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And don't forget: D&D 1st edition is in general rather brutal and punishing. Fail a saving throw? Dead. Fall to zero HP? Dead. Gold is XP (and vice versa). Your
by RodgerTheGreat 7y ago
And don't forget: D&D 1st edition is in general rather brutal and punishing. Fail a saving throw? Dead. Fall to zero HP? Dead. Gold is XP (and vice versa). Your level 1 magic user can be handily murdered in one swipe by an average housecat.
- tunesmith 7y agoA couple of weeks ago, the 1e group I'm DMing visited a dungeon they are overpowered for, as it's for levels 1-3, and the party is a mix of level 3 and 4. Except for the Level 2 NPC magic-user. Random wandering monster. Rolled a Giant Weasel - should be no problem, only 18 hit points against an entire party. Combat. Weasel attacks random party member - oops, it's the magic-user. Except, the die fell in a crack right after, so I secretly rerolled. Magic-user again. Oh well. Attack - weasel wins initiative. Attack hits. Scores high damage. And the weasel is clamped on to the magic-user, sucking blood. Argh. Magic-user isn't dead yet. Party's turn - thief hits! Ranger... chooses to fire her bow. Hits, but there's a chance the arrows hit the magic-user. The dice roll favorably, and she hits the weasel. Weasel is still alive. Cleric hits. Our fighter misses, argh. Druid hits, but the weasel is still alive, but just barely. Giant weasel is still sucking blood and doesn't need to roll a to-hit roll next round. Magic-user will automatically go below zero on the next round unless the weasel is killed first. Roll initiative. Simultaneous initiative! Argh! Magic-user falls to -5 HP, weasel dies. The party healed the comatose magic-user's surface damage to full health, dragged him to the surface, and camped out in the swamp for a week fighting off creepy-crawly swamp creatures while nursing him back to health. Guess they'll explore the dungeon next time!