Dungeon Master: Chase Scenes

If you have a campaign involving any kind of hunt, chase scenes are almost sure to follow. It could be investigating vampire attacks, trying to track down a werewolf in the forest, or chasing after a thief that broke into a noble's house. Regardless, chase scenes can be one of the harder situations to handle in a satisfying way. And for this reason, I hope to provide some of my input on how to run it well.

Rolls

It'll be a series of athletics checks most likely. The Dungeon Master's Guide also has rules for handling a chase. However, in general I recommend looking at the situation high level and letting reason prevail. If you start a parkour chase across the roof tops of building in a city, acrobatics starts to make a lot of sense instead of athletics. If the scene takes place at night, the person running doesn't need to outrun their pursuers, they just need to be able to break line of sight and slink away. Maybe in this case they can try to use a stealth roll to see if they can escape if they are far enough away, or use the broken sight to expand their lead.

Tiredness

Constitution generally should play a role in a chase scene. Also, if the creature is undead, they won't tire. A common rule I've seen employed is that after a total number of checks equal to their con modifier, subsequent rolls have disadvantage. Alternatively, it can be used as a time limit. Whoever gets tired drops out of the chase.

Time Limit

You do not want your chase scene to drag. Rolling over and over and not getting anywhere doesn't help anyone, and generally isn't fun. I find that a chase shouldn't last longer than roughly 5 rolls. The good thing is that if we use the con modifier to tell us how many rolls people can make before getting tired, we have a natural ending point if one group has more endurance. The trouble comes from ties, and generally, I elect to end things in favour of the person running if a tie is reached. You can also make the two sides who tied to a roll for sudden death. Winner takes all. Whether you want to use a stat for this or just luck (since the chase until now used stats) is up to you.

Other Factors

Embrace other factors. Maybe one group tries to jump across a wide creek to escape their pursuers. Maybe the pursuers try to shoot arrows at the legs of the people who are escaping, while they shoot back to slow down their pursuers if on horseback. Maybe the people running away knock over objects as they go, forcing their pursuers to acrobatically jump over it. Embrace the chaos and spontaneous ideas. And of course, things won't always be the same. If they are running indoors through a kitchen, it'll be easier to knock stuff on the ground than if they are running through a crowded street. A pursuer on a horse may need to make animal handling checks while going through the forest.

Different Speeds

Even with different speeds, rolls should be made. One common thing I've seen is to give advantage to the characters who have a higher speed than who they are chasing/who they are running away from. To apply, it should be a reasonably large difference. I normally wouldn't apply if it was only a 5ft difference in these sequences. I mean, they catch them in that case unless they were able to create another obstacle or distraction. However, if the pursuers are on a horse, things become different.

Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica Dice Review

Review copy courtesy of Wizards of the Coast.

Pros:

• They’re a complete set of dice.
• The smokey aesthetic looks nice.

Could Go Either Way:

• D&D 5^th edition has the great new mechanic of advantage (where you roll 2d20 and take the highest) and disadvantage (where you roll 2d20 and take the lowest). Why not include 2d20 in a set aimed at the new edition?
• The guild dice will probably not see much use.

Cons:

• The set can be a bit pricey out of the box, especially compared to other dice manufacturers. Now, the Wizards of the Coast sets often go on sale making them more affordable, but the MSRP is rather high when you can buy sets for 5 bucks at your local game store.

* Denotes nitpicking.

Very nice looking tin, ain't it? 

Introduction

Another set of new books, another set of dice. This time the dice set is released to go with the release of the Ravnica settings. The set features 4 d6s, 1 d20, 1d12, 1d10, 1d8, 1d6, 1d4, and one guild dice in a decorated box. But how is it? Let’s jump into the specifics.

The Specifics

The dice set looks nice. The best way I can describe the appearance is like strands of smoke trapped inside the translucent dice. See the images below, though they don’t quite do them justice. If you prefer solid colours though, or just don’t like the aesthetic, you’ll think differently.

It comes in a rather nice tin with foam that holds the dice. For the tin see above and for the inside see below. 

The dice in all their glory in the tin. 

I think a big missed opportunity is to include a second d20. Advantage and disadvantage are quite frequently used in D&D 5^th edition, and it would be extremely convenient and speed things up to be able to roll both dice at once. Things such as damage rolls can already be handled by rolling the d20 with the damage dice to save time. Since prices have been going up in general, the addition would go over well I think.

