IddlerItaler wrote:But what if, instead, the prey could have confidently beaten the pred in a fight, but just... didn't?
I usually don't opt for this kind of dynamics, because I like the prey fighting in the stomach, and if the prey is outright stronger they would tear the pred's belly open anyway, even if they were eaten out of overconfidence.
My interpretation of the overconfident prey usually revolves around a prey that is just powerful enough to escape the pred, or ward them long enough until they become bored, or in some cases, a prey that is not on a pred's menu because the pred has no will to eat them. In that situation, the overconfidence is about the prey taking unnecessary risks (like provoking the pred, trying to steal something from them, setting up a trap to capture the pred but underestimating the pred's strength / cunning / abilities, etc).
IddlerItaler wrote:A mighty prey that only ends up as prey by spectacularly throwing a fight or disregarding the most basic, common sense precautions (like venturing alone in the woods and turning his back to the first armed stranger he meets) has an odd sense of fairness to it. [...] Compared to prey just getting eaten because an unstoppable pred crossed them on the street and thought they looked tasty, there is at least agency for the character getting eaten.
There is a big limitation to this. A story where characters lack common sense is, in my opinion, a bad story. As I said above, I like when the prey is being reckless, but their actions still have to make some kind of sense beyond just overconfidence. I have this story where an imp-like creature willingly gets eaten by a dragon, with a plan to start a fire in the dragon's belly to make him cough. As it turns out, the dragon's insides are immune to fire, but this is a surprise to both the pred and prey. In universe, this was a reckless plan but it had a high chance to work, and only failed for reasons that the prey could reasonably be unaware of.
Additionally, an unstoppable pred eating whatever prey the cross in the street, opens possibilities for the reverse scenario: the pred getting a stomach ache and a humiliation because
they were overconfident!
IddlerItaler wrote:Is the prey letting themselves be lured and willingly taking the bait, or do they get swirly eyes and become hypnotized the moment they see the lure?
Does the prey have a hunch - or certainty - they're walking into a trap or do they only realize there is a threat the moment they're getting swallowed?
As far as traps are concerned, I prefer the trap to be well-crafted and actually deceiving, rather than plainly laid out and relying on the stupidity of the prey to work. And mind control as a plot device is cheap. If I take the "caution vorehole" sign as an example, the sign would be a red herring and either indicate the wrong area, or distract the potential prey from the actual danger.
Well-crafted traps characterize the predator as not only powerful, but cunning. If you make the prey stupid instead of making the traps interesting, you're devaluing both the predator and prey, which can work in some contexts, but not generally.
T145 wrote:Not quite them underplaying their hand unintentionally, such as due to overconfidence, but what about them underplaying their hand intentionally, with the goal of being eaten for one reason or another?
In this case it's more of a win for the prey. I have a story where a prey provokes a predator in order to get eaten, but not after coating itself in a substance that neutralizes stomach acids.
empatheticapathy wrote:I generally prefer it over the pred just being invincible.
I second that. As much as I don't like the prey to be outright stronger than the pred, I like when the prey is at least somewhat challenging and the pred has to work for their meal. In an unwilling scenario, it is best when pred and prey can (and must) take advantage of each other's weaknesses). It just makes the predator feel like... A predator... if you see what I mean.
