Retreat command
| Stops an advance or attempts to move one combat range farther away from opponents. Retreating repeatedly imposes an accumulating penalty on melee and ranged attacks. |
| RETREAT (while advancing) You see: You stop advancing on <target>. RETREAT (from melee range) RETREAT (from pole range) RETREAT (while hidden) RETREAT (losing the contest) RETREAT (prevented outright) RETREAT (already disengaged) RETREAT (while not standing) |
Syntax
- RETREAT
- Stop advancing, or attempt to move one combat range farther away from the opponents engaging you.
- GROUP RETREAT
- Group leaders only. Has everyone in the group retreat at once. The normal requirements apply to each member individually.[1]
Usage
If you are advancing on a target, RETREAT cancels the advance instead of changing your current range.
Otherwise, each successful use moves you back one range: from melee to pole range, or from pole range out of combat. You must be standing to retreat.
Retreating is contested only by boss creatures and by other characters. Ordinary creatures do not contest it, so retreating from them succeeds unless something is preventing it outright.[2]
Where the contest does apply, a failed attempt leaves you at the same range and incurs roundtime. Hindrance and encumbrance make retreating harder, while your Evasion skill, Reflex and Agility help determine whether you get away. Multiple opponents can also make retreating more difficult.
Characters retreating while hidden receive the corresponding You sneak back out to pole range. or You sneak back out of combat. success message.
Retreat Prevention
Being prevented from retreating is a separate mechanic from losing the retreat contest, and the two are unrelated.[3] An effect that prevents retreat stops you regardless of who or what you are engaged with, including ordinary creatures, and reports its own reason rather than the contest failure message.
Grapples are the most commonly seen example, refusing the attempt with You are unable to break <target>'s grip and can't retreat! until the hold is broken. War stomp locks its targets at melee range for roughly ten seconds, and is not a contest.
FLEE remains available when an effect is keeping you from retreating.
Retreat Penalty
Retreating repeatedly within a short period imposes an accumulating offensive penalty, discouraging repeated ranged attacks while an opponent attempts to close to melee. The penalty affects both melee and ranged attacks.
ASSESS reports the penalty with one of the following lines:
- You appear to be having difficulty targeting melee attacks.
- You appear to be having difficulty targeting ranged attacks.
- You appear to be having difficulty targeting melee and ranged attacks.