penalty: loss of some stamina, but more importantly, his speed is reduced! Sid had laid on the coals this round, hurling himself down the hallway. The range is now reduced to zero, and Sid catches the spy! The spy makes a poor fear check, only rolling one success and no bumps, so he is distraught when the encounter starts. Sid’s player draws a chip from the pot for his own use (since he was the only hero involved in this chase), and tells the master he is going to pistol whip the spy. A brief combat ensues, one that Sid eventually wins. Remembering that the chase scene minigame helps to establish the setting, Sid’s player tells the Master, “After I put some cuffs on the spy, I turn to the bystander, who is probably staring at the face-print of this dirtbag in his apartment door. I tell him ‘thanks for the help, mate. This scum shot a civilian in the alley between Union and Lexing. Do that bloke a solid and call him some help, wouldja?’ I toss him a data stick pre-loaded with a hundred credits. ‘Drinks are on me, tonight, friend,’ and I walk away with the spy.” The Master likes the flourishes Sid’s player has added in, and decides that the members of Sid’s crew will get some good publicity here on Rial IV.

Foot Pursuit Hazard Chart

0 Hit and Run
TN 5 Hazard: A car slams into you. Lose 3(3) Stamina and CT

1-4 Obstacle
TN 3 Hazard: Reduce speed by 1. Lose 1(1) Stamina

5-8 Pedestrian Underfoot
TN 3 Hazard: Reduce speed by 1

9-10 Locked Door/Gate
TN 5 Hazard: Reduce speed to 0. Distance bonus does not apply.

11-12 Fence
TN 4 Hazard: Reduce speed by 2. Distance bonus does not apply.

13 Angry Dog
TN 3 Hazard/Break: Dog attacks you! IV-2 attack, does 3(1) damage. 1 bump: dog joins your team in pursuit. 2+ bumps: Dog attacks opponent and becomes a flanker/screen. Animal Handling skill removes speed penalty. Distance bonus does not apply.

14-16 Park Bench
TN 4 Hazard: Reduce speed by 1. Lose 2(1) Stamina

17-20 Busy Street
TN 3 Hazard: Reduce speed by 2 as you pick your way across the street. Distance bonus does not apply.

21 Rain
TN 5 Hazard: All hazard checks for both parties suffer a -1 penalty. 1+ bumps: Wearing slip resistant shoes. Speed/Distance bonus does not apply.

22 Course Change*
TN 3 Break: Scene change: Turn a corner, block line of sight.

23-26 Juke left/right
TN 3 Hazard: Reduce speed by 1

27-28 Duck!
TN 4 Hazard: Reduce speed by 2. Lose 1(3) + initial speed in Stamina.

29 Large Alien
TN 3 Hazard: Reduce speed by 2. Lose 2(1) Stamina. Large characters (Ursoid/Saurian) treat this as a Pedestrian Underfoot hazard.

30 Door Swinging Shut*
TN 4 Break: Scene change. 1+bump: upgrade to Locked Door/Gate hazard for the pursuer.

31 Bus*
TN 4 Hazard/Break: Fail: Lose 2 speed trying to get around a large vehicle. Success: Convert this to a scene change break.

32-33 Fire Escape*
TN 5 Break: Scene change

34-35 Take it inside/outside*
TN 3 Break: Scene change

36-37 Trip Hazard
TN 3 Hazard: Reduce speed to 2.

38-39 Bystander
TN 3 Break: Turn a bystander into a Pedestrian Underfoot hazard for your pursuer

40 Unconscious Hobo
TN 3 Hazard: Turn a sleeping hobo into a Trip Hazard for your pursuer

41 Hobo with a Shotgun
TN 3 Hazard/Break: Treat as Angry Dog Hazard, but Hobo is armed with a Shotgun. Use Leadership skill instead of Animal Handling.

42 Cop
TN 5 Hazard/Break: Fail, joins opposite team. Succeed, joins your team. Distance bonus does not apply.

43 Block Party/Crowd*
TN 3 Break: Scene change. Can attempt to get lost in crowd. Distance bonus does not apply.

44-45 Car Door Swinging Open
TN 4 Hazard: Reduce speed by 1. Lose 2(1) stamina.

46 Two Guys Carrying a Sheet of Glass
TN 5 Hazard: Take 2(1) damage. The two guys join the pursuit on the other team.

47 Got Your Back, Jack!
TN 3 Break: Armed bystander joins your team. Each bump adds 1 person to the mob. Distance bonus does not apply.

48 Dropped Your Hat
TN 3 Hazard: Lose a random piece of equipment or personal item that could conceivably drop while you’re running. If the quarry drops this, a successful check by the pursuer means they picked it up.

49 Stairs
TN 4 Hazard: Reduce speed to 1

50 Greenbelt*
TN 3 Break: Scene change. You’re now in a park.

51 Drop Off
TN 3 Hazard: Lose 1(1) Stamina for every unit of speed

52 Pedestrian Bridge*
TN 5 Break: Scene change. Distance bonus does not apply.

53 Reinforcements
TN 0 Break: Unscreened Flankers rejoin. Screen can rejoin main pursuit, or continue screening flankers.