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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Water Bob" data-source="post: 5703216" data-attributes="member: 92305">Note the "Conan" tag...   None of my players have played the Conan RPG before my campaign started. All of them have played D&D before (1E and 2E, but not 3E). So, there's a lot of new concepts for them to digest. Even after a year and a half with the campaign, we're still learning the system (we've only had 6 game sessions...life gets in the way...number 7 this Friday, but then I'm out of town until November).It's a dangerous game. You cannot play it like you do a D&D game (in my opinion). You cannot run into a room full of enemies as you would a room full of Orcs and slay away. In this game, that's a good way to get your character killed. You have to be smarter than that. Think tactically. Use teamwork. Don't forget distance weapons. All this, to survive battles in this game.The PCs in my game are getting close to 3rd level. I think a session or three, and they'll be there. Along the way, I've picked up some thoughts on keeping low level characters alive in this very dangerous game. If you've got some input on this, I'd love to hear it.First off, there's armor. That's a given. It's obvious. My campaign is centered around Cimmerians, so armor hasn't been the topic of conversation yet. But, I'm about to introduce the joys of armor to my crew next game session. Using the partial armor rules in the Barbaric Warrior supplement, even a barbarian can add to his loincloth a pair of bracers and a helmet to get the character to DR 2. 1 point off of every damage roll that comes the character's way adds up. And, for non-barbarians, better armor protection is more the norm. And, conan never turned down a chain shirt when he knew he might need it.A shield, also, is obvious. It boosts the heck out of your Parry defense.But, let's look beyond the obvious. What else can help keep a low level character alive in this game?The various combat maneuvers, used at the right time, can be a boon for the PC's. One of the leads in my group has maxed out his Tumble skill (due to his high INT....Tumble is not a class skill for Barbarians). The player is looking to do things like Conan did in the new movie where he ran, jumped up on a wall, pushed off, then came swinging down on his enemy, almost like a charge that includes a jump and push off a wall. That's a Use the Battlefield maneuver that can net the character a +2 modifier on his attack.Or, let's say the PC has taken a big blow, delivered by his enemy, and the PC needs to get out of the melee, quick, before he is killed. He can choose to Withdraw (but the enemy will probably follow him), use Total Defense (if a comrade is close that can help him within a round or two), or, he can use the Dance Aside maneuver. This allows the character to take an immediate 5' step, if the maneuver is successful.So, using Dance Aside, the character immediately moves 5 feet, then, on his turn, when he's already 5' from his foe, he can decide to run from his enemy without worrying about an Attack of Opportunity (unless the foe has a weapon with reach). Dance Aside is a good maneuver to get a character out of melee when the chips are down.Another thing that I think should almost be automatic for low level characters in this dangerous game is to employ the Fight Defensively rule. The character takes a -4 on his attacks but gains a +2 to his defense for the round. Sure, he won't hit as often (and I do believe that a good offense is a great defense), but that +2 defense, on top of a shield bonus, will go a long way to keeping a low level character alive.Last but not least is not a rule found in the book, but one that I've interpreted from the rules. Look at the uses for Fate Points. See the use for a character's Destiny? Well, when a character levels, and he roll his hit die, I will allow him to re-roll that hit die, at the player's option. This costs a Fate Point. You only start with 3 FPs, so this is a valuable commodity that is being used. And, the character is bound by the second throw, no matter if it is lower or higher than the original throw (just like the "Roll Again" use of Fate Points). Thus, if you rolled a 1 or a 2 for hit points (when they are so desperately needed at low level), it's probably a good bet to blow the Fate Point and try again, being bound by whatever is thrown. I've got a character in my game that, moving from first to second level, rolled a 4 on his d10 hit die throw. He's got the option to try again, but there's a fair shot that he'll roll the same or lower (40%). So...is it worth the try and the loss of a Fate Point? Only the player can decide that.What can you add to these thoughts? What else will keep low level characters healthy in this very dangerous game?</blockquote>

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