Dramatic Tasks
The Dramatic Task mechanics can be used in or out of combat, and represent anything that has some kind of time limit. This could involve diffusing a bomb, trying to hack a computer while being hunted or under fire, or completing some kind of ritual.
The aim of the Dramatic Task is to obtain a number of Task Tokens within a number of rounds (combat or otherwise), such as four Task Tokens within three rounds. To do this, you have to roll a Trait appropriate to the task. This may be limited to certain Traits, depending on the task. You earn one Task Token on a success, plus one additional token for each raise. If you fail the roll, you don't get any Task Tokens, and on a Critical Failure, you lose one Task Token.
For some tasks, only one person can lead but everyone else can Support. Other times, each member of the party has to earn their own tokens. In these situations, the tokens might represent something. For example, if the players are rescuing horses from a burning barn, each Task Token represents a horse. There might be a certain number of horses within the barn, and each player can roll Riding or Intimidation to lead them out before the barn collapses.
Players are still dealt Action Cards for Dramatic Tasks, and Jokers work as normal, but turn order isn't important unless the task takes place during combat. After all, the person who is leading might roll last to accommodate any Support rolls. However, if a character's Action Card is a Club, they encounter a Complication. This could represent a booby-trap on a bomb or a firewall on a hacking job. Complications impose a -2 penalty on any Trait roll made to earn Task Tokens. Furthermore, if you fail the roll, you fail the Dramatic Task. The penalty also applies when Supporting a roll made to earn Task Tokens, but failing the Support does not fail the task.
A chase can be an example of a Dramatic Task, but Chases have their own set of rules.
Chases
I often favour these rules for in-person games, when I don't have the table space for a battle map. Chases can work just like regular combat, but with a few differences:
First of all, the GM sets out a number of Chase Cards (regular playing cards), either nine cards in a row or 16 cards in a 4x4 grid (to represent tank battles, dogfights, or demolition derbies). Each character or vehicle is given a marker that's placed on one of the chase cards, which represents their position in the chase. The Chase Cards are abstract, and represent the relative distance between characters.
Some actions unique to Chases involve rolling a Manoeuvring Trait. This is Athletics if you're on foot or using a muscle-powered conveyance (such as a bicycle), Boating for any kind of watercraft, Driving for powered ground vehicles (such as cars or motorcycles), Piloting for aircraft, and Riding for mounts or animal-drawn conveyances (such as a wagon). All vehicles have a Handling from -4 to 4, which is applied to all Manoeuvring rolls. A Critical Failure on one of these rolls can have consequences dependent on the type of Chase. If you're on foot or mounted, you can either lose your turn, or you or your mount can suffer Fatigue (if a Mount suffers Fatigue, that applies to your Riding rolls). If you're in a vehicle, you go Out of Control, and must roll on a special table to determine the effect.
Initiative works as normal, except Action Cards are dealt to vehicles rather than individual characters, and all occupants of the same vehicle act on the same card. Like Dramatic Tasks, Chases have Complications which occur if your Action Card is a Club. When this happens, the character or driver/pilot must make an immediate Manoeuvring roll (this is a free action). The suit of their current Chase Card determines any modifiers, along with consequences for failure. On a black Chase Card, this is treated as a Critical Failure on a Manoeuvring roll. On a red card, the character or vehicle is Bumped. This means they move one Chase Card (typically towards the opposition if they're being pursued, or away if they're the ones pursuing).
Movement is handled via Changing Position. This is a Manoeuvring roll, which can be done either as a limited action or a limited free action (meaning whichever one you do, you cannot do anything else listed as such). You get a +2 bonus on the roll if you make it as an action, and you get a +1 bonus if your Pace or Top Speed is faster than the fastest opponent's (+2 if twice as fast). A success lets you move one card (horizontally or vertically on a grid), and a raise lets you move two. In linear chases, you can also drop back two cards without needing to roll. If you're at least four cards away from your nearest opponent, you can Flee as an action by making a Manoeuvring roll with a -4 penalty (-2 if you're five cards away, and no penalty if you're six or more cards away). If this roll is successful, you're out of the Chase (this might be the objective in some chases).
Attacking largely works as normal. You can only make melee attacks if you're on the same Chase Card as your opponent, and if made against a vehicle (assuming that's permitted), the Parry is 2 plus half the operator's Driving die, plus the vehicle's Handling. A vehicle's operator can also Ram an opponent on the same card, which requires an opposed Manoeuvring roll and deals damage to both vehicles based on their Scale, Top Speed, and Toughness. Alternatively, you can Force a vehicle away. This also requires an opposed Manoeuvring roll, in which your opponent is Bumped on a success and goes Out of Control on a raise.
For ranged attacks, the distance is determined by multiplying the number of cards between the attacker and the target by a Range Increment determined by the GM. This is typically 5" (10 yards). Ranged attacks will often incur a-2 penalty for Unstable Platform, but a driver may choose to Hold Steady as a free action on their turn. This negates the penalty, but it also grants a +2 bonus to all attacks directed at that vehicle and any of its occupants until the beginning of their next turn (this does not stack with being Vulnerable). On the flip side, a driver can choose to Evade, as a free action or an action, imposing a respective -2 or -4 penalty to all attacks directed at that vehicle until the beginning of their next turn. However, it also applies to attacks made by the occupants.
Damage in Chases is resolved normally, but characters are Bumped in addition to being Shaken or Wounded. This also applies to vehicles, but they can't be Shaken. Instead, success on the damage roll requires the operator to make a Manoeuvring roll to avoid going Out of Control. Each raise on the damage roll causes one Wound (most vehicles can take at least three Wounds, but this is modified by their Scale). Each Wound reduces the vehicle's Handling by 1 (to a minimum of -4). Additionally an attack which causes at least one Wound results in a Critical Hit, which results in another table roll to determine what part of the vehicle was hit and the effect. You can choose to make Called Shots against specific parts of a vehicle, in which case the Critical Hit is decided there.
If a vehicle takes enough Wounds, it's Wrecked, and all occupants take damage based on the speed. A vehicle's Wounds can be treated using the Repair skill. Each attempt takes two hours per Wound, and each success and raise removes one Wound. There may be modifiers based on where the repairs are made (-2 for field repairs, no penalty for a standard garage, and +2 for a dedicated facility), and repairs may not be permitted without a tool kit. If the vehicle was Wrecked, it takes a full day's work with spare parts and a dedicated facility before any repairs can be made.
Anyway, I'll wrap things up there. The system has plenty of other special rules for various situations, but I wanted to talk about the ones I encounter most often. Anyway, it's Camp NaNoWriMo this month, and I need to dedicate some time to my next Kestrel and Scar story.
Happy writing.
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