One of the problems I've seen with most game systems is the necessity of nailing down and quantifying a creature's speed. While this is certainly an important value, especially when combat begins, it carries with it an unfortunate implication—you're either always faster or slower or equally quick when compared to anything else. In other words... chase scenes are big problems in RPGs, since those static Speed statistics imply that you're either guaranteed to catch a slower foe or that you'll NEVER catch a faster foe or a foe that's as fast as you. Which is a shame, since chases have such promise to be exciting encounters (as anyone who's seen The French Connection, Raiders of the Lost Ark, or any of the Bourne movies can attest.)
Countless game designers have come up with different ways to simulate chase scenes in RPGs over the years—some of their solutions are quick and elegant, while others are needlessly complex and dull. In my opinion, chase rules should be fast and simple and exciting, and when I realized there's a scene in Nicolas Logue's "Edge of Anarchy" that had an exciting chase across the rooftop slums of Korvosa (a region called "The Shingles" by the locals), I knew that here was a chance for me to take a stab at coming up with some chase rules of my own.
Alas, I don't have room to go into the details here, but the basic concept is this: the region in which the chase takes place is represented by several pieces of paper on which are listed skill checks to navigate obstacles. A character can opt to just move one piece of paper a turn, or can utilize several different skill checks to move two or three pieces in a turn, thus risking a fall or other delay in order to close the gap between himself and his quarry. It makes for an even more abstract simulation than combat, sure, but in the end, the haste in which it all plays out goes a long way toward establishing the high-speed thrill of a chase through dangerous terrain. The last thing you want during a chase, after all, are bored players!
