Medieval & Fantasy Minecraft Roleplaying

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Chases and You

Niko

Lord of Altera
Good
Legend
SirNicholas14
SirNicholas14
Good
As I was perusing the roleplaying tutorials subcategory, I was surprised to see it bereft of guides on how to perform a proper chase. I thought, "Hey, I've been in those!" and decided to make a guide on how to do so. This guide is going to be time consuming in-game, but each step is necessary in order for the maximum enjoyment of your roleplay regardless of the outcome. Please note, this is not meant to be a guide of what you should do, rather what I personally believe is a good way to conduct a chase.

Pre-Chase Flight Check
Before the actual chasing part begins, there are many things that are highly recommended to be discussed beforehand in order to avoid arguments and issues during the chase itself. Below is a checklist of things to discuss.

  • The Consent Level:
Usually these things aren't that playful and fun loving; most often then not, the person who is chasing you is probably not doing so to hug you. With that in mind, both parties should establish an equal consent level to what they think is appropriate. This established level will dictate what actions the chaser and the chasee can do during and after the chase.
  • Physical and Mental Fitness:
The fitness, both physically and mentally, of both parties will determine the rate at which the chaser will catch up to the chasee or vice versa. It is important to use logic with this; physical fitness does not mean strength. Lighter, athletic builds are more suited to prolonged cardiovascular activity than 250 pound bodybuilders. Mental fitness is important in the respect that if either party is not at the top of their game mentally for whatever reason, they will not be at the top of their game physically; again, be logical with this one.
  • Impairments:
Along with fitness, any impairment (injury, heavy armor/weaponry, disability, etc.) will inhibit either party during the chase and should be stated beforehand. Remember, It is Powergaming if you choose to ignore anything that can impair you.
  • Maximum Speed:
Once both parties are aware of everything stated above, or are aware to begin with, it is best that they each state a value for their speed. I recommend using meters per second, since one block in minecraft is one meter cubed. Now, don't go crazy with speed; the fastest one ever recorded that a human can do was done by Usain Bolt, who clocked 28 miles per hour or 13.04 meters per second. Based on this, a good rule of thumb to determine your speed would be if you have a rating of your character's physical fitness out of 10, add +2 to that rating and you have your maximum speed. If you do not have a rating out of 10, just use logic and good judgement to find a value that is agreeable by both parties.

Note: This value is subject to change depending on one's character's impairments, mental fitness, and the environment they are running in. This value is supposed to be treated as the maximum speed either character can reach, unhindered and on relatively flat terrain.
  • Following Distance:
Usually, chases begins with the chasee having a head-start. Like speed, it is also recommended to assign a numerical value for the distance between the two parties and use the difference between both parties speeds as the rate at which that distance will shrink or expand.

Note: Like speed, this value is also subject to change, largely depending on the environment the chase is taking place. This is to be treated as the starting distance, the chaser and chasee begin with.

In the Thick of It
Now that the pre-chase check is over, the chase can commence. During the chase, there are very many factors presented by each specific environment that chases can occur in. In most cases, the best way to handle various environments is to use common sense and good judgement. There are several fundamental components that need to happen, however, in order for the role-play to be most enjoyable and fair.
  • Emotes:
The first thing that needs to happen are the starting emotes of both parties. Usually, the person who is being chased, will give his first emote saying something along the lines of *bolts in this specific direction* and the chaser will emote something like *bolts after him/her*. Once both parties have said their starting emotes, they can begin running.

It is emotes during the chase itself that can become problematic. If at any time, either party stops moving, unless otherwise stated, always assume that person is trying to type something and immediately stop yourself, so that both the chasee can type out whatever needs to be typed out and that you will save time by not having to guess where you were when the other person paused. Now, this can become quite problematic if the chaser needs to type something, since the chasee cannot see him or her. The best way to alert the other person in this case is to double tap "T" (the chat key) and hit enter. This is the quickest possible way to send a message to either party if one cannot see the other.
  • The Environment:
It is important to retain good situational awareness during the chase, as in paying attention to any signs describing the environment or obvious features. It is best to pause the chase, read, and type a reaction emote rather than to pass a sign that describes how the giant bush you ran through was filled with poisonous spiders.

Using the environment against either party is also an integral part of the chase. Again, there are so many examples of how this can occur that it should simply be left to use common sense and good judgement.
  • Collateral Damage:
A chase can and will take you through very many locations and properties owned by many different people and therefore collateral damage must be addressed. Any collateral damage should only occur if the party has been given permission by the owner for them to cause damage to the property. If the way you want to use the environment will result in damaging someone else's property it either change the emote so that there is no lasting damage or if there is no way to avoid damage, do not send the emote at all unless permission is given.
  • Fatigue:
For prolonged chases, fatigue will easily ensue on both parties and will ensue faster or slower depending on the character's physical fitness. You yourself know your character best, so instead of relying on an elaborate system, it will save time and effort if you react honestly and realistically to how your character would react to intense physical activity. If there is an issue of fairness regarding how any party is roleplaying, do not be afraid to pause the chase to discuss the issue with the other party.

Ending The Chase
Now this is the point at which the fun must end and the outcome must happen. There are one of two ways to end a chase, either the chaser catches up to the chasee and does an emote or the chasee loses his or her pursuer(s).

If the chaser catches up to what he or she is pursuing, then the chaser may perform an emote. Realistically, this should happen when the chaser gets within less than 2 meters of the chasee. To some degree, the chasee can counter emote, since he or she can hear the chaser approaching and can periodically glance back to see the pursuer, making the counter emote all the more realistic.

If the chaser loses sight of his or her target, then at the most, the chaser can go to the last known location of the chasee and search from there. If the target is seen, the chase begins again or some other conflict will, if not, depending on how determined the chaser is, he or she will perform a search. This can last until the chaser gives up, or if the chasee hides so well, there is no chance he or she will be found.

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This guide may seem to be very tedious and time consuming in practice, but if you know your character well, and stick to common sense, the pointers presented in this guide can become intuitive fairly quickly.
 
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