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Message: <blockquote data-quote="James Gasik" data-source="post: 9014738" data-attributes="member: 6877472">Even if you can retreat, the real issue is when/how you exit combat.  The pursuit rules assume that you're not acting in initiative order.  While you remain in combat, enemies can chase you and continue attacking you.  Most enemies are as fast or faster than party members, so unless they have a good reason not to pursue and make you sure don't come back for a second try when they obviously have the advantage (which, I mean, they do since you want to run), retreat can be impossible unless you have a prepared tactic for it (at low levels, I like to keep a fog cloud prepared if I can to cover retreat, but this isn't an option for every party).Basically the DM has to step in and end combat, the game doesn't tell you when you should, and it's unreliable enough that some players have never seen a retreat that doesn't end with someone being left behind to get murdered.  Which, at that point, many feel you might as well just stand and fight.Related to this problem is the fact that many players don't realize they should have run until the moment to do so has passed; the DM has to be very transparent about the strength of enemies vs. the party, and the 5e rules don't support transparency very well.  There's no default mechanic to judge enemy strength (a few subclasses get something, like the Battlemaster, but it's difficult to employ in most battles) ala 3e-4e monster knowledge checks, and even if you are familiar with an enemy type, there are stronger variants out there (is that Hobgoblin Devastator or a Hobgoblin Iron Shadow?).  Add to that the risk of (in a classic dungeon) of just fleeing into a patrol or another encounter, and it's easy to understand why fleeing isn't a viable tactic.People who have played video game RPG's know this well.  You might have a "flee" command, but it's effectiveness varies from "cast a spell and instantly leave battle" to "75% chance to give all enemies a free round of attacks on you".It's not just, as el-remmen notes, that players don't want consequences or sacrifices involved with fleeing; they need to know what those are, and if they aren't significantly less dire than just staying and hoping the RNG gods say you win the day (or make the enemy flee, which can be a very rare event at some tables, where monsters just tend to fight to the death), there isn't much point to it.</blockquote>

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