opposed skills are nice, but i'd suggest that your players are your greatest assets here. depending on your villan, they may have just put up a bunch of bounty posters in the local town, relying on a whole bunch of bounty hunters going in and only one lot getting the bounty. this is great minion to cash economy, and gives you a great excuse to have lots of small groups stumbling around trying to find the pcs. some are competent,and will provide tension for the PCs as they narrowly avoid detection (hiding from prying eyes spells, growing paranoid of familiars and animal companions) while at the same time turning the tables on the less powerful groups (think what rambo did in first blood.)
let the players get inventive about how they lose or defeat the groups, giving them their victories and excitement while still keeping the other groups on their tail and closing. you should probably work out the general tactics of each group, some of whom may try to get around the whole 'chase' with an ambush or two. use checks when needed, but let the players creativity take center stage
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Okay so this is just off the top of my head, and will require some tweaking.
You need the following:
Hex Paper place the PCs in the middle of the Hex Paper. They do not know where their enemies are.
The Edge of the Hex paper is a "safe" zone. Each hex represents 4 hours worth of travel time.
During the player's turn the party may:
- Move up to 4 Hexes.
- Scout: Stealth Checks vs Opposing Team's Perception checks. If successful the scout reports the locations of any MONSTERS or OPPOSING TEAMS within 2 Hexes. (Time Cost: 1 Hex of Movement)
- Search for Traps (PC's Perception vs Opponent's Craft (Trapmaking)). A failed check in a trapped hex results in losing 1 Hex of movement, and a random PC falling prey to a trap of the party's APL. (Usually a pit trap)
- Leave Traps (Any opposing force must make a Perception check vs the PC's Craft (Trapmaking) check or lose 2 Hexes of movement. If the PCs beat the opponent's Perception by 10 or More the opponent's team permanently lose 1 hex of speed.(Time Cost: 1 Hex of Movement)
- Hide Tracks Survival vs Opponent's Survival if the opponents cross any hex the PCs have been in (mark the DC in the hex). (Time Cost: 1 Hex of Movement)
- Hunt for Food (Time Cost: 1 Hex of Movement). DC 10 Check provides Check Result divided by 5 days worth of food.
- Leave a false trail - Survival vs Opponent's Perception if successful opponents must move to an adjacent hex of the PC's choice. (Time Cost: 1 Hex of Movement).
- Lead a Chase (Must be in same hex as opponents): PCs make Acrobatics, Ride or Swim vs Opponent's same. If successful the opponents become Mired (losing 2 hexes of movement). (Time Cost: None, considered part of movement).
- Lead Monsters to the enemy, if the PCs find a monster lair, they may "Lead a Chase" if they can lead the monster to the enemy before it catches them, the enemy and the monster fight. (Treat as opposed CR checks, with the winner killing or routing the loser GM's choice).
- Fight: The PCs can attempt to fight some of the opponent's skirmishers (treat as a combat of CR equal to the party's APL) - Must be in same hex as opponents. (Cost: 1 Hex of Movement).
- Perform a Ruse: The PCs may attempt to trick guards that they are but simple peasants but have seen the PCs elsewhere. The PCs make Bluff or Disguise Checks vs the Opponent's Sense Motive or Perception Checks. If successful the Opponents move in a direction of the PC's choosing. The Opposing team may make Sense Motive checks every hex moved to become aware of the ruse. (A failed check results in a fight) (Cost: 1 Hex of movement to prepare the disguises).
- Make Camp: The PCs make a camp and rest to recover HP and Spells (Cost: 2 Hexes of movement to recover spells, 1 Hex of movement if just recovering). If the PCs do not make Camp at least once a day they must make Fortitude Saves (DC 15 + Number of days awake) or become fatigued. Fatigued PCs become exhausted. Exhausted PCs fall unconscious. The DC resets after 4 hours rest. PCs may choose to hide their camp sight, with a Stealth Check vs their Opponent's Perception.
If the PCs survive to reach the edge of the hex map, or all opposing teams are dead then they are "safe".
On the GMs turn he may move each of his "OPPOSING TEAMS" up to 4 Hexes from the edge of the field. Use a d6 to determine the movement of the opposition. Opposing Teams may use the following:
- Lay Traps: (1 Hex of Movement) (Craft Trapmaking).
- Search for Tracks & Traps: Opposing Teams automatically find tracks in any hex the PCs did not hide their tracks, the Opposing team no longer rolls randomly for direction while following tracks. Otherwise they spend 1 Hex of movement Making a Perception check.
- Scout: Stealth vs. PC's Perception. If the PCs win then they spot the scouts and either fight them (Treat as APL -2 encounter) or hide from them (Stealth vs Perception).
- Make Camp: (Cost: 1 Hex of movement for non-spellcasting groups, 2 hexes for any group with casters).
- Fight Monsters: If the opposing team wanders into a monster lair then they must make a CR check against that monster (allow PCs to roll for the monster's CR check). (1 Hex of movement).
Anyway hope this helps.
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How about asking the players what they are going to do. Then hand them each an NPC and tell them they are the party of bad guys hunting themselves. Give each NPC a short backstory and personality and let the players play them based on that.
It gives the players something different to do and a change up is nice. It also lets them really understand what bad guys were doing when they were chasing them down. It also gives them a different look at their enemy. It is a nice way to throw details to the players that they may miss otherwise. And it is fun.
That is a good idea. If you want to play it differently.
When I have run chases over long distances I usually play it by ear. I have a group of hunters catch up (how? who cares). Roll perception on both sides. Highest perception sees the other group first.
Here is the key. Once the party is spotted by the hunters they will try to get more hunters to help with capture. So if the party attacks as many hunters as possible try to get away. The more they let get away the bigger the next group is. You start with a set number of hunters and once they are gone then this particular chase is over.