DM Advice: Always Running Away!

[Forbiddenwar]

Okay, I'll admit I made a mistake in my first session. I miscalculated the difficulty of a boss level encounter. It would have been fine for 6, but not for the 3 players that showed up. Some sudden changes to it's BAB and Damage rolls prevented a TPK.

However, all through the second session, they ran away.

DM: You see a rabbit.
Party: RUN AWAY!
DM: You see a Cleric.
Party: RUN AWAY!

Okay, a little exaggeration, but I'm a little afraid that I've traumatized my group and now they are encountered at or below CR, they are still running away from everything.

How do you counter this in the next session? Running away is good every now and then, especially if the dice hate you, but running away after the creature hits you for 1 hp when you have 30 leads to long drawn chase scenes that seem to drag on the game.

[Talya]

Ensure it can outrun them.

[Cornelius Grim]

You could try having the next encounter be a spellcaster. There are numerous paralyzation spells and other spells to stop them from running away. "Wall of --" Spells would be good too. A large monster to pin or grapple may be a good idea, since even 1 person getting trapped would discourage running. I hope you and your group can work this out- no matter the cost... :smallamused: Although I do hope no one has to die for this issue...

[BlueInc]

I joined a campaign where the first session, they were one character away from a TPK. The second session, the guy who survived the first session died, so everyone was on their second characters.

A few things that helped the group I joined feel more at ease:

-Give them what they were missing. I showed up, playing a melee-oriented cleric; before, they hadn't had someone that could take a hit, nor someone that could heal. If your players need a big beefy guy to stand behind to make them feel safe, let them hire or befriend a bodyguard.

-Put a few easy but unavoidable encounters in their way. Weak opponents that seem scary (like a pack of wild dogs) can do the trick, or medium opponents in circumstances that heavily favorable the PCs (high ground, surprise, enemies scattered and unable to coordinate)

-Let them level. They'll have more health, more abilities more things to try out.

[Delwugor]

Just talk to the players. Openly admit you made a mistake and that it could have led to a TPK, also tell them you where flexible enough to adjust to avoid it.

BTW I personally consider it good that you where able to adjust to avoid the mistaken TPK.

[Gamer Girl]

Don't do or say anything. Just run the game normally.

[Kantolin]

Ensure it can outrun them.


There are numerous paralyzation spells and other spells to stop them from running away.


Don't do or say anything. Just run the game normally.

o_o Why will these help? His problem is that his PCs are running away as they're too worried to fight things due to how dangerous they're visualizing fights as being. These will result in a lot more lengthy afternoons of hours of precious table-time spent on chase scenes and not really doing things and people (or at least the DM) being unhappy.



Awesome stuff

These I agree with - they'll help solve the problem. I also agree with Delwugor - talk to the players about it.

Some people do run a game where the correct answer is to take 5ft steps everywhere since you never know when a trap will show up and the DM will pounce on you for not declaring you're searching for traps on this 5ft step (I'm in a game like this right now).

You should explain to your players that you're aiming for a more heroic game than has been happening. Describe things in a pleasant fashion, and encourage the PCs to try things.

...unless you /are/ trying to run a setting in which rats and stuff are extremely likely to kill you, in which you may find your group taking up competitive knitting. :P

[Eldan]

"You see a goblin in the middle of the road. Before you can do anything, he shrieks, seeing four heavily armed adventurers before him, and quickly runs away into the brush."

[QuidEst]

"You see a goblin in the middle of the road. Before you can do anything, he shrieks, seeing four heavily armed adventurers before him, and quickly runs away into the brush."
XD Awesome! I think that'd make a great way to either get them chasing it (maybe change it to "You see a goblin holding something shiny…") or else segway into the "Oops, sorry guys… didn't actually mean to botch that CR earlier."

[JaronK]

If they're running already, have you considered turning this into a horror campaign and making it really worth running from? You can make the chase be the encounter...

JaronK

[The Glyphstone]

Play Yakety Sax on a loop every time they run away. Eventually, they'll get sick of it and stop to fight just so they don't have to listen to the music again.

