Leggit! Cinematic TTRPG chase scene generator
“Them as fights and runs away, lives to fight another day…”
Joseph and Potiphar's wife. Marcantonio Raimondi. Rijksmuseum (CC0 1.0)
You can’t kill your way out of every situation. Sometimes running away is the best option. The boring way of doing it is for everyone just to move around the map at full speed until someone gets caught.
Several systems introduce more cinematic ways to run running. Here’s mine. I’ve tried to make this system-agnostic; feel free to adapt to your game.
You can randomise your chase scenes using the Electronic Chase Interference Generator at the bottom of the page. If you have suggestions for more environments or random happenings then please stick them in the comments.
1. Start two clocks
Use two Blades in the Dark style clocks to track the progress of the pursuers and the pursued. Eight segments each feels about right, but adapt for situation and desired session length. If you have more factions, just add more clocks.
Optional: Give the pursuers or the pursued a headstart. You can tailor this to your situation, or just pre-fill d4 segments for each party.
Optional: The ‘two clocks’ method works well for chases with a defined endpoint - for example, the safety of a castle. For other chases, the endpoint is ‘put safe distance between you and your pursuers’. For a chase scene of indefinite length:
Use one clock that starts half-filled
Successes for the pursuers fill in segments
Success for the pursued erase segments
Pursuers catch if the clock is filled, the pursued escape if the clock is empty.
2. Introduce some interference
At the beginning of each round of the chase, introduce an environmental obstacle or opportunity. I try to make these specific enough to give players ideas, without being so specific that there’s an obvious ‘right’ approach. There’s a handy generator for city chases below.
GM: You hear the guards blowing whistles behind you and scarper down a nearby alley. As you emerge at the other end you spot a [bakery handing out free samples]. A large crowd of people has gathered around. What’s your next move?
3. Spotlight a character
Let a different character lead the action each round. You might want to let your players decide who’s best equipped for a given situation, you might want to force them to take it in turns, or use a names-in-a-hat approach to randomise it further. Other players can offer supporting actions if your system allows.
GM: Jimmuns, you’re up.
Sam: Okay, so as a former urchin I think Jimmuns is no stranger to the danger posed by the local seagulls. So I’m going to try and grab the tray of… ooh, what are they?
GM: Cruffins.
Sam: Nice, okay, so grab the tray of cruffins and throw them onto the floor behind us, in the hope of attracting a flock of gulls to act sort of like a smokescreen.
GM: Nice, okay - give me a Strength check to see if you can get the tray off the baker… On a 12, you throw the tray into the air, and the gulls which have been circling overhead dive into the crowd causing chaos.
4. Roll opposed
The lead character rolls off against the pursuing party, with a modifier depending on how successfully they dealt with the interference. You can run this as a +/- modifier or advantage/disadvantage on the roll, depending on how granular/generous you’re feeling.
GM: People are screaming; a young woman has a frantic seagull tangled in her curly hair. It’s definitely a distraction for the guards, so you can make your next escape roll with advantage. But I’d also like the whole party to take a Dex save to avoid getting pecked by a gull.
The side which rolled the highest number fills a section on their clock:
If the pursued fill their clock first, they get away cleanly.
If the pursuers fill their clock first, cut to a desperate last attempt to escape.
If neither clock is full, repeat steps 2-4.
5. Desperate last attempt
The party is caught, they have one final chance to escape. This is entirely optional - they may decide they’d rather come quietly. If they succeed, they slip through their pursuers fingers. If they fail, the consequences could be dire.
GM: The guards barge through the crowd, using their shields to fend off the worst of the gull attacks. You feel the sergeant’s hand clip your ankle. You stumble and fall heavily against a [stall at the fish market]. Raising her truncheon, the sergeant growls, “Right, are we gonna do this the easy way, or the fun way?”…
Sam: I reach into a bucket of fish, hoping to come up with a marlin or a swordfish or something.
GM: Okay, give me a Dex check for trout-tickling…
Sam: …that would be a critical fail…
GM: So, what you hoped was a bucket of fish is actually a bucket of live crabs. Perhaps you’d like to tell me what happens to you.
The final escape attempt is high-risk, low-reward. At best you’ll get away - at worst, someone will die. Success or failure, there may be lasting implications for your reputation, health or ongoing missions.
Electronic Chase Interference Generator
It looks like you're running away. How will you deal with what's round the next corner?
Select environment(s):
Suggestions? Stick them in the comments!
