Quick Links
Chases are a good way of shaking up the formula of an action scene. InDungeons & Dragons, a chase scene can snag on some of the stricter mechanics. The most lethargic elf in Faerunian history will handily outsprint the most athletic dwarf. The scene loses power if the results are predetermined.
A good chase scene can blend together the rather specific rules in the Dungeon Master’s Guide while injecting some improvisation and homebrew to keep it from getting formulaic. Putting the pieces together will let you tailor a cinematic and enjoyable experience as your table both runs down and flees from its enemies.
How Chase Scenes Work In Fifth Edition
Chases in D&D are rather strict in their mechanical implementation.Initiative order ismaintained like combat,andthe action economy is the same. The main difference is that you have to manage stamina. You candash several times equal to three plus your constitution modifier.Constitution checks are made for every dash after this limit, giving a level of exhaustion if you roll below a ten.
Exhaustion gained during chase scenes follows a special rule whereall levels of exhaustion are removed by a short or long rest. Despite this, players want to avoid it at all costs since it will cripple any character making skill checks or combat rolls. Characters with high constitution and advantage on the check can sprint forever, as the difficulty doesn’t increase.
Each character rolls on their turn for a complication, which impacts the next person in the chase. These can be obstacles to be navigated or hazards to be avoided.
These rules create a few issues if run without modification:
Potential Solution
Abilities that bypass action economy
Certain abilities and features can trivialise the process. A rogue or monk will always be able to outrun a fighter since theyboth have access to a dash on their bonus action. A spellcaster can do the same with expeditious retreat.
Allow only one dash per turn.Rogues and monks still gain flexibility from their class and can use that to make attacks or take other actions during the chase.
Abilities With No Rules
A wizard can cast fly and then dash through the air at 120ft per round, but somehow will stillcollapse from exhaustion as if they had been sprinting, or trip over a barrel placed by a random complication.
Have asecond complications table for alternate move typesyour party has.
Stalemates
If both sides have the same move speed and constitution, theonly change in distance will be from random complications that don’t allow for any interesting choices.
Create catch-up mechanics, like shortcuts and riskier paths that require skill checks to reward extra distance.
Freedom Of Movement
Almost every complication on the default tables is some form of “pass a skill check or cross 10ft of difficult terrain.“Any character immune to difficult terrain ignores the scene’s largest mechanic.
Create a more diverse range ofcomplications that have differing effects.
How To Use Chase Complications
There can be a weird dissonance if using the complications as written in the Dungeon Master’s Guide.Two characters in a chase will navigate through entirely different obstacleseven when it makes no sense: The leader of the chase dodges through a maze of crates, but when the next person crosses through the same space it is now blocked by an unexplained street brawl.
Here are a few ways to use complications that keep the world alive and also improve the quality of the chase:
Example
Follow The Leader
The person at the head of the chase rolls for complications faced by all peoplein the encounter. This creates a broadly level playing field but allows people towards the back to plan for what they see happen.
A large wagon blocks the person at the front of the chase. They vault over it. Thesecond person knocks over a nearby crate to climb over, letting the third person climb over without slowing down.
Design Your Chase Beforehand
Choosing the obstacles a chase will contain ahead of time lets you make it more cinematic. This can also reward players who make use of the environment, and weaken the penalty for having a slow movement as you canplace these obstacles at set distances rather than “once per turn”.
The party are chased by a gang through a busy street during a parade. All the complications are related to the crowds of partygoers and entertainers, spaced at regular intervals.A rogue who prepared an appropriate disguise beforehand will more easily slip into the crowd.
Choose Your Complication
Allow some or all people to choose between complications depending on the scenario.They might roll twice and choose the one better suited to their character, or you might let them spend a small amount of movement to reroll their complication.
A bear trap salesman has set up on the roadside the players are running down.On the other side of the road is a patch of mud that will be slow to pass through but less dangerous.The rogue backflips through the traps while the barbarian leaps over the mud.
Choose Your Approach
Some of the obstacles allow for more than one skill check, but are still rather restrictive.Let the player choose what skill they want to use to force their way through an obstacle.If it’s not applicable, or stretching the boundaries of an appropriate skill, increase the difficulty appropriately.
A fight has broken out on the street ahead. One player uses their knowledge of the city tofind a way around, while another scales a nearby building to climb overthe fight and keep their quarry in sight.
A third player tries to use stone cunning, which does nothing.
Plan For Alternate Movement Types
There aren’t any rules for how alternate movement types work in a chase scene. Most default complications are nonsensical to a character with flight, for example. You canborrow a rule from Pathfinder and require elaborate aerial maneuvers to require acrobatics checks, and then adapt a set of complications for flying characters.
A sorcerer with flight is chasing an aarakocra over a city.The wind currents, tall buildings and occasional pigeons create obstacles and hazardsthat threaten to knock either one of them to the ground below.
Alternate Routes and Catch-Up Mechanics
There’s a good reason narratively why movies and games focused on racing make it easier to catch up than maintain a lead.You don’t want the outcome to feel like a forgone conclusion until you’re ready to resolve the scene and end the chase.
A dwarven ranger has fallen behind their group in a chase. They know the destination of their quarry anduse their knowledge of the area to plan an alternate route that will let them prepare an ambush.
Other systems have their own rules for running chases that can be spliced into D&D. Call of Cthulhu has skills for each type of movement and vehicle:Skill checks during achase allow you to move aboveorbelow your normal speed. Reckless pursuits reward the player by letting them catch up, at the cost of difficult checks that will slow them down on a failure.
Blades In The Dark’s racing clocks are a great way of adding time pressure and breaking up stalemates. An armed pursuit in a busy city might onlybe able to go for so long before the guards intervene, shutting down the players to cause a disturbance.
CoC also flattens move speeds: Taking the lowest move speed and subtracting it from all players' moves act in comparison, rather than moving along a track. A player with 25 speed and 30 speed will still move differently but the dungeon master can think in smaller numbers andfocus more on the relative positions of characters instead of the overall distance travelled.
This works great when the players are fleeing from a powerful monster that you want to be breathing down their neck.
