D&D 5E Melee combat on the run

[jgsugden]

Battle mats are for static battle fields. For anything where people are moving away or towards a distant location, I use either theater of the mind, or a relative battle field - a pretty much blank battle field where I move the minimal scenery around the PCs/monsters and only show the relative distance between them moving.

 

[Asisreo]

All that means in my view is that the chase is likely short-lived as compared to a faster creature, not that it's inappropriate to transition to a chase scene using the chase rules. Chasing down and killing a fleeing tarrasque while dealing with complications in its wake is the stuff of exciting, memorable stories. I don't see any downsides here.

Edited to add: Tarrasques can move at 140 ft./round including its Legendary Actions. At least some PCs may not be able to keep up with that pace depending on the party composition. Some may have to spend resources to do so.

Don't forget complications! If the ones in the book doesn't work for you, come up with some on the fly. It's a large, high-fantasy fight so have high-fantasy hazards like a massive ravine, a bulette colony passing through, a wyvern swarm. Make it interesting even when you're caught off-guard.

 

[iserith]

Don't forget complications! If the ones in the book doesn't work for you, come up with some on the fly. It's a large, high-fantasy fight so have high-fantasy hazards like a massive ravine, a bulette colony passing through, a wyvern swarm. Make it interesting even when you're caught off-guard.

Me, above: "Chasing down and killing a fleeing tarrasque while dealing with complications in its wake is the stuff of exciting, memorable stories."

 

[Hriston]

Though the rules state that the chase ends when the pursuers are close enough to the quarry to catch it, the DM doesn't have to drop out of the chase rules simply because some of the PCs go adjacent to the quarry. Attacks can take place during a chase, just not OAs. Just continue the chase scene as normal.

What you seem to be proposing is a chase with a starting distance of 5 feet, so it isn’t so much that the PCs go adjacent to their quarry, it’s that they never stopped being adjacent to their quarry. To me, this approach seems arbitrary and inconsistent with the normal combat rules for opportunity attacks. I think the chase rules are written with participants in mind who aren’t within melee range of each other and that the prohibition against opportunity attacks is a bit of a slip up because it isn’t something that would “normally” happen anyway.

 

[iserith]

What you seem to be proposing is a chase with a starting distance of 5 feet, so it isn’t so much that the PCs go adjacent to their quarry, it’s that they never stopped being adjacent to their quarry. To me, this approach seems arbitrary and inconsistent with the normal combat rules for opportunity attacks. I think the chase rules are written with participants in mind who aren’t within melee range of each other and that the prohibition against opportunity attacks is a bit of a slip up because it isn’t something that would “normally” happen anyway.

The rules serve the DM, not the other way around, right? See @billd91's post above.

 

[Weiley31]

Id handle stuff like that as a Skill Challenge. Especially if I wanted to mimic the idea of Wall Running across a wall, jumping off of it Assassins Creed Style, and then do the Skill Check. If the PC success, then the character takes out a target instantly ala Tenchu/Assassins Creed. If a failure happens, roll for initiative and combat rounds.

Ya can't use it to one hit kill everything, for moments like that it would be good.

 

[robus]

Edited to add: Tarrasques can move at 140 ft./round including its Legendary Actions. At least some PCs may not be able to keep up with that pace depending on the party composition. Some may have to spend resources to do so.

As I noted earlier, the PCs had set up a killing field, so there really wasn’t much room to maneuver. It was the last desperate (and hopeless) attempt by the creature to save it’s neck, but it wasn’t going to get far.

 

[iserith]

As I noted earlier, the PCs had set up a killing field, so there really wasn’t much room to maneuver. It was the last desperate (and hopeless) attempt by the creature to save it’s neck, but it wasn’t going to get far.

Sure, but I've stopped talking about your specific situation a while ago in favor of chases in general (or chases with tarrasques in this case).

 

[Hriston]

The rules serve the DM, not the other way around, right? See @billd91's post above.

I have two issues with that post. First, I don’t think we’re talking about opportunity attacks that would only occur because of segmented turn structure. And second, I think the combat rules handle this situation just fine. The rules serve the DM, sure, but as a player, I wouldn’t be happy with a DM that used that as an excuse to rob my character of opportunity attacks.

 

[robus]

Sure, but I've stopped talking about your specific situation a while ago in favor of chases in general (or chases with tarrasques in this case).

Ah, sorry, I missed that.