Every swashbuckling story will inevitably include at least one good chase scene. The cinematic style of 7th Sea is perfect for this. But I found the rules from the GM guide to be a little lacking in this area, so we have come up with some house rules that have made chase scenes a lot of fun.
Per the rules, a chase is basically a series of contested rolls, and the only time any random event occurs is when there are no raises gained or lost on a particular roll.
To make the scene more exciting, the chase should be thought of a series of obstacles for the parties in the chase to encounter. Time, distance, speed - it's all relative. The chase is all about encountering an obstacle and what the players do to get past it.
So the basic chase scene rules are simple. Establish the fleeing party's head start with a simple roll. This can be any Trait + Knack, not always Finesse. Award 1 "Raise" per 10 on the roll. If there is more than one character in the fleeing party, have each player roll separately and establish separate head starts. If the fleeing party wants to stick together, then they have to use the lowest roll of the group.
Now, for each round thereafter, the GM will describe an obstacle. Imagination can run wild here. This can be anything. Each player can decide his/her own method for getting past the obstacle, and then make the appropriate roll. Lowest roll establishes the TN for the chasing party, who also decides on their method for getting past the obstacle. Chasing party makes a roll (or separate rolls). If the chasers make the TN, they narrow the gap by 1 raise and an additional raise per 10 that the TN is beaten. If the chasers miss the TN, the fleeing party gains 1 Raise and an additional raise per 10 the TN was missed by.
Repeat until the Raises are reduced to 0 (Caught!) or advanced to 10 (Escaped!).
Feel free to add modifiers for conditions (examples: extra unkept dice for Street Navigation, minuses for running barefoot over hard terrain).
For the GM, the set-up is simple. If you have a map of the area that the chase will occur in, great. But, if not, no worries. The only prep on the part of the GM is to have a few ideas ready for possible obstacles, then set up each round with a new obstacle.
Example: Magnus and Gerard are being chased by a group of 4 Eisen mercenaries. Magnus has a lot of Brawn, but not much Finesse. Gerard has a lot of Finesse, but not a lot of Brawn. Obstacle one is an apple cart blocking the path. Gerard decides to deftly avoid it, so he rolls his Finesse + Footwork. Magnus decides to run it over (and drop a couple of coins for the merchant on the way through), so he rolls his Brawn + Footwork. The Eisen mercenaries are considered TL 2 Brutes, so they roll 4k2.
Example: Same chase, but next obstacle is the Baron's wife and her entourage. Gerard and Magnus know that they cannot simply run past or through this group, so they decide that they will stop, bow graciously, and compliment her on the color of her dress - a royal shade of blue that matches the beautiful afternoon sky. How about a Panache + Etiquette roll? The Brutes, on the other hand, will have a hard time matching a good TN, so they will lose ground arguing with the Baroness' personal guard.
This setup will reward the creativity of the players and make the chase a lot more fun than simply rolling for a random event at the end of the contested roll.
