Already implemented: If your hp is low and you're on Coward status, you get a speed bonus when moving.

EDIT: From the on-line manual, section O.

Specifically, your walking energy cost is reduced to 800 if your HP drops below 33% (while Coward).

While the feature already exists, its visibility could be improved by displaying some status while you're on coward and low hp. For example "panicing".

Yes, extra message woud be good.

Maybe "Panicking" could replace "Coward" in the status bar, if the PC moves while all conditions for the Coward EP reduction are fine.

It would be pretty cool if Coward was replaced with something else to make it more intuitive.

I think that's a really good idea.

I agree with grobblewobble's suggestion.

There is a 'k' in the verb, I just checked. So 'Panicking' is the correct spelling.

I'm still very much in favor of the idea, but I did think of a rather strange byproduct of it. Your character could instantly "turn on" and "turn off" their state of panic when they changed tactics, which is sort of at odds with what panic is. I mean you, can't say "okay, I'm going to start panicking right now, and stop as soon as I get halfway down this hallway."

Anyway, the point is that panic is usually an involuntary state. Google literally defines it as such: 1.Sudden uncontrollable fear or anxiety, often causing wildly unthinking behavior.

If you do "turn it on" voluntarily, shouldn't there at least be some sort of will check your character has to make in order to calm down?

I think the same problem applies to "Berserk" and "Coward", honestly.

Thinking way outside the ADOM realm here, but what would probably be more accurate would be to have tactics only go from Very Aggressive to Very Defensive (something which you can imagine the PC reasonably adjusting). Then introduce a new "Morale" variable. Say, the PC gains a bit of morale every time they make a kill, lose a bit every time they take damage. Other effects, like sickness, poison, critical hits, critically low HP, etc. could also affect morale. If you have very high morale, you gain some bonuses, maybe to attack stats or to luck. If you have low morale, you suffer some penalties, but with critically low morale, you go into panic mode that would give coward speed bursts. Or, alternatively, if you do panic + very aggressive tactics, then your PC goes into blind rage/berserk, where their DV is reduced to zero and their walking speed is decreased, but they gain some damage bonuses. Morale would slowly tend towards neutral as time passes.

That sounds like a well thought out idea, Jellyslayer.