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Right. IMO that's just the normal part of the conversation that is playing a TTRPG.

The spell does not say anything about changing the creature's personality or awareness or anything else. It plants a singular, specific compulsion in the target's mind. The target then follows that compulsion as if of its own free will. The flee command requires it move away from the target the...

I still don't understand, given the history of the game, how so many people have convinced themselves that 5E is the holy grail, forever edition and best possible version of D&D. I like 5E (If I'm a little bored with it's dusty mid '10s design) but it certainly isn't the final form of D&D.

Sure?

Again, if we talk about railroading as something the GM does, then we can break the implicit link between linearity and railroading. It means railroading is the GM saying "no" when they should otherwise be saying yes to player choices of action. Note that this does not say anything about outcome...

It's probably easier to avoid bad GMs.

That's because it doesn't exist and it is a pretty gross thing to say.

These interpretations are not supported by the text.

It is a pain to run with all the tags and fiddly bits.

This I agree with. If the creatures thinks it can survive, doesn't care if it survives, or isn't aware of or can't recognize the threat -- well, bee line (B line?) it is.

This I agree with. Honest, "grovel" is generally more useful because it grants your melee characters advantage.

Things that are suicidal do not meet the definition of "fastest means available" because they, by definition, stop the creature from fleeing.

The spell demands only one thing: moving away from you at the fastest means possible. That's it. The creature cannot choose to do otherwise, but nothing suggests it can't choose how.

I don't think this is an accurate assessment of the situation. People playing D&D. Some of them stop playing D&D. Some of those quit the hobby, while others find other TTRPGs that fit their interests better. Assuming whatever portion of D&D players this last group represents stays consistent...

It does not say "regardless of harm to itself" either. As far as we can tell, the spell does not affect the personality or intelligence of the creature involved, so the Gm has to adjudicate that. A beast or mindless undead might run off a cliff, but there is no reason at all to believe a bandit...

I rolled up a random Shadowdark monster which turned out to be a "were stirge" and this is what ChatGPT came up with:

I want to build the next adventure site around a unique, bespoke enemy, so I am going to roll one up! (see page 190 of the SD rules) Combat = d20 = 9 = PL (party level) = LV 3 Quality = d20 = 2 = Avian Weakness = d20 = 10 = Silver AC 13, +3 beak, 1d8 damage. Now let's mutate it! (page 191)...