Overland Pursuit in the Colony of Death

For tracking parties across the Colony of Death. A simple overland chase system for use with any old school or traditional RPG.  

 

Use 10-mile hexes to cross the Maryland frontier. 

  

 

Travel speed is determined by terrain. This table assumes travel by horse or canoe.

Terrain	Travel Speed
Road/Trail/Waterway	5 hexes/day
Forest/Hills	3 hexes/day
Swamp/Mountains	2 hexes/day

There are few roads in the colony except for in or around one of the major settlements (St. Mary's, Kent Fort, or Providence). 

Forest hexes are Green, Hill hexes are light brown, Mountain hexes are brown. Any hex between rivers (blue lines) may be considered Swamp hexes.  

Tracking Roll

At the end of each day the pursuer makes a tracking roll. The base chance for this roll is 4-in-6. Possible modifiers might include:

+1         if the PCs left obvious evidence behind
+1         if locals saw or spoke to them
-1         if it has rained
-2         if the PCs deliberately covered their tracks

If successful, the pursuer moves 1 hex closer.

 

Closing the Distance

With each day of pursuit, the pursuer will get closer. Consult the table below to close in and trigger a confrontation. 

 

Distance Categories

Far	10+ hexes
Trailing	5-9 hexes
Closing In	1-4 hexes
Contact	Same hex

 

Confrontation

Once the distance is at Contact, a confrontation will occur. When the hunter finally catches up, roll or choose how to handle the confrontation. 

 

1	Night Ambush
2	Parley
3	Attempt Capture
4	Shadow the Party