RPG Evolution: What Do You Mean, "Run"?

Sometimes, you're not supposed to kill the monster.
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It's hard. As Dungeon Masters, we meticulously craft encounters, balancing challenge ratings, hit points, and legendary actions, to make an encounter challenging. But sometimes, that intent is for the party to face an insurmountable obstacle, a force meant to inspire awe, dread, and most importantly, flight. Yet, time and again, players, despite overwhelming odds and even downed party members, stand their ground, swords drawn, with the unspoken (or sometimes very spoken) question: "If you wanted us to flee, why is it here?"

If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It​

In my campaign, the player characters are currently in the Wildlands, a realm where few smaller humanoids stay put because giants and kaiju roam the land. Every battle is a risk, because it might bring the attention of something much larger. In theory, PCs should be trying to be quiet; in practice, they never are, blasting fireballs and storm spheres left and right. So when, after a grueling fight, a giant monster shows up, my PCs turned ... and decided to battle it to the death. They didn't even really need to fight it -- they had completed their mission -- but because it was there, they stubbornly fought it head on.

This player philosophy, that "if it has stats, it can be killed," isn't new; its roots stretch back to the very earliest days of Dungeons & Dragons. A prime example is the original Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Deities & Demigods (1980) sourcebook, which famously provided game statistics for various mythological pantheons, from Greek gods to Norse Aesir. While seemingly a boon for DMs, it inadvertently solidified the "killable if statted" mentality. Players, looking at a deity's colossal hit points and saving throws, immediately began planning how to take them down, diminishing (supposedly) cosmic forces beyond mortal reckoning to a few stats. The very act of assigning numerical values to omnipotent beings led to countless legendary (and sometimes disastrous) player attempts at god-slaying.

This player-centric view stems from how various iterations of D&D often framed problem-solving: through combat. The game's mechanics rewarded direct confrontation—experience points, loot, and clear victory conditions were tied to defeating foes. When presented with a monster, the default solution path in a player's mind quickly defaulted to reducing its hit points to zero. Which can make it difficult for players to pivot from combat as the only solution.

What to Do About It​

So, how does a DM introduce a truly overwhelming threat without resorting to a total party kill simply because players refuse to retreat? It requires a shift in tactics and, crucially, clear communication.
  • Subtle Environmental and Narrative Hints: Before a single dice roll, describe the creature with palpable dread. Emphasize its sheer size, the way the ground trembles with its steps, or the aura of ancient power it exudes. Show, don't just tell, its capabilities: perhaps it effortlessly demolishes a section of the dungeon or shrugs off attacks from powerful NPCs who are quickly dispatched. Use the environment to reinforce its danger – unholy altars, scorched earth, or piles of ancient, indestructible armor hint at its destructive power and age.
  • Tactical Retreats and Alternative Objectives: Design encounters where immediate combat isn't the only, or even the best, option. Can the monster be lured into a trap? Is there a magical artifact that can temporarily banish it? Perhaps the goal isn't to kill it, but to retrieve a MacGuffin from its lair while avoiding detection, or to trigger a mechanism that seals it away. Providing clear alternative choices beyond head-on combat encourages creative problem-solving. This might involve tactical retreats to areas where the monster can be contained, or finding weaknesses in the environment rather than its stat block.
  • Direct, Honest Communication (The "Session Zero" Talk): This is perhaps the most powerful tool. In a Session Zero (or a mid-campaign check-in), explicitly discuss expectations. Explain that not every encounter is designed to be a slugfest to the death. Sometimes, monsters are environmental hazards, plot devices, or forces too mighty to be overcome by conventional means. Clarify that tactical retreats are not failures but smart strategic moves. This open dialogue helps set the tone for the campaign and gives players permission to think outside the combat box.
The "harshest lesson" – a total party kill – is always an option, and sometimes, it's the only way to drive home the reality of a threat in a brutal, unforgettable manner. However, unless that's the established tone of your game, it's a very blunt instrument that can lead to frustration rather than learning.

Fight ... or Die!​

Introducing a monster meant to be avoided rather than killed requires both a change in DM tactics and a crucial shift in player play style. The expectation that every creature can and should be killed runs deep in D&D, stemming from its very foundations. It's imperative to equip players with the tools and understanding to recognize when discretion is the better part of valor. Communication is key to preventing frustration and ensuring that players don't feel cheated when the monster potentially slaughters the party.

In the end, I had a frank conversation with my players, and I realized I had not given them obvious reasons to flee for most of the campaign (with a few exceptions). They always prevailed, and even though the monsters have gotten harder and the party nearly died a few times, they still stuck it out. So it's on me to make it clear the stakes are being raised, particularly as they increase in level.

Sometimes the best solution to defeating a monster isn't at the end of a sword. But it's also on DMs to make sure the PCs learn that, and how that's conveyed is the difference from a desperate retreat to fight again another day ... or a brutal TPK.
 

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Michael Tresca

Michael Tresca

I’m an older gamer and we used to run away in 1st/2nd edition as it was deadlier. I’m wondering at some point it became 2 easy to keep party’s alive
Plus dms and players have become very attached to characters as there’s a lot more effort put into these characters with backstory’s etc etc
Won’t spoil to much but in critical role if one of their characters almost dies it’s a major event.
 

