Abstracting Chases in GURPS

[Kazander]

I'm looking for a comprehensive way to abstract "chase scenes" in GURPS. This could be on foot in a crowded city street, it could be on horseback or motor vehicle.

I've been thinking about it for a while, and I'm not really happy with my results, so I'm consulting the GURPS Hive Mind.

Right now, whenever any kind of Chase Scene happens, whether is a quick run-down on foot, or a long-term chase of the players overland on horseback, it always seems to boil down to He With the Highest Move Score Wins.

This is not satisfactory for me. I think that He with the Highest Move Score has a significant advantage, but is not always guaranteed success, particularly when he can't use that Move to best advantage.

I want some way to boil the end result of a chase down to a handful of rolls. The problem lies in deciding what rolls to make under what circumstances, and how much weight to give each roll.

It seems to become a complex matrix of if/thens, eventually moving so far away from my goal of simplification that it becomes unrecognizable as such.

What follows is a vague framework of what I have so far, and I'd appreciate input on it. It does not yet take into account difficulties for Terrain, Fitness levels (i.e. fit/unfit,plus Extra Fatigue). I don't know how I should differentiate between high Basic Move (which reflects better acceleration, which matters more in tight spaces with directional changes) and Sprint/Enhanced Move (which matters more for the straight line run). I don't know what time scale I should apply it on. Roll once for the whole chase? Once every 10 seconds? Once per day for long term overland chases?

Anyway, I hope to get some useful feedback so that I can nail this thing down. Honestly, I don't know how else to resolve this sort of thing without resorting to Fastest Person Wins. And that bugs me. A lot.


Locale: Urban/City

Move * 4 (retain fractional move from Basic Speed for this calculation; include sprint bonus or Enhanced Move where applicable). Use Encumbered values where applicable.
+ Margin of Success (MoS) vs Area Knowledge (appropriate city locale) skill
+ MoS vs Running skill (on foot); Riding skill (on horseback); Teamster (wagon)
+ MoS vs Evasion Technique (on foot, in a crowd)

Locale: Rural

Move * 4 (retain fractional move from Basic Speed for this calculation; include sprint bonus or Enhanced Move where applicable). Use Encumbered values where applicable.
+ MoS vs Area Knowledge (appropriate rural locale) skill
+ MoS vs Running skill (on foot); Riding skill (on horseback); Teamster (wagon)
+ MoS vs Camoflage (if trying to lose pursuer using Camouflage instead of outrunning them)
+ MoS vs Climbing (if cliff or tree climbing might be involved in the escape)
+ MoS vs Hiking (long-term pursuit) or Running (short pursuit), Skiing, Skating or Swimming if applicable
+ MoS Tracking if Obfuscating tracks is attempted
+ MoS vs Boating/Shiphandling (on water)
+ MoS vs Navigation (appropriate specialty; long pursuits only)

Locale: Aerial

Move * 4 (retain fractional move from Basic Speed for this calculation; include sprint bonus or Enhanced Move where applicable). Use Encumbered values where applicable.
+ MoS vs Aerobatics
+ MoS vs Navigation (air)
+ MoS vs Flight or Riding (as applicable)
+ MoS vs Piloting (air pursuits)

[Edges]

Have you checked out Action 2: Exploits?

[Crakkerjakk]

Yeah, there's a detailed chase mechanic worked out in A2:E. It's also an all-around excellent supplement for any game that involves breaking into places, beating people up, or gathering information in a fairly cinematic nature; highly recommended.

[Kazander]

Well, that'll show me.......thanks, gents. I'll check it out.