Surviving low-level old school D&D

[Treebore]

I guess it was because we were in the military, plus I did not start playing with a newbie DM, he had a few years under his belt.

So we didn't start with a few HP's, my first DM is the first to teach me "max HP at first level" and why. Plus he taught me the value of using cover whenever possible, back to back fighting, using your 10 foot pole, use caltrops, let them come to you, and probably a dozen more "tricks of survival" I was taught and have forgotten.

We still had plenty of PC deaths, I just got lucky and wasn't one of them most of the time. I think I have only had PC's die 23 times or so. Most of those were in my wife's games, she had poison frikkin everywhere!

 

[rkwoodard]

original 5 minute work day/week

Ah, fond memories.

4 or 5 characters go into the dungeon or bandit area, fight one very small group of orcs or goblins and then retreat. Not because the wizard is out of spells, but because

1) All spell casters have cast their spells
2) The Ranger is down to 2 hit points
3) The fighter is out
4) The thief...well it does not really matter the condition of the thief

Repeat till the entire party is dead, or the DM gets so bored he gives enough XP to level the party so that he can run something a little more fun.

But maybe that is just my experiences

RK

 

[Riley]

(double post.)

 

[Riley]

Ways to survive low levels in AD&D 1e:

1) Play a ranger with a high con. Hard to go wrong with 2d8+6 starting hp.
2) Maximize AC. An elf with 19 dex and splint mail + shield is a good start. Upgrade to banded, then field plate ASAP. Besides, those improved armors will also improve your movement rate to 9" instead of 6", which is good for rule #8.
3) Do both 1 and 2 (after UA was released).
4) Molitov cocktails are invaluable.
5) Guard dogs are invaluable.
6) Longbows are invaluable.
7) Safety in numbers. If there are eight of you, at least one of you will make that saving throw.
8) Always be ready to run away, and keep a good stockpile of caltrops to slow down your pursuers.

 

[Corathon]

Some PC deaths are bound to happen at low level (And higher levels, too), but there are ways to minimize the number/frequency of such deaths.

1) Hirelings
If you only have 4 PCs, that's a dangerously small group. Hirelings (zero-level fighters) should be acquired as soon as possible. For evil or neutral groups, these may be just cannon fodder, but even for good groups, they're a good idea. More attack rolls mean more hits on the enemy.

2) War dogs
A 2+2 HD war dog is probably better than the party's fighters in both attacks and hit points. Having one along can be a big help.

3) Smart tactics
These include basics like mapping, gathering intelligence, use of missiles, forming a defensive line, planning your objectives, and running away from anything that you think is too tough.

4) The "hovering on death's door" rule
The rule that character isn't dead at zero HP was in the first edition DMG as an option. Using it reduces lethality.

5) Giving first level characters at least average HP
This is an optional rule from Unearthed Arcana. For example, using this rule a fighter with d10 hit die (average 5.5) will have at least 6 HP at first level. Some people house-ruled maximum HP at 1st level, though I think that's going too far, myself.

6) If the adventure is near (perhaps beneath) a town, fort, or other "home base", many PCs can be saved that would otherwise die. The slow poison and death's door spells can return nominally dead PCs. Of course the NPC clerics that cast such things will want something in return, but that's just a way to dispose of excess loot, or grist for more adventures.

 

[Nebten]

For almost all my games had characters start with max HPs (along with other's I'm sure). Pretty much it was always a question as to who was going to be the cleric and then flesh out the rest of the party dynamic from there. I think after a couple games we used "Hovering on Death's Door" rule as well, which is the now common -10 = Death rule. This was all AD&D 2nd Ed.

 

[EricNoah]

This is kind of vague

Bullgrit

Everything from house rules to toughen up low-level PCs, to adjusting published adventures to include more resources and fewer hazards, to making sure the bad guys weren't too tough, to straight up fudging rolls at the table. I know there's a "PCs aren't special" school of thought with some DMs; I go the opposite way.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

I know there's a "PCs aren't special" school of thought with some DMs; I go the opposite way.

For me, it depends on the game. Usually (but not always), with D&D, I take the approach of "PCs that survive are special." A 1st level PC might be special, with a fantastic story and legendary exploits in his future...or his story might be to die from a giant spider bite twenty minutes into his first foray in the dungeon. (My D&D games are kind of like George R.R. Martin novels, in that respect -- characters might die, but the tale goes on...)

 

[Ed_Laprade]

Its possible by RAW. If the dice are with the party and against the GM. Normally you just get used to having total strangers attaching themselves to your party, with the group who levels up being entirely different from the one that entered the dungeon in the first place! (Somewhere in one of the dungeons one of our early GM's ran is a fresco of half a dozen of my earliest characters who were killed by spider bites in the first or second encounter of an adventure. )

 

[mach1.9pants]

The OP is entirely correct IMO, you cannot play BECMI type DnD with out continual PC/party kills. If you house rule or really fudge the dice, maybe, but otherwise you are stuffed.
We had a party of every 'class' from BECMI and the highest HP of any PC was 4 (and everyone else had 3 or less) we literally could not fight. So we ran from every encounter but we still all died!
The DM even made me roll for my Magic User spell..... tensers floating disk and a dagger... oh the mighty Raistlin Majere!