Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Victim" data-source="post: 1109292" data-attributes="member: 78">On the other hand, Gandalf didn't run away, acted very heroicly, and was reborn more powerful than before.  Mixed messages?One reason not to run away is that running away splits the strength of the party.  If part of the group runs away, then anyone sticking behind(even for a little bit) is in alot of trouble.  Sure, the people who run away live, but, in my experience, concerted decisive action pays off.  If the encounter is at the edge of what the party can take, then attacking together can net a big win, while retreat probably kills the slow people.Another reason not to retreat is that successful withdraws are hard to pull off.  Look in the MM.  Most small humanoids have 30 speed.  Small characters and characters with medium or heavy move 20.  So actually running away is pretty tough, especially at low levels.  Magical speeds help at higher levels, but monsters move a bit faster too - and it's nearly impossible to out run a dragon.  Not to mention that 3.5 reduces PC speeds.  Missile fire is a problem too.  A lucky punk with lots of arrows can score hits 1000 ft away.  With magic like Expiditious Retreat or Obscuring Mist, one can withdraw more safely.  At higher levels, Teleportation magic combined with bracelets of friends to rescue people without ports can be effective.  But anyone going after a high level group or monster will probably have Dimensional Anchor or a method of tracking teleporters and following them (Greater Scrying + more tp).  Think of the Balrog and the Fellowship's retreat in DnD terms:  "This foe is bey-" "BAMF!"  The Balor teleports into an attack position.  If the group tries to run, it can use its superior mobility from limitless Teleports to either pick of stragglers or cut them off.  It's hard to run away from this kind of stuff.  How do you hide from the dragon with like +40 spot and listen, a couple hundred feat of Blindsight, the ability to see in the dark PLUS whatever magic the dragon can use?  If the PCs are completely outclassed by it, then they probably don't have the ability to avoid it either.Sure, you can prepare lots of escape magics and set up plans.  But, after a certain point, preparations for escape will eat into the resources the characters need to win.  Sure, you can withdraw from the tough battle.  But how tough would it have been if you prepared a plan for winning rather than running away?  Since it's just a game, I'd rather go for the decent win chance than the assured escape ability.  Retreat is tricky enough that it's best used as part of a deliberate plan.  It's not that easy to pull off in response to a sudden emergency.</blockquote>

Verification