The main issue I can see is that the dice are rather pricey. You can get the starter set for around the same, and get an adventure along with your dice. Now, it’s been my experience that these sorts of products often go on sale both online and in store, so it’s possible to find at a reduced price. However at MSRP I think it can be a hard sell, especially when you can buy dice for $5 bucks at local game stores. If you are a collector, or just like the aesthetics and the box, that’s a different story. But in that case you aren’t buying it as just another set of dice, but are after that particular set.

A bit of a closer view on the dice themselves.

Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica Review

Review copy courtesy of Wizards of the Coast.

Pros:

• This one has more art than the last adventure.
• New class options.
• New monsters.
• Art is back in this one. Colours, and tons of it. The maps that are here, such as the Tenth District maps in particular look great. I’m happy to see the edition continuing like this especially since I found Dungeon of the Mad Mage lacking in this regard.

Could Go Either Way:

• New races.
• If you are a stickler for balance, you may not like some of the races here. They generally follow the pattern of a +1 bonus, a +2 bonus, and a race specific ability or two that act like a feat. The Vedalken in particular gets advantage on saving throws for 3 different ability scores, which seems exceptionally powerful.
• This is a Magic the Gathering setting book for D&D. When I discussing this with my group, the first question out of their mouths was: “What? Where’s Planescape, Eberron or Darksun?” Okay, technically there was a digital book released on DMs Guild for Eberron, but they were not officially done yet. However, as a D&D player it might be hard for you to get excited about this particular setting when you have so many other more storied settings (at least in D&D) competing for your time.
• This is one of those ~250 page books. I think in general they could push the page count closer to 300, more like the core books. Settings in particular should be easy to expand so far, especially if more adventure ideas are provided.

Cons:

• Doesn’t cover every district of Ravnica and instead just the Tenth District.
• No PDF*

* Denotes nitpicking.

Cover of Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica.

Introduction

It should come as no surprise that I like setting books. I don’t run many, and the ones I do tend to be my own creation, but they are an interesting source of ideas, and are weirdly fulfilling in a way. Interesting concepts are given, and even if you do the opposite of the settings you just read, such an exercise still comes as inspiration from the original source. When I heard about Guildmasters Guide to Ravnica, I had mixed feelings. Part of me was excited to see a new setting for D&D 5^th edition. The other part of me went: “Huh? A Magic the Gathering Setting before Planescape?” Perhaps I’m the wrong target audience, but though I think the book is interesting as settings ought to be, it was a constant throughout my read.

New Races

Well, they have 6 new stated out races. Humans and elves return with some new setting specific fluff, but there’s nothing mechanical here for them. Your opinion will come down to if you think the classes are stronger than what we’ve seen before. The number of elements is in line with what we’ve seen before. The Vedalken in particular seem to be very powerful with their advantage to saving throws for 3 different stats. And since it’s advantage, it’ll interact with class specific saving throws or feats which add the expertise modifier.

New Monsters and NPCs

I’m always happy to see some setting specific monsters and NPCs. Of course they are always a few changes away from being used in other settings, but hey, that’s why I like them. You get some more melee hitting guys, as you’d expect, however there are some standouts. I really like how the horrors have customization options built right into their section. In fact, I’d love to see more of those in future books. It’s a page efficient way to give many more options and ideas to Dungeon Masters straight out of the box. Of course we can, and will, make our changes but seeing changes other Dungeon Masters have tried and enjoyed is extremely valuable. The flavour in creatures such as a lich made from fungus really help make me want to use some of them, even if I won’t use the setting.

The monsters and NPCs are also easy to transfer to different settings. New angels, undead, demons, and cultists are a few examples. It isn’t as incredibly long as the Monster Manual, but at ~70 pages long (including fluff and lore), it’s a nice addition.

This sort of art is what I most enjoy in all these books. My picture doesn't do it justice.

The Setting

Imagine a city with newspapers and plumbing, but in a state of conflict between a bunch of different faction. However, thanks to an ancient contract, they can’t completely wipe out another. Instead small events spiral due to feedback and manoeuvring from all of the factions. That’s the main sales pitch for the setting. And it’s a solid idea, full of opportunity for interesting campaigns. It’s also the main idea, so if you wanted something else (plane hopping, massive undead blight, going into the dangerous lands to recover forgotten artifacts, travelling through space on a spelljammer), you’re largely out of luck.

