Running away comes up a lot in my game, and sharing square footage and tracking movement rates over virtual reality is a headache. So I devised a mini-game. It's called Chaces High.
All you'll need is a deck of card, some dice, and an optional mini.
Take the deck of cards and get rid of the jokers and face cards. This will leave you with a 40 card deck made of every card 2 through 10 plus the aces. Aces are high (11). This is your chace deck.
Take your Chace Deck and deal out cards in a row from left to right until the total rank of the row equals 21. This row is the chace and each card is a phase of the chace, or a phase-card.
You can place your optional mini on the left most card to represent your PCs.
Now the chace begins. Each PC makes checks. (In Variant this is where I call for Movement checks.)
Then PCs with a success roll 2d6. Take the highest result and compare it to the rank of the current phase-card. If the result meets or beats the rank the PCs move on to the next phase-card. If someone rolls boxcars (12) they move on to the next phase and a Complication surfaces, such as a fruit cart blocking the path.
Now the PCs are racing against the clock. At the start of the chace the DM rolls his own 2d6 and records the result. At the end of each chace round, the DM rolls his 2d6 again. If the DM rolls the recorded result again, the chace ends, either with the PCs caught or their quarry escaping. Also if the DM rolls sevens or doubles, a round of actions occurs. NPCS and PCs can attack or take other actions.
The chace is a success when the PCs exit the final phase-card.
Example in play
The adventurers William, Zeph, and Rogal, like many adventurers infesting Brinsby, are braving the Maze of the Blue Medusa.
They've just crossed a rope bridge over a seemingly infinite deep chasm when some plant creature protrudes from the wall and attacks them.
A fierce exchange takes place but the adventurers decide to retreat when the fighter William's nose is caved in by a deft blow from one of the creature's pseudopods.
I grabbed my Chace Deck and deal 8, 10, and 5, and place the party mini on the eight-card. I roll 2d6. The result is 8. Then I call for movement checks.
On the first round all PCs fail their checks so they and the mini are stuck for the time being.
I roll my 2d6 and get a result of 9. Close! But the PCs elude capture.
On the second round two PCs succeed and roll 2d6 each. The first rolls an 8 and the other a 7. Hey! That 8 will get them closer to safety. I take the eight-card and discard it and move the party mini forward.
I roll my 2d6 for the second round and get a result of 7! Time for some action.
Action is simultaneous. The Monster decides to swing both its pseudopods at William and the entire party, in an act of desperation, swing wildly at the monster. The monster misses fortunate William and not only do all party members hit, one rolls a natural 20.
The Monster is slain! I end the chace there since it's pointless to continue with the procedure and the adventurers hop out of the Maze thankful to be alive.
If I rolled something else the procedure would have continued until all cards were discarded or I rolled another 8, but who knows how long it would have taken for them to beat the ten-card.
Now the PCs are racing against the clock. At the start of the chace the DM rolls his own 2d6 and records the result. At the end of each chace round, the DM rolls his 2d6 again. If the DM rolls the recorded result again, the chace ends, either with the PCs caught or their quarry escaping. Also if the DM rolls sevens or doubles, a round of actions occurs. NPCS and PCs can attack or take other actions.
The chace is a success when the PCs exit the final phase-card.
Example in play
The adventurers William, Zeph, and Rogal, like many adventurers infesting Brinsby, are braving the Maze of the Blue Medusa.
They've just crossed a rope bridge over a seemingly infinite deep chasm when some plant creature protrudes from the wall and attacks them.
A fierce exchange takes place but the adventurers decide to retreat when the fighter William's nose is caved in by a deft blow from one of the creature's pseudopods.
I grabbed my Chace Deck and deal 8, 10, and 5, and place the party mini on the eight-card. I roll 2d6. The result is 8. Then I call for movement checks.
On the first round all PCs fail their checks so they and the mini are stuck for the time being.
I roll my 2d6 and get a result of 9. Close! But the PCs elude capture.
On the second round two PCs succeed and roll 2d6 each. The first rolls an 8 and the other a 7. Hey! That 8 will get them closer to safety. I take the eight-card and discard it and move the party mini forward.
I roll my 2d6 for the second round and get a result of 7! Time for some action.
Action is simultaneous. The Monster decides to swing both its pseudopods at William and the entire party, in an act of desperation, swing wildly at the monster. The monster misses fortunate William and not only do all party members hit, one rolls a natural 20.
The Monster is slain! I end the chace there since it's pointless to continue with the procedure and the adventurers hop out of the Maze thankful to be alive.
If I rolled something else the procedure would have continued until all cards were discarded or I rolled another 8, but who knows how long it would have taken for them to beat the ten-card.
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