Lets say the PC's are in a room deep in the base fighting people. The PC's figure it would be better to just head back the way they came. At what point do you switch from turn based combat to the players just saying what they are doing?

If they are running do the NPC's follow on their turn? If so wouldn't combat never end? I can see since they have no strain, only being able to use one movement, so that might balance it. If it was a nemesis however, I could see them keeping up with their movement.

Any input on the subject would be appreciated.

Chase mechanics on pg 241. Replace Piloting with Athletics. If you want to simplify it, have the best Athlete for each side make the chase roll, and assume everyone else can keep up.

I did not even think of that, thanks.

I would not have the best athlete, I would have the worst. The bear only needs to catch 1 person for everyone to want it dead.

I would not have the best athlete, I would have the worst. The bear only needs to catch 1 person for everyone to want it dead.

I would call for a group check and if you want to represent people slowing others down, throw in setbacks for anyone not trained in athletics. It's not just everyone running for their own lives. The group check would represent the most athletic helping out those that aren't strong or fast.

Another idea would be to run it as a Skill challenge. Go around the table and asking people what skill they want to try and use to escape. Have them choose a skill and describe the scene in a way that it makes sense for that skill to use. Assign the difficulty as normal and use the threat/advanteage/Triumph/despair to build the narrative and set up the scene for the next player to go.

I would not have the best athlete, I would have the worst. The bear only needs to catch 1 person for everyone to want it dead.

Problem is that means you'll have a player rolling GG , vs. a minion rolling GG .

Not much room for exciting narratives there....

At the point you are ignoring how it would really work to "make it more exciting" you are ruining the experience for the Players.

I have had a Player roll 1 green versus a 4 purple and succeed. Same versus same does not mean equal =)

At the point you are ignoring how it would really work to "make it more exciting" you are ruining the experience for the Players.

I have had a Player roll 1 green versus a 4 purple and succeed. Same versus same does not mean equal =)

Not when talking chase mechanics.

The mechanics for chase are going to be

Athletics vs Terrain (for a person that'll be -, or R +0-3 B .) rolled by each side of the chase.

GG results compared to GG results with a difficulty of - are gonna be pretty ho-hum.

If you let the best on each side roll you'll be more likely to get a wider variance of results fueling a more interesting narrative.

I would not have the best athlete, I would have the worst. The bear only needs to catch 1 person for everyone to want it dead.

That's true in reality, personally I'd probably still play it by letting the one with the best dice pool make the Athletics check.

I do that with Stealth too, and often narrate it by suggesting that the skilled PC who's making the check is guiding the others. The PC making the Athletics check could be described as assisting the others in getting away.

Except there are rules for assisting and combining checks, and group checks. Seems to be a waste to buy the books and not use the rules presented and instead create a whole new fake rule because you misunderstood the intent of the RAW.

Chase Rules

Mass Combat Rules

Assists

Combining skills.

You ignore all of these and just go for a dramatic effect why not just roll a force die then and narrate from the results at that point?

So I get that you want to make a new rule, but Zeeth did ask for how to handle it, and the way to handle it is 100% handled in RAW.

He's just saying that there's not need to roll Stealth for everyone when just rolling once will get things moving along. Nothing he said precludes that from also being rolled as an assist or skilled assist...

My players ask if they can assist on almost every roll they make...

If my player's actually decided to flee instead of fight to the death I'd cheer and dance for the rest of the night.

tl;dr - let 'em

Basically, I wouldn't even make it a chase. I would simply let them flee, pursued only by the Nemesis mocking laughter. Said evil nemesis then calls for minions to block their exit from the base. Thus, the PCs have a breather after successfully breaking out of combat. Then they have two exciting narratives coming up. First, a cat and mouse game of avoiding patrols going back the way they came. Second, the minions (not necessarily all minions, could be a rival or two depending on how beat up they are) at the entrance they have to get past (not necessarily by fighting, sneaking, picking another way, etc. are all on the table).

If you simply run the chase scene, then keep an eye out for Triumph and Despair to end it. A triumph by the players results in them closing a blast door, cutting off pursuit. A despair by the nemesis would be a stray shot closing the blast door, or a group of minions stumbling in from a side passage into their boss allowing the PCs to get around a corner and out of sight.

He's just saying that there's not need to roll Stealth for everyone when just rolling once will get things moving along. Nothing he said precludes that from also being rolled as an assist or skilled assist...

My players ask if they can assist on almost every roll they make...

This is exactly it.

I wasn't sure if the snarky "I get that you want to make House Rules and break your game but THIS IS THE REAL WAY" response was directed at me or Ghostofman.

I'm not a House Rules guy, that wasn't my intent. I just meant that sometimes it makes sense to just make a single roll, and sometimes I use the PC with the highest value to do it.

fatedtodie, I wasn't trying to offend you or to suggest you OR the original poster do anything you don't want to do or which would make you feel uncomfortable in any way.