Chase Examples

The Rooftop Heist

Chase tips and examples
Chases have captivated movie audiences for
„ TYPE: Foot Chase the 2 of Diamonds. The City Watch consists of five
decades. The Savage Worlds Chase mechanics
SYNOPSIS: Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, the constables and begins on the Jack of Diamonds.
were designed to capture that excitement „
heroes of Fritz Leiber’s Lankhmar series, slip If the mischievous duo can evade the Watch for
and provide a means to handle fast-moving
five rounds, or cross the ninth card (10 of Clubs),
vehicles, mounted combat, and foot chases through the roof of a local temple with the Idol
they lose their pursuers and disappear into the
on the tabletop. To help you wrap your head of Kuthashan and are immediately given chase
streets of Lankhmar. Because this is a foot chase,
around how this all works, we’re including by the Lankhmar City Watch. the participants use Athletics as their maneuvering
tips and illustrated examples.
skill, and each Range Increment is 5” (10 yards in
SetUp the real world).
The Game Master lays out nine cards face up from
a deck of cards (different from the Action Deck.) Special Rules
When the Chase begins, Grey Mouser has the Use the Rooftops rules in the Customized Chases
stolen relic. Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser begin on section of the Chase rules.
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Round 1
Fafhrd decides to race up the roof and takes the Athletics at –2 or be Bumped (moved back a card
Change Position action. He rolls a 2, but because on the Chase Track). For the Complication, the
of the +2 bonus from taking the Change Position Game Master decides there are loose tiles on the Change Position
action, the modified roll of 4 is a success and he roof the Grey Mouser is running across. He fails his Change Position is the action a Chase
moves to the 10 of Hearts. roll and slides backward, Bumping him back to the participant takes to progress through the
Grey Mouser, holding the prized Idol of King of Clubs. Chase Track. It allows the character to move
Kuthashan, won initiative but drew a Club and The City Watch pursues with the free Change forward or backward one card (two with a
must check for Complications. The Chase Card he’s Position action, hoping to get close enough to take raise). Characters can take this action as a
currently on is the 2 of Diamonds. A look on the a potshot at the thieves. They act as a group (which free action—freeing them to perform other
Complications table reveals Grey Mouser must roll gives them a Wild Die) and they get a success! They actions during their turn.
move to the 8 of Diamonds, only one card away If they choose to spend an action on
t r ack is a
from Grey Mouser. A volley of crossbow bolts flies Change Position, they add +2 to their
Th e C ar d
r e lat iv e
toward the diminutive thief. One lucky bolt hits him maneuvering roll.
e p r e s e n tat ion of and causes two painful Wounds!
r ce
n c e . It r eplac es Pa
dist a le t op.
o n t h e ta b
a n d inc h es

The Rooftop Heist: Round 1

Round 2
The Grey Mouser recovers from Shaken and decides The City Watch take Change Position as an action,
to spend his action to Evade the guards’ deadly giving them +2 to their Athletics group roll. They fail
crossbow bolts! Attacks against him are made at –4 their Change Position roll and fire another volley of Dropping Back
until his next turn. He can also still take Change bolts at the Grey Mouser. Because he was Evading, Dropping Back is a Change Position option. It
Position as a free action. He does, gets a success on all their shots miss. allows the character to drop back one or two
his Athletics, and moves to the 2 of Diamonds. Fafhrd takes a look behind him and sees his Chase Cards without making a maneuvering
companion in trouble. The barbarian drops back roll in a linear chase.
one card and takes the Idol of Kuthashan from the
Mouser. Dropping Back is a Change Position option
that allows a character to move one or two Chase
ped ” doesn’t Dr ess up th e en
B eing “B um
Cards “backward” without making a maneuvering
vir onm ent with
u g ot hur le d haz ar ds . Ask your
m ea n t hat yo
roll (in a linear chase, at least). Fafhrd turns to face
g ap se lf what
r esent s t he
the City Watch and defiantly exclaims “Come get
would m ak e this
back . It r ep s C hase ex citing .
par t icipa nt
me, you clumsy oafs!” He rolls a raise on his Taunt
b et w ee n t wo .
against the City Watch—they’re now Distracted Mak e th e envir on
ha ng ing m ent an d
or g r ou ps c and Shaken. bystan der s inte
r active .

