How often do NPCs/monsters flee in your group?

[iwatt]

Wow. If your players are so predictable, you should totally use it against them. Have fleeing henchmen lead them into traps, or lead them to the REAL battle after the first/fake one.

What do they do if they scatter in every direction? Each monster down a different tunnel?

See, with the rules for speed reach, range an AoOs, it's hard for them to get away at all unless I have them escape at 50% hitpoint or more. But that makes the less tha efefctive since they don't have enough tiome to actually hurt the PCs if I make them flee this early. And i do use traps and other stuff, but it would be kind of cheesy to have it happen every time.

 

[Rhun]

There is a running joke in my group that almost every single BBEG escape. They don't want them too, but usually when the opponent flees they are still too engaged elsewhere to do anything about it. And those that have followed have often ended up seperated and killed.

 

[Rothe]

Unless the creature is mindless or baneful and evil/ferocious (like undead or demons), I give almost all creatures a chance to consider fleeing or surrender if they drop below half hp or numbers.

I sort of miss the morale ratings.

Same here. I reinstuted a moral mechanic.

Intelligent creatures might also flee if they appear to be doing nothing to the PCs while the PCs are systematically decimtig them. A smart party might use some illusions to look fresher than they are to take advantage of this.

Intelligent creatures will probably not flee/surrender if PCs are known to track them down or take no prisoners.

Animals also often don't attack PCs and rarely to the death unless defending young or in "rut", "must" etc. Basically to them you are easy food, set of their territorial protection response (related to being in "rut" etc.), or set off their protect young response.

 

[Wrathamon]

A lot of my villains flee and come back to haunt the players.

I like to have an out.

EDIT: recently thou they tend to kill even captives, afraid that they will come back later... which is rather annoying since they are walking that moral ground of is that an evil act or not.

 

[Aust Diamondew]

Grunts, unless they are fanatics, will usually try to escape when the PCs clearly are about to abolish them. Now depending on how fearful and well trained and organized they are this might be an orderly withdrawl or a panicked run.

And of course BBEG retreat in my games when things look bad, unless they really extremely despise a paticular PC and see a way to bring them down before they die.

By and large though most NPCs don't get away they get killed.

 

[Sejs]

Depends on the critter in question, but it's definitely known to happen.

Not even just recurring villains - enemies that simply arn't willing to die for their cause will try to surrender or flee if they think they can pull it off.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

They can run, but they'll only die tired.

 

[Nifft]

Depends on the group and the situation.

A couple of drunk local bullies? They'll back down & turn tail at first blood.

A strike team of professional hit-critters who have lost one of their members and are all injured to some degree? They'll flee early, unless they've also injured or taken down most of the PCs.

A cornered cult of fanatics? They'll fight to the death.

Guys in the middle? They'll behave somewhere between.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Evilhalfling]

Surrender is as common as fleeing (successfully) with the exception being dragons and BBEGs
Dragons always flee, unmatched movement rate, lots of HP, high int and long life expectancy.
Even the dumb ones will still run. in a dragon heavy campaign 2 were killed out of 6 encounters.

with AoO's fleeing when wounded is tricky, a double move is still in range for too many attacks .
for there own preservation too many foes fight to the death, but tactically it can be the better move.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

For the most part, the % is pretty low.

We're going through RttToEE right now, and our party has only let a few of our opponents get away.

3 have been powerful NPCs who had escape plans, and actually survived to execute them.

The only other ones to get away were a group of mercs who accepted our offer of free passage if they lay down their weapons.