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Cybermancy Driving and Chase Rules

High-speed pursuits are a natural extension of Cybermancy’s kinetic storytelling. Vehicles tear through tight corridors, thread impossible gaps in traffic, vault obstacles, and exchange fire while engines scream. To support these scenes without relying on maps or tactical grids, Cybermancy expands Daggerheart’s Chase Countdown (Core Rulebook, p.163) into a flexible, multi-vehicle chase system.

Core Concepts

Chase Dice

Every participating vehicle receives a die with the same number of sides. A smaller die produces a shorter chase; a larger die represents a longer pursuit. This die is the Chase Die.

  • Chasing vehicles begin at the maximum value on the die.
  • The fleeing vehicle begins at a lower value, representing its head start.

If the fleeing vehicle reaches 0 first, it escapes. If any chaser reaches 0 first, the chase closes and vehicles come to a stop.

Range Bands

Distance between vehicles is abstracted through the difference between their Chase Dice values. For any two vehicles, compute:

Δ = |Chaser Die – Chased Die|

This determines combat range:

  • Δ = 0 → Melee
  • Δ = 1 → Very Close
  • Δ = 2 → Close
  • Δ = 3 → Far
  • Δ = 4 → Very Far
  • Δ = 5+ → Out of Range

Chase Environment

All chases occur within a Chase Environment, which functions like any other Daggerheart environment but represents a large, abstracted space.

A Chase Environment may include:

Environmental Events — sudden hazards, oncoming vehicles, pedestrians, debris, or other narrative prompts. Police Countdown — a clock tracking the arrival of law enforcement.

  • The clock decreases whenever a player rolls Fear on a Drive check or fails a Drive check outright.
  • When the countdown reaches 0, police enter the scene.

Drive Checks

Whenever a driver is Spotlighted, they must make a Drive check before taking their action. The target number is the Environment Difficulty.

Results:

Critical Success

  • Adjust the vehicle’s Chase Die by –2 to +2 (player’s choice).
  • All passengers gain +1 on their next action.

Success with Hope

  • Adjust the Chase Die by –1 to +1.
  • Passengers receive +0 on their next action.

Success with Fear

  • No change to the Chase Die.
  • Passengers take –1 on their next action.

Failure

  • Increase the Chase Die by +1.
  • Passengers take –2 on their next action.

Passenger Actions

Passengers act normally during their spotlight. Attack range is determined using the Range Bands above.

Ending a Chase

A chaser may voluntarily end the pursuit at any time. A fleeing vehicle escapes only by reducing its Chase Die to 0.

Ability Use

Different abilities may be used for Drive checks if the player narrates how that trait governs their driving approach. Finesse is the most common choice, but creative alternatives are appropriate when justified.

Assisting

Characters may use Help an Ally to support a Drive check in the same manner as any other skill test.