Page 72 - World of Darkness

Exceptional Success: The driver gains a great deal of driver gets an equal number or more, your char-
ground through a mixture of luck and capability. Perhaps acter has to resort to successive attempts (which
the driver downshifts and cuts between two vehicles at are also contested), or he’s left behind.
just the right moment, darting down the shoulder of the If he does catch up, your character’s free
road and picking up precious yards. action could be to jump aboard, shoot at any-
Suggested Equipment: For a list of sample vehicles, one in the vehicle at close range, swing a weapon
see p. 146 (+1 for every three points difference between at someone within reach, or (if your character
Acceleration traits) has the power) attack the vehicle itself (see
Possible Penalties: Bad weather (-1 to -3), slippery “Charging,” p. 164).
conditions (-2), obstacles (-1 to -3), vehicle damage (see If your character does not try to jump aboard,
“Vehicles,” p. 141) he can perform one action or attack before the
vehicle is out of reach. Unless it is disabled as a
result of his attack, the vehicle passes out of reach
afterward. If your character does try to jump
Catching Vehicles on Foot aboard, roll his Dexterity + Athletics. At least
It’s inevitable in any action-filled game that a one success is required. A dramatic failure indi-
character on foot seeks to catch up with and cates that he wipes out and suffers a point of
attack or jump aboard a moving vehicle. For most bashing damage. On a failure, he doesn’t get
ordinary people it’s a desperate challenge. For aboard but remains on his feet. The vehicle drives
inhuman beings capable of moving like a blur, out of his reach altogether. If your character does
more opportunities are available. It’s assumed get aboard, roll Initiative if combat breaks out
that the vehicle starts from a dead stop or trav- between him and any passengers.
els at some speed and passes near your charac- If passengers are aware of your character
ter. throughout the chase, they might stage attacks
No matter how quickly a character can at him while he pursues. In that case, roll Initia-
move, the number of chances he has of catching tive for everyone involved. Your character’s ac-
an accelerating and/or speeding vehicle are lim- tion each turn is dedicated to catching up, while
ited. Basically, he has only a few opportunities his opponents’ are dedicated to attacking (prob-
to grab hold before the vehicle is out of reach. ably with Firearms). For range purposes, assume
Your character runs as fast as he can to even that your character is within a few yards of the
approach or reach out to a moving vehicle. For vehicle throughout the period in which he tries
each 10 full Speed that your character has, you to catch up. If he runs out of rolls, the vehicle
can roll his Stamina + Athletics + equipment to pulls away.
get within reach. Each roll requires one turn in Use Suggested Equipment and Possible Pen-
which your character can do nothing but run. If alties from “Foot Chase,” on p. 65.
the roll succeeds, he catches up to the vehicle
and is allowed one free action outside the nor-
mal turn sequence (explained more fully below).
If your initial roll to catch up fails, your char- Vehicle Tailing
acter may keep trying. Each extra effort requires Dice Pool: Wits + Drive + vehicle Handling (tail)
a turn and is treated as a successive attempt (see versus Wits + Composure + equipment (subject)
p. 132). Thus, his second attempt incurs a -1 pen- Action: Contested
alty on the Stamina + Athletics roll, his third at- Tailing is a stealthy form of pursuit in which the pur-
tempts suffers a -2 penalty, and so on. Your char- suer attempts to follow a subject without being detected.
acter can make one attempt to catch up for each Rather than depending on fast reflexes to stay close, the
10 full Speed that he has. Thus, a character with pursuer engages in a game of alertness with his unsuspect-
10 Speed can make one attempt. A character ing opponent, hanging back just far enough to keep the
with 12 Speed can also make only one attempt. subject in sight while blending in with surrounding traf-
A character with a Speed of 9 or less can make fic.
one attempt as well, but a chance roll is made When your character attempts to tail a vehicle, make
instead of the usual Stamina + Athletics roll. a Wits + Drive + equipment roll. In this case, “equip-
If the driver of the vehicle is aware of your ment” is equal to the vehicle’s Handling (see p. 146) as
character’s efforts to catch up, it becomes a con- your character speeds up, slows down or makes turns to
tested action. Your character’s Stamina + Ath- avoid being spotted.
letics + equipment is rolled against the driver’s Tailing is a contested action. A Wits + Composure
Dexterity + Drive + Handling. If your character roll is made for the subject. His equipment modifier is not
gets the most successes, he catches up. If the based on the maneuverability of his own vehicle, but on

71
PHYSICAL SKILLS- DRIVE