Handling Defeat

The easiest way to decide what a creature does in the face of impending defeat is to check its morale rating and roll the dice to see if it runs away. Don’t handle every foe this way. Player characters don’t have to check morale, and neither should important nonplayer characters, monsters, or other foes. Rank-and-file troops, however, are part of an encounter’s setting and should follow the morale rules. Very few leaders are so charismatic that all their followers march to their deaths all of the time. Likewise, the PCs’ own allies and henchmen might quit the field at times when the heroes find it inconvenient for them to retreat.

In many campaigns, the DM follows the forgoing advice at least in part; monsters and villains usually slug it out with the PCs until the bitter end. Fighting to the death isn’t such a bad idea, because most PCs can obliterate fleeing opponents before they have a chance to get away. If death is inevitable, one might as well do as much damage to the enemy as possible before dying.

Defeat need not always mean death or retreat, even in a pitched battle. Real battles, for example, have much lower kill rates than fantasy battles. Picket’s infamous charge during the Battle of Gettysburg killed 50% of the attackers; that means half the people who participated in the attack survived. There are basically four options open to an opponent who is staring defeat in the face:

· · Surrender: The creature simply gives up—or appears to give up.

· · Flee: A retreat from battle need not be a mindless rout. The opponent might choose to withdraw and fight again under better circumstances. In any case, leaving a battle and surviving the attempt is a fine art (see below).

· · Reversal: If the opponent’s first plan of action isn’t leading to victory, it might try another approach. Since defeat is looming ever-closer, this tactic is usually the most daring.

· · Fight: The creature simply continues the fight and hopes for the best.

Motivations

Exactly which option an opponent takes should depend on the creature’s motivations, knowledge of the enemy, and resources. Start by thinking about why the opponent is attacking in the first place.

Coercion: Opponents who attack because a stronger creature has forced them into it might very well fight to the death. For these creatures, fleeing the battle might be worse than dying at the hands of the PCs. Creatures that have been forced to attack usually don’t have the resources or creativity to regain the upper hand through some bold action when things begin to go bad—they stick with the original strategy against the PCs unless told otherwise.

If the PCs have a reputation for showing mercy, foes who are too fearful of their masters to run away might surrender instead. If the PCs have a reputation for killing every opponent who crosses swords with them, however, no foe is likely to surrender under any circumstances.

Magical Motivations: Opponents who attack because they have been magically charmed or are under some other kind of externally imposed compulsion to attack might literally be unable to preserve themselves through flight or surrender. Likewise, their clouded mental state often prevents them from winning a victory through some inspired action.

The Home Front: Opponents who are defending their homes or a fortification usually do not quit the field altogether. Instead, they most often try to fall back so they can attack again. If unable to retreat, the opponent might surrender in hopes of delaying the attacker (prisoners can be such an encumbrance) or for the chance to break free and attack again at an opportune moment.

Looting: Opponents seeking loot or who attack during an unplanned encounter flee at the first hint of difficulty. Brigands and cutthroats who commit crimes when the opportunities present themselves fall into this category.

Pride: Opponents who have attacked out of sheer bravado, spite, or aggressiveness usually do not flee from a battle except as part of a calculated plan of hit-and-run attacks. When faced with utter defeat, this type of opponent tries something dramatic, such as a retributive strike with a staff of power, rather than surrender or flee.

Leaving the Field

An effective retreat, like an effective attack, requires some advance planning and a grasp of the current situation. To flee an encounter successfully, a creature has to accomplish three things: outrun the PCs, survive or foil the PCs’ ranged attacks, and elude any long-term pursuit the PCs might attempt.

Of course, what looks like flight can easily be a rush to higher ground or the beginning of a series of hit-and-run attacks against the party.

Running Away: Outrunning the PCs is best accomplished by moving faster than the heroes. Failing that, the fleeing creature should go somewhere that the PCs cannot follow. For example, a horde of kobolds has no chance to outdistance a company of mounted knights on a road or in clear terrain, but they probably could get away if they fled down a steep, wooded slope where horses could not follow. It is always best to have an escape route in mind before a battle starts, and most intelligent combatants (except, perhaps, PCs) do so.

The surest way to flee a battle is through spells such as teleport, dimension door, word of recall, phase door, plane shift, and items with similar effects, such as cubic gates and amulets of the planes. These spells and devices work quickly and whisk the users far away, leaving no real clues as to their whereabouts.

