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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sword of Spirit" data-source="post: 9464552" data-attributes="member: 6677017">I think what we've done in the past is if the patry can all get themselves out of melee and a little ways away (to the edge of the map, or some other distance that feels appropriate) they can retreat automatically if the other side is content to let them go, or if they succeed on an Athletics or cast an appropriate spell or such they get away unless the other side really wants to run them down. In the latter case we'd either just stay in normal combat or switch to chase rules.With NPCs wanting to flee, there are 2 things I do.The first is that because combat rounds are short and everything is happening simultaneously, I generally say opponents only decide if they want to flee between rounds.Sure, at the table it may be obvious that the PCs are completely mowing down that group of goblins and for those goblins that act last continuing to fight is suicide...but in the fiction they can't tell that their allies are all getting mowed down at the point where they are deciding to charge in. They all charged at once and then got mowed down together.The reason I like doing it that way is that I like monsters to behave with a semblance of believability, but find it unfun if weaker groups always break and run a third of the way through the first round. It's fun for PCs to sometimes use their features to get that bubble wrap experience, which means the monsters have to stay around long enough to let it happen.At the same time, it isn't uncommon for monsters to retreat. I generally do the same thing as PCs retreating, though I don't necessarily require all monsters to get out of melee. Once it is clear that they are attempting to retreat I ask the players if they want to keep fighting or let them get away.</blockquote>

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