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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Bullgrit" data-source="post: 5049717" data-attributes="member: 31216">I had a theory to test, that’s why I posted the poll as I did.My hypothesis:Starting characters had a better chance of surviving a Player’s first experience in the game in later editions of the game versus earlier editions.With D&D4’s high hit points at 1st level.With D&D3’s standard of max hit points at 1st level.And maybe with AD&D2’s supposed more emphasis on storytelling (this may be gaming myth rather than actual book instructions).Although there really isn’t enough data here, (especially for later editions), to make a true judgment on my hypothesis. OD&D -- 4:8 die:gain ratioBD&D – 27:25 die:gain AD&D1 – 18:14 die:gainAD&D2 – 8:12 die:gainD&D3 – 2:16 die:gainD&D4 – 0:1 die:gainI’m really surprised at how many OD&D, BD&D, and AD&D1 first characters survived their first adventure to gain a level. I mean, for a true beginning Player with a first character, you haven’t learned the “tricks of the trade,” so to speak, of D&D gaming. Survival, in my experience, with a first character in early D&D was mostly a crap shoot with every dungeon room.Fighters with average 4 hit points, thieves with a 75--90% chance to set off a save-or-die poison trap, magic-users with one spell, clerics with no healing, Players with no experience, etc. (This is assuming first character came in at 1st level.)My first D&D experience was exploring the module In Search of the Unknown. One of our 4 PCs died in the very first encounter, through absolutely no fault of his own. My own PC died in a troglodyte encounter just a few minutes later, through no real fault of my own.Dying so easily, of course, didn’t dissuade me from continuing the game. But it does make me awe at how others could survive the dozen or two encounters/situations/battles it would take to make second level. I mean, all it takes is a goblin rolling a 4, 5, or 6 on his d6 damage roll to kill your average BD&D fighter. In fact, I never had a PC [legitimately] make 2nd level from 1st.Bullgrit</blockquote>

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