History Main / RunOrDie

* Phantoms from FinalFantasyTheSpiritsWithin. They're limitless in number and their touch is instantly lethal (via ''pulling out your soul''); any fight against them is necessarily a delaying action until you can retreat... or a LastStand.

** Bahamut from ''FinalFantasyIII''. You encounter him very early in the game, and if you don't run then he'll kill you on turn one.
** The "Guardian" mecha in ''FinalFantasyVI'' is used as BorderPatrol. You can finally fight and defeat it in the endgame.
** FinalFantasyVIII has at least two examples:

** The battle against Ba'gammnon in ''FinalFantasyXII'' in the Lhusu Mines. His crew is too powerful to take on at this point unless you've done insane amounts of LevelGrinding or get ridiculously lucky with Quickenings, so running away is the only practical course of action.

* Anyone who's played the ''EtrianOdyssey'' games long enough to encounter a [[BeefGate FOE]] (which [[NintendoHard isn't very long]]) will tell you that unless you're massively overleveled for the floor you're on, you ''run the hell away'' from them. One particular case in ''Heroes of Lagaard'' is [[BonusBoss Salamox]], who's nest you need to steal a MacGuffin from for a mission early on in the game. The chancellor, as well as the game itself, warn you that if you try to fight past it, you will die. [[CurbStompBattle They aren't kidding.]]

* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' introduces ''several'' enemies like this in the first book alone. People don't enter the abandoned city of [[IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace Shadow's Waiting]] unless they're forced to, because the evil that killed it is still trapped there and looking for new victims. People don't enter [[PortalNetwork the Ways]] unless they're desperate, because the magic that created them was corrupted, and now they're haunted by the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Black Wind That Steals Souls]]. And people don't enter [[{{Mordor}} the]] [[GardenOfEvil Blight]] unless they're suicidal, because, [[EverythingTryingToKillYou well...]]

-->'''Joe Chaos:''' Put it this way, best case: he comes back, and you kill him again, after getting hit for another 25.
-->'''Nuclear Dan:''' No problem.
-->'''Joe Chaos:''' And then he comes back AGAIN, and SOMEHOW you get him again, after taking another 25...
-->'''Nuclear Dan:''' Oh.
-->'''Dang:''' Besides, there's NO way he's going to fall for [[NowThatsUsingYourTeeth that]] again...
-->'''Nuclear Dan:''' I only have 78 HP...
-->'''Joe Chaos:''' That's the point. [[ImplacableMan He will win eventually, if only by attrition.]]

* The Agents from ''TheMatrix'', providing the page quote. The sequels [[VillainDecay downgrade]] most of them to {{Elite Mook}}s at best for Neo, though they still remain significant threats to protagonists other than him and [[BigBad Smith]] remains the most dangerous of them all.

** The battle against Ba'gammnon in ''FinalFantasyXII'' in the Lhusu Mines. His crew is too powerful to take on at this point, all you can do is run.
*** It ''IS'' possible to beat him, but not without an insane amount of LevelGrinding and a very lucky run on a round of Quickenings.

* MassEffect. Exploring a random planet. Come across a [[BossRoom hilly, perfectly circular piece of terrain]] that is [[ItsQuietTooQuiet peculiarly free of nasties]]. [[OhCrap Cue Thresher Maw]].
** Though it's actually quite possible to kill them, though you must be ''very'' careful, since they can [[CurbStompBattle one-shot your tank if you get too close to them and two-shot it if you stay at a distance]].

* In the ''DoctorWho'' two-parter "Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead", this is all you can do against the Vashta Nerada. Seriously, the characters are never once able to take offensive action against them. The Doctor only gets them to back off by ''threatening'' to do something unpleasant based on his reputation, with no evidence in sight of how he would actually make good on it.

This enemy is usually rare and always notorious. Its very presence may inspire panic. Perhaps it's an ImplacableMan, or its SuperWeight is just that much higher than the protagonist's. Perhaps it's not an individual, but TheSwarm or TheCorruption. In any case, anyone who fights it is screwed, and anyone who could possibly end up fighting it ''knows it''.

* [[MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!!]]

* In ''Naruto'', during the Third Ninja War there was a "Flee on sight" order on the Fourth Hokage, with Run Or Die heavily implied.

*** The spider robot during the Dollet mission, which appears unexpectedly and chases the party all the way back to the evacuation point. It doesn't have a partiuclarly powerful offense, but it's impossible to kill (except at [[GuideDangIt one point]]) and it appears during a TimedMission so you can't waste too much time fighting it.

** And of course we have the Grunts, who are an example in reverse; they have a high tendancy to break ranks and flee if stronger Covenent nearby fall.

* In the ''Doctor Who'' two-parter, this is all you can do against the Vashta Nerada. Seriously, the characters are never once able to take offensive action against them. The Doctor only gets them to back off by ''threatening'' to do something unpleasant based on his reputation, with no evidence in sight of how he would actually make good on it.

** Though it's actually quite possible to kill them if you are ''very'' careful, since they can [[CurbStompBattle one-shot your tank if you get too close to them.

Of course, none of this will keep our heroes from fighting it sooner or later. If encountered early in the story, it may require a HeroicSacrifice from one character to allow the rest to escape. If the sacrificial character is wounded, he may insist that IWillOnlySlowYouDown; either way, expect him to tell the enemy that YouShallNotPass before making his LastStand. If no sacrifical characters are available, then [[BigDamnHeroes someone may show up unexpectedly]] and tell the heroes to ComeWithMeIfYouWantToLive. If the foe isn't fought until later in the story, it will probably be after the heroes have discovered its AchillesHeel, or somehow dramatically increased their PowerLevel (though a SuperMode, DangerousForbiddenTechnique, or whatever), and it will ''still'' be a difficult fight. If it's fought both early and late, then the latter fight will be a HeroicRematch.

This enemy is usually rare and always notorious. Its very presence may inspire panic. Perhaps it's an ImplacableMan, or its SuperWeight is just that much higher than the protagonists. Perhaps its not an individual, but TheSwarm or TheCorruption. In any case, anyone who fights it is screwed, and anyone who could possibly end up fighting it ''knows it''.