Last night I ran a One-Shot that included a 'Chase' encounter. The bad Guys had an item that they were carrying/escorting, while the players were in pursuit trying to acquire the item.
The map was a Grotto with caverns and stairs that the Bad Guys had been camped out in and there was many more of them down there.
The way I ran it was as far as the party moved, the bad guys moved the same, but as the characters advanced, they would run into the Bad Guys friends within the Grotto. I would roll initiative for each encounter, and then move on after the encounter back to the original chase.
This seemed very clunky/choppy for a way to run the 'chase'.
After the session I thought about it and think I have some ideas to make the 'chase' run smoother.
If I ran the entire 'chase' as ONE encounter giving each player their respective Turns, and having the bad guys carrying the item working together an on the same initiative. I think this would make it a little smoother, yet structured.
What I am having trouble with is as new bad guys in these cave systems are encountered, I would assume they get added to the initiative with whatever they roll, but am not sure that is the best way for the feel and fluidness to keep flowing.
I am looking for some suggestions on how other DMs run 'Chase' encounters like this and if you have any pointers or a system that works well that you are willing to share.
Thoughts?
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Breathe, dragons; sing of the First World, forged out of chaos and painted with beauty. Sing of Bahamut, the Platinum, molding the shape of the mountains and rivers; Sing too of Chromatic Tiamat, painting all over the infinite canvas. Partnered, they woke in the darkness; partnered, they labored in acts of creation.
I don't know if this is the best way, but try to keep it as abstract as possible, running it like a montage, and improvise problems rather than running it as a combat. I present an obstacle like "you see a new group of enemies up ahead" they can give me solutions. If they are taking too long I can tell them the enemy is gaining on them. Skill challenges from 4e can be a good model to base it off of, as well. I like to throw in obstacles like creaky bridges that you can cross slowly and carefully or make a risky leap to get over faster. There is also a section in the DMG about running chases
wow, seems just so complicated..I just use a handful of checks and narrative to give my players a feel for what's going on. If my chase scene lasts for more than 10min it's gone on way too long. Chase scenes should be exciting and exhilarating. Not bogged down with rules and mechanics. At least that's my humble opinion. https://vidmate****/
I read the 2014 DMG and remember the Chasessection, and that is what partially gave me the idea for this scene in the One-Shot as I had never run a chase. I re-read it and it seems more complex than what I was trying to do.
I am currently reading my way through the new 2024 DMG, but have not gotten to the section on Chases yet. I'll give that a read to see if it has a better explanation of the how to run situations like these.
More I was just looking for some advice, and to see what other DMs have done at their tables.
Cheers!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Breathe, dragons; sing of the First World, forged out of chaos and painted with beauty. Sing of Bahamut, the Platinum, molding the shape of the mountains and rivers; Sing too of Chromatic Tiamat, painting all over the infinite canvas. Partnered, they woke in the darkness; partnered, they labored in acts of creation.
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Greetings D&D Beyond and Community,
Last night I ran a One-Shot that included a 'Chase' encounter.
The bad Guys had an item that they were carrying/escorting, while the players were in pursuit trying to acquire the item.
The map was a Grotto with caverns and stairs that the Bad Guys had been camped out in and there was many more of them down there.
The way I ran it was as far as the party moved, the bad guys moved the same, but as the characters advanced, they would run into the Bad Guys friends within the Grotto.
I would roll initiative for each encounter, and then move on after the encounter back to the original chase.
This seemed very clunky/choppy for a way to run the 'chase'.
After the session I thought about it and think I have some ideas to make the 'chase' run smoother.
If I ran the entire 'chase' as ONE encounter giving each player their respective Turns, and having the bad guys carrying the item working together an on the same initiative.
I think this would make it a little smoother, yet structured.
What I am having trouble with is as new bad guys in these cave systems are encountered, I would assume they get added to the initiative with whatever they roll, but am not sure that is the best way for the feel and fluidness to keep flowing.
I am looking for some suggestions on how other DMs run 'Chase' encounters like this and if you have any pointers or a system that works well that you are willing to share.
Thoughts?
Breathe, dragons; sing of the First World, forged out of chaos and painted with beauty.
Sing of Bahamut, the Platinum, molding the shape of the mountains and rivers;
Sing too of Chromatic Tiamat, painting all over the infinite canvas.
Partnered, they woke in the darkness; partnered, they labored in acts of creation.
Why not just use the movement information already in the core books? Why try to make things harder?
I don't know if this is the best way, but try to keep it as abstract as possible, running it like a montage, and improvise problems rather than running it as a combat. I present an obstacle like "you see a new group of enemies up ahead" they can give me solutions. If they are taking too long I can tell them the enemy is gaining on them. Skill challenges from 4e can be a good model to base it off of, as well. I like to throw in obstacles like creaky bridges that you can cross slowly and carefully or make a risky leap to get over faster. There is also a section in the DMG about running chases
FWIW, the new DMG has a section on chases. It’s not super-detailed, but is a pretty good framework for a way to run them.
wow, seems just so complicated..I just use a handful of checks and narrative to give my players a feel for what's going on. If my chase scene lasts for more than 10min it's gone on way too long. Chase scenes should be exciting and exhilarating. Not bogged down with rules and mechanics. At least that's my humble opinion. https://vidmate****/
Thank you all for the replies!
I read the 2014 DMG and remember the Chases section, and that is what partially gave me the idea for this scene in the One-Shot as I had never run a chase.
I re-read it and it seems more complex than what I was trying to do.
I am currently reading my way through the new 2024 DMG, but have not gotten to the section on Chases yet.
I'll give that a read to see if it has a better explanation of the how to run situations like these.
More I was just looking for some advice, and to see what other DMs have done at their tables.
Cheers!
Breathe, dragons; sing of the First World, forged out of chaos and painted with beauty.
Sing of Bahamut, the Platinum, molding the shape of the mountains and rivers;
Sing too of Chromatic Tiamat, painting all over the infinite canvas.
Partnered, they woke in the darkness; partnered, they labored in acts of creation.