I'm going to be running a scene tonight where the PCs may be incentivized to tail a target by vehicle. I was going to have them do a piloting (planetary) check at speed 2 with whatever vehicle they end up using, with two setback to represent them trying to keep out of sight of their target. I'm not sure that feels quite right, though. Has anyone else ever ruled on this situation? If so, how did you handle it?

Piloting check with a difficulty equal to the perception of one of the passengers in the other vehicle could work.

To me this is more a Streetwise/Stealth thing. Just following someone unnoticed is not about how well you control the vehicle, but how you use the distance and terrain to keep out of sight. I'd start with Streetwise as the baseline. You can also use the Chase mechanic, and just swap out skills as needed over time. You might start with Streetwise, but then maybe the target gets suspicious or gets a call from the boss and takes off, maybe makes a right just as the lights are about to change, so then Piloting does indeed come into play as the PC tries to make the light without alerting the target.

PC-Skill whatever opposed by target's Perception.

To me this is more a Streetwise/Stealth thing. Just following someone unnoticed is not about how well you control the vehicle, but how you use the distance and terrain to keep out of sight. I'd start with Streetwise as the baseline. You can also use the Chase mechanic, and just swap out skills as needed over time. You might start with Streetwise, but then maybe the target gets suspicious or gets a call from the boss and takes off, maybe makes a right just as the lights are about to change, so then Piloting does indeed come into play as the PC tries to make the light without alerting the target.

Streetwise? I think Skulduggery makes more sense for tailing a target just as it does for casing a location.

Streetwise? I think Skulduggery makes more sense for tailing a target just as it does for casing a location.

I could see a case being made for either skill. I’d be inclined to let the player try to convince me which was more appropriate and why, and then I’d decide how to modify the difficulty of the opposed check.

Streetwise? I think Skulduggery makes more sense for tailing a target just as it does for casing a location.

I could see a case being made for either skill. I’d be inclined to let the player try to convince me which was more appropriate and why, and then I’d decide how to modify the difficulty of the opposed check.

Inclined to go this direction, and tailor the check to how they approach the tail.

Other systems would handle this as a combined stealth + piloting check, building the dice pool from both skills and ignoring characteristics. Though as piloting and stealth both use agility – you could just use stealth too. If you planned this as a multiple stop encounter, you could have a section which forces quick reaction and driving too and switch to a standard piloting check for that segment.