Revised Fifth Edition Chase Rules
Whether you're chasing across rooftops trying to avoid capture by town guards, dashing through the undergrowth in pursuit of unknown prey, or playing a game of tag with an owlbear cub, sometimes it's fun to just run. This is a set of custom rules that can be used during an encounter that involves chasing that ties into the standard D&D combat and movement rules, but streamlines a lot of concepts to make these sorts of encounters more interesting.
1. Setup
To begin a chase, mark out a 'chase track'. The track has five sections on it, described as follows:
Front: This section marks the 'head' of the race, where all participants are generally trying to be. There should always be at least one participant here.
Point-Blank: The participants immediately behind the Front are described as being at Point-Blank range. Participants in this area may make melee weapon or melee spell attacks against participants in the Front, although this must involve making an attack roll with disadvantage. Participants who make this attack with a weapon with the 'reach' quality do not suffer from this disadvantage.
Short Range: This section is considered to be about 30 ft. behind the Front and Point-Blank sections for the sake of spells, weapons, and effects with a range.
Medium Range: Participants in Medium Range are an additional 60 ft. behind Short Range.
Long Range: Participants in Long Range are an additional 60 ft. behind Medium Range.
Participants who fall beyond Long Range are considered out of the chase. If they are still able to move, and they know where the chase is headed, they may continue moving towards that goal, but they will arrive long after all of the other participants.
Participants within a single section are assumed to be within 5 ft. of each other.
At the start of the chase, the quarry should be put in Front. Other participants may go in the other sections of the chase track according to their positions away from the quarry.
All participants should then roll initiative as usual. If the chase is an extension of an existing fight scene, the participants should keep the initiative used during that fight.
Each participant should also calculate their Move DC. This is equal to 20 - (Speed / 5). For most participants this will be their normal speed, but if a participant has another speed (e.g. a fly speed or swim speed) they may use that value instead if it makes sense to do so in the situation.
For example, a Human Monk with a speed of 40 ft. will have a Move DC of 12, while an Ancient Blue Dragon chasing down an aerial opponent (and thus able to use their fly speed of 80 ft.) will have a Move DC of 4.
The minimum Move DC is 0. If a participant would have a Move DC lower than this, they instead have a Move DC of 0.
2. On Each Turn
At the start of every turn, the DM should check for chase complications using the Chase Complication Table given later. If a complication is rolled, it should affect the current participant only. This complication is resolved first.
Afterwards, the participant may make actions and bonus actions that they wish. They may make any action that is described in the 'Actions in Combat' section of the Player's Handbook except for the Disengage action. (All participants are assumed to be moving at such speeds that opportunity attacks are generally impossible. The disengage action, therefore, will not have any effect.)
Finally, the participant should make a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check (their choice) against their Move DC. This is a Move Check. On a success, they remain in the section of the chase track that they are currently in. On a failure, they instead move back one section along the chase track. If they exceed the Move DC by five more more, they move one section forward. (If a player in Front would move one section forward, instead move all other participants one section backwards.)
If a participant has dashed at least once on their turn, they have advantage on this check. If a participant has less than half of their base speed (rounded up) left when making the Move Check, then they make the check with disadvantage. If a participant has no movement left when making a Move Check, they automatically fail.
3. Chase Complications
At the start of each turn, the Dungeon Master should roll 3d6, and consult the following table.
| 3d6 | Complication |
|---|---|
| 3 | Entanglement |
| 4 | Herd or Crowd |
| 5 | Barrier |
| 6 | Obstacles |
| 3d6 | Complication |
|---|---|
| 7 | Poor Visibility |
| 8 | Uneven Ground |
| 9 | Impediment |
| 10+ | No Complication |
The complications are described as follows.
Entanglement. An entanglement might be either purposeful (like a net or rope trap), or accidental (like vines, or a clothesline covered in washing). Either way, it poses a severe risk to a player. Make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, you are restrained as if caught in a net. See chapter 5, "Equipment," of the Player's Handbook for rules on escaping a net.
Herd or Crowd. You must pass through a herd or group of animals or people that currently are not involved in the chase. Make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, you take 1d4 piercing damage and 1d4 bludgeoning damage, and are knocked prone.
At the Dungeon Master's option (regardless of the result of the saving throw), the herd or crowd may join the chase. If this happens, the herd should be put onto the chase track in the same section as the participant they have just affected. The Dungeon Master should choose appropriate stats for this herd, and roll initiative accordingly.
Barrier. A barrier is an obstacle that needs to be avoided or climbed over. It might be a wall, a building, a wide tree, or a river. Make a DC 15 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. On a failed check, you are knocked prone.
Obstacles. Obstacles are multiple smaller complications that require dexterity or intelligence to plot a path through. Outside, they might take the form of crates, bushes, or a field of giant mushrooms, while inside they might be chairs or pews. In populated areas, a crowd could be an obstacle. Make a DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) or Intelligence check (your choice). On a failed check, this terrain counts as difficult terrain. For this turn, recalculate your Move DC as 20 - (Speed / 10).
Poor Visibility. Poor visibility could be due to the terrain (dense brush or a blind corner), or it could be an environmental effect (a busy area, smoke, or an accidental flour explosion). Make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, you are blinded for this turn. In addition, your Move Check is made with disadvantage.
Uneven Ground. Uneven ground represents a portion of the trail you are falling being particularly difficult to run on. This might be because of a change in elevation, a river bank, swampy ground, or soft sand. Make a DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. On a failed check, your Move Check is made with disadvantage.
