How often do PCs make an orderly retreat?
- Thread starter Brimshack
- Start date
Chimera
First Post
sniffles said:Never!
Even when we do manage to plan an organized withdrawal, we usually end up having one player who decides his character will be the martyr who has to watch our backs. Then everyone else will decide we can't possibly risk losing that PC, and the next thing you know we're all staying behind to cover each other.
QFT.
That's what I've tended to see, over and over. Unfortunately, it most often seems to be the complete blanking moron whose character is least able to successfully pull it off. Like the slowest moving character in the group, or the Wizard with AC 10 and HP 11.
Then you get the guy who declares that 'no one gets left behind' and refuses to leave that one moron to die, then everyone else gets sucked in too.
Astonishingly enough, the group in which I play executed an orderly retreat last game. It was unbelievable: cohesive and methodical. Granted, we learned to do this after many brutal and ugly PC deaths in this (RttToEE) campaign, including one fight that had only one PC survivor. Also, it turns out that our retreat was unwarranted (pesky illusions!). But hey, it was good practice for the future.
The group I DM, on the other hand, only retreats when someone is paste and someone else nearly gets his head chopped off retrieving the body. And nothing is *ever* orderly.
The group I DM, on the other hand, only retreats when someone is paste and someone else nearly gets his head chopped off retrieving the body. And nothing is *ever* orderly.
Aeric
Explorer
In the last two campaigns I played in, there was a wizard in the party. Every once in a while, we would take on something that was out of our league, at which point all of the PCs would flock to the wizard for a hot evac (teleport). There was one guy who usually wanted to stay and fight, but in most cases even he was convinced to retreat or face the already insurmountable foe alone.
In the current game, the party was ambushed by a powerful baddie moments after a big fight. Low on spells and HP, we knew we didn't stand a chance. No wizard to teleport us this time, so we ran for the door. Only one of us survived, and even then on a technicality (read: "the DM felt guilty about wiping the party").
In the current game, the party was ambushed by a powerful baddie moments after a big fight. Low on spells and HP, we knew we didn't stand a chance. No wizard to teleport us this time, so we ran for the door. Only one of us survived, and even then on a technicality (read: "the DM felt guilty about wiping the party").
Our current party seems to have a good method of retreat although we have yet to try it. The sorcerer will cast a regroup spell followed by a teleport spell cast by the party wizard. Hopefully we will never have to use it but that seems unlikely with all of the close calls we've had lately.
What a difference an adjective makes. I guess by "orderly" I mean effectively, as in getting a reasonable number of the party to safety. The stories you guys are posting echo mine for the most part. I am especially familiar with the tendancy to make the decision a little late.
One of my biggest frustrations is the hesitation move, which is especially common among new players. They aren't sure what to do so they hold (usually after I remind them that "nothing" is best translated to Hold or Total Defence, and their decision is sometimes followed with "are you sure?"). I'm not talkign a strategic hold where they have a reason for waiting a bit, I mean just outright hesitation from not knowing what to do. And then I sit there and bite my lip, because I know that one more hit on the ogre and he might go down, but he's 2 down in the line up and if the scared player holds long enough, he'll give that guy a chance to finish his own character off. In moments like that the player needs to either run or fight, just standing there isn't good.
One of my biggest frustrations is the hesitation move, which is especially common among new players. They aren't sure what to do so they hold (usually after I remind them that "nothing" is best translated to Hold or Total Defence, and their decision is sometimes followed with "are you sure?"). I'm not talkign a strategic hold where they have a reason for waiting a bit, I mean just outright hesitation from not knowing what to do. And then I sit there and bite my lip, because I know that one more hit on the ogre and he might go down, but he's 2 down in the line up and if the scared player holds long enough, he'll give that guy a chance to finish his own character off. In moments like that the player needs to either run or fight, just standing there isn't good.
Last edited:
Jubilee
First Post
sniffles said:Never!
Even when we do manage to plan an organized withdrawal, we usually end up having one player who decides his character will be the martyr who has to watch our backs. Then everyone else will decide we can't possibly risk losing that PC, and the next thing you know we're all staying behind to cover each other.
We did have a somewhat orderly retreat last week when the bird lord decided, by god, his pet axebeak almost died and he was going to rest before he went anywhere else in that maze, and we all told the Knight (who insisted we shouldn't bother to rest) to continue by himself if he really wanted to while we went outside and rested. Amazingly, the Knight decided to tag along and rest instead of stay stubborn after we left.
It was a non-combat retreat, though, so it might not count..
/ali
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