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So, currently there's debate about how a specific creature flees from it's source of fear. Here's the situation:
Inside of a room with no non-magical means of escape a Magus is attacking a Pit Fiend. In the first round of combat, the Pit Fiend becomes frightened of the magus. The Pit Fiend is also under the effects of Dimensional Anchor, and is anchored to a weapon. Also, he has the following debuffs: Shaken, fatigued, flat footed (due to shatter defenses), sickened, entangled, and staggered.
The question came up on what method the Pit Fiend would use to flee. Severeral people claim one of two options (Not including any kind of GM fiat):
Cast Greater Dispel Magic on himself to clear the Dimensional Anchor, and then teleport out the next round.
Or
Use his 1/year wish to cast Antimagic Field, allowing him to move next round, but he cannot cast teleport later to retreat out of said room.
The room is 60x60x60. What would the Pit Fiend do? Does choosing to stay in the room but moving away from character count as "doing his best" to flee from the magus?
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Relevant quotations:
Fear
Spells, magic items, and certain monsters can affect characters with fear. In most cases, the character makes a Will saving throw to resist this effect, and a failed roll means that the character is shaken, frightened, or panicked.Shaken: Characters who are shaken take a –2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks.
Frightened: Characters who are frightened are shaken, and in addition they flee from the source of their fear as quickly as they can. They can choose the paths of their flight. Other than that stipulation, once they are out of sight (or hearing) of the source of their fear, they can act as they want. If the duration of their fear continues, however, characters can be forced to flee if the source of their fear presents itself again. Characters unable to flee can fight (though they are still shaken).
Panicked: Characters who are panicked are shaken, and they run away from the source of their fear as quickly as they can, dropping whatever they are holding. Other than running away from the source, their paths are random. They flee from all other dangers that confront them rather than facing those dangers. Once they are out of sight (or hearing) of any source of danger, they can act as they want. Panicked characters cower if they are prevented from fleeing.
Becoming Even More Fearful: Fear effects are cumulative. A shaken character who is made shaken again becomes frightened, and a shaken character who is made frightened becomes panicked instead. A frightened character who is made shaken or frightened becomes panicked instead.
Frightened: A frightened creature flees from the source of its fear as best it can. If unable to flee, it may fight. A frightened creature takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks. A frightened creature can use special abilities, including spells, to flee; indeed, the creature must use such means if they are the only way to escape.Frightened is like shaken, except that the creature must flee if possible. Panicked is a more extreme state of fear.
Well if you prevent feared creature from fleeing it fights.
A feared creature with a leg in a trap will biye you. In the other thread you prevented the. Creature from moving.
If the pit fiend is held by an anchoring weapon it is in fact prevented from moving. It has two options if it wants to move.
Deztroy the weapon and rendee his opponent helpless in turn freeing him to move fully next round.
Or he can make a dc30 str check then move 10 feet and provoking an an aoo.
Option a gets him out alive b gets him killed. Fear does not make him stupid and. Says he can use any mrans he has to escape. He's also smarter than any rl human.
Which option gives 100% chance of living when fighting the closest thing to a story main character who did half his hps in 1 round. He has no room for error.
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Well, that's the logical thing to do. Fear is irrational, he's not going to do whats best to win, he's going to do the best thing to run away.
Nothing in fear states it renders the creature mindless.
A feared creature still gets to choose from all the options available to it. The effect your trying to apply is panicked.
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The best method to flee is the one the leaves you alive at the end.
If you bluffed him into believing you would let him go then he would try and teleport. Also if you do not anchor him I would say that he has to fly away and not AMZ. If you put him in corner where he could not get past you then he could do it.
Wish may negate dimensional anchor.
I'm not so sure. For instance, in real life, frightened people run for their bathrooms, lock the door, before thinking in any kind of offensive manner. A better method of survival is often go to the kitchen and grab a knife, and stab the guy who is coming to try and get you.
Fear is irrational, people who are afraid do irrational things. Fleeing may not be the most rational thing to do, but it certainly is what a frightened creature will do.
A Pit Fiend who is afraid of a character it can one shot will run, even though the best odds of survival involve killing the source of it's fear.
A wish teleport would probably go past D-Anchor, so the Pit Fiend would probably do that.
I'm not so sure. For instance, in real life, frightened people run for their bathrooms, lock the door, before thinking in any kind of offensive manner.
Don't confuse "fear" with "panic," which are both game terms with defined meanings.
Your right, a person in panic would run to the bathroom, not lock the door, and never think offensively, only to cower in the corner and try to avoid the beatings.
Frightened = flee, then fight
Panic = flee, then cower
Right - in game terms:
Frightened = flee unless unable to - that doesn't mean physically stuck if they are trapped in a room with no way out they don't have to run. That is they won't run in circles around the kitchen (that has no windows or doors).
Panic = they run in circles no matter what until physically stopped in which case they cower.
There is a difference - any intelligent creature that is frightened with no possible escape won't be forced to move just because they can.
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Your right, a person in panic would run to the bathroom, not lock the door, and never think offensively, only to cower in the corner and try to avoid the beatings.
Frightened = flee, then fight
Panic = flee, then cowerRight - in game terms:
Frightened = flee unless unable to - that doesn't mean physically stuck if they are trapped in a room with no way out they don't have to run. That is they won't run in circles around the kitchen (that has no windows or doors).
Panic = they run in circles no matter what until physically stopped in which case they cower.
There is a difference - any intelligent creature that is frightened with no possible escape won't be forced to move just because they can.
So, would you say that before the Pit Fiend turns around and attacks, he would "use magical means" to dispel the dimensional anchor and then teleport out?
No - I'd agree that he'd use his wish to get away in the above situation - I'm unsure if that's possible in your scenario (the one in the other thread - I don't know if the monsters have that option is what I mean).
I do think wish (without fiat) is powerful enough by raw to ignore the anchor.
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In the other thread, I think the Pit Fiend could certainly use wish to flee, and then come back, much like the Solar was planning to. The rule for beastmass is that no one flees for good, so as long as the Pit Fiend returns in just a little while, probably after scrying and such, he'd be within the rules of the challenge.
Fleeing the best way is not fleeing stupid. If on the edge of a cliff a feared character does not jump to his death just because it is a faster way out than fighting through it.
The Pit Fiend can legitimately use wish. Especially since that will allow it to flee and live. Why would it do anything else in this situation?
Sometimes being scared is what makes things act smart. That is the whole point of the defense mechanism. Fear is not meant to hurt the scared creature, it is supposed to ensure that the creature leaves the friggin area because its brain says it is way to dangerous to be there.
And once that fear overwhelms the creature, it becomes panic. Until then, he is surely able to act intelligently in his retreat.