Sometimes You Lose
There are times when you find yourself in an impossible situation. Maybe you're punching above your weight class when fighting a lich bent on destroying the continent with its black magic. Or perhaps you thought attacking a horde of kobolds would be a piece of cake. Whatever the case, there may come a point in a campaign when the party is in a no-win situation.
In some situations, you can reach down deep, muster your last ounce of energy, and defeat the BBEG. Sometimes, you can negotiate your way out of trouble. We've talked about running away when things aren't going your way and even monsters who surprise you because they just want to talk. But what happens when, no matter what you do, it is blatantly obvious that you and your friend will be defeated and have no means of escape? The reality is you have two options: TPK or Surrender.
TPK
Total Party Kill. The dreaded three words no player wants to hear. When a party is wiped out, that's it. Short of some godly intervention, it's back to square one. Creating new characters is fun, but starting a new campaign isn't. You've invested your time and probably have grown to love your character. That's too bad because they're dead.
Great intentions can lead to deadly consequences.
No GM wants to kill an entire party unless they come from the Gary Gygax school of thought. The GM wants the monsters to win, players be damned. The GM has also invested their time into creating a campaign. They, too, have to watch that go down the drain. It's equally as frustrating for them as it is for us. But sometimes, they don't have a choice because, as a collective group, the party made horrible choices that led to their deaths.
I'm not trying to be rude, but listen to what the GM is saying. Really fucking listen. The GM will probably give you some clues about your situation. They may provide information about who you are fighting without you having to roll a check. They could point out a potential escape route, just in case you might have overlooked it. It could be any number of things. If things look incredibly bleak, they may not even be subtle. I've been in situations where the GM has told us, through the BBEG we were fighting, that it cannot lose, then told us it is 100% correct in this analysis.
When this happens, run, teleport, or do whatever you can to escape. I know the barbarian will be mad and swear they can defeat them. Trust me, when the GM outright says you can't, you really can't.
Surrender
In most players' minds, this is an even worse fate than having to roll up a new character. You know what, it's not. When your fighters fall, the wizard is out of spell slots, and the cleric doesn't have resurrection or revivify at their disposal, the choices are limited. There are only so many bodies the rogue, probably hiding in the shadows, can drag away as they head for the hills. I know the game has gone in the direction that traditionally evil creatures don't have to be, but sometimes they just are. You can try to negotiate, but it may not work. Or maybe you just stink and Charisma checks.
In an impossible situation, there is no shame in laying down your swords and asking for mercy. As we talked about above, most GMs are going to tell you to piss off and slaughter the party. I'm willing to bet the GM will see this as an opportunity, letting you go down a new path they may or may not have thought of. Now, there are new challenges to overcome and new creatures to meet if others also make the dumb mistake of taking on a monster they could not conquer. Who knows? Maybe when in servitude to a group of mind flayers, you could convince them to hunt down and slaughter a nearby group of gith, and during the battle, escape…or lead the attack.
Whatever the case, admitting defeat and begging for your life is better than being dead. Heck, kobolds do it all the time.
So remember, when you and your friends are surrounded by a group of neogi and their umber hulk minions, you may have to suck it up and admit you've been defeated. There's always the option of going out in a blaze of glory and fighting until your final breath. I'd rather give up and live to fight another day.
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