Solo Tales of Argosa Episode 4 "Cut to the Chase"

Previously, in Solo Tales of Argosa... 

Cut and his two teammates have joined in Grindle's pursuit of the fleeing gang consisted of a Doppelganger and the three criminal cultists.

Let the chase begin!

Since the overseer ranger comes into play, .it's time to flesh out his stats:

Grindle the Greedy. Overseer (outpost: Westguard), Lv6 Ranger (human, male, age 40)

S13 D13 C10 I10 P15 W10 Ch10 L8

AC 15 (specially reinforced leather armor & Lv4 bonus), 22 hp 

Short Bow (1d6+1, Shadeleaf Bow), Nat 19: Call to Arms: As weapon, plus 1d4 Guards coming to Grindle's aid 

Skills: Animal Lore, Wilderness Lore, Stealth, Watercraft, Deception, Acrobatics

Unique features (x2): Marksman (1: no penalty for excessive RNG, no reroll when fire into melee), Signature Weapon (Shadeleaf Bow: DMG die explodes.)

Abilities (Ranger): Steady Shot, Second Attack, Sharpshooter, Instinctive Rescue, Cover Fire, Nature's Venom

Oh I almost forgot about the ranger's trusted beast companion:

Robin Hoot. Owl. Beast companion of Grindle's.

S7 D16 C12 I6 P16 W15 Ch8 L8

AC 12 +1 (Grindle’s Perc), 18 hp

Rake 1d4+1 +4 (Lv6), Nat 19: Bloody eyes: target Blind until end of their next turn. Fly (Very Far). Advantage on sight based perception and sees with minimal light. 

These two NPCs should make a pretty competent duo. 

Chase Setup
Chasers: Grindle the Greedy (Lv6 Ranger/Overseer, with his beast companion), Guards #2, #8, #11 (Lv1 human, HD1), PCs: Cut (Lv1 Fighter), Bulfin (Lv1 Barbarian), Sulani (Lv1 Artificer)
Quarry: Doppelganger (HD4), Cultists x3 (HD1, one being a spellcaster)
Starting gap: 1d4(4) + 3 = 7        This doesn't look too good...
Terrain: Plain (right outside the outpost, 6-mile hexes)

[Chase rules summary: Choose a leader for the current Leg > Make an opposed Con(Athletics) check, bigger (success) margin wins > Adjust gap (+/-1, or +/-2 for great success (GS)) > PC Leader rolls for Chase Event. Chase ends when: i) end of the 6th Leg; ii) gap = 0 (Chasers win) or >10 (Quarry escapes); iii) no more valid chasers or quarry; OR vi) special result of a Chase Event.] 

[In what follows, I'd let Grindle (the Overseer) and the Doppelganger to lead the Chase first. Then the guards would compete with our PCs (through an opposed Con(Athletics) check) for taking the lead for in subsequent legs.]

Leg #1 (Length = 7)
- Leader: Chasers = Grindle    vs.    Quarry = Doppelganger
- Opposed Con(Athletics) check:
    Grindle: Con(10) - roll(10) = 0    vs.    Doppelganger: Con(12) - roll(9) = 3   
    Result: Quarry wins. Length +1 (now 8).
- Chase Event (1d20) = 5 "Random setback"

iii. Head Strike: The leader is struck on the head by an object; Con check or Stunned and drop out of the chase. 

Grindle makes a Con check and rolls 20(!!).
The Overseer ranger was hit hard on the head by a malicious flying rock. The world shuts down, dropping him out of the chase immediately. Robin Hoot, his loyal beast companion, stops flying to stay with his master. What a bummer! 

Leg #2 (Length = 8)
- Leader: Chasers = Cut    vs.    Quarry = Cultist #1
- Opposed Con(Athletics) check:
    Cut: Con(15)+Athletics(+1) - roll(18) = -2    vs.    Cultist #1: Con(10) - roll(9) = 1
    Result: Quarry wins. Length +1 (now 8).
- Chase Event (1d20) = 5 "Random setback"      ...Again!?

v. Hostile Third Party: A random PC is beset by a hostile random encounter. The character must make a Luck (Dex) save or drop out of the chase and deal with the random encounter.

Random Encounter (Plains) = 12 (Wolf packs: 8 Wolves & 6 Dire Wolves)    ...What!?

Cut's Luck(Dex) save: 11(+2) vs. roll(17), Failure!    Reroll = 11, Success!  (burning 1 Luck)
Urged by a sense of dread, Cut fishes a few strips of beef jerky out of his pouch and tosses them in the opposite direction. No, the hungry wolf pack is apparently unimpressed and it stays on course. "Aw hell no." He grabs the whole stock of dried meat, spins the loose bag a few times, and hurls it out forcefully far and high above the beasts. The meaty shower right over their head give the predators pause, buying just enough time for the fighter to break away and continue the pursuit. 

Leg #3 (Length = 9)
- Leader: Chasers = Bulfin    vs.    Quarry = Cultist #2
- Opposed Con(Athletics) check:
    Bulfin: Con(17)+Athletics(+1) - roll(7) = 11(GS)    vs.    Cultist #2: Con(10) - roll(15) = -5
    Result: Chasers win. Length -2 (thanks to GS)
- Chase Event (1d20) = 6 "Burst of Speed"    

Burst of Speed: If the party succeed on a Group Con (Athletics) check, they are inspired to dig deep and put on a burst of speed, changing the gap by one length.

    Guards #2, #8, #11: Con(10) vs. rolls(3, 1, 3), all three GS!!
    Cut: Con(15)+Athletics(+1) vs. roll(17) = -1, Failure
    Bulfin: Con(17)+Athletics(+1) vs. roll(12) = 6, Success
    Sulani: Con(11) vs. roll(1) = 10, GS
    i.e. Five Successes (with 4 GS) out of six, reduce Gap by 1


Leg #4 (Length = 6)
- Leader: Chasers = Sulani    vs.    Quarry = Cultist #3
- Opposed Con(Athletics) check:
    Sulani: Con(10) - roll(10) = 0    vs.    Cultist #3: Con(10) - roll(4) = 6
    Result: Quarry wins. Length +1
- Chase Event (1d20) = 10 "Hidey Hole"

Hidey Hole: The quarry locate a viable hiding place. If the PCs are the quarry they make a Group Dex (Stealth) check. If the PCs are the chasers they make a Group Perc (Detection) check. The GM may impose modifiers based on distances, terrain, lighting, senses, and other circumstances. If the quarry succeed they escape! If they fail they are caught. Either way the chase ends.

    The Chasers perform a Group Perc (Detection) check. Terrain is plains, time is shortly after noon, so no additional modifiers apply.
    Guards #2, #8, #11: Perc(12) vs. rolls(14, 4, 13), two Failures, one GS
    Cut: Perc(14)+Detection(+1) vs. roll(9) = 6, Success
    Bulfin: Perc(15) vs. roll(5) = 10, GS
    Sulani: Perc(10) vs. roll(7) = 3, Success
    i.e. Four Successes (2 GS) out of six, the chase ends!!

Being in the lead, the overconfident criminals believe they could outsmart the pursuers by disappearing through a concealed dugout inside a lone hut. However, the pursuers manage to pick up traces of cultist activities when searching through the hut. The adventurers and the guards decide to feign their retreat and set up an ambush. A watch has passed. The four criminals emerge from the small building, only to realise too late that they are surrounded by the same three guards and three strangers...

To be continued...