D&D 4E The better part of valor... and opportunity attacks

[Garthanos]

Or, since it's D&D a magic horn that'll cave the roof in or something.

This could call for a group bluff check.

Craziest-seeming PC: "This it! I'm going to sound The Horn of Doom!"

Everyone else: "What? No! Wait! It's not worth it!!! OMG! Don't look at its face! We're all gonna die! Let's surrender instead? you'll accept our surrender, right? please. Stop him! He'll kill us all!"

And if they flub it, the baddies are all like "Uh-uh, we saw The Corbomite Maneuver in re-runs, too."

Sure
I think the original concept is for an actual superior enemy force too much humor can be endemic I suppose with Monty in the picture.

I think making sure insight and history checks are a known method to discover enemies that may be out your league could also help with player siding part of the McGuffin adventure.

 

[Tony Vargas]

I think making sure insight and history checks are a known method to discover enemies that may be out your league could also help with player siding part of the McGuffin adventure.

That's another thing. Enemies that are out of your league can be presented as a Skill Challenge, from the get-go. The challenge is not to defeat the Dragon, but to traverse the mountain pass in its territory, alive. The challenge is not to destroy the vast enemy horde in detail, but to get in, achieve an objective, and escape from it.
That kind of thing.

So a lot of the time, an Escape SC will be such from the begining, not an encounter that went south.

 

[Garthanos]

That's another thing. Enemies that are out of your league can be presented as a Skill Challenge, from the get-go. The challenge is not to defeat the Dragon, but to traverse the mountain pass in its territory, alive.

The McGuffin flavor is kind of one case where its sometimes important to show the players they are out classed as a precursor for the part where you find the technique for changing that situation, and yes one might be able to do that other ways and it depends on the players involved.

Players fight an ogre and are almost defeated by it ... then they later find that same beast utterly destroyed by something else comes to mind as an off screen this is something to avoid mark.

 

[Garthanos]

1. Spikey enemy potency could be used to demonstrate that hey this is bad. (but I hate that option too easy to use badly)
2. Tools for analysing how badass enemies are decrease the need for the above or to let the combat go very long. (letting it go too long can result in no resources to use on the escape)
   1. Making scanning the enemy a standard function of insight seems reasonable and let warlords and fighters be extra better for fun.
   2. magic could step it up a notch with a seer or prophet ability perhaps even a feat which could once an level declare a battle a dream sequence might be an interesting plot trigger ability. (ok not actually an escape function but related)
3. increase/improve based on bloodied condition and which enable escape EVEN more. A character might even becomes better at stealth and bluffing bloodied fleetness we have but its kind of a narrow case. but more would be good.
4. Already mentioned in thread using bluff to escape as a standard.
5. Calling for retreat as explicit defender and warlord abilities.
6. combat has to last long enough for an escape option to come up if you are expecting them to escape based on how its going. This may not be a problem LOL.
7. The engineered escape option literally building escape routes and sometimes as a skill power make it a daily discovering ones you can effectively jury rig fast (could be dangerous and cost healing surges but allow perfect escape)