Taking 20 Podcast - Ep 127 - Keeping 1st Level PCs Alive

Episode Date: May 29, 2022

Low level characters die so easily.  The game world is full of traps, monsters and all sorts of things looking to do them harm.  As a player, how to you keep your fragile character alive?  As a DM, how do you change your game to make it not quite so deadly?  After all, we don't want to go back to the bad old days when we all had multiple characters in case ours died every single game session. #DungeonsandDragons #DnD #Pathfinder #RPG #KeepingPCsAlive

This week on the Taking20 Podcast. Wait to attack a spellcaster when she's vulnerable. Hold your shot until the baddie dashes between cover. Let the slow-ass cleric get their buffs off before you try to attack. Proper timing on your attacks, spells, and skills can mean the difference between defeat and victory. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to episode 127 of the Taking20 podcast. This week, all about keeping those fragile first-level PCs alive. This week's sponsor, blood vessels. Two of my blood vessels fell in love like Romeo and Juliet, but just like the eponymous couple, it was all in

vain. This podcast has a real sponsor for the first time. I am so excited, and I don't know what to do with my hands. This episode's sponsor is 3D Crafts and Curios. Owner Brenton Galbraith has been 3D printing since 2019, and he started a gaming-centric Etsy store last year full of 3D-printed dice towers, vaults, dice jails, GM screens, RPG drink coasters, and more available in over 30 different colors. Head over to 3Dcraftsandcurios.etsy.com. That's 3Dcraftsandcurios.etsy.com or search 3Dcraftsandcurios for more information. As a special, just for Taking20 podcast listeners, use the code TAKING20, that's TAKING20,

during the months of June and July to get 10% off any item in the 3D Crafts and Curios Etsy store. But the most exciting announcement is that 3D Crafts and Curios are sponsoring a giveaway. They have graciously provided a 3D printed Artificer's Workshop Dice Tower in silk bronze. This beautifully intricate

tower was designed by Kimbolt Creations, produced by 3D Crafts and Curios, and looks absolutely gorgeous. Pictures and a short 360 degree video can be found on Taking20 Podcasts, social media, Instagram, Facebook, etc.

Go take a look. To enter, send an email to contest at taking20podcast.com with an answer to this question. What is a favorite accessory that you have or that you would like to have 3D printed for your table? It could be a prop, a dice tower, a tracker of some kind, dice holder, or any other cosmetic prop. Send your ideas to contest at taking20podcast.com. The deadline for the contest is July 17th, with the winner announced on episode 135 on

July 24th. Thank you again to Brenton at 3D Crafts and Curios. Take a look at their massive selection over at 3dCraftsandCurios.etsy.com. So your players gather around the table. They're ready to start a new adventure. They've brought their first-level characters, and the air is heady with that new character smell. Little do these characters know the horrors that await them,

with rot grubs, a marauding group of ogrekin, traps ready to maim and puncture, and, if they live long enough, betrayal by the beautiful noble who they think is their benefactor. But as they say, that's a king-sized if they live long enough. Most modern game systems like 5th Edition, Pathfinder 2nd Edition, Cyberpunk, Fate, as they've released newer editions, they've gotten much better about making first-level characters viable. Hell, the iconic first-level wizard in Pathfinder 2E, Ezran, starts with 16 hit points. 16! In Advanced Dungeons & Dragons that I played in a lot in my youth, a wizard wouldn't see that many hit points until like level 4. Anyone who waxes poetic about

the good old days of tabletop RPGs is forgetting just how fragile all of the characters were. We all had five or six character sheets ready to go because there was a damn good chance we'd need them. Even in modern game system improvements though, first level characters are squishy and can die quite easily. So how do you keep them from becoming owllbear pellet? That's what we're going to discuss today. Full disclosure, I had planned on sticking to the GM side of the screen and spending the entire episode focused there. I had mentioned that in last week's preview,

but I received a couple of emails this week asking me to also talk about the topic from the player point of view. So let's start there. Players, if you are running a first level character, it is time to play tactically smart. Yes, you. The one who's sitting there all confident because you've survived this DM's campaigns before, and you have no doubts in your head that you can do it again. Moving from a high level campaign to to a low-level one is one of the most dangerous times for a player. Hell, I've fallen victim to it.