The Rooftop Heist: Round 2

Round 3
In the third round, Fafhrd goes first and takes the Because this Chase uses the City Streets special
Change Position action. He rolls Athletics, gets a rules (located in the Customized Chases section of
raise, and lands on the Queen of Diamonds. The Savage Worlds), the player rolls a d6 and consults
City Watch is now four cards behind. the Rooftops section. The Game Master describes
The City Watch goes next but fail to recover from how Grey Mouser’s foot catches a loose roof tile and
Shaken so they can only take free actions. They he tumbles over the edge. He makes an immediate
fail their Change Position roll because (thanks Athletics roll and gets another Critical Failure! The
to being Distracted) and remain on the 8 of Game Master describes how Grey Mouser falls
Diamonds. through another rooftop and lands in someone
else’s bedroom, suffering Bumps and Bruises. What
The Grey Mouser, on the 2 of
a night! While he’s effectively out of the Chase, he
Diamonds, goes last. He spends his
can meet with Fafhrd once he picks himself back
action to Change Position, determined
up and explains his indiscretion to the houses’
to disappear into the streets along
surprised occupants.
with Fafhrd and the night’s loot.
Nar r at e ev er y
m an euver , ev er y
Fortune isn’t with him though, and
he rolls a Critical Failure! su cc ess an d failu
r e an d foll ow
up with mor e na
r r at ive .

The Rooftop Heist: Round 3

 Round 4
Fafhrd goes first again but draws a Club. Since he
was on the Queen of Diamonds, the Complications
table reveals that he must make an Athletics roll at
–2 or be Bumped. The Game Master decides Fafhrd
disturbs a flight of pigeons. He gets a success on
his Athletics roll and curses the startled birds as he
barrels through them. With the Complication out of
the way, Fafhrd decides to Change Position. He gets
a raise on his maneuvering roll and ends his turn on
the 7 of Diamonds.
The City Watch recovers from Shaken and
decides to spend an action to Change Position. The
watchmen score a raise on their maneuvering roll
and end their turn on the 2 of Diamonds.

object ives.
Establish cl ear

The Rooftop Heist: Round 4

Round 5
The City Watch, seeing Fafhrd so close to slipping
away with the stolen relic, decides to spend a free
action to Change Position and then fire at Fafhrd.
They succeed on their Athletics roll and land on the
10 of Spades. They make a Shooting roll and score
a hit! The bolts deal one Wound to Fafhrd, who is
now also Shaken.
On his turn, Fafhrd fails to recover from Shaken,
takes a free action to Change Position, and scores a
raise. He crosses the last card and escapes with the
Idol of Kuthashan. But where is the Grey Mouser?
Drinking ale at the Silver Eel by now, no doubt!

mobile com bats .

L ook at chases as
m any action
You ca n per for
ly be able
you would nor m al
counter .
to in a com bat en

The Rooftop Heist: Round 5

 The Prize at the End of the Road
„ TYPE: Car Chase of Hearts. The Sykos’ bus is two cards ahead on the crouched gangbanger aiming an M72 Law rocket
„ SYNOPSIS: Necessary Evil: Breakout survivors 5 of Clubs. Because this is a vehicular Chase, the launcher at Red Rage and Gabe the Destroyer.
race gangbangers to a v’sori drop-off. range increment is 5” (10 yards in the real world), Fortunately the ganger misses and hits a crumbling
and maneuvering rolls use the Driving skill. department store, showering the street with rubble
The alien v’sori have dropped a surprise crate in
as it collapses to the street.
Midtown Manhattan. Our heroes, the Red Rage
and Gabe the Destroyer are super villains fighting Special Rules The Sykos bus driver puts the pedal to the metal
against the alien invaders. They rush to the scene and spends an action to Change Position. The
The cordoned city lies in ruins. Toppled buildings
in Gabe’s SUV, hoping to claim the valuable loot success is enough to move ahead one card and puts
and crashed vehicles make any progress in this
before anyone else gets there. Unfortunately, a bus them on the 2 of Spades.
urban maze difficult. The streets are cluttered with
packed with gangers who call themselves the Sykos debris and riddled with potholes, so Driving rolls Now it’s the super villains’ turn but they drew
is also hot on the trail. and ranged attacks incur a –2 penalty on top of any the 4 of Clubs as their Action Card, which means
others. Complications are also quite hazardous and they must first deal with a Complication. Following
Setup incur a minimum penalty of –2. the narrative from the stray rocket hitting the
department store, the GM says its massive sign
In this Chase, the loot is located on the sixth card; is coming down right in front of them! Gabe just
the Joker. The super villains must reach this card Round 1 succeeds at his Driving roll and manages to swerve
before the end of the fifth round or local thugs grab Initiative Cards are drawn and the Sykos go first. past the falling rubble!
it and disappear with it. Their SUV begins on the 3 The back doors of the bus swing open, revealing a

