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<blockquote data-quote="Janx" data-source="post: 3070202" data-attributes="member: 8835">In Merric's case, I think he didn't do anything wrong.But from a &quot;what can DM's and players learn from this&quot; perspective, it might help to look at things from the players perspective.The players expect to win any encounter.&nbsp; Why?&nbsp; Because they're the players.&nbsp; They're luckier than the DM, and have better characters.If the PCs face enemies that run, a common response is to give chase to the enemy.&nbsp; Therefore, the PCs cannot run, because the enemy will pursue them.When PCs start dropping, if the remaining PCs flee, the fallen's stuff will be taken, and likely the bodies will be mulched and used for fertilizer.&nbsp; Worse, the enemy will be that much stronger for having the equipment.&nbsp; Worse, the enemy will scoop up the good sword while chasing after the fleeing PCs.&nbsp; Even worse, the enemy would have fallen with just a few more rounds of combat and some lucky rolls.When the PCs are losing, they have some choices, the trick is, as a DM, to make these choices actually viable as solutions to the PCs.They could:run: there needs to be a way to slow down pursuit, otherwise running will just get them killedSurrender: there needs to be a history of surrendering being an acceptable practice.&nbsp; Knowing that the Orc King accepted the surrender of some goblin tribe (and didn't wipe them out) might be useful.&quot;I'll hold them off&quot;.... this tactic always sounds heroic in the movies.&nbsp; A PC would be the last character to ever suggest or volunteer for it.&nbsp; But this would make running more viable for the rest of the party.&quot;We don't leave a man behind&quot;&nbsp; While noble, it's a lawful stupid policy in a fight.&nbsp; In a D&amp;D world, we're talking loss of equipment that will goto the enemy, but that's not an immediate thread.&nbsp; Dragging wounded or dead also slows the party down, making retreat all the more unlikely.&nbsp; Knowing that the enemy takes prisoners, might make retreat more palatable, as the PCs could then regroup and mount an effective escape.Janx</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Janx, post: 3070202, member: 8835"] In Merric's case, I think he didn't do anything wrong. But from a "what can DM's and players learn from this" perspective, it might help to look at things from the players perspective. The players expect to win any encounter. Why? Because they're the players. They're luckier than the DM, and have better characters. If the PCs face enemies that run, a common response is to give chase to the enemy. Therefore, the PCs cannot run, because the enemy will pursue them. When PCs start dropping, if the remaining PCs flee, the fallen's stuff will be taken, and likely the bodies will be mulched and used for fertilizer. Worse, the enemy will be that much stronger for having the equipment. Worse, the enemy will scoop up the good sword while chasing after the fleeing PCs. Even worse, the enemy would have fallen with just a few more rounds of combat and some lucky rolls. When the PCs are losing, they have some choices, the trick is, as a DM, to make these choices actually viable as solutions to the PCs. They could: run: there needs to be a way to slow down pursuit, otherwise running will just get them killed Surrender: there needs to be a history of surrendering being an acceptable practice. Knowing that the Orc King accepted the surrender of some goblin tribe (and didn't wipe them out) might be useful. "I'll hold them off".... this tactic always sounds heroic in the movies. A PC would be the last character to ever suggest or volunteer for it. But this would make running more viable for the rest of the party. "We don't leave a man behind" While noble, it's a lawful stupid policy in a fight. In a D&D world, we're talking loss of equipment that will goto the enemy, but that's not an immediate thread. Dragging wounded or dead also slows the party down, making retreat all the more unlikely. Knowing that the enemy takes prisoners, might make retreat more palatable, as the PCs could then regroup and mount an effective escape. Janx [/QUOTE]

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