My 190 hit point druid was damn near unkillable on the front lines at a previous campaign. I got used to charging the front and protecting the squishier characters behind me. I could dish out damage, heal myself, rain lightning down from a clear sky. She was 17th level, and in most game worlds, that's like a world leader level kind of power. A few game sessions later in the next campaign, I was a first level rogue again, sneaking around and nearly losing my leg to a scything blade trap that critted me thanks to a bad reflex save. I got cocky and overconfident. I've been gaming for 40 years. I got this. Oh shit, I might need a new character tonight. So let's get back to basics for your characters. And I

want to remind you of some standard advice for classes. And yes, I know there are a lot of different ways to build a lot of different classes. So this advice is going to paint with a very broad brush. First and foremost, know your character. Know their abilities. Know your spells. Read and understand what your equipment can do. There's no replacement for knowledge and no excuse not to know your character. If I, as your DM, have to design and understand an entire raid and loot system based on a world's economy, you can remember what the fuck Burning Hands does, okay? Now, martial characters. You are there to keep the party alive.

Stay close to your squishy teammates. You are a hit point tank and a damage dealer and you are really good in a fight. You know who isn't? Castie the Magic Geek. So keep an eye on him, yeah? At level 10, when Castie is eating lightning and crapping thunder, he'll return the favor. Pure casters and ranged fighters, front row is not for you. If you can stay back from the baddies, you need to do so. If you can't, stick close to a tanky character. You know, that girl with the big muscles and the bad attitude? Yeah, she'll keep your dainty ass alive long enough to pincushion a baddie or

five. And casters, choose your spells wisely. If you're going to be fighting a lot of bandits, Animal Friendship or Unseen Servant, cool spells though they may be, may not be the optimal choice when your quantity of spells is limited at first level. Rogues. Stealth is everything, and most game systems require cover to hide or stealth. Use cover when you can and that sweet hidden condition and make the most of that sneak attack damage. Also, rogues. Flanking is king. When you do come out of stealth, double up with another combatant and give baddies the bad days that they've earned. Now, here's some general advice that all first-level characters should remember. One, a lot of game systems have held or reserved actions as a mechanic. Don't want to go on your initiative? I don't blame you.

Sometimes all the good stuff happens after you've gone. So consider using a held or reserved action. Different RPGs will call these by different names, and depending on the system that you're using, you can exchange actions now for actions later, or you can wait to execute your existing actions. The difference is semantics. Either way, you get to go later and act when your actions could be more effective. Wait to attack a spellcaster when she's vulnerable. Hold your shot until the baddie dashes between cover. Let the slow-ass cleric get their buffs off before you try to attack. Proper timing on your attacks, spells, and skills can mean the difference between defeat and victory. Read up on your

game system's rules on this and use it to your advantage. 2. Ranged attacks, ranged attacks, ranged attacks, and more ranged attacks. At low levels, a lot of monsters melee, and melee can be lethal, so attack from range. Use bows and guns and laser rifles and even thrown knives to keep your character out of harm's way while being able to deal a reasonable amount of damage. Even if your character isn't a range specialist, I have my broadax and that's all I'm going to use. Still, have a way to attack from range. Some weapon that you can pull out when your character needs to stay farther back. It might even save their life. Three, buffs are king. This is a far too varied topic to cover thoroughly, but examples of buff spells include False Life, Bless, Shield of Faith, Haste, Guidance. These little boons here and there to your d20 rolls and those little extra hit points are huge at first level.

Make good use of your spell slots for some of these bonuses for you and your teammate. Four, have some healing ready. Even if it's just a small cure potion, it can make a difference between surviving the combat and someone going through your pockets for your loose change. Potions, scrolls, even some game systems have non-magical healing that can stop wounds and keep players alive when they go unconscious, like bandages or a poultice. Read up on those and have a few at the ready when your character drops from that axe to the back. 5. Have an escape plan. It doesn't matter what type of escape plan that you have, but have something there.

