Dynamic Persuit in D&D 3.5

[Seth1221]

I always wanted to create a cool, full of action persuit in D&D. Running through the small aleys, fast turns, tossing around stuff etc. etc. - you know the drill.

The problem is simple - it is damn hard to merge the mechanics and actual dynamism. My latest idea was to ask player to roll all necessary rolls and than I post the whole persuit in one post. But on the other hand it leaves the player with the feeling that he has no influence on what is happening.

So - Do you guys have any other ideas and what do you think about the above one?

[Ormagoden]

Ideas? Other than chariots and spikey wheels you mean...

Remember the rule of cool!

Take the rulebook and throw it out the window if it is giving you that much trouble.

Have the players make a bunch of ride checks before the ride starts.
Then you make a buncha rolls behind the screen. Fake a minute of calculation and make the chase entirely cinematic. Tell them at certain points their rolls allow them the opportunity to attack or catch up or something. Give them their attacks and let them get shot at by archers on wagons or some such.

Wherever you want them to catch up with the villain or target make it happen and let the real combat begin. If they kill some guys let them know they took out allies along the way and have less to face now. If they catch up let them know they have a few rounds before the people they outran catch up and enter combat.

In the end you and the players have a good time. Its win win.

[Seth1221]

Yup that's right - rules are just pointers.

Oh and I had in mind mainly persuit on foot

[Shpadoinkle]

I'd go with jump and/or tumble checks giving or costing you an extra couple feet, depending on how you roll.

[AslanCross]

I prepared a detailed map for a chase scene across rooftops for my Red Hand of Doom campaign. It's not a straightforward series of tumble checks and jump checks; there's some risk involved when jumping onto some surfaces (a bunch of burnt out rafters could deal damage, for example).

[Seth1221]

Yeah in my persuits I like to add various checks - balance, reflex saves - stuff like that so the run is diverse.