How to Keep Them Running?

[Coplantor]

If your username is Fostire then stay away, you dont want to spoil your own adventure.

Anyway, in the near future, I'll be running a Cthulhutech adventure for my friends. Now...

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Their first adventure will be a shamless rip off inspired by The Black Hawk Down. They'll be sent on a mission in the middle of a batlefield between humanity and migou (crustacean fungoid insects from pluto) somewhere over Mexico. The idea is to have their plane/ship crash and have them survive the impact. They will find themselves behind the enemy lines, in the middle of a combat that's intended for soldiers on power armor/mecha, so in the condition they are in, the wisest choice would be to get out from the city as fast as possible or find a good place to hid.

So, my question is, how do I keep this intresting? How do I keep them having fun while looking for a safe route to get out? There's an ammount of obstacles a player can dodge before getting bored. So please, oh wise playgrounders, please help me with this!

[Ranos]

I'd say hope, a clear goal and a crucial mission. Something that can not only save them but turn the tide of the entire battle. Don't have them running away from something, have them run to something. It usually works better.

[Coplantor]

Yeah, they are running for the chance to live and fight again, but what I want to make intresting is the running itself.

[nedz]

Just keep the mook encounters varied. The monsters hunting them should be fairly easy, but have a few tricks, and be relentless. Have lots of terrain too.

Really this sort of thing is all about SUSPENSE. It should be like the crows in Birds.
This implies that the threat of being caught/found should generate the tension. If it bogs down into a horde melle then you have done it wrong.

[Choco]

Some tough monsters hunting/chasing them, and some much weaker ones getting in their way. They gotta decide whether it is better for them to wipe out the mooks and risk the powerful baddies catching up to them, or run around the mooks and risk getting attacked and/or taking a "shortcut" that aint shorter at all.

[Coplantor]

Yes, well, I like it. Though I feel like I should minimize the fighting encounters, because they ussually take long time, after a while they get boring and I doubt they'll have a chance to survive if they get involved in too many conflicts.

[Escheton]

Player 1(fighter/ranger):
"I make a spot check combined with a survival/knowledge geography or nature/I-have-a-friggin-map check.
To look for: cover/an out/tactical place to make a stand/logical place for an enemy ambush/logical place for enemy units to be. On ground lvl"

Player 2(rogue/ranger):
"I make a spot check combined with a survival/knowledge geography or nature/I-have-a-friggin-map check.
To look for: high ground with good lookout but obscured with cover/snipespots/routes to sneak (think alleys, dark spots, rubble, cover)/logical place for an enemy ambush/logical place for enemy units to be"

Player 3(cleric):
"I use a spell to try to commune with my god for advice"

Player 4(arcanist)
"I use a spell to communicate with base for advice/intel/(air)support"




If your players could do that instead of: "I make a spot check, now what?"
that would be great

[Coplantor]

We are not playing DnD

[Escheton]

Neato, what are you playing?

[Coplantor]

Cthulhutech. The game that makes you go: "Wut?"