The factions get a lot of the page count as you’d expect. And as you’d expect, the differences also extend into the realm of philosophy. Their goals and their ideals differ, but still it’s very possible to have a ragtag mix of different factions. It’s a great source of ideas for factions in your games, and the section on building villains for each faction are particularly interesting and transferable. There’s also some setting specific currencies. My players love that sort of thing.

The maps and description of each of the precincts in the Tenth District are really well done. Especially the maps. I really like the maps. The influence of the guilds, and the feeling of each area gets a heavy emphasis. They also go over crime, guard response, goods, and other aspects of the area that together help flesh out the city. There are even some tables for random people and rumours. You may want to adjust the probabilities so some are more common than others, but I think it’s a really good idea. I hope to see Sigil get this treatment in a new book one day.

The descriptions also don’t overstay their welcome, but I think more explanation and exploration would of been helpful. The book makes it seems like we only got a small part of Ravnica. With a book so named I’d expect all of Ravnica. The other districts didn’t need as much depth, but I think covering them would’ve been beneficial.

A more typical example of the art found in the book. It tends to be stylized like this, but it looks good.

Mini Adventurer

Oh yeah, there’s one in here. Well, if you call 12 pages long an adventure. It’s rather light and involves tracking down an escaped goblin gang mastermind. Investigations, and conflict await you in your search. I’m glad to see an adventure here, even a small one like this. However, I would’ve liked a bigger emphasis on the guilds and guild interactions, since the rest of the book spends so much time building them up. It can grow into that, and as a new Dungeon Master you’ll appreciate it, but I would’ve liked more. Bumping the page content to ~300 pages would’ve really added value.

Art and Maps

Generally, the artwork is back to what we'd expect. There's lot's of it, it's colourful, and it's purposely done to look like a painting. You can see the water colours run at the edges. Just look at any of the images I have included here. For this sort of thing seeing it is a lot better than having it described. They have a fair amount of environment and cityscape images, which tend to be my favourites. I'd also like more, but this book is more generous with artwork than Dungeons of the Mad Mage.

The maps in particular I need to call out. They look really good and I'd love to see more of this style in future books. Keep it coming. It's great. See below to see what I mean. 

See what I mean? Absolutely love it.

But What About the Other D&D Settings?

I briefly mentioned it in my introduction, but we haven’t seen too much straying from the forgotten realms in this edition. We got a little bit with Curse of Strahd, since Barovia is in a pocket plane and corresponds to the old Ravenloft setting, but not much outside of that.

Talking with some of the other Dungeon Masters and players I know, the response was generally similar. They were surprised that there would be such a setting book come out before the other classic D&D settings. And it is those other D&D settings that they were interested in. If you like Magic the Gathering and wanted to play in that setting your opinion might vary. However, I think that there are plenty of other settings that people were wanting before this one.

I had the foresight to record the setting mentioned during our conversations. They include Planescape, Greyhawk, Darksun, and Sprelljammer.

Price

It’s a typical core rulebook. MSRP is 49.94, and for more information see their page here. As always I’d also suggest looking around, since you can often find books for less online or on sale.

What I felt was Missing

A setting should have unique elements that give it a special feel. And there’s usually no better way than presenting an adventure that highlights the special elements that make the setting shine. We have an adventure here, and I’m happy to see it. If anything I want a couple others. I also think that giving some short adventure outlines for inspiration would go a long way. I’d like to see the books edge closer to 300 pages on average, which is more inline with the core books.

They sort of do that with the section giving some ideas and suggestions for villains in the setting, but I’d like a little bit more. Don’t just say “a Dimir wants to erase the memories of a humiliating event”, give a few beats that could happen for inspiration. I guess the best way I can say it succinctly is that I’d like some adventure ideas and outlines, not just plot hooks.

Free Stuff

Nothing to see here. Move along.

Summary

In general I think it’s a solid enough book, but it very much will go over best with people who enjoy both D&D, Magic the Gathering, and wanted to play in the setting. If you aren’t it’s unlikely you’ll be interested outside of stealing ideas and monsters from the book. My players and acquaintances all expressed confusion, since they would have expected and preferred some classic D&D settings. The concept of a massive conflict between multiple factions, all with their own specific methods, and goals is an interesting one. It can easily be run with in your own home brew settings. However, unless you are in that very specific overlap of D&D and Magic the Gathering fan, I can’t see you getting excited about the book. In that case you’ll be better serviced by an adventure that also functions as a setting companion like Out of the Abyss or Curse of Strahd.

Other

• There is also a dice set, which I reviewed here.