Impediment. An impediment is a minor complication that can be avoided with dexterity or with brute strength. It might be a single cart, a flock of birds, a tree branch, or a fallen log. Make a DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) or Strength (Athletics) check. On a failed check, your Move Check is made with disadvantage.
Example
Ared, Bretha, and Cornelius are running away from a pack of eight Spined Devils that they have managed to anger. The DM draws up a simple diagram to show where all the participants are, and puts the three player characters in Front. She decides that the Spined Devils are about thirty ft. away from the PCs, so she puts them in Short Range.
All participants roll initiative, and Cornelius goes first. Before he does anything, the DM rolls for a complication, and gets 19, indicating that no complication has arisen. Cornelius is a halfling, which means his Speed is 25 ft. and so his Move DC is 15. He chooses to dash on his turn, to escape the threat, which gives him advantage when making his Move Check, and he also has proficiency in the Athletics skill. He rolls two d20s and adds his Strength (Athletics) bonus to the highest value. He gets a 17 total, which is greater than 15, so he is able to stay where he is.
After this, two Spined Devils take their turns. The DM rolls for each of them on the Chase Complication table, and gets 'No Complication' again, both times. The participants are running through caves, but the DM decides that the tunnels here are big enough that the Spined Devils will be able to fly after the players. Their fly speed is 40 ft. which gives them a Move DC of 12.
The first one makes a Dexterity (Acrobatics) check, and gets a total of 19. This is more than 12, but it is also more than 17, so the Spined Devil moves one step closer to the group, and is now in Point-Blank range. The other Spined Devil chooses to use its action to launch two Tail Spines at Ared and Bretha. This attack has a range of 20/80, but the Spined Devil is currently about 30 ft. away from the players, so it must make its attack roles with disadvantage (as detailed in the Player's Handbook.
After it has made the attack, it must then make a Move Check. It gets a 9 in total, which is less than the Move DC of 12, so it moves back to Medium Range.
Ared takes her turn next. She is a Human Monk, with a move speed of 40 ft. so she also has a Move DC of 12. The DM rolls for a complication, and gets an Impediment. She describes how a mining cart has been left in this tunnel, and Ared makes a Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to leap over it, which she fails at. Because of this, she has to make her Move Check with disadvantage. However, Ared spends a Ki point to use her Step of the Wind feature. This allows her to dash as a bonus action, which gives her advantage on her Move Check. This cancels out her disadvantage, so she rolls normally.
Further Notes
This is a collection of additional notes and details that help describe certain parts of these rules in more detail, and gives additional advice on how to run chases in different situations.
Ending the Chase. There are multiple ways of ending a chase. If all of the pursuers have fallen back beyond Long Range, then the quarry has won. In addition, if the quarry is able to make a successful Hide action, the pursuers will be unable to continue the chase. Conversely, if the pursuers are able to catch up to the quarry, they may have a chance at capturing or killing it.
Another way of ending a chase is for it to reach a destination. For example, a quarry may have a certain bolthole that they can try and reach. If they make it there, it might be possible to disappear into the crowd, or call on some sort of armed response to help them. In this case, the DM might keep track of the total distance the participants have travelled in some way - perhaps by tracking rounds. Alternatively, they could end the chase whenever they roll 18 while rolling for a chase complication.
Finally, the most obvious way of ending any chase is for the participants to get bored or unwilling to continue. Guards will probably stop chasing minor criminals if they get outside the city gates (although they'll certainly keep watch for them coming back). An animal may end up completely exhausted, and collapse just as its hunters arrive. Chases are meant to be exciting - if they are becoming repetitive, the DM should find some other way to continue the story.
Exhaustion. In the chase rules in the Dungeon Master's Guide, players may make the Dash action a number of times equal to 3 + their Constitution modifier. After this, to continue dashing, the player must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution check, or gain one level of exhaustion. Given that players are always assumed to be dashing unless otherwise stated, this exhaustion mechanic is not included in these rules.
If you as a DM want to indicate that chases can be exhausting, you could include the following rule: Any participant may choose to gain one level of exhaustion, and reroll their Move Check immediately after resolving it. They keep all the bonuses and penalties (including advantage and disadvantage), and apply them to the second check. They must keep the second check. They may only gain one level of exhaustion each round in this manner.
Opportunity Attacks. All participants are assumed to be moving at such speeds that opportunity attacks are generally impossible. As such, during a chase, no participant may make an opportunity attack, although they may use their reaction in other ways.
Movement-based Abilities. Some creatures have abilities that require movement to activate. When deciding whether the conditions for these abilities have been met, assume that both (a) the creature has moved its full Speed during this turn, and (b) the creature and all other participants are moving in the direction of the chase. For example, a creature with an ability to deal additional damage on an attack if it has moved 15 ft. towards that creature on its turn will be able to use this ability if its Speed is more than 15 ft, assuming the other creature is within the same section as it.
Varying the Complication Table. The complications described in the table are designed to be as generic as possible, and should be applicable to jungles, caves, or cities. However, it may be that you want to vary it to be more suitable to your particular situation. In this case, I recommend looking at the tables in the Chases section of the Dungeon Master's Guide. Note, however, that the Complication Table used in this ruleset is designed using the probability curve created by rolling 3d6. That means that complications with lower numbers are significantly less likely, but significantly more dangerous if they do happen. The probability curve can be viewed here.
Credits
These chase rules are heavily based on the chase rules designed for Pathfinder by Geek Related, available here.
Thank you to /u/SamuraiHealer, /u/Hedgehogs4Me, and /u/thecinnaman123 on Reddit for proofreading, and offering suggestions.