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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Remathilis" data-source="post: 2975352" data-attributes="member: 7635">Ok. Lets try this again. You flip through the monster manual and find a creature with a nasty ability (we'll keep with the aformentioned Rusty). Your group is Typical Mix. (Fighter, Cleric, Rogue, Wizard. For extra, the rogue is wearing a Chainshirt). So you put in the dungeon/encounter a rust monsters. The PCs have two options.1.) Run, and protect there expensive (and maybe magical?) swords, shields and armor. 2.) Stay and fight, and take the chance that you'll lose your stuff.You know your party. 90% of the time, they'll run from Rusty cuz they want to keep their gear. Ergo, the ONLY reason you would put a Rust Monster there is to make them run from the encounter (or surprise you greatly and lightning bolt it, but thats neither here nor there.) So if you can assume with some accuracy that your PCs will almost ALWAYS run from a certain encounter, why place the encounter in the game in the first place? The logic holds (and correct me if I'm wrong) that the encounter with Rusty serves two points. 1.) to remind PCs they are not all powerful and 2.) to seriously screw up foolish players that do. If the point to make the PCs flee, a rust monster, an army of orcs, or the Tarrasque all could create the same desired effect. More Importantly, running to protect your +1 sword is NOT heroic. If you give XP for challenges overcome, running in terror is NOT overcoming a challenge (its actually one of the ways to lose!). So in essence, the rust monster encounter was a black hole; it gave no XP, no treasure (indeed, it can cause negative treasure if it goes first!) and has set your game back a few paces ("I'm not going into that cave, I don't care what MacGuffin is there. That thing ate my father's sword!"). It almost was an anti-encounter. By running, the PCs gained nothing, potentially lost much, and are no farther than when they started.My game time is limited; why run encounters you know aren't going to go anywhere? I'd rather run a spectaular combat even against a superior foe than throw an encounter you KNOW is going to eat up time for no one's gain.So I ask again? Why pitch a monster you KNOW your PCs will run from?</blockquote>

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