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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mannahnin" data-source="post: 9456453" data-attributes="member: 7026594">Yeah, that lack of continuity can be hard.  That kind of longer plot may indeed be a better thing to introduce once the characters have a few levels under their belts and some more durability.Yup. D&D assumes Raistlin and Tanis and Drizzt and all those folks are the ones who made their saves and never took enough damage to die.  The Crystal Shard, I'm sure you'll remember, starts with Drizzt and Bruenor as experienced adventurers.  Our drow buddy takes on a lair full of 5+5HD Verbeeg in I think the first combat encounter we see him in. I tend to find that just a couple of tweaks are enough.  Max HP at first level helps.  Having poisons that do other things is definitely an option, as is making antivenoms and neutralize poison potions available for purchase in the campaign.  I think in my last campaign I made antivenom available for just 100-200gp (gives a re-roll on your poison save if applied promptly), and Mithridate to neutralize it entirely available for 1,000gp.  Death & Dismemberment tables are a common death mitigation house rule to give old school characters more durability without going quite as far as 5e.  There are a bunch of them out there. For example:[URL unfurl="true"]https://goblinpunch.blogspot.com/2017/04/death-trauma-and-retirement-im-gettin.html[/URL][URL unfurl="true"]https://coinsandscrolls.blogspot.com/2017/07/osr-death-and-dismemberment-table-early.html[/URL]My three year old school campaign I wrapped up a year ago was a mashup of B/X and 5 Torches Deep, and I used 5TD's death & dismemberment table.  If you got dropped to 0HP you were unconscious, and had to be healed or bandaged within 1 minute or by the end of the fight for a battle.  Once that was done, you rolled on the table.  The original table only gives a 1 in 20 chance of death, which was too little for me, so I doubled that.  I also created my own sub-table for serious injuries.  It worked out as follows:1-2. Dead3. Enfeebled, lose 1d6 Strength4. Shaky, lose 1d6 Dex5. Weakened, lose 1d6 Con6. Addled, lose 1d6 Int7. Confused, lose 1d6 Wis8. Disfigured, lose 1d6 Cha9-13 Lost body part (original table is GM's choice but I made a sub-table, see below)14-19 Disadvantage on all d20 checks until you get a night's rest.20. Sudden recovery!  Regain 1d8hp immediately.The original rules simply say ability score damage takes "weeks of rest and care" to recover.  My rule was that each week  of bedrest restores 1d6 ponts, and that if you pay for a healer's care you can roll that with advantage. My Lost body part/lingering injury sub-table:Lasting Injuries / Severed StuffRoll D8 + D122 --------- 1.04 % ---- Lose an Eye -1 TH melee, -3 TH ranged, flanking enemies get +2 TH3 --------- 2.08 % ---- Lose a Leg/Foot - half MV speed, -2 AC4-7 ------ 18.75 % -- Limp - 5’ MV speed (can be cumulative)8-11 ---- 32.29 % -- Minor Scar - No penalty! Record/describe location & story. [Can also be a lost finger]12-13 -- 16.67 % -- Broken Ribs - Disadv. on all checks, half move rate, 1 mth to recover or Cure Serious W14-15 -- 13.54 % -- Internal Injury - Disadv. all checks, 1/2 mv, DC11 Con to recover w/disadv, check 1x /week16-17 -- 9.38 % ---- Horrible Scar - 1 permanent Charisma, record/describe location & story18-19 -- 5.21 % ---- Festering Wound - As internal injury and -1 HP per Unsafe Rest, no HP recovery Safe Rest20 ------- 1.04 % ---- Lose an Arm/Hand – Cannot use that limb to hold or use items.Broken Ribs, Internal Injury, and Festering Wound can be fixed by a Cure Serious Wounds (Deviscerate in 5TD) in place of it healing HP damage. Campaign starting area note: In Restenford only Almax the Druid has 4th level divine spells. Will require both a donation and a pledged service.Additionally, I made hirelings and henchmen less durable than PCs by requiring a separate roll for them before they could roll on the injury chart.  Hirelings had a straight 1/4 chance of being dead when dropped to 0hp and henchmen 1/6.Over the course of a three year campaign I permanently killed at least a few dozen hirelings, a handful of henchmen, and probably no more than a half dozen PCs. Death was an ever-present threat, but PC continuity was mostly kept intact.  I have stuck with them but... a) Signposted them, making it pretty clear when a monster has poison or an energy-drainer is near, making it easier for players to choose to try to evade the encounter, fight at a distance, or use consumable magics like wands or something to bring the fight to an end faster.b) Made mitigation (antivenom, mithridate, restoration) not too hard to come by.</blockquote>

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