Jogging and Running

(Optional Rule)

If your DM wants greater precision in a chase, the speeds of those involved in
the chase can be calculated exactly. (But this is time-consuming and can slow
down an exciting chase.) Using this optional rule, a character can always
double his normal movement rate (in yards) to a jog. Thus, a character with a
movement rate of 12 can jog 240 yards in a round. While jogging, a character can
automatically keep going for the number of rounds equal to his Constitution. After
this limit has been reached, the player must roll a successful Constitution
check at the end of each additional round spent jogging. There are no modifiers to
this check. Once a Constitution check is failed, the character must stop and
rest for as many rounds as he spent jogging. After this, he can resume his
jogging pace with no penalties (although the same limitations on duration apply).

If a jogging pace isn’t fast enough, a character can also run. If he rolls a
successful Strength check, he can move at three times his normal rate; if he
rolls a Strength check with a -4 penalty, he can quadruple his normal rate; if he
rolls a Strength check with a -8 penalty, he can quintuple his normal rate.
Failing a Strength check means only that the character cannot increase his speed
to the level he was trying to reach, but he can keep running at the pace he was
at before the failed Strength check. Once a character fails a Strength check to
reach a level of running, he cannot try to reach that level again in the same
run.

Continued running requires a Constitution check every round, with penalties
that depend on how long and how fast the character has been running. There is a
-1 penalty for each round of running at triple speed, a -2 penalty for each
round of running at quadruple speed, and a -3 penalty for each round of running at
quintuple speed (these penalties are cumulative). If the check is passed, the
character can continue at that speed for the next round. If the check is failed,
the character has exhausted himself and must stop running. The character must
rest for at least one turn.

For example, Ragnar the thief has a Strength of 14, a Constitution of 14, and
a movement rate of 12. Being pursued by the city guard, he starts jogging at
240 yards a round. Unfortunately, so do they. His Constitution is a 14, so he can
keep going for at least 14 rounds. He decides to speed up. The player makes a
Strength check, rolling a 7. Ragnar pours on the speed, increasing to 360 yards
per round (triple speed). Some of the guardsmen drop out of the race, but a
few hold in there. Ragnar now has a -1 penalty to his Constitution check. A 13 is
rolled, so he just barely passes.

But one of the blasted guardsmen is still on his tail! In desperation, Ragnar
tries to go faster (trying for four times walking speed). The Strength check is
an 18: Ragnar just doesn’t have any more oomph in him; he can’t run any
faster, but he is still running three times faster than his walking speed. The player
now must roll a Constitution check with a -2 penalty (for two rounds of
running at triple speed). The player rolls the die and gets a 4–no problem! And just
then the last guardsman drops out of the race. Ragnar takes no chances and
keeps running. Next round another Constitution check is necessary, with a -3
penalty. The player rolls an 18. Exhausted, Ragnar collapses in a shadowy alley,
taking care to get out of sight.

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