The Prize at the End of the Road: Round 1

 The villains may now go on with their turn. roll or go out of control. The Syko fails and gets a Red Rage realizes things are starting to get
Seeing the Sykos slip away, Gabe spends his action Vulnerable result on the Out of Control Table. The serious. She goes supernova and targets the driver.
to Change Position and scores a raise. He closes to bus also suffers a Critical Hit, which comes up as a He disappears in a flash of fiery heat and the bus
within one card of the Sykos on the 5 of Clubs. hit to the chassis. The GM narrates how the magma automatically goes Out of Control. This time it gets
Red Rage takes the opportunity to attack the bus melts the back of the bus, exposing its occupants. a Major Collision for 4 Wounds! The Game Master
at close range, but the Unstable Platform penalties On the Sykos turn, one of them attempts a Force narrates how the bus drives right through a theater,
and cover from the scattered debris in the streets on Gabe’s SUV. Since Gabe was holding steady, bringing the building crashing down on them. The
causes her to miss. the Syko adds +2 to his roll and wins. Gabe has to movie? Send in the Clowns!
roll on the Out of Control Table and gets a Minor
Round 2 Collision. His SUV plows through an abandoned Conclusion
Prius, taking a Wound.
Red Rage and Gabe go first this round. Red screams Red Rage and Gabe the Destroyer claim the precious
“Keep it steady, Gabe! I’m gonna take a shot!” Gabe loot. As they load it in the back of the beat-up SUV,
takes the Hold Steady action, a free action that
Round 3 they hear motorcycles approaching fast. The two
negates the Unstable Platform penalty (but gives The bus and SUV stay on the same card in the super villains aren’t out of this urban jungle yet!
opponents +2 to hit them). Red’s power is magma following turn, hoping to finish each other off. Three
blasts. She takes a shot and scores a hit on the bus, Sykos fire submachine guns into Gabe’s vehicle and
causing two Wounds and Bumping it one chase cause another Wound. He makes his Driving roll
card. The players choose to have the bus move one but the SUV takes a Critical Hit to the Locomotion—
card back toward them, putting it on their card, the its Top Speed drops and he no longer gets the bonus
5 of Clubs. The bus driver must also make a Driving he was getting for doubling the bus’ speed.

The Prize at the End of the Road: Round 2

 Assault on Battle Station Omu!
„ TYPE: Dogfight The Range Increment is 50”, and participants stay there long enough for the other flights to take
„ SYNOPSIS: Starfighter pilots must disable a make maneuvering rolls using the Piloting skill. down the shields (handled narratively by the Game
space station operated by a crime syndicate. The Rocket Bucket begins on the Jack of Spades. Master). It won’t be easy with all those drones!
The first wave of drones was already launched and
SetUp starts on the 9 of Hearts. The battle station is on the Round 1
King of Hearts.
Heavy fighters of the United Federation have been Red races forward, Changing Position as an action.
The Rocket Bucket is equipped with twin Gatling
sent to take out the Omu, a battle station used by the She rolls Piloting and scores a raise, bringing her
lasers and a dual heavy torpedo launcher (Range
Intergalactic Syndicate to attack and harass peaceful fighter to the 2 of Spades. Gabe fires the twin
300/600/1200). Each drone is equipped with a
worlds. The Omu has several battle cannons and a Gatling lasers at the first drone squadron and takes
Gatling laser and four missiles (Range 200/400/800).
massive fleet of small drones (one Wound each). out two of them.
This isn’t a linear Chase so Dropping Back isn’t
One of the United Federation fighters is the Rocket The drone fighter squadron also chooses to
available. Battle Station Omu is immobile and can’t
Bucket, piloted by Red, and her co-pilot and gunner, Change Position as an action and advance to the
move (at least in regard to this fight). Every other
Gabe. The two have been given a special mission. Queen of Spades. The artificial intelligence in the
round, the battle station launches another wave of
The rest of the fighters should have the battle machines can attempt to lock on with their missiles
six drone fighters.
station’s shields down on turn 3. Once they do, our without taking a Multi-Action. All four remaining
heroes’ job is to deliver a heavy torpedo right into Red wants a Short Range shot with the torpedoes drones try to get a lock but Red miraculously evades
its guts and take it down. so she needs to get to at least the 9 of Hearts and every one.

