Surviving low-level old school D&D

[Fifth Element]

I remember doing the Caves of Chaos one room per day. Clear out one room, high-tail it back to town to heal and regain spells, and then back the next day for the next room. Otherwise we would've been toast. So many humanoids!

My very first AD&D character was a paladin - I rolled a 17 Charisma on 3d6! He was sent on a glorious mission into the sewers to kill some sewer goblins. First thing he did was fall into a pit and die. Good times!

 

[Ariosto]

The combination of maximum (or even above-average) HP at 1st level with provision for being "out, but not dead" at negative points can nearly eliminate PC deaths short of coups de grace. I have found the latter provision particularly odious, though; I would rather employ some sort of saving throw if I want to make such an allowance.

Without such modifications, 1st-level characters are indeed prone to high mortality rates -- very high in combination with novice players. Of course, lack of skill can doom characters of any level!

I think the low-level game is key to initial development of essential skills, and excellent for getting back up to speed when those have gone rusty. It can also be a great change of pace after a lot of high-level play, offering distinct challenges.

Once upon a time, it was also commonly a process of real discovery by players who did not know thing one about the monsters and magic of D&D. (For that reason, it was preferable if at all possible to play for a while before "parting the veil" by reading the material a DM needed to know.) The death of a character was (for most of us, in my experience) not a big "bummer" but an addition to the thrill -- and an opportunity to roll up another, perhaps of different sort. The toss of the dice was delightful suspense, and the dungeons always held fresh mysteries in their depths. I would give the analogy of a friend's cat that fell out a window, survived without serious injury a bounce off a (parked) car ... and, as soon as it was retrieved, seemed intent on jumping the same course! Whee!

When one has "been there, done that" times enough to get jaded, one may wish to skip that phase and start at (say) 4th or 5th level. I prefer that to "jacking up" 1st-level PCs. However, I also prefer to hand-wave the competence of such characters as primarily the result of being especially gifted -- as opposed to coming up with "back stories" as copious as the tales that actual play up to that point would have produced. The biography that really matters, in my view, is what emerges in play.

 

[Remathilis]

4d6 drop the lowest was the standard rolling method in 1e D&D. Basic/Expert D&D allowed you to lower some stats in order to raise others at a cost of 2 for 1. 3d6 in order with no changes is OD&D only I believe.

We didn't do this one. But, then again, Plate mail was only 60 gold, so, it wasn't like your fighter wasn't going to start with a 2 AC right off the shot.

Funnily enough, when I did run 3e straight by the book, I slaughtered the PC's. The campaign averaged a PC death every three sessions. Gack. Since then, I use Action Points to mitigate 3e lethality and that's worked for us.

Mind you, I played 2e after starting in the Rules Cyclopedia. Both of them list 3d6 in order as the normal method of stat gen, but both give generous alternative methods (4d6 is "Method V" in 2e). As soon as we found it, we switched to it, and most of us had "good hands" (sometimes legit, sometimes not so) so it was rare to see anyone with at least a 17 in a prime requisite.

Similarly, in 2e a fighter began with 5d4x 10 gp and plate mail was 600 gp. So chain, scale, and splint were all common starting armors after the max gold rule came. It meant most fighters could afford 1-2 good weapons (sword & a bow usually) decent armor and possibly shield, and the "standard adventurers kit" of his day.

Lastly, I know what you mean. APs have saved my group, as did adding SW Saga's Second Wind rule. Still hasn't stopped my Eberron group from suffering 7 deaths in 12 levels.

 

[Stoat]

I fondly recall an adventure where the last conscious party member was the war dog. Not only did "Fluffy" dispatch the last foe standing, she heroically dragged her master to safety, Lassie style.

 

[Mythmere1]

Ok, I'll be the pink elephant in the room.

I cheated. A lot.

I assumed we were just talking about after we were all done cheating.
My characters in 5th grade *somehow* managed to elude death a billion times. By 6th grade ... not so much.

 

[Set]

I fondly recall an adventure where the last conscious party member was the war dog. Not only did "Fluffy" dispatch the last foe standing, she heroically dragged her master to safety, Lassie style.

We had a 1st level Ranger with a war dog, and the Ranger spent 10 rounds fighting a single Orc (granted, it was the chieftan) while his war dog killed like six others...

Heck, that really hasn't changed since 1st edition. Our 3.5 Druids 'riding dog' Companions are usually the best tank in the party at 1st level!

 

[Ed_Laprade]

Why just walk in a room full of goblins? They have to leave sometime, ambush them when they leave.

HA! I recall one dungeon (don't remember which) that had a 10x10 room with 30 Orcs in it (or some equally gonzo Old Skoolishness) that we sealed up for a week. When we opened it up, there they were, exactly as they'd been when we sealed the door. No latrine, no food, no air. Why were they still there? Because the GM decided that the whole thing was just so gonzo (the module said they did X when the door was open, and nothing else) that they were put into magical suspended animation whenever the door closed. We all groaned/chuckled at that, and continued onward...

 

[S'mon]

Funnily enough, when I did run 3e straight by the book, I slaughtered the PC's. The campaign averaged a PC death every three sessions. Gack. Since then, I use Action Points to mitigate 3e lethality and that's worked for us.

For most of my current 3e campaign I've been averaging 1 dead PC per 4 hour session. I started using death at negative CON + 10 to reduce fatalities; still lost 2 PCs in 1 fight to a fireballing Wizard. Funny thing is, I'm using B/X and C&C modules and monster stats to reduce the lethality!

Maybe it's because players expect to win the fights in 3e they die so much. Plus the modern modules especially can be rather linear.

 

[EricNoah]

I'm trying to figure out why "play it straight by the book, live or die means nothing to me" never worked for me. Two thoughts:

1) There are the rules to the game, and then there is the intent (which is certainly open to personal interpretation). To me, the intent is the fun of adventuring, and the game is more fun when the characters have a decent shot at survival; plus I want to reward reasonable risk-taking as I find "probe every bit of floor with a 10' pole" utterly boring.

2) D&D has always been my gateway at being the character in a fantasy novel. If Bilbo had been killed by those trolls near the beginning of The Hobbit, there wouldn't have been a story about him. So I think in my mind that's where the "PCs are special" mentality comes from. They are the star of the show; things don't always work for them the way they work for everyone else; and further, the stars of the show should be able to direct luck their way a bit more than normal (thus my use of action-point style rules that allow the avoidance of the worst of the random luck of the dice).

 

[Remathilis]

I'm trying to figure out why "play it straight by the book, live or die means nothing to me" never worked for me. Two thoughts:

1) There are the rules to the game, and then there is the intent (which is certainly open to personal interpretation). To me, the intent is the fun of adventuring, and the game is more fun when the characters have a decent shot at survival; plus I want to reward reasonable risk-taking as I find "probe every bit of floor with a 10' pole" utterly boring.

2) D&D has always been my gateway at being the character in a fantasy novel. If Bilbo had been killed by those trolls near the beginning of The Hobbit, there wouldn't have been a story about him. So I think in my mind that's where the "PCs are special" mentality comes from. They are the star of the show; things don't always work for them the way they work for everyone else; and further, the stars of the show should be able to direct luck their way a bit more than normal (thus my use of action-point style rules that allow the avoidance of the worst of the random luck of the dice).

Hey Eric, we come from the same gaming traditions. We used the rules to emulate the stories we loved, as opposed to running the rules and telling stories from the results. Both are valid, but our play style is very much the former than the latter (even today.)