Whether it's magical, like a potion of invisibility, something with gaseous form or mist form, expeditious retreat, long strider, some spell like that that can get you out of combat in a hurry. Or it could be a tactical escape plan, being ready to retreat the same direction, a place to meet, that type of thing. Six, items are key. There are a ton of one-time use items that you can have on your character just in case, like a tangle foot bag or alchemist fire or dust of disappearance. Caltrops or hell, even a bucket can be used as a distraction in a pinch. Some of them are consumed on use, but you can always buy more, but you have to survive to do so. Seven, characters need to work together. Talk to each other and plan out your strategy. Most DMs will allow you to do this with the assumption that during the time you've been walking and camping together, you'd talk battle tactics. Plan who should move where and when and who should serve as bait

and who should be the ones to make the baddies pay for chasing bait. Speaking of which, 8. Use the environment to your advantage. If you can lure the baddies into an area where you can focus fire or squeeze them into limited areas or take away their numerical advantage, you should do so. Narrow hallways, doorways, any area where you have good footing but they don't. An area where they would take damage and you wouldn't. Thinking tactically like this can mean the difference

between survival and not. 9. Generally, don't split the party. It's a trope for a reason. Splitting the party means you have half the attack rolls, half the spells, damage, and half the actions per round. There are exceptions, pincher maneuvers, bait to overextend the baddies, but in general, splitting the party's a bad idea. Stay together, stay alive. You can back each other up if stuff goes down around you. And finally, 10. If all else fails, tactical retreat is your best friend. Live to fight

another day. Get the F off the battlefield and find somewhere to regroup. Maybe you got caught by surprise and you weren't able to buff or prepare or maybe you're fighting on two fronts. Retreat to an area, get all the baddies in front of you so you can deal with them from one direction and after you've prepared to fight. As I said, most player advice here revolves around being tactically smart. DM advice can get a little more nuanced and a little less intuitive, so let's switch sides and talk about tips for GMs. Decide how lethal you want your campaign to be.

If you do want it to be lethal, then make sure your players know that their characters may die. Advise them to have backup characters ready. Not every player enjoys grim, dark, super lethal, death is common type adventures, so make sure they know that that's what you're running and that they should be prepared. If you do want your campaign to be not quite as lethal, so you want your player characters to survive, there's some things you need to consider. To repeat myself from earlier,

level one characters are very squishy. They're fragile little baby birds that you can protect or easily crush depending on the choices you make. Carefully design your encounters or nerf your encounters on the fly. Don't be afraid to adjust things behind the screen as needed if it looks like it's going badly for the PCs. Your baddies probably shouldn't use optimum tactics. Their spellcasters can get caught alone. They don't use flanking to their advantage. Non-melee characters don't use tricks to get away from melee. Maybe even the baddies run from the fight early. That ape may get caught in an area away from where it can climb. The duergar may not wait until the characters are in a pitch black room to

attack. The flying snake may be in a hallway with a six foot ceiling. Let your baddies make tactical mistakes that give players an advantage if they're smart about it. Do what you can to make combats low lethality and low stakes. Even if the party is beaten and runs, maybe the baddies don't chase, for example. Combat isn't the only way for your characters to advance. Look for non-combat adventures and encounters to get them experience points. Remember exploration encounters, where they get XP for finding lost places, discovering new areas, solving puzzles, helping commoners, that type of thing. Those are great ways to get your character's XP without it being quite so lethal. You can always use social encounters, trials, parties, a gala, solving mysteries.

The werewolf was old man Jenkins this entire time. And I wouldn't have gotten away with it too if it wasn't for you meddling kids and your dog. Anybody else steal adventure ideas from kids cartoons like Scooby-Doo? No? Moving on. Maybe the characters find an ancient treasure and get XP that way. Or maybe they diffuse a situation. One of my favorites I read a long time ago and I still use to this day is that the party encounters three happy friends who have found a barrel they think is full of ale and they're rolling it back to their farm to get drunk and laugh and have a grand old time. Ten minutes later down that same road, they encounter a wizard who's lost a barrel of alchemist fire. It always brings a smile to my face watching the first player put the pieces together and say, oh shit, we need to go to that

farm. Another way they can get XP is through contest encounters, like a dart toss, pie-eating contest, one of my favorites, a fashion show. Two different streams that I listen to have done a full-on fashion show as an encounter, and I have enjoyed the creativity of how the players use the magic and the skills their characters have to compete and even win the fashion show. They could also have a bake-off or a drinking contest or any number of other contests that aren't necessarily lethal, but ways that their characters can get XP.

Another way you can keep low-level characters alive is considering giving those characters a sponsor or a patron. Not like a warlock patron, but someone who has a vested interest in the party's success. It could be a single person or a family benefactor that supports them their entire career. Well, until the big bad has them killed, sparking that delicious oh shit moment from the players. Or maybe the benefactor turns out to be an agent of the big bad that's keeping tabs on the PCs and reporting back to them. Lots of great roleplay opportunities here. You can make the characters part of a larger organization.

