[X] My Assistant

[Aerospider]

I know there are many who consider the chase combat rules not worth bothering with, but I'm intent on giving it a go at least once so please try to stay positive!

My concern here is, how do I keep it interesting for the rigger? The team vehicle is unarmed so all he has to worry about is driving. However, the rules state that he only has to spend one action per turn keeping the vehicle under control. He can perform a maximum of one stunt per turn and this stunt counts as keeping the vehicle under control. So he's chasing down the quarry and is at anything but short range, meaning the only stunt option is maneuver. Until he can close the gap to short range, all I can see for him to do is roll the opposed vehicle test at the start of the turn, then a vehicle test on his first action to get more dice on his next opposed vehicle test and then check his e-mails for his remaining two actions.

It seems as though the time for the rigger to shine and grab the limelight will for the most part be limited to a series of complicated dice rolls interspersed with passed actions.

How can I make him more involved?

[James McMurray]

How can I make him more involved?

Ask him what sorts of things he'd like to do in a chase combat?

And use my random chase generator to keep the terrain varied.

[Teulisch]

if the rigger has even one drone in the fight, he can stay busy. if you get a medium flying drone, you combine the bonus of an eye in the sky with a mobile weapons platform. if you dont have one, then see if the hacker can spoof and steal one for you.

give the rigger choices when driving- do something safe, or do something risky and cool which gives the team a bonus? if he can start driving on the sidewalk, jumping ramps to change streets, and shooting through a narrow gap in gridguide traffic, i suspect he will have more fun.

[Vuron]

If he's a hacker/rigger then he could be trying to hack the other vehicle's systems (shut down engine, etc), or hacking the grid system so that you avoid traffic, running other drones can be useful as well.

I'm not sure how much fun it's going to be to do a old school car chase with no weaponry. Chase scenes are fun in movies but that's because they are typically 1 driver vs another driver or group of drivers. In a team game having to sit around watching someone else run a complicated series of chase actions while you do nothing can be frustrating. By a similar token the dedicated wheelman can get bored waiting for his turn to shine.

Unless someone absolutely wants to play a dedicated vehicle rigger (ugh!) it seems like it might be easier to go with a highly cinematic yet ultimately handwavey method of handling chases.

[Ryu]

There is Active Target Aquisition (The Precious pg. 171), providing data for Information-Guided Indirect Fire (Arsenal pg. 162). Nice incentive for the team to follow the riggers target selection. Even better if there is indeed a friendly/"befriended" combat drone arround.

Another option is talking to rigger friends to set up traps and deceptions for the opposing party.

[Mayhem_2006]

My gettaway driver, unbeknownst to the team, had a solar powered blimp in a holding pattern of over the city upon which he rented out advertising space.

During one difficult chase, he handed over control of the team van to one of the others (who was very much "what the hell, man? This is your job!") so that said blimp could swing down over the road, pop open its concealed turret and strafe the guys following us with twin linked HMGs...

Given more funding, I'd probably set it up as a carrier for a couple of small flying attack drones. No need to avoid the blimp itself, then.

[Yerameyahu]

Man. The driver doesn't get to shoot anything for several turns!? Perish the thought. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

I agree with the others: the rigger should always have at least a few extra drones. And/or, he should be a hacker, with the attendant millions of options at all times.