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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ruin Explorer" data-source="post: 6332664" data-attributes="member: 18">The trouble is, this situation - i.e. TPK or near-TPK at L1/2 isn't IME a product of not "being alert", nor can it necessarily be mitigated by being alert or smart, or whatever.I've seen this situation happen plenty of times in 2E to well-prepared groups who approached an apparently normal encounter in a reasonable manner. For example - a 1st level group, seven PCs, against a similar number of goblins. PCs approach in a smart tactical fashion, but they get bad rolls, and the Goblins get 4 natural 20s (I still remember the fourth die hitting the table...) and I don't think any of them missed (despite some serious ACs on the PCs). Good damage rolls on those crits ensured that more than half the party was down in round 1, including all the frontline combatants.That's the tip of the iceberg.Blaming the players and suggesting that they "inattentive" or "computer game players" or whatever is totally unhelpful, imo. This is simply a natural consequence low HP compared to damage at L1, combined with an extremely swing-y system (which is the natural consequence of using d20s as opposed to multi-dice rolls).It's fair enough to say something like "Yeah, this is D&D, this happens at L1 sometimes, it's by design.". It's not fair to say "Oh well it's the fault of the players, they're bad!" (unless you were there and can explain the mistakes they made).The solution is pretty simple, and one we implemented in 2E and 3E, which is to do something like give the PCs +10 HP at L1. That doesn't eliminate the "issue" (whether it's a "problem" is in the eye of the beholder), but it minimizes it so much that it's unlikely to actually occur.The only thing that's really confusing is why ren1999 didn't feel like he could just add 5 or 10 or however many HP to the characters!(Also, just as an aside, the idea that "computer games" "hand you encounters on a platter" is a really truly bizarre one in this day and age, where games like Dark Souls 2, XCOM and Indie Roguelikes are very popular. If anything, D&D, of any edition, is vastly less demanding in terms of tactics, planning, or ability to think on one's feet than many CRPGs. It's just a lot more random/swing-y than most computer games, where, when you lose, it's generally because you actually screwed up, not got a few unlucky rolls.)</blockquote>

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