If the opponent is too slow to get away and doesn’t have a magical means to escape quickly, the best bet is to misdirect or divert the PCs. There are many ways to create successful diversions. Powerful magical illusions, such as a programmed illusion triggered by a command word, or invisibility tend to work the best. Reinforcements are great for shifting an attacker’s attention away from an all-but defeated opponent. If neither of these are available, an opponent can try something desperate, such as throwing dust or red-hot embers in the PCs’ eyes. Spells such as wall of fog, fog cloud, mount, or rope trick are ideal for a personal escape.

If the PCs cannot be distracted, the next best thing is to do something that slows them down. A few caltrops, a raging brush fire, or some tripwires can discourage direct pursuit, as can spells such as web or entangle.

Foiling Ranged Attacks: Opponents who have put some distance between themselves and the PCs are still not entirely out of danger. Many characters can deal out impressive amounts of damage from considerable distances with missile fire or spells.

The best way to deal with distance attacks is to get out of range as quickly as possible. Sometimes the method of escape takes care of the problem—teleportation outdistances just about anything instantaneously.

If the opponent cannot get out of range quickly, the next best thing to do is take cover or hide. Even a little bit of concealment from a hedgerow or orchard can make missile attacks harder to use. Simply hiding makes some highly useful spells impossible to use because these attacks must be directed at something the caster can see (see PHB, Chapter 7). An opponent who shuffles his feet to create a cloud of dust or employs spells such as wind wall or obscurement can live to fight another day. An antimagic shell makes a great mobile shield against spell attacks. The spell’s big disadvantage is that it neutralizes the caster’s own magic, but that’s usually not a problem when the user is running away. Magical items such as cubes of force are very useful for defeating ranged attacks.

Sometimes it is useful to delay flight for a few rounds and cripple the PCs’ ability to use ranged attacks. A warp wood spell on a warrior’s bow or a called shot that breaks a ranged weapon can save a lot of future trouble. Wizards and priests might have a little difficulty concentrating on spells if their opponents have splashed them with acid or flaming oil before they flee.

Foiling Long-Term Pursuit: Once a fleeing opponent has broken away from an encounter and gotten out of the PCs’ sight, the opponent isn’t entirely safe. A determined party can track an opponent back to his lair, striking again while the foe is weak. If the PCs succeed, they also gain whatever treasures the opponent has stored in the lair.

The surest way to discourage long-term pursuit is to leave behind no trail; the PCs can’t follow if they don’t know where the opponent has gone. Teleportation magic is excellent for this purpose. Flight is the next best mode of escape, as it allows for quick travel over any kind of terrain and leaves behind no tracks. The pass without trace spell can be useful for hiding a trail, but it also allows resourceful PCs to track the fugitive magically for a short time (1d6 turns, see the spell description in the PHB), which makes it unsuitable for opponents who wish to flee only a short distance.

Opponents who cannot avoid leaving a trail should try to leave a very faint trail. Rocky areas make better escape routes than muddy ones. If the PCs are tracking the fugitive by scent, the opponent can throw them off the trail by crossing a river or leaving behind something to cover the scent, such as pepper or another pungent spice.

Making the PCs think they have lost the trail can be an effective ploy. A polymorph self or alter self spell can allow a fugitive to take flight, which makes the trail appear to end abruptly. If flying is impractical (as might be the case if the PCs can fly), polymorphing into a new form changes the tracks and might confuse trackers, especially if the change to a new form takes place in a location where tracks are hard to find. For example, a party might have a fairly easy time tracking a fleeing ogre mage. They might be very confused, however, when they follow the trail to a busy road and the only tracks they find on the other side were made by an elf. A delayed use of the pass without trace spell also is useful for this purpose. A party of trackers might not think to check the area with a detect magic spell when the trail they’ve been following for an hour suddenly disappears.

A fleeing opponent can confuse pursuers by changing his mode of travel. Keeping a mount hidden near the battlefield allows for an unanticipated burst of speed; it also helps protect the mount from injury or death during the battle. A hidden cache of potions such as speed, flying, polymorph self, gaseous form, and oil of etherealness can accomplish the same thing.

Terrain can be a fugitive’s ally. The earlier suggestion about going where the PCs can’t works in the long term, too. Disappearing into a monster-infested swamp can slow down even the best-equipped PCs. An armored paladin might have great deal of difficulty tracking a fleeing assassin up the side of a mountain.

