5.3.0 Morale Checks & Fleeing
Sometimes, however, combat is inevitable. The raiders swoop down on the heroes, the savage beast pounces, or the vile necromancer runs out of small talk. Even after blades are drawn, however, the hostile NPCs might come to think better of their choices when they fail a Morale check.
5.3.1 Making a Morale Check
A Morale check is made by rolling 2d6 and comparing it to the creature’s Morale score. If the roll is greater than the score, the creature loses heart and will seek to flee or stop the battle. PCs never make Morale checks and will fight on until they decide to flee.
A Morale check is usually made under certain circumstances, though the GM can add to these whenever they think the situation calls for one. More than one Morale check may be needed in a fight if more than one condition occurs.
- When a non-combatant civilian is first faced with the prospect of serious physical harm.
- When the first member of a group is killed or rendered incapacitated.
- When the group starts to visibly lose the fight or see their odds of victory considerably shrink.
- When the group faces some terrifying work of magic, a horrendous slaughter, or a vastly superior foe.
The consequences of a failed Morale check will vary based on the situation and the creatures being tested. Non-combatants and undisciplined fighters will generally flee madly, dropping shields and abandoning burdens as they try to escape their doom.
Trained and experienced warriors will usually make a fighting withdrawal, trying to pull away from their enemies and escape back to safety with as many of their comrades as they can. Of course, in the face of truly devastating situations they may flee just as readily as their green compatriots.
If flight seems impossible or prohibitively dangerous, they might throw down their weapons and beg for mercy, if they think they have any chance of receiving it from their assailants. If that seems hopeless, they might just collapse in terrified despair as they pray to their gods, or fight with a renewed frenzy in a desperate attempt to cut their way out of the trap. Some may offer bribes or favors to win their lives.
In all cases, once a side has failed its Morale check, it’s not going to be in a condition to fight those foes until it’s had some time to recover its courage.
The Importance of Morale
It’s very important that GMs keep Morale checks in mind and use them regularly during combat. Only truly abnormal creatures such as mindless undead, unthinking vermin, or command-bound automatons will fight relentlessly onward regardless of the situation. If every goblin warrior is a Spartan at Thermopylae, the PCs are going to lose a lot of comrades cleaning up fights that were clearly won five rounds ago.
Aside from that, warriors are not fools, and they will not linger to fight battles that cannot be won and are not worth their lives. Even if they never fail a Morale check, they will not stay to die to the last man if there’s no pressing reason for them to do so. Once they see that victory is a vain hope, they’ll try to withdraw or to cut some kind of deal with their enemies.
Of course, not all beaten sides respond rationally. The terror of battle, the confusion of melee, and a misunderstanding of the situation might leave some few warriors battling on even when all is lost, simply because they haven’t realized that all their friends are dead yet. Green troops are notorious for sometimes achieving military goals that veterans never could, because veterans would recognize certain failure much earlier. The same can sometimes apply to frenetic barbarians, savage mobs, or single-minded marauders.
5.3.2 Fleeing and Escape
Whether from a failed Morale check or the PCs deciding on a prudent retreat, sometimes a side decamps the field. If pursued, the rules for chases and pursuit given in the rules section of this document can be used to judge the likelihood of success.
GMs should be charitable about allowing PCs to run away. Most pursuers have little reason to be particularly relentless, and a party should be taught that running away is a viable option and not an excuse to die tired.