Often these encounters are presented deliberately, to prompt a chase scene or establish the sheer power of a particular foe. When you do this, the worst case scenario is the one in which your players don't back down and are overwhelmed by the difficulty of the encounter. Never fear, because there are ways to handle these situations without a Total Party Kill or a bunch of unhappy players. Here are some important tips for doing it right:
Make it obvious that it's unwinnable.
There are a couple of ways to do this. The first method is just to give them a taste of what they are up against. Let them roll against a particularly high challenge rating (but only let them roll if there is a chance for success) or fight in a combat encounter for a round or two. When they get hit hard enough by a dragon's breath attack, or slam into a wall made of solid diamond, the more tactical players will quickly determine that the struggle is just not worth the cost.
The second method is simply to tell your players. Narrating the scenario in a way that conveys its impossibility to overcome directly is the easiest way to clue them in. You can describe the PCs gut instincts, a sense of dread or an assessment that leads them to realize they are facing something beyond their current means. If you use this method, be clear and direct. Give a very well defined sense of danger so there is no ambiguity. Be creative in how you do it, but don't beat around the bush when you tell them "you can't win this way." There's got to be a distinction between truly impossible tasks and tasks that seem impossible for dramatic effect.
Let your players apply a different solution.
Another way to handle these situations is to allow for the players to come up with their own alternative methods for approaching the problem. If the players can't beat the Big Bad Guy, perhaps they should at least be able to slow them down. If they can't break into the bank vault, maybe they can sneak in through disguise and trickery. You may reward this kind of creative approach with bonuses, or you may choose to include a cost or complication for circumventing an encounter, but this is an easy way to keep things moving and avoiding a dead end. When you say "no" as a DM, what you should mean is not "never ever" but "try something else."
I once participated as a player in an adventure module which was balanced for a party larger than the one we had. After facing a room full of spider monsters much to powerful to defeat in combat, I retreated from the room and lit the webs on fire with lamp oil, burning down the monster nest. The cost of doing this was losing all the loot from the area, but in order to progress it was obvious that a different approach than combat was needed.
In some cases, you might even allow your players to face a lesser consequence of defeat, like being captured by the enemy. Perhaps you might inflict consequences upon something other than the players themselves, like the destruction of their home base. If you take this approach you can avoid worrying about the players losing the encounter, since it has already been accounted for and prepared. When the inevitable defeat occurs, your campaign may still continue.
Make backing down an appealing option.
Nobody wants to run away from a fight at first, because nobody wants to feel like a coward. That's why it is important to make the option of avoiding a conflict seem adventurous and cool. For instance, when the group has to run away from battle, they will likely enjoy it more if it seems like an action-packed scene doing so. The villain may chase them through streets and alleys as they exchange gunfire, allowing them to still feel like heroic adventurers even while falling back. When the chase scene is compelling and exciting, it is much easier to accept it as an alternative scenario to standing and fighting.
Darth Vader is a good example of an enemy to run away from in a Star Wars RPG. When he shows up, unless you are Luke Skywalker, you should get a sense that it is time to run away. But it wouldn't be so satisfying unless Vader is portrayed as a frightening and truly impressive foe. If there are too many characters like that, it would be obnoxious, and if Vader did not have the long established legacy of power, it just wouldn't work. But if your players recognize that he's supposed to be the Boogey Man of the campaign, they shouldn't feel bad about making a break for it at all. There's no shame in fleeing from Cthulhu itself, and in fact that act is its own adventure!
Another example is The Tarrasque from Dungeons and Dragons. A huge, basically unkillable titan of a monster. The encounters based around this creature should be focused on stopping it or avoiding it, not killing it. If played right, your players should feel like they stood up heroically against a force of nature, even if they didn't vanquish it outright.
Don't do it too often.
This is not something you want your players to experience too often. Frequent run-ins like these can demoralize your group or discourage them from actively confronting challenges. The occasional overwhelming odds will make things scary and compelling, but too many instances will make your players feel helpless. Macho player types will feel especially bad about getting overwhelmed by an obstacle, but any player has the potential to be frustrated. Remember, no RPG is about 'defeating' the players, but about allowing them to experience a sense of adventure, competition, and achievement. Allow your players plenty of opportunities defeat enemies and achieve great feats... unless you are running a horror game, where a sense of fear and helplessness is to be cultivated. Or a comical farce like the outrageous Paranoia RPG.
In any case, keep checking in with your players and make sure they aren't feeling helpless against the challenges they are facing. Give them goals that they can accomplish and feel good about. And keep on taking a vested interest in their enjoyment of the game. You'll be glad you did, and so will your players!
Happy ventures!
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