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The last game we played I was running my paladin and we were in the middle of a fight when the party's wizard suddenly just walked off. We finished the fight and immediately followed to see where she had gone - only to find an enemy from my character's backstory had temporarily taken control of her and was holding her hostage along with two NPCs (friends of my character).

There was a bit of backstory to this, my old nemesis thought I owed him money because I had a winning streak one night at poker. Give him the money and he'd set the hostages free, so we agreed to the old "leave the money and we'll leave the hostages". Except I knew better than to trust him at this point so we got to the hostages, turned everyone invisible with dust of disappearance I had just purchased and charged into battle.

We were beaten up from the previous fight, had no chance to recover, were low on spells and my nemesis had hired his own evoker wizard who could cast multiple cones of cold and at least one fireball. We got lucky, the monk won initiative and was able to stun my nemesis. Focusing fire on my nemesis we killed him quickly. I was determined to take his body with me because he knew where we were staying and I was certain he would be raised and seek revenge. So I grabbed the body and we all ran. My DM was generous and let me cast misty step because the nemesis was now just an inanimate object I was carrying, not a person. Another fireball ensued and the barbarian failed yet another save and fell unconscious. I used my once a day summon steed (he had died in the previous combat), grabbed the barbarian and we galloped off.

If we had stayed to fight we might have been able to take out the lackeys but I think it would have been a close call, it was a close call the way it was but running away was definitely an exciting end to the encounter.
 

If only there was a solution that could be included into the game like morale.

I know people have an aversion to this as it takes control from the player, I say it is a great mechanic and its working well in the rpg that I am writing.

People tend to think that it is a mechanic for wargames and shouldn't be in an rpg but it makes combats easier, faster and way more realistic. The bandits may outnumber the PCs but they aren't sociopaths with a deathwish so after a few go down, which can simply be unconscious btw, the rest see that the PCs are too powerful and run away.

The same can happen to the PCs, outnumbered and fighting the leader of a shadow cult in his inner sanctum, surrounded by his minions that are more than willing to sell their lives to protect him, two of the PCs are bloodied and one is blinded by a spell, the PCs are forced to check morale and fail. The PCs flee, they can still fight defensively on their way out but they realize they are outclassed and need to flee.

It really is a simple solution that could be added to an rpg, sure it may change the feel of the game and shouldn't be added to every game but I think its a great solution to the NEVER SURRENDER problem.
 




I just tell them after a couple of rounds that they should run away. Similar to how I just tell them their opponents armor class after a few rounds. It's not ideal but neither is answering the same "Did I hit it?" Question each round, or watching them stand till the last man dies when they could have just run away.
 

If only there was a solution that could be included into the game like morale.

I know people have an aversion to this as it takes control from the player, I say it is a great mechanic and its working well in the rpg that I am writing.

People tend to think that it is a mechanic for wargames and shouldn't be in an rpg but it makes combats easier, faster and way more realistic. The bandits may outnumber the PCs but they aren't sociopaths with a deathwish so after a few go down, which can simply be unconscious btw, the rest see that the PCs are too powerful and run away.

The same can happen to the PCs, outnumbered and fighting the leader of a shadow cult in his inner sanctum, surrounded by his minions that are more than willing to sell their lives to protect him, two of the PCs are bloodied and one is blinded by a spell, the PCs are forced to check morale and fail. The PCs flee, they can still fight defensively on their way out but they realize they are outclassed and need to flee.

It really is a simple solution that could be added to an rpg, sure it may change the feel of the game and shouldn't be added to every game but I think its a great solution to the NEVER SURRENDER problem.
An alternative to forcing the party to retreat,(which may be impossible if there is a raging barbarian or similar involved), is to roll the PC's morale check hidden, and if the result is fail, in your best GM is god voice, mention that it is obvious that the party is losing this one, might be time to pull back and regroup. If they insist on fighting to the end, you can at least execute the TPK with a clear mind.

I agree that way too many encounters are ran with the idea that the party opponents are suicidal fanatics that will fight to the death rather then make a sensible retreat. Even a pissed off bear will normally back off if it gets too beat up. Intelligent goblins should be able to do a decent risk/reward and know when to run away.
 

An alternative to forcing the party to retreat,(which may be impossible if there is a raging barbarian or similar involved), is to roll the PC's morale check hidden, and if the result is fail, in your best GM is god voice, mention that it is obvious that the party is losing this one, might be time to pull back and regroup. If they insist on fighting to the end, you can at least execute the TPK with a clear mind.

I agree that way too many encounters are ran with the idea that the party opponents are suicidal fanatics that will fight to the death rather then make a sensible retreat. Even a pissed off bear will normally back off if it gets too beat up. Intelligent goblins should be able to do a decent risk/reward and know when to run away.

Well, the problem there is that PCs aren't shabby at making a retreat impossible for opposition in a lot of games either, and a lot of players have been taught or just naturally assume that letting a retreat happen just buys you more trouble later.
 

Particularly if it’s a group of inexperienced players, most of whom probably have video game encounters as their primary reference point, I will just straight up tell them when it’s an escape or die kind of situation. My premise is that if it would be very clear to their characters that this foe is very likely too much, then it needs to be clear to the players, as well.

Otherwise, the TPK is on me, not them.

They have a cave troll. -- Boromir, The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship (movie)

The way this line was delivered, with its black humor and sarcasm, absolutely was a this has become dangerous warning.
 

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