How do i make a chase interesting?

[Swaoeaeieu]

So my players made a mistake during a sneaking part of a dungeon and woke up a swarm of badguys (nycters), now they need to escape the dungeon and run for their lives.

If you have ever played in a chase scene, or DM'ed one, what were some of the ways it was kept more interesting then "i move my full speed and hope they don't catch up"?

We closed last session with the party barricading a door with sounds of the horde coming closer. My players told me they were looking forward for the chaos and hilarity of being chased and i want to deliver. Any tips?

Thanks in advance

EDIT:
I forgot to mention some things,
1. We are playing 3.5
2. The party are the ones running away, being chased by an amount of enemies that means certain death when caught.
3. The chase will end when the players reach a certain room in the dungeon, the bad guys can't enter that room. The twist is that the players don't know this room exists yet.
4. The party consist of 4 lvl 1 characters: A cloistered cleric, a sorceres, a ranger and a psychic warrior. So they don't have much at their disposal.

[Psyren]

You didn't say whether you're playing 3.5 or PF, but Pathfinder has Chase scene rules (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/other-rules/chases) you can borrow either way.

Basically you construct a route (using playing cards) and on some or all of them you place obstacles that require skill checks, attack rolls or saving throws (traps are common here) to overcome. (This can also include mental checks, like Perception to notice a trap or shortcut, or Survival to maintain your sense of direction in a dense fog or deep forest.) A character's speed, rather than giving them a permanent lead or lag in the chase as it would with regular movement, instead gives them a bonus or penalty (depending on how much faster or slower they are than the average speed of the other participants) in overcoming the various obstacles you place on the track. Thus the players spend their move action going to the next card and their standard action clearing an obstacle on that card (or if there are none, moving to a second card.) The chase can have a clear ending (like an escape vehicle or portal that the runners are trying to reach) or it can be a circular track like an endless-running game. Characters with traversal abilities like flight get large bonuses to overcome certain obstacles, while characters who can teleport can skip a number of cards completely. You can also build your chase route with multiple branching paths or as a grid.

The chase ends when the pursuers catch the runners (starting normal combat), if the runners reach the predetermined "goal" first, or if the pursuers become so mired in obstacles that the runners end up too far ahead. In the case of the first option, you can have the chase end for one participant if any pursuers catch up to him first, and have those two duke it out while the others have to finish the chase track to be able to join in. Thus one player who has gotten too far ahead or fallen too far behind becomes at risk of getting dropped by the bad guy(s) before his allies can either catch up or double back to reinforce him. This also allows you to shift seamlessly in and out of the chase as needed.

[nakedonmyfoldin]

If you have ever played in a chase scene, or DM'ed one, what were some of the ways it was kept more interesting then "i move my full speed and hope they don't catch up"?


Angry DM has a really good article detailing a chase scene. I feel like it's a pretty good variant.
http://angrydm.com/2013/07/how-to-build-awesome-encounters/

[Arutema]

You didn't say whether you're playing 3.5 or PF, but Pathfinder has Chase scene rules (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/other-rules/chases) you can borrow either way.

Having played using those rules, I've found them extremely lacking and un-fun. My experience in chase scenes built using those rules has always been that lightly-armored classes with lots of skill points dominate, while the guy in heavy armor with 2 skill points a level stays on the first square and sulks because the checks typically involve skills that apply armor check penalty, and he's not going to make the checks with both an armor check penalty and a -2 for the 20' move his heavy armor gives.

If you're looking for a way to make the rogue feel relevant for a solo adventure, or just split him away from the rest of the party, they'll work. But in general, they are irritating and un-fun for most PCs.

[Swaoeaeieu]

What i have now is a map of the caves they are running in, chopped up into pieces. My idea is to give each piece of the track somekind of skillcheck or opportunity for something to happen.

But skillchecks are easy for the skillmonkey in the party, but the beatstick will have little to do (as Arutema said), what are some of the ways i can make this fun for every party member?

Also, i updated the OP with some extra information about the situation.

[georgie_leech]

What i have now is a map of the caves they are running in, chopped up into pieces. My idea is to give each piece of the track somekind of skillcheck or opportunity for something to happen.

But skillchecks are easy for the skillmonkey in the party, but the beatstick will have little to do (as Arutema said), what are some of the ways i can make this fun for every party member?

Also, i updated the OP with some extra information about the situation.

Maybe include options for letting him shape the chase? Tossing trash can or knocking fruit stalls over is fine for markets, but you're in a cave; let him knock over pillars, roll boulders, maybe even collapse weaker tunnels to buy time.

[Psyren]

Having played using those rules, I've found them extremely lacking and un-fun. My experience in chase scenes built using those rules has always been that lightly-armored classes with lots of skill points dominate, while the guy in heavy armor with 2 skill points a level stays on the first square and sulks because the checks typically involve skills that apply armor check penalty, and he's not going to make the checks with both an armor check penalty and a -2 for the 20' move his heavy armor gives.

If you're looking for a way to make the rogue feel relevant for a solo adventure, or just split him away from the rest of the party, they'll work. But in general, they are irritating and un-fun for most PCs.

This is a symptom of any physical skill-based challenge in the game, not of Chases specifically. In fact, Chases give you the tools to get around this problem quite easily. Since saving throws, Perception, Survival, Handle Animal/Ride and even social skills can be used to traverse cards, you can easily create situations where any class has a good chance of keeping up. Every class is good at something. The idea is that you have to be as creative as, if not moreso than, the players.

Example: Your party is chasing a pack of cultists on foot through city streets. The agile members of the party (e.g. rogue and bard) go tearing off after them, diving and flipping through market stalls or running across the rooftops, easily keeping pace. The wizard shapeshifts into a bird and flies overhead, also clearing the challenges easily. But the Paladin and Barbarian get quickly left behind. Simply tailor the challenges to the rest so they can catch up or at least stay in the game.

Barbarian: "You notice an open sewer grating. A rank odor wafts from within, but the sewer tunnels in this section of the city run in multiple directions - one of which appears to be leading in the direction of the south gate, where the cultists' escape carriage undoubtedly waits." The Barbarian, if he goes this route, must succeed on a fortitude save upon landing in the sewer (if he rages and uses the bonus to his save from his fast movement speed, he will easily clear this obstacle.) His challenges from there can consist of Survival checks - another easy obstacle for him - to avoid getting lost or turned around. If he does so successfully, the sewers prove to be a shortcut that get him to the fight scene at nearly the same time as the faster characters.

Paladin: This character notices a minor noble from a devout house shopping in the market. More importantly, the noble's horse is nearby as he was going out for a morning ride. A quick Diplomacy check lets the Paladin borrow his horse, perhaps with a few gold pieces or a promise of a favor from the church if the check needs a boost to pass. From there, the Paladin has a huge speed advantage as the crowd clears before him, and his challenges will consist largely of Ride checks to keep pace with the others. Or the Paladin can simply use his own mount, if it's out or he's at a sufficient level to call it as a full-round action.

Just think of what characters like this would normally do in a hectic situation - they would take actions that play to their strengths. If you understand what a character's strengths are, you can easily play those up in such a way that they get to shine, or at least avoid being outshone.

TL;DR - be creative.


@ OP: As above, the ways you can make this both fair and believable depend on the classes in the party that might get left behind. Which ones are they?

Running through a ruin will most likely involve traps, noticing passageways, maintaining one's sense of direction or even translating runes.