DF car chases

[Evil Roy Slade]

I am thinking about a set piece in an upcoming DF session with a chase on horseback/coaches through a crowded city (using the Action! pdf's chase rules) and I need to think of some of the car chase cliches and how they can be adapted to a fantasy setting. Any suggestions?

[roguebfl]

One is leaping over a ditch, with not all the chasers making it.

[Crakkerjakk]

Originally Posted by Evil Roy Slade

I am thinking about a set piece in an upcoming DF session with a chase on horseback/coaches through a crowded city (using the Action! pdf's chase rules) and I need to think of some of the car chase cliches and how they can be adapted to a fantasy setting. Any suggestions?

Leaping from one wagon/coach to the other, fighting on top of them while they lurch unsteadily, once the driver is killed, jumping forward to grab the horse harnesses to reign them in before they careen into a crowded market, killing/injuring civilians, blowing through some stacked crates of fruit, a wagon backing into the street, forcing the horsemen to leap it in pursuit of the coach, heroes falling under the coach to cling to the bottom and work their way around the back, heroes skittering along behind the coach on a torn free leather harness, clawing their way back onto the coach.....

Did I miss any?

[Anaraxes]

The coach is on fire as it races along, perhaps burning towards the important MacGuffin or the alchemical explosive.

I can't think of a good fantasy equivalent for running a red light and narrowly passing through the gap between two other cars.

Then there's the denouement where the armored coach finally crashes at the end of the long chase and battle, and the PC driving it discovers it's actually full of sand, while all the mana potions were in fact being smuggled out with the farmers in the ordinary wagon.

[Maz]

One or more riders could take the chase to the roofs, having to ride along unsteady rooftops and jumping over alleys.
Having some sort of carnival parade through the street just in the path of the chase. Maybe it include some rare and exotic fantasy creatures, one or more might break free.
Low hanging lines with clothes on them that might snatch a man off a horse or blind him.
Having the horse harness for the stearing break and then having the driver hand it over to the passenger who looks at the remains in dispair, is another classic.
Big strong but slowmoving carts with heavy load that almost blocks the way ahead, leaving just enough room for a quick and daring rider to pass in between them, and overtake them is also a good one.
Maybe a dragon is lose in the city and the carts that has ended up on a rooftop accelerates out over the side of the side of the roof, over the howering dragon and straigt into the cart-rental-shop where they got the cart in the first place (guess a movie?)

Oh and don't forget that any coach that tip over and lands on it's roof will instantly catch fire and explode, leaving a single burning that gently rolls down the street.


On a more "serious" note, remember the strong points about horses unlike vehicles, is invidvidual beings. They can move without someone to steer them. This means you can jump off and on them. A classic is to stand on it's back to grap onto something higher up, or jump over stuff. Another could be to take a shortcut over a roof while the horse follows you on the ground.


Actually, any good motorbike-chase-scene would work equally well with horses. And most car-scnees can work wit hcarts or chariots. I just watched the Fast and the Furious 1-2 and Matrix 2 this week, and I can imagine many of those scenes happening with fantasy stuff.
The only urban cart-chase scene I can remember off the top of my head is from Cutthroat Island. There is a rural one in Van Helsing, that could give some good inspiration as well.

[Shrale]

James Bond Ejector Seat™ is a must, preferably with Steampunk flavor :)

Nightmares™ (the old undead black stallions that breathe fire) is another
good one for the lonely night carriage stalks/chases.

James Bond Smoke Maker™ is another, fairly easy for most mages or the
alchemically qualified.

Batman's Batcave Hidden Entrance™ is a good one. The warehouse or
narrow alley that leads to the Dead End and "Where the devil did he go
to!" is useful.

Zombie Coach™ (see Nightmare) might also work; not to mention the
Undertaker's Carriage (the beginning of Some Like it Hot has a good
chase scene in it).

Must have been a Wild, Wild, West ep that had something fancy
and usable in it.

>

[roguebfl]

Originally Posted by Shrale

Nightmares™ (the old undead black stallions that breathe fire) is another good one for the lonely night carriage stalks/chases.

I remember them being more fiendish than undead.

[Nymdok]

Depending on the flavor of your campaign, I recomend the Mall scene from the Blues Brothers. I think it would translate fairly easily to a DF scenario.

For a standard chase scene the heros should:

Swerve to miss innocents. The more innocent the better. Nuns, babies, Kittens whatever you got.

rush through Zero value objects - Mud puddles, clotheslines, leaves, haybales. Anything of minor to zero value.

Duck in somewhere as the Villans go by.

If possible, facillitate thier own victory. Cutting the rope that holds a banner stretched across the street covering and confounding the enemy. Shooting an arrow into Earls Liquids of Infinite Slipperiness which leaks onto the street at a hairpin turn, confounding an enemy. Whatever they do, ideally it should be non damaging and not a huge collateral headache.

The villans should:

Also avoid innocents.

Drive through items of value. Vegetable Carts, Plate Glass, even whole storefronts.

The number of villan cars should outnumber the hero cars if possible.

Run into eachother when possible.

Fail fantastically. Spins outs are not good enough. They need to flip crash and raise a ruckus, if not an explosion.

Generally, when you describe the heros, the effect should be either 'Man e are going really fast!' or "WHEW! I cant believe we are surviving going really fast!" emphasize the speed of the chase and theoutcomes if they are caught.

"The wind rushesinto your eyes and pushes windswept tears onto your cheeks as you peer ahead looking for an exit."

"The DUKES carriage is only 30 meters behind you!"

The villans are there to allow the players the childish glee of simple destruction. When you describe their actions, focus on what they destroy and how they fail ESPECIALLY if they are running into each other. It makes them more buffoonish and less heroic. Its good for contrast.

For example:

As you come to the four way intersection, the duke is close enough that the crossbowmen in his carriage take aim. Headed straight towards you, the Sherrifs carriage, teeming with swordmen barrel through the streets.

Veldrik pulls the rigns hard to the right and the wheels croak with stress. As you clear the intersection Shara dumps her 3 potions of GREASE into the middle of the intersection and they rupture on impact with the cobblestones.

Turning to pursue you, thier wheels catch the grease mid turn and the carriages careen into each other with men and splintered wood flying in the air as the horses, still yolked together, run off down the street

Nymdok

[The Colonel]

Someone always clips some bins in a car chase, so remember to put a tanners wagon or other dung cart in there.
Alternatively, people flinging waste out of houses could be an interesting developement.
A substantial gulley full of filth masquerading as a shallow puddle is a good place for one of the pursuers to end the chase - these were usually the result of incompetent attempts to drain the street and crop up occasionally in medieval cities (just ask anyone who has driven through Basra or Baghdad recently).
Two guys carrying a shutter or large painting on wood would probably be the best substitute for the sheet glass.
A friar preaching in the street would also make a good obstacle, as would pigs foraging in the street (not unknown in a medieval city) - horses and pigs don't really get on.