Quick Design #2
I’ve been on the lookout for a “chase scene” mechanic for a while now, and I think I may be onto something…
What if we tracked potential relative distance?
I’m imagining a “tug of war” style mechanic, where each action either earns you positive points or negative points. Then, after an agreed upon number of actions the results are scored to reveal if you put enough distance between you and whatever was chasing you
Pencil & Paper / 1D6 / 1D12
First, decide how long the chase scene will be, measured in dice rolls. For the purposes of explaining the rules, I’m going to arbitrarily select “Six Dice Rolls.”
The exact details of the map does not necessarily matter. Instead, each action the player will decide if they are going to:
"Follow The Path" [D6 - 3] Running in a straight line may be the safest action, in that the worst it can set you back is -2, but the most distance it can grant you is +3
"Change Directions" [D12 - 6] Attempt to confuse whatever is chasing you by unexpectedly darting down a different pathway. If done correctly, this move can grant you as much as +6 distance, but if done incorrectly you may lose up to -5
On the last roll, players have a third option:
"Take A Risk" [D20 - 10] Be it taking a short cut by climbing over a chain link fence, or creating an obstacle by knocking over a street vendor’s cart of cabbages, taking a risk can grant you a range between +10 and -9
Scoring: After the last roll, add up the total. If your total is a positive number, then you escaped! If your total is a negative number, whatever was chasing you caught up to you! What happens if you lose should be contingent to what is chasing you…
SCRIB DOON! [write it down]
a roll and write racing game
Pencil & Paper / Set of Polyhedral Dice
Draw Your Podracer
Make a quick doodle of your podracer. Focus on its silhouette and color.
Select A Course:
On a piece of paper, draw a table that has two columns, and a number of rows equal to the number of turns assigned to your selected course.
| Blue Milk Run | 6 Turns |
| Dathomir Derby | 14 Turns |
| Scrapheap Circuit | 12 Turns |
| Gasganos' Gambit | 19 Turns |
| Shadowland Sprint | 13 Turns |
| Tibana Speedway | 10 Turns |
| Ord Mantel Opening | 20 Turns |
| B'omarr Monastery | 8 Turns |
Select An Action
Each turn, select one of three actions. After subtracting the modifier from the die roll, record positive results in the left column, and negative results in right column. If the result is exactly “0” then roll again. Each row may only contain one result.
| Stay on Track | D6 -3 |
| Go Offroad | D12 -6 |
| Break the Rules | D20 -10 |
Describe Your Result
With each recorded result, describe your action and how it effected you and an NPC opponent. You may make up a new opponent each time, or you may reuse opponents.
| Even Result | Friendly NPC |
| Odd Result | Enemy NPC |
Cross The Finish Line
Once a result has been filled into each row, add up all results to determine the final score. If your final score is a positive number, then the score represents how much prize money (Imperial Credits) you earned this race. If your final score is a negative number, that is how much damage your podracer took.
| Positive Score | Credits |
| Negative Score | Damage |
Damaged Podracers
For every 10 damage taken in a single race, assign one of your three actions a -1 modifier token. Damage points do not transfer between races, but -1 modifier tokens will remain with your podracer until repaired.
Repairs and Upgrades
Keep track of your prize money over all of your races. You may spend your money in between races.
$10 Remove one “-1 modifier”
$100 Install a Speed Fluctuator: Replace “D6 -3” with “D6 - D4”
$150 Install a Handling Fluctuator: Replace “D12 -6” with “D12 - D8”
$200 Paint: Change the color of your podracer
$500 Uninstall one Fluctuator
$700 The Cheater’s Rule Book: Replace “D20 -10” with “2D20 -20”
$1,000 Sponsorship Decal: Double prize money
Multiple Players
Like many roll and write games, this is a 1-99 player game. Players will interact with the shared fiction (NPC opponents, environment descriptions, etc) but the game mechanics thus far will not allow players to directly interact with each other.
Specialty Courses
Podracing courses can be more than a number and a vibe.
| Kestar’s Folly | 11 Negative Turns |
Record all results, but only end the race once 11 results have been recorded in the right column (negative results).
The End
Special thanks to my friend Jarret for coming up with all of the standard course names. I had a bunch more course names that were sent to me over on the Prismatic Waystation discord, but Sparky delivered my favorite so I made it the specialty course.