Question on Fear and Fleeing

[dymondy2k]

Hey guys.. hope you don't mind me getting some opinion from the experts. In the first level Cleric Spell Cause Fear it says if they fail their save, a character will flee. So I tried to find what 'Fleeing' is but didn't really find any concrete answers on what it entails. So when you are fleeing, either from a fear effect or just want to get out of Dodge, is it a double move or a single move?

[Joe the Rat]

Fleeing - flat out running away - would be Running - a double move (BFRP p.44).
Probably their fastest available move type, if usable in the situation.

[dymondy2k]

Of course when I was looking I didn't see that. That's what I needed to know. So when a character is fleeing from a fear effect do you just figure in the double-move and randomly put him somewhere within that distance. I figure I'm scared out of my mind I have no idea where I am going as long as its away.

[Steveman]

Might be a little late to the party here, but something that has worked for me for nearly 20 years as a player and a DM. When fleeing in fear creatures take the fasted route they can follow with confidence in an attempt the most distance between themselves and the source of the fear effect.

A magic-user with poor physicals won't try to leap over that chasm, but the Strength 18, Dexterity 15 fighter just might.

[dymondy2k]

Heck if I'm scared outta my mind.. even a wizard might try that jump!

[Steveman]

if it were an NPC, It might happen. But a fear effect on a player character wouldn't force a strength check to jump a chasm on 8 strength unless the player really thinks he can make it and wants to try the roll.

[dymondy2k]

So come to the edge and curl up like a baby it is.. Fear is a tough thing to enforce because from the description its like the character loses control of his own actions.

Thanks again for all the help. As I convert my adventures over to BFRPG, expect more dumb questions.

[Metroknight]

I've always told my son that there is no dumb questions but there could be goofy answers.