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I originally posted these questions to the Age of Worms board, but this feels like a more appropriate place for questions like this.
I'm noticing that the SRD and DMG definitions of the fear conditions are different (the SRD ones are harsher, and made this encounter much more difficult for my players).
Shaken - virtually identical, no worries here
Frightened - Per DMG, the "run away" condition only lasts until you're out of sight of the fearsome thing (I assume the "hearing" clause refers to frightening sonic effects?) Does the character still act "shaken" when away from the fright source? If they do not, does regular shaken go away when out of sight? The SRD does not have the "out of sight" language...is there errata for the DMG I'm not finding which makes the SRD language correct?
Panicked - Both DMG and SRD agree that the character must flee by a "random path," though no rules exist for determining that path. How do you guys generally define the path? The SRD allows for characters to use special abilities and spells to flee, but still says they must cower if unable to flee. All characters are capable of attempting an overrun, so should this be interpreted as "can use special abilities unless that would involve moving TOWARD the source of the fear?"
The SRD also contains language in panicked that the affected character must "drop anything it holds," which the DMG lacks. Which way do most people play that?
Finally, neither the SRD nor the DMG allow for a panicked character to behave normally once away from the source of the fear. Should this be implied down from Frightened, or does my panicked Scout on open ground really run away at 160 ft/round for the full duration of the fear effect?
After more searching around on the WotC site, I found an "In the Works" article from a draft version of the 3.5 DMG with the exact same text as the SRD conditions. Looks to me like the DMG text is the newer and presumably more RAW interpretation.
I'm still really curious about how folks would answer some of my interpretation questions though. In particular, how do other groups define "by a random path," and can a panicked character act normally once out of sight from the source of their fear?
Thoughts?