The Chase
They see a man carrying a chihuahua. A woman behind him is shouting. The dog is barking happily at the excitement. A crowd of gawkers (толпа зевак) forms between them and the running man. How will they get through?
- Perception to find a way around
- Acrobatics to squeeze through
- Strength to push people out of the way
The man heads south along Набережной реки Сестры. On the other side of the river, there is a green fence cutting off some of the view of the old factory. The sidewalk is full of people, bicyclists, kids on scooters, people selling ice cream and cold drinks. The man runs along the sidewalk, dodging people, sometimes running into the street to get around them. The heroes have to deal with people stopping to stare, bicyclists swerving, rollerbladers falling, and an old woman angrily waving a walking pole at the man. What do they do?
- Steal a bicycle? Strength, intimidation, charm.
- Just keep running?
- Local area knowledge? There are only two places to cross the river between here and the разлив.
- Bus? Taxi?
He knocks over an ice cream cart. Do they jump over? Try to get through the crowd?
There is a locked gate in the green barrier. The man slides under.
Do they:
- Using a map or local area knowledge, continue on to the bridge and bluff their way inside?
- Squeeze under the fence?
- Pick the lock?
Inside the man splashes across the disgusting river and into the factory grounds. He runs through an abandoned building.
Do they:
- Swim across the river? Probably it is possible and will gain them some time.
- Splash across the river?
- Try to find another way across?
- Follow him through the abandoned building? There is a lot of broken glass and junk, so they need to avoid falling.
- Using a map or local area knowledge, they can guess that he will come out in one of two places, since most of the factory is walled off.
The man tears out of the factory, continuing south along the разлив. He runs across a street. One one side is the Водосливной канал and on the other side the разлив. The street is full of traffic. He unlocks the door on a round-topped building and closes it behind him.
How do they cross the street?
- Simple (Acrobatics, attack an object) – barrels, gate, street vendor’s blanket, etc.
- Barrier (Acrobatics) – fruit cart, unexpected turn
- Wall (Climb) – traditional “end of alley” wall, fence
- Gap (Acrobatics/Jump) – ditch, open manhole, pit
- Traffic (Acrobatics/Overrun) – pedestrians, mule team, orc pirates
- Squeeze (Escape Artist) – crawlspace, hole in wall
- Water (Swim) – river, wharf, pool, fountain
- Terrain (Acrobatics) – gravel, mud bank, slick cobblestones
What if
- They catch him?
- He refuses to tell them where the dogs are. Angry townsfolk attack him with handbags, forming a crowd and pushing the heroes away. A little boy asks, "What if the dogs starve?!?!"
- He completely escapes?
- The heroes can follow his tracks, look nearby for clues (like a huge bag of dog food for tiny dogs in a nearby dumpster), or just search. They could also listen or sniff for the dogs.
- They follow him to his lair?
- He locks the door behind him.
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