The Perils of Withdrawing: Opponents seeking to withdraw to a better position rather than fleeing altogether face a set of problems different from creatures who wish to simply escape.

The biggest problem is to avoid an overwhelming attack while moving; if the PCs vigorously press the attack, an orderly withdrawal becomes a rout. Speed is also important—it doesn’t do any good for an opponent to fall back if the PCs get to where the opponent is going first.

The best way to ensure a safe withdrawal is to restrict the PCs’ movement. A large force of opponents might withdraw in smaller groups, leaving behind a team to keep the PCs engaged in melee while the remainder fall back and prepare to support the team’s withdrawal. Many other things can hinder an attacker’s ability to follow and harass withdrawing opponents: the various wall spells; prepared traps such as covered pits; spells such as slow, entangle, repulsion, and solid fog; natural terrain, such as hillsides; and fortifications, such as ditches and walls.

It never hurts to have support waiting when making a withdrawal. A hidden group of archers or spellcasters can do a lot to discourage PCs from following withdrawing troops too closely.

The preceding comments about dealing with the PCs’ ranged attacks also apply here. A prearranged escape route or a plan designed to minimize the effects of the PCs’ spells and missiles can make a withdrawal much easier to complete.

Hit-and-Run Tactics: Opponents who have decided to wear the PCs down through a series of hit-and-run attacks advance and withdraw according to some kind of prearranged plan (though they might concoct the plan at the spur of the moment). Generally, the opponent should hit the PCs hard and be gone before they effectively react. Some useful ideas include:

Hitting the PCs from concealment is an excellent way to cause maximum damage in minimal time. Attacking from two or more directions at once can be especially devastating.

Missile weapons and other ranged attacks, such as spells, work best for this strategy because they allow for a more speedy escape.

Concentrate attacks on the people who are a threat and leave the rest alone. Spellcasters and mounted characters are the prime targets because they can most readily make counterattacks and interfere with the opponents’ withdrawal.

Surrender

Opponents choose surrender as a last resort. A creature that surrenders has made a conscious decision—however hastily—that becoming a prisoner is preferable to risking death by continuing the fight or running away.

It’s always helpful to have a bargaining chip. Opponents who have something the PCs might think is valuable, such as information or treasure, have more motivation to surrender than opponents who do not. Most opponents do not give up their bargaining chips easily—they withhold them until they can be sure of reasonable treatment.

There is no reason why an opponent should be a model prisoner. The creature might do whatever it can to hinder the PCs and might try escape or attack if not properly guarded.

Reversal

Opponents for whom flight or surrender is unthinkable often try to change the situation when defeat looms over them. The opponent does not always try to win the battle with a single act of desperation or luck. A subtle change in tactics or shift in position can lead to victory eventually.

The surest and often the most dramatic way to turn the tide is to exploit an opportunity unique to the current situation. Things that might put an enemy in peril can provide opportunities. Are there bridge supports to cut? Is the encounter occurring in a building full of flammable materials? Is there loose snow or rock overhead that might cause an avalanche?

If the opponents can take advantage of the opportunity without significant risk or consequence, they should do so immediately. Very often, however, opponents initially opt for a normal fight or negotiation to avoid undue danger to themselves.

If the ultimate goal of the battle is to take magical items and other treasures from the PCs, it’s unlikely that the opponents take actions that might damage or make those items inaccessible. Spells of destruction (fireball, meteor swarm, and cone of cold) are replaced with spells that neutralize the PCs (slow, time stop, and chaos).

Many opponents hold back their most potent weapons, such as magical items or spells, and use them only when all else fails. This might seem to contradict the prior point, but it is usually best to hold something back. An opponent who reveals the full extent of his strength at the beginning of a confrontation puts himself at a disadvantage because the PCs can plan and react accordingly. Also, some powerful weapons (such as a staff of the magi’s retributive strike, a potion of storm giant strength, or the opponent’s only 9th-level spell) can be used only once.

Knowledge can be a potent reserve weapon. Opponents who know the PCs well might try to break off a fight and negotiate. Perhaps the PCs can be bluffed by playing on their fears. Perhaps they can be persuaded to redirect their aggression toward a common foe who is (or appears to be) more dangerous than the their current enemy.

Desperate opponents might attempt risky maneuvers, such as a called shots aimed at crippling or disarming the enemy’s lead warrior, charging through the front rank to attack spellcasters in the rear, or just plain bluffing. These tactics tend to be dangerous for the person who attempts them, but they have spectacular results when they work.

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