[BlueInc]

Play Yakety Sax on a loop every time they run away. Eventually, they'll get sick of it and stop to fight just so they don't have to listen to the music again.

I dunno. That's a pretty awesome song.

Actually, my DM did play that song during a session where we were wandering around inside an insane asylum during a riot and our characters kept running in and out of rooms to avoid a crazed, serial-killer clown.

It was a fun session.

[The Glyphstone]

I dunno. That's a pretty awesome song.

Actually, my DM did play that song during a session where we were wandering around inside an insane asylum during a riot and our characters kept running in and out of rooms to avoid a crazed, serial-killer clown.

It was a fun session.

Yeah, but how many hours did you listen to it on endless loop, session after session after session...

[BlueInc]

Yeah, but how many hours did you listen to it on endless loop, session after session after session...

Ok, I think it was just the one session. We ran into the serial-killer clown in a one-shot set in the same world and he played a creepy carnival-esque song.

To be completely honest, we figured out the serial-killer was in a "haunted" house we were supposing to be cleaning out and ran like small children.

[erikun]

Either put the next quest in a defined location, so that they can't run away from it, or include the possibility of evasion/stealth in the next quest. If they are exploring a large castle full of secret passageways and overrun by hobgolbins, then "Run Away!" can still be a valid tactic.

[ffone]

Ok, I think it was just the one session. We ran into the serial-killer clown in a one-shot set in the same world and he played a creepy carnival-esque song.

To be completely honest, we figured out the serial-killer was in a "haunted" house we were supposing to be cleaning out and ran like small children.

Scooby Doo d20?

OP, one thing that always, always works for my group is a Damsel in Distress. A total trope, I know, and maybe it's a male player / female DM thing (i.e. there might be some perceived self-insertion), but it soo works. Actually it doesn't even have to be a damsel. My players are suckers for 'helpless innocents'. Basically they always do whatever they think will make their PCs seem More Heroic (as defined by Hollywood, not common sense).

More generally, this advice falls under 'encounters that are part of a plot/quest as opposed to random monsters on the road'. Though I LOVE the earlier suggestion of a goblin who flees from the PCs, and that could make a great plot hook.

[Dralnu]

Put them in a situation where they must protect innocents. For example, the town they're inhabiting is under siege by goblins. Or, while travelling, they encounter an innocent merchant being attacked by bandits. They can still run away, but I doubt they would. When they defeat the opponent, have the saved victims praise the PCs for being heroes. Do this once and it should restore their sense of heroics.

[hamishspence]

The last time I played, we (being genre savvy) treated the damsel with some suspicion, and kept our guard up until we'd escorted her back to town.

(And not giving her back her items that we found in a chest earlier, that the bad guys had apparently taken off her when they captured her, until we were back).

The fact that she was a warlock might have had something to do with it.

It worked out OK- no attack.

On the other hand, we tended to release any prisoners, no matter how monstrous, and not attack them unless they show hostility. This included undead and ettins.

They generally tended to take a friendly attitude.

[Larpus]

It's also nice to give them a good reward for an apparently dangerous task, make it be something quite unusual that is possibly an opportunity of a lifetime (a Djinn granting wishes at 3rd level? Draw a card from a Deck of Many things that only has nice things [without them knowing, of course] at 5th??), so they hopefully make the decision to run the risk for the obviously tasty reward that is bound to come.

[Graha013]

Okay, I'll admit I made a mistake in my first session. I miscalculated the difficulty of a boss level encounter. It would have been fine for 6, but not for the 3 players that showed up. Some sudden changes to it's BAB and Damage rolls prevented a TPK.

However, all through the second session, they ran away.

DM: You see a rabbit.
Party: RUN AWAY!
DM: You see a Cleric.
Party: RUN AWAY!

Okay, a little exaggeration, but I'm a little afraid that I've traumatized my group and now they are encountered at or below CR, they are still running away from everything.

How do you counter this in the next session? Running away is good every now and then, especially if the dice hate you, but running away after the creature hits you for 1 hp when you have 30 leads to long drawn chase scenes that seem to drag on the game.

Cue Benny Hill music..