On Sat, 12 Jun 2004 03:28:19 -0000, Dave Hill <dave@...>
wrote:

> Does that make sense, or am I missing something simple and obvious
> here?

It looks mostly on the ball to me. The caveat I'm going to point out is
just interpretation, and not Fate law, so take it with several small
masses of sodium chloride if need be. :)

To me, you don't need two different challenge grids to determine damage to
the car and progress in the chase. Ultimately, all the challenge grid
measures is progress toward some goal, regardless of what that goal is.
You can generalize all dude vs. dude challenge grids as thus:

MoS 0 = Inconclusive (no palpable progress toward the goal)
MoS 1 = Minor (slight momentary progress toward the goal)
MoS 2-4 = Moderate (slight permanent progress toward the goal)
MoS 5-6 = Major (significant permanent progress toward the goal)
MoS 7+ = Overwhelming (achievement of goal)

So, this being said, a chase scene where two people are trying to outrun
one another, a chase scene where two people are trying to shoot each
other, and a chase scene where one person is shooting and the other is
trying to get away - these are all functionally the same thing. In one
case it's Driving vs. Driving, then Gunfighting vs. Gunfighting, then
Gunfighting vs. Driving. Victory in an exchange can quickly be described
in all cases; let's consider a Hurt result (MoS 2-4) for each.

Driving vs. Driving = One dude manages to manuever the other dude into a
limited segment of road or rough terrain, or maybe just plain bumps into
his opponent's car and rattles something loose. The opponent takes -1 for
the rest of the chase scene.

Gunfighting vs. Gunfighting = Same as combat, with damage being described
either to the driver or the car, depending on the victor's stated goal.

Driving vs. Gunfighting (Driving wins) = The driver manages to position
his car in some way relative to the other car that it makes solid,
damaging hits more difficult. The shooter takes -1 for the scene.

Driving vs. Gunfighting (Gunfighting wins) = The shooter puts a bullet in
the engine block somewhere, loosens an axle that was hanging low, puts a
bullet in the windshield, or inflicts a grazing wound on the driver. The
driver takes a -1 for the rest of the scene.

To me, it seems counter-intuitive to have a seperate challenge grid for
each person depending on whether or not they're chasing or shooting. What
you should have is a challenge grid for each opponent in the scene, with
as many boxes as are necessary to make the scene as interesting or long or
dramatic as you want it to be, and just describe the results according to
what skills the person wants to use on the challenge and what the stated
goals are.

If one person's goal changes mid-scene, then, it's GM descretion whether
or not that negates all their previous progress in the grid or not.
Consider, though, that if a player's stated goal is "getting away from my
pursuer" and he chooses to start shooting at said pursuer, that can be
considered a means to an end for that goal also, and hence use the same
challenge grid for both.


-Landon Darkwood <darkwood@...>