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Footchases

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JMobius JMobius's picture
Footchases
I am anticipating a possible footchase in my next game of EP. Given that most morphs have identical movement rates, what is usually a factor in most RPG systems seems ruled out. I imagine it would probably entail Freerunning checks, but the details are a bit elusive to me... how would you do it?
GreyBrother GreyBrother's picture
Re: Footchases
Plan obstacles. Don't plan the route as a whole. Figure out, what is needed to overcome said obstacles. Simply the characters catching up in a rooftop-chase? Opposed Freerunning check! Don't forget modifiers if one of the participants is familiar with the terrain. Climbing a wall fast? Climbing check, defaultable to Freerunning. Through a crowd of people? Intimidate checks so the crowd parts, Freerunning checks if the character uses alternative means (jumping on fences etc). Expect the Followed to be familiar enough with crowds to see no problem with it (he doesn't have to roll) The Followed disappears after a turn. Perception check to notice the small hole in the wall he took fast enough. This is generic. Now add the political enviroment to it. Are you in the PC? Law Enforcement wants to stop the player characters (because they look like a mob/look less weird than the chased guy/simply didn't notice the chased guy/got bribed by the chased guy/got bribed by some whole other faction because they have something running in the area), Linked to the former: let some shady group have a unsubtle operation running; Suddenly, the chasee and the chasers are staring down the guns of the local crime cartel because they busted right into their intimidate operation Who keeps overwatch? Does somebody follow the chasee on public spimes? He could encounter a playful hacker or has to engage the active attempts of the chasee's muse to disrupt his actions.
Smokeskin Smokeskin's picture
Re: Footchases
Very good ideas GreyBrother.
godmoney godmoney's picture
Re: Footchases
there was a short discussion here. http://www.eclipsephase.com/skill-challenge-ep
Semper Ubi Sub Ubi!?!
nezumi.hebereke nezumi.hebereke's picture
Re: Footchases
Someone posted something on the Shadowrun boards, taking a page from (I believe) Spycraft, which included a random chase flow chart. There are 15 different types of intersections, some with hazards. You start from one and at each intersection, your pursuer and pursued can decide where they go, attempt to hide, deal with hazard, or whatever. It's super handy. I don't think I can post files here, but if you PM me your email, I'll shoot it to you.
Xagroth Xagroth's picture
Re: Footchases
Simplest way: chased and chaser will make a freerunning test (or Freefall, or whatever skill you deem approppiate) and the relevant factor will be the Margin of Success. What you need to prepare before the chase itself, I think, would be the following stuff: - How many MoS more than the chaser needs the chased to evade - How much MoS of advantage starts the chased with - A small list of events that will relate to the rolls between both: Botches, critical successes and sudden big differences, plus the occasional moxie point spent by the player(s) (or the NPC if it's important enough). I think that with these three simple points you can make an exciting enough chase, without using complex rules. It dumps a lot of weight on you, and luck is very important, but the way MoS is implemented in EP I think it's easy enough. Let's see an example, in a crowded market. "A" is the chaser (Freerunning 70), while "B" is the chased (Freerunning 60, plus +10 from knowledge of the habitat and +10 from teamwork: there is a small flying drone with a camera, controlled by a supporting character, keeping track of events around him): - A needs 10 MoS more than B to evade at the end of the turn - A starts with an advantage of 2 MoS (let's say, about 10 meters). Round 1: A rolls 32 (MoS 3), while B rolls 12 (MoS 1) => A's advantage is now 2+(3-1)=4 Explanation: A was able to see B before he was too close to grab him, and started running like a madman. Round 2: A rolls 66 (critical!), while B rolls 76 (MoS 7) => A's advantage is now 4+(6-7)=3, but the critical gives +3 (for example), for a total of 6 Explanation: throwing a kid in B's way, A manages to increase his advantage a little, thanks to the efforts from B to avoid hurting the child. Round 3: A rolls 45 (MoS 4), while B rolls 96 (failure). This would mean that A evades successfully (6+(4-0)=10),but B is the Player Character and decides to use a Moxie point to turn the roll into a 69. This means 6+(4-6)=4 Explanation: B was losing ground, but his helper managed to warn him about an incoming car. A had no idea of the vehicle, and while he managed to avoid it, B was able to take advantage of his foe's lose of momentum. And it could go on. As you can see, the most important part is to have some events ready to explain the rolls of the dice, and give them a good enough narrative side. By chosing only the tens of the roll as the MoS to compare we speed things, with the loss of small details, and I put the critical roll as a +3 to the MoS, but it's your choice how much it would give (the more it gives, the more important luck becomes).
nezumi.hebereke nezumi.hebereke's picture
Re: Footchases
My computer was *ahem* seized yesterday (long story), so I had to find the file again. Sorry for the delay, but here it is: http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/6967/p1000578r.jpg It's from the game Top Secret/S.I.
ZeroSum ZeroSum's picture
Re: Footchases
"It's from the game Top Secret/S.I." Classic game, it's been a while since I played that. Thanks for the file!
"I figure that the more of you there are around me, the more chance there is of the inevitable hail of bullets hitting you instead of me.'" - Warren Ellis
Tyrnis Tyrnis's picture
Re: Footchases
Top Secret/SI...now that brings back some memories. I haven't played it in better than 20 years, but it was the first RPG I ever bought and ran.