making ecounters in 1st ed
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Celebrim
Legend
Pretty much the same way I design them for 3e; I decide how the world works and then build everything to that. I never worry much about 'balanced encounters' except inside a particular dungeon. Instead, I decide what 'level' a particular dungeon is, then I pick a theme for that dungeon level that I think I can support and then build to that standard.
That's not a particularly old skool approach to the issue.
No. 1e is organic. It assumes the world not the encounter. If the challenge is to great for the party, it assumes the party avoids it either by avoiding the lair or by not going down another level in the dungeon, or by evading it in the event of a wandering monster. It classifies monsters from I to X, roughly equivalent to being an appropriate challenge for a party of 1st to 10th level accordingly. It defines how many of those monsters appear in the monster entry, and assumes that a DM will - if he adjusts at all - favor the lower end of the number appearing for parties lower than the monster level and higher for those higher than the monster level. Treasure should be randomly determined and adjusted up or down depending on whether the number appearing is above or below the expected average.
Also note that once the party much exceeds name level (say 12th), pretty much nothing in the Monster Manuals is going to be a challenge in and of itself - not even necessarily the various lords of the lower planes. To keep adventuring at such exalted levels, assuming that the levels are fairly earned by the now very skilled players, you will have to be creative in your challenges either by inventing new and tougher monsters or rigging encounters in the monsters favor.
The 1e DMG is filled with advice on this, having everything from random monster generators appropriate to a particular dungeon depth, to detailed advice on placing treasure, monsters, and challenging your players. You might also want to look at published 1e modules for guidelines as to what players can potentially overcome. Keep in mind however that a module like Ravenloft is absolutely lethal at its suggested level of play provided the DM doesn't go soft.
Thanael
Explorer
Check out encounter tables. They're fun. I know they're in the 2E Monster Compendiums in the back. For 1E I'm not sure. There's some weird stuff in the back of the 1E DMG ;-) (There's more abotu city encounter and probably also other encounters too). But seriously get the 1E DMG and read it cover to cover...
I know the Greyhawk boxed set has encounter tables. Perhaps also in the Monster Manuals.
Also the Monster Manual entries all have notes on how different critters are likely to be encountered. (I.e in groups of 2d4 creature or 20% to have an Ogre leader, etc...) It's either in the Habitat/Society section or at the top under Organization.
This and this are very useful link for 2E rules. (2e did a lot to flesh out monster ecologies and is in general very compatible to 1E.)
Otherwise as Celebrim said.
I know the Greyhawk boxed set has encounter tables. Perhaps also in the Monster Manuals.
Also the Monster Manual entries all have notes on how different critters are likely to be encountered. (I.e in groups of 2d4 creature or 20% to have an Ogre leader, etc...) It's either in the Habitat/Society section or at the top under Organization.
This and this are very useful link for 2E rules. (2e did a lot to flesh out monster ecologies and is in general very compatible to 1E.)
Otherwise as Celebrim said.
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Celebrim
Legend
Wilderness encounter tables at the back of the 1e MM2.
Treasure tables at the back of the 1e MM1.
Random magic items in the DMG.
Random dungeon map/encounter generator in the back of the DMG.
Monster entries will have a treasure type, percentage chance to be found in a lair (which could be read as the chance to find a lair), and a number appearing for encounters both in and out of a lair. Some entries in the MM - notably for humanoids and giants - will have additional notes about the composition of the group and any pets or allies that they may have. For the most old school feel, abide by the treasure tables, the number appearing and so forth.
It's quite possible to run a decent sandbox campaign with the above tables and a dose of imagination. It will certainly have an old school feel to it as magic items and treasure will be scarce, and discoveries unpredictable.
The random dungeon generator in the DMG is a fun concept, and useful for generating infinitely large mega dungeons with only a small dose of interpretation (knowing when to quit adding doors for example). I used to use it as the basis of 'Open Dungeon Crawl' nights at the local game store. The dungeon it generates is generally far superior to what most newbs will do for their first dungeon and filling a couple of graph sheets and pages with notes from what it generates is an excellent exercise for a young DM.
Second edition is largely a step backwards, but one thing it does have going for it is excellent write ups about the lifestyle and behavior of the monsters. I'd also recommend adopting 2e dragons unless you have a pure nostalga thing going or really know what you are doing.
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Rhun
First Post
I played 1E long enough that it wasn't hard to eyeball the encounters I had planned and to determine if they were good challenges for the PCs. Of course, balance meant a lot less back then. If my 1st level PCs angered a group of 20 town guards, well then they had best flee, and flee quickly. 
Man in the Funny Hat
Hero
Start at first level. Throw something at them. If they live then next time make it bigger, or do more damage, or use more of them. If they survive that then hit them harder next time, and so on, and so on. Even sorting monsters into levels from I to X doesn't give you squat to go on. It's ALL by feel - by what you THINK they can handle or KNOW they can't (and you'll usually be wrong on the latter score.)
If you're particularly concerned then just be sure you have accurate, up-to-date copies of the PC's character sheets and run a few mock combats by yourself. Or mock up some vaguely similar PC's, throw them at your players and have them play these characters through some test combats for a while until you have a better feel for how much they can handle and for how long.
If you're particularly concerned then just be sure you have accurate, up-to-date copies of the PC's character sheets and run a few mock combats by yourself. Or mock up some vaguely similar PC's, throw them at your players and have them play these characters through some test combats for a while until you have a better feel for how much they can handle and for how long.
lordxaviar
Explorer
Not sure of the dragon issue...but the article was Encounters by the numbers, it was a simple formula using APL average party level to set up encounters watching the balance so you ouldnt have to remind them to run away all the time.. though it is good for parties to remember to do that now and then... (like the 20 town guard story !!!--Rhun wouldnt let me ex ya for that.)
If someone doesnt beet me to it,, I will post it on www.4share and link here...it really was a good article and it worked quite well with a minimum of work I narry had to flub a roll.
If someone doesnt beet me to it,, I will post it on www.4share and link here...it really was a good article and it worked quite well with a minimum of work I narry had to flub a roll.