Assault on Battle Station Omu: Round 1

Round 2
The Rocket Bucket goes first this round. Red rolls Wounds to the Rocket Bucket! The first Critical Hit
Piloting to Change Position as a free action but (from the Wounds) is to the chassis—no further
fails—she remains on the 2 of Spades. effect. The second is to the Weapon! Fortunately,
the GM rolls randomly and it just takes
Since she still has a regular action, Red tries the
out one of Gabe’s Gatling lasers.
Force maneuver. If she’s successful, she Bumps the
target one card in either direction. She gets a raise The remaining drone of the
against one of the drones, which means it Critically first squadron fires its laser to
Fails a maneuvering roll and has to roll on the Out of no effect.
Control Table. That results in a Minor Collision for Finally, a second drone
one Wound and a Critical Hit. The drones only have squadron emerges from the
one Wound, so the GM says it spins into a floating Battle Station. It takes an
piece of debris and explodes—another one down. action to Change Position
Gabe fires the Rocket Bucket’s Gatling lasers and winds up on the
at all three of the remaining drones and takes 6 of Clubs.
out two more.
The remaining drone of the first squadron gets
a lock this time, fires its missiles, and causes two

Assault on Battle Station Omu: Round 2

Round 3
The drones go first this round. The second squadron
moves forward to the 8 of Hearts as a free action
and fires their lasers, forcing Red to make a Piloting
roll. She fails and goes Out of Control—she and
Gabe are now Distracted. The drone from the first
squadron misses.
Red makes her move, using an action to Change
Position to help with the Distracted penalty. She
gets a success and moves to the 9 of Spades.
The GM says the shields are down, but Gabe
decides to wait on the torpedoes—he doesn’t want
to miss while being Distracted—and goes for the
drones again instead. In a sizzling barrage of white
hot light, he takes out the lone remaining drone
from the first squadron.

Assault on Battle Station Omu: Round 3

 ts
Round 4 t i c ipa n
ar es
m al l p s e q u e n c
r n e.
In f o o
Red and Gabe go first. Red can’t take the Hold
t t he c d f ail ur
abou cc ess a n
Steady maneuver in Deep Space since there’s no
su
Unstable Platform penalty (see Customized Chases
in Savage Worlds), but she wants to help Gabe so f or
she Supports him instead. “I’m holding steady.
Take the shot, Gabe!” She rolls Piloting as a Support
roll and gets a raise—giving Gabe a +2 bonus to his
Shooting roll.
Gabe lines up his shot, gets a lock on the battle
station, and fires both torpedoes! Bullseye! With
Red’s help he hits with a raise. The heavy
torpedoes cause a chain reaction of explosions
throughout the criminal syndicate’s automated

fill e d
ship! The artificial intelligence screeches in a howl
t h eat er
A C hase
of ones and zeroes before bursting into a torrent
g oing
tac l es is
wit h o bs
of silent debris.
wit h
“Scratch one battle station,” Red says as she
e l p y o u c om e u p
to h t h e fly .
at ions on
flies the beaten Rocket Bucket back to base. “Nice
shot, Gabe.” C o m p l ic

