Do you ever cut and run?

[darjr]

Yes.

last time our party had to get through a room. The fighters went in first and kept the magma hurlers busy while the rest of the party fled through the exit. With a little bit of healing thrown in on the run.

 

[HoboGod]

My group has been corrupted by a player who cheats to no end. I wasn't a DM at the time and everyone else was too merciful because he argued relentlessly until he won. So, needless to say, he's on-the-fly interpretation of when the enemy is considered helpless and what powers a skill check grants him, in conjunction with his "ability" to get a natural 20 any time he wanted made it so that most enemies never threatened to kill the party. Once, the DM at the time threw a dragon at us because she was out of challenging ways to fight our party. This guy abuses a series of skill checks to pour glue down his throat and says the dragon chokes to death because it's "real-life mechanics."

After a couple months, I quit that group because I didn't like the guy, even if he played fair he was unbearably obnoxious. When he was eventually kicked out, I came back. However, that's how my players have played D&D for the better part of the last three years, so they don't know how to run from battle anymore. I'm DM now, so I'm having to teach them. I haven't TPK yet, mostly because I'm fudging rolls, but the party seems to expect fatal and near death encounters from me. EVEN STILL, they don't run.

 

[MatthewJHanson]

We don't run much, but it does happen. The last time I remember running was during the fight against Iron Tooth in Keep on the Shadow Fell. It was only a temporary retreat (long enough for a five minute rest).

 

[jonesy]

...This guy abuses a series of skill checks to pour glue down his throat and says the dragon chokes to death because it's "real-life mechanics...

Real life mechanics? Dragons breath fire. Glue doesn't like fire.

 

[the Jester]

"We should fight!"

"No! We should FLEE!!"

 

[athos]

I will usually let the situation dictate the tactics, sometimes it is better to retreat and come again with reinforcements, sometimes it is better to just go for it.

The one time I will fight EVERY fight, no matter how ridiculous, is when the DM is making every encounter over powering. At that point, I figure screw him, if he wants to TPK us, let him, but running from every single encounter does not a good RPG make

 

[The Shaman]

"Marines! We are LEAVING!"

Hell yeah my characters run, screaming like little girls if the occasion calls for it.

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

Sure, cut'n'run is always an option if it fits with the PC's and/or the party's schtick.

 

[Festivus]

What's the preference out there... bloody the party's nose early on in the campaign so they know you are serious or moderate encounters all along that lull the party into a false sense of superiority and then *blammo* the wake up call comes?

In my experience, the party get cocky rather early on, and that results in near TPKs from time to time. Perhaps next campaign I run, I will hit hard in the very first encounter... perhaps so hard it IS a TPK, and then they reroll with siblings / offspring hell bent on revenge. At least this way, threats would be taken seriously.

A lot of my thoughts are also provoked by the discussions of 4E solos and the ramped up damage output of the MM3 creatures. I felt from the get go that 4E was rather easy on the players.

Sorry for injecting 4E into what I wanted to keep fairly edition neutral. I will say that towards the end of my Age of Worms campaign, the players were invincible. Next time it wont be so easy.

 

[frankthedm]

IME stat damage sends D&D PCs running.