Attempting to flee does not mean you get to automatically escape.
You have to be fast enough to get away, or hope the enemy gives up the pursuit.
The CRB does not have a morale statblock. The AP's do.
Not all monsters will flee since each they do not have the exact same personality. It is up to the GM for the most part.
|
I don't think I've seen morale checks since 2nd edition D&D. Though there was a nearly never-used mechanic for them in the Third Edition Miniatures Handbook.
I'm fairly certain that Pathfinder doesn't use them. Though I would be pleased to find out they're in Ultimate Combat, or something, so someone please correct me if I'm wrong. I hop I am because I love morale, but sadly I don't think I am.
The usual problem with attempting to flee is that, barring different movement capabilities (e.g., flight), if your speed is less than theirs, it is impossible to escape using the tactical combat rules.
There's an optional chase mechanic in the Gamemastery Guide. It provides a sort of mini-game mechanism to play out pursuit situations. In a city market, for example, though the quarry is slower, she may be more adept at hopping over a wall or knocking a fruit stand over to slow her pursuers. I haven't tried it yet, but it looks interesting.
Across the Styx, of course.
Seriously though...yeah, if they don't have either teleporty type spells or some ability to move faster than the pursuers, they're not gonna get away without going into the chase type things.
Walk into the escape corridor, pull the lever, have the heavy steel gate clang down, walk away while the PCs try to hack through the armor plate. Drop two more behind you as you dodge down the trapped maze's corridors.
Just be ready in advance, and this sort of thing is easy.
When the bad guys are the ones doing the fleeing, sometimes they'll make it simply because the PCs don't bother giving chase. Other times they'll make it through superior movement (e.g., flight), invisibility, dimension door, a barrier such as wind wall, wall of stone/fire/iron, dust/gaseous form, pit spells, etc. If you're designing a villain, decide whether they're pragmatic enough to keep a spell or item in reserve for when things go badly. Frequently a simple potion is enough to escape.
Sometimes there are situational measure the bad guy can take. A strong bad guy in a marketplace might grab a commoner as a hostage. Inside a building, they might set the place on fire. In their own sanctum, if they don't have a getaway route built into the place, they don't deserve the title of "villain".
