Chase Scenes

Chases are a common element of horror stories. Someone or something chases, and with it comes death or worse. In most action scenes, a character’s Speed trait determines how much he can move. This means that generally, you can figure out who is faster without dice. However, these rules let you turn the chase into the focus of the scene, and add granularity and depth to it.

Set the Terms

First, determine the terms of the chase. Start with the initial lead, as well as what it would take for either the pursuer to catch her prey, or the prey to successfully flee. These traits reflect the number of successes each party needs to either escape or catch their quarry. If there are multiple parties involved, they should each be defined as pursuer or prey for these purposes.

The base number of successes for a given character to prevail is five. Modify that with the example variables as noted in the footer, but feel free to make up your own. Use only the highest modifier for a specific category. Also note that each character has his own target number here.

Note that this target number can change from turn to turn. Smart players can manipulate their character’s circumstances in their favor.

If the pursuer achieves the required successes, she reaches the prey and gets one instant action before moving into Initiative. If the prey reaches the required successes, he successfully evades his pursuer, and the chase ends. The pursuer will need to use other methods to rediscover the prey.

The Edge

In a plain, open space with flat ground and full visibility, the character with the higher Speed will overcome in a chase. However, this is rarely the case in the Chronicles of Darkness. Environments shift. Weather changes. Obstacles pepper the scene. As the context changes from turn to turn, the character with more ability to maneuver has the Edge, and can temporarily control the flow of the chase. In terms of the narrative, that character has managed to manipulate the circumstances of the chase to her advantage. Her player should work with the Storyteller to determine what that means.

This is usually determined with relative ease. In a crowded street, a character on foot has better ability to maneuver than a character in a car. In his cornfield, a farmer has better ability to maneuver than a mysterious stranger. Often, preparation can influence this; if you can choose the environment, you can pick somewhere with an inherent advantage.

If you can’t easily determine who has the Edge at a given moment, make a contested roll. Usually, this will be based on Wits or Dexterity. The relevant Skill should relate to the context. Often, this will be Athletics, Streetwise, Survival, or similar. Don’t be limited; let characters lean on their areas of expertise when possible. In an abandoned factory, a savvy character may be able to maneuver through labyrinthine machinery with Dexterity + Crafts, for example. If the context of the scene changes significantly, redetermine who has the Edge.

Seizing the Edge

To add a slightly deeper engagement, offer players the choice to “Seize the Edge” during each turn of the chase. After the side with the Edge determines the rolls for that turn, both sides predict their rolled successes that turn, and jot them down. Put these numbers face down on the table. As the dice are rolled, uncover those numbers. If a player successfully guesses their rolled successes, that player gets the Edge during the next turn, despite dice and circumstance. This rule heavily favors underdogs because it’s easier to guess successes with fewer dice; it’s a good option to mix up play if the players are trying to evade something that would otherwise outclass them.

Turn-By-Turn

Chase turns reflect between 30 seconds and a minute of game time; if you’re running an extended chase that lasts hours, instead break it up into a series of incidents during the chase, each represented by its own individual chase.

At the beginning of every turn, the side with the Edge determines the terms of that turn. At Storyteller discretion, the side with the Edge determines the dice pool for the chase that turn, and makes the first roll. This dice pool has to make sense within the current context of the chase, but the player should have at least some say in what changes in that turn. As Storyteller, only veto these choices if they absolutely do not make sense in the moment. The roll doesn’t have to reflect direct pursuit or evasion actions, but is identical for both sides. The roll should have a narrative element, one which implies potential stakes for failure.

Example: The player with the Edge determines that this turn, the dice pool is Wits + Animal Ken. The reasoning behind this is that the chase has moved into a junkyard full of feral dogs. The roll reflects the characters’ ability to maneuver around the dogs without being slowed or worse, attacked. If the other side wishes to use other dice pools, they lose the 10-again quality on his roll, and suffer a cumulative -1 penalty. This penalty increases every time he uses a dice pool aside from the one dictated. He does not suffer it on turns where he has the Edge or otherwise uses the dictated dice pool, but it continues to amass if he decides not to on a future turn. Note that the side with the Edge rolls first; this means if they hit the required successes, they get their desired outcome for the chase before the other side makes their roll.

Pursuit and Evasion

This is the basic action for pursuit and evasion in a chase scene.

Dice Pool: Special, determined by the side with the Edge. The Storyteller should determine relevant bonuses and penalties based on the environment. Action: Instant

Dramatic Failure: Your character suffers the terms for failure that turn. This can include the effects of failure, as well as a Condition.

Failure: Your character suffers the terms for failure that turn. You can lose one combined success from your total, or your character suffers a specific narrative effect such as a Tilt, two bashing, or one lethal damage.

Success: Your character overcomes the immediate challenge in the chase, and makes headway. Calculate successes, and add them to your running total.

Exceptional Success: In addition to a massive accumulation of successes, your character manages to set back the opponent. You can subject him to the effects of a failed roll, regardless of his roll’s outcome.

The Social Chase

The chase rules can be used for scenes besides traditional foot pursuits or car chases. You could use this for tracking a suspect, for example. Or, you could use this system as an alternative to Social Maneuvering, which normally reflects attempts to find vulnerabilities and wear down social defenses. These rules offer a more direct social “chase.” It doesn’t even require direct modification; you can simply use these rules with slightly different narrative framing. In a social chase, the goal is to get a character into a social position where he has to act in a certain way. Picture a character trying to convince a wealthy patron to financially back her run for Waste Management Commissioner. Her efforts are all about getting the patron in the right place at the right time, where he can’t say no. It means maneuvering into the right venue, when just the right witnesses are around, and all before he has a chance to back her rival. Sounds kind of like a chase, doesn’t it?

Chase Modifiers

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Circumstance	Modifier
Opponent’s Speed is higher than yours	+1
Opponent’s Speed is twice yours	+3
Opponent’s Speed is ten times yours	+5
Initiative modifier is higher than your opponent’s	-1
Initiative modifier is twice your opponent’s	-2
Initiative modifier is three times your opponent’s	-3
Your character knows the territory	-1
Your character knows the territory intimately	-3
Size is lower than opponent’s	-1
Opponent cannot be tired	+2
Environment is actively dangerous	+1 to +3, Storyteller discretion
Opponent starts with one turn lead	+1
Opponent starts with two or more turns lead	+2