Assault on Battle Station Omu: Round 4

 The Whacky Shack
„ TYPE: Foot Chase powers, so the students consult the Supernatural
„ SYNOPSIS: East Texas University students must Complication Table when they draw Clubs instead
rescue Little Ryan, a child kidnapped by a of the Complication chart in Savage Worlds. Supernatural Complication
demon at the county fair’s haunted house. The Whacky Shack can not only spring traps on the
The Trait column indicates which Trait and
paranormal investigators but also frighten them.
associated modifier the investigators use to
Setup A Bumped result indicates the character is afraid
avoid the supernatural complication.
and flees. The Game Master decides which way
A new fair has set up shop in Pinebox. A menagerie the frightened character goes. If pushed out of one
of supernatural beings operates it and is looking to of the access points (King of Diamonds or 10 of SUPERNATURAL
attract victims. Gormox, a spindly demon dressed in Clubs), the character is then too scared to re-enter COMPLICATION
tattered rags and a cowl, serves the Whacky Shack— the haunted house. SUIT TRAIT FAILURE RESULT
the fair’s haunted house attraction. He and the
Gormox can animate any room of the house no Treat as a Critical
house are magically tied, and the house demands Spades Athletics Failure on a
matter where he’s at. In game terms, he can use the
a sacrifice! maneuvering roll.
Force maneuver on anyone within the Whacky Shack
Gormox chose Ryan, whose college student with an opposed Spirit roll (rather than Athletics). The character is
Hearts Spirit
babysitters inadvertently lost him in the crowded Bumped.
fairgrounds. When the students finally spot Ryan, The character is
Diamonds Spirit –2
the demon is leading him inside the Whacky Shack. Bumped.
The babysitters (Red, Gabrielle, and Ashton) have Treat as a Critical
three rounds to find and save Ryan before the house Clubs Athletics –2 Failure on a
consumes him. Gormox holds Ryan in the Ace of maneuvering roll.
Clubs room (see the setup on the next page), a The character is
location hidden from the players. Joker Spirit +2 Bumped up to two
Chase Cards.
Special Rules
The Chase Track is a grid of four by four cards. Each
always
card represents a room of the Whacky Shack. The
front entrance is on the King of Diamonds and the A C hase isn’t
back exit is on the 10 of Clubs. Diagonal movement a pur suit.
is permitted. The house is imbued with infernal
Round 1
Red and Gabrielle decide to enter through meaning he has to check the Supernatural
the front entrance (King of Diamonds). They Complication Table. Since the card he’s on
navigate the total darkness and uneven floor is also a Club, his failure turns into a Critical
of the haunted house (a –2 penalty) and Failure. The GM decides Ashton’s player
succeed on their Athletics roll to Change loses the rest of his turn banging on doors.
Position. They decide to investigate the Joker He remains on the 10 of Clubs.
room and shout out Ryan’s name. It’s Gormox’s turn to go. The wretched
Ashton sneaks around the back (10 demon stays in place and animates a zombie
of Clubs). arm sticking out of the wall of the Joker room.
He wins the opposed Spirit roll and chooses
Ashton draws a Club and finds himself
to Bump her back to the King of Diamonds.
fighting with doors designed to swing
Red runs away from the grasping undead
outward. He fails the Athletics roll,
hand, screaming.

The Whacky Shack: Round 1

Round 2
Spurred on by adrenaline, Ashton rolls
Athletics to Change Position and scores a
raise. He navigates through the dark halls to
land on the 4 of Hearts.
Gormox goes next. He’s still holding Ryan;
tendrils of putrid flesh begin to tighten
around the boy’s body, pulling him inside
the Whacky Shack walls. Sensing Ashton
getting closer to him, Gormox animates a
fortune teller animatronic in the 4 of Hearts
room. Ashton wins the opposed Spirit roll
though and is unfazed by the fortune teller’s
prophecy of doom!
Red comes back to her senses and gets a
success on her maneuvering roll to Change
Position. She moves to the 4 of Clubs. Ryan
is still nowhere in sight!
Gabrielle—on the Joker—draws a
Club and has to check the Supernatural
Complication Table. Since she’s on the Joker
she’s bumped two cards! The GM decides
she’s overwhelmed with terror and runs
screaming from the Whacky Shack!

in
e int er est ed
If you’ r e mor n
a pur suit t ha
t he r esult of us e
lf, you c a n
t he c hase it se d.
ou nt er inst ea
a Quick Enc The Whacky Shack: Round 2
Round 3 Conclusion
Determined to find Ryan before it’s too late, Ashton and Red finally reach the Ace of Clubs
Red gets a success on her Athletics roll and room but they’re too late. The living horror
crosses to the 10 of Diamonds room. “Ryan, that is the haunted house is already sucking
where are you?” she cries. Ryan and Gormox into its abyssal walls.
Ashton can hear Ryan screaming in the Our heroes failed this chase and now have
next room, but he fails his Athletics roll. to enter the bizarre dimension of the Whacky
He desperately tries to find his way over to Shack to save Ryan!
Ryan but can’t find a doorway in the twisted The end of one adventure merely leads to
corridors of the Whacky Shack! another...

The Whacky Shack: Round 3