They're fighting for the resistance. They're fighting for the military. They're part of the esoteric order of the Palatine Eye on Galarian, or whatever organization that might be able to provide them with more equipment than usual. You don't have to rely on a patron for something like that though. You as a GM can be effusive with the items that the characters start with. Let them start off with more equipment than usual. A free healing potion, masterwork weapon or armor. Something a little better than maybe what rank and file characters start with if you want to give them a better chance to survive. Another thing that you can do is modify the rules that you play with, such as the healing rules, even if it's just for a time. Consider letting characters have easier

access to healing items that they already have. I'm running Skull and Shackles in the Pathfinder first edition rules, and those rules as written, if a character does not have a potion in their hand, to drink one, they need to retrieve it from their pack, which provokes an attack of opportunity, and then drink it, which also provokes an attack of opportunity. Attacks of opportunity can be lethal to 1st level characters, so I made a slight change. I told them that their characters have one quick draw potion slot which they can

use for anything they want, but unless they tell me differently, by default it holds the highest level of healing potion that they possess. Drawing from that slot is a swift action and it does not provoke an attack of opportunity. That spot can only be replenished outside of combat, and that keeps players from trying to cheese the mechanic. I also allowed healing items like potions and scrolls to heal the maximum amount possible when consumed outside of combat. My logic is that the players have time to take care to make sure they get every last drop out of that healing potion. I mean, they have all the time in the world. But when they're trying to chug a potion in six seconds,

sometimes they'll spill some of it or leave it in the vial when they're done drinking, etc. Another thing you can do is consider fudging your dice rolls. Now, I know some of you really don't like any kind of dice fudging by the DM, but low-level characters are much more susceptible to the randomness of the game. If a 9th level character takes max damage crit from a baddie, that's an annoyance. If a 1st level character takes max damage crit, it might mean a dirt nap for the character. Another thing if you're running a low-level campaign, make sure you understand the death and dying rules for your game system. In Pathfinder 1st Edition, characters go unconscious when they drop below zero hit points and aren't dead until their hit points drop to a negative value equal to their constitution

score. In Pathfinder 2nd Edition, characters stop at zero hit points but gain what's called the dying condition. They have to make saving throws so their dying condition number keeps climbing, and then when they reach dying four, then they're dead. And then, of course, in fifth edition, once you're at zero hit points, you start making death saving throws, and when you fail your third one, you're dead. Once you understand the death and dying rules, decide if you want to change them. Do you want to nerf these a little bit and make the saves a little easier? Make it require more failed saves to die than the rules as written say. Maybe give the characters a better chance of bouncing back from dying rather than being knocked unconscious being a likely one-way trip. Another thing you can do is give your players a role-playing ability to call out to

their dead friend in the great beyond and bring the character back. I know that's not rules as written, but in a role-play heavy campaign, it gives a lot of opportunity for characters to explore their relationships with one another. So if you do allow something like that, consider letting the character who died, quote-unquote, return with a scar or something that changes the character in some way. My final piece of advice, to minimize the amount of time characters are spent so squishy, consider either fast-track leveling the characters up or start your PCs at level two. That way, they'll gain some hit points, they'll advance in capability, but they'll still be low enough level for a lower tier campaign. In summary, it can be difficult to keep first

level characters alive. Players, you're going to need to play smart, have an escape plan, and work together to survive. DMs, decide how lethal you want your game to be and communicate that to your players. Design your encounters carefully, maybe don't make monsters tactical geniuses, look for non-combat methods of getting the character's XP, or maybe even consider just starting the characters at level 2. Finally, don't be afraid to adjust the encounter on the fly or fudge your die rolls behind the screen to keep the characters

alive. Low-level campaigns are a heck of a challenge to run, but with a little care, you and your players can have fun doing it. If you like this podcast, please consider liking it or rating it wherever you happen to find me. Tune in next week when I'm going to talk about DMing at conventions. It is a different ball game there, and we will talk about the changes you'll need to make. But before I go, I want to thank this week's sponsor, Blood Vessels. If you want to listen to your blood talk to you, you'll have to listen varicosely to your skin. This has been episode 127, Keeping First Level PCs Alive. My name is Jeremy Shelley, and I hope that your next game is your best game.

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