Surviving 1st Level

[Rerem115]

I've heard that compared to other editions, 5e is really brutal for a 1st level character. Now, I've never had the (mis)fortune to experience this for myself, until now, where the campaign I'm joining is starting there.

Do you guys have any advice, any tips I should know? Is it as lethal as I've heard, and if it is, what can I do to mitigate it?

[PhoenixPhyre]

I've heard that compared to other editions, 5e is really brutal for a 1st level character. Now, I've never had the (mis)fortune to experience this for myself, until now, where the campaign I'm joining is starting there.

Do you guys have any advice, any tips I should know? Is it as lethal as I've heard, and if it is, what can I do to mitigate it?

Be defensive. Be tactical. Use cover. Take short rests. Bring a healer's kit.

5e 1st level is swingy more than it's intentionally brutal. Focus-firing results in dead characters; a bad crit can do so as well. Especially if a DM doesn't understand this or thinks that level = CR is the right balance point (hint--it's not most of the time).

[ImproperJustice]

Yeah.
We survived by scouting a lot, using caltrops, cover and ambushes and even then things could be dicey.

Deadliest fight we had was poking something and fighting four rats in an open room.

[CTurbo]

I don't think I've ever had a 1st level character die. 1st level goes by so fast you're at level 2 before you know it. I think all of my character deaths have happened between levels 2-4.


So basically, I wouldn't really do anything extra special. Being careful is never a bad idea.

[Aussiehams]

Stick together and support each other, and take it slow.

[dragoeniex]

Don't take hits unless you have to = best advice for any non-melee character, and even the melees need to keep it in mind. Avoid fighting fair when possible; others have posted some good tips for that already (caltrops, cover, etc).

Past that, I'd say don't stress it and have fun. Just go in with some backup character concept you like the idea of and let the dice fall how they may. Usually you're not at lv 1 for long.

The only other tip I have is solid for playing in general: don't be so afraid of using your resources that you never do. Would your first level wizard spell make a meaningful difference here? Use it. If you can make one encounter somewhat easier for the team as a whole, then they'll be in better shape to pick up your slack next fight.

You just don't want the whole team blowing everything at once on fights they don't need to.

[Lyracian]

I am currently playing in a retro first edition game and it is a lot easier to die. No death saves just hit zero and die.

2nd and 3rd Ed we usually played to -10 or -1/2 Con was dead.

This edition, other than an unlucky crit, you have to fail 3 saves before you die.

[Grimmnist]

I have not found it to be particularly lethal at level 1 but that is probably dependent on the DM. In the games in which I play we usually level to 2 after just one session which avoids any problems with level one dangers.

If you are concerned about survival some classes are much better at level 1 than others, for example Paladin and Ranger are just worse versions of Fighter at level 1 (at least in terms of combat effectiveness). In my opinion Barbarian and Fighter are by far the strongest at level 1, casters tend to struggle since they don't have many resources yet. There are some amazing spells, at level 1, that don't scale great such as Sleep or Heroism, those can both swing an encounter with a single spell slot.

[OverLordOcelot]

The main vulnerability at level 1 is that a high damage roll, especially a crit, can easily be in 'instant death' territory for an uninjured character. At higher levels, even just second, it's a lot less likely. You're also vulnerable to dying if the DM uses lots of environmental damage or if monsters tend to attack a player who's down; an effect steadily doing X damage per round means one failed death save per round, which is almost always going to be fatal within 3 rounds, and each attack on a downed character is an autoctit for two failed saves.

Other than that, invest in some healing kits so people can keep unconscious characters from dying without having to make a skill check. Play with a reasonable level of caution; a wizard who rushes the guy weilding a 2-handed sword is not going to have a good day. If you're level 1 and the others are higher, mostly stay back even if you're a melee character, you can let them take the hits until you catch up.

DM doesn't understand this or thinks that level = CR is the right balance point (hint--it's not most of the time).

If a DM thinks that level = CR is the right balance point, you're golden. Fights with single CR1 creatures at level 1 are generally pretty easy, a single ghoul or giant octopus can be a bit scary but isn't much of a risk.

[Rukelnikov]

Don't be so preoccupied, 5e is not more deadly at low levels than 2e or 3e (I'd actually say its less deadly), so if you have regularly survived in previous editions, you will probably keep the same ratio of survivability now. As always it is very DM dependant though.

[JackPhoenix]

While I've had characters dropping at 1st level, none of them actually died. I've seen deaths at levels 2-4. I don't especially coddle them, but as mentioned, level 1 is over so quickly characters don't actually have many opportunities to die.

[Spieldog20]

It can definitely happen. The first time I DM'd, early when 5e first came out, a skeleton got a critical hit on a 1st level Bard with low HP and he was killed outright.

It definitely took a little of the wind out of the sails at the table when it happened. I gave him to option to still live after combat ended, but he decided to make a new character anyway.

[napoleon_in_rag]

It has a lot to do with how the "minion" monsters (Orcs Goblins, etc) are designed in 5e. For example, your average orc has more hp than a Level 1 fighter, does 1d12+3 (avg 9) damage with a great axe, and has the "aggressive" ability which allows the orc to spend a bonus action to move 30' towards an enemy.

So lets say a party of 4 lvl 1 PCs enters a 60' by 60' room. There are 4 orcs on the other side of the room. PC and Orcs see each other at the same time so no surprise. If the orcs win initiative, they can move 30' (bonus action), then 30' for their normal movement, then each attack a PC. Even without a crit, 1d12+3 will likely one shot a lvl 1 PC with 1d6 or 1d8 hit dice. So with 4 swings, very likely at least one PC is going down.

So in OD&D or 2e, I would have said 4 Orcs on 4 lvl 1 PCs to be fair. But not in 5e.

I would treat being a lvl 1 PC in 5e like being a lvl 1 mage in OD&D. Hire an NPC to even things out.

[PhoenixPhyre]

It has a lot to do with how the "minion" monsters (Orcs Goblins, etc) are designed in 5e. For example, your average orc has more hp than a Level 1 fighter, does 1d12+3 (avg 9) damage with a great axe, and has the "aggressive" ability which allows the orc to spend a bonus action to move 30' towards an enemy.

So lets say a party of 4 lvl 1 PCs enters a 60' by 60' room. There are 4 orcs on the other side of the room. PC and Orcs see each other at the same time so no surprise. If the orcs win initiative, they can move 30' (bonus action), then 30' for their normal movement, then each attack a PC. Even without a crit, 1d12+3 will likely one shot a lvl 1 PC with 1d6 or 1d8 hit dice. So with 4 swings, very likely at least one PC is going down.

So in OD&D or 2e, I would have said 4 Orcs on 4 lvl 1 PCs to be fair. But not in 5e.

I would treat being a lvl 1 PC in 5e like being a lvl 1 mage in OD&D. Hire an NPC to even things out.

4 Orcs (CR 1/2) against 4 level 1 PCs is a double-Deadly fight (adjusted XP = 800, threshold for Deadly is 400). 2 is a Hard fight. 1 is an Easy fight.

[Contrast]

Don't take hits unless you have to = best advice for any non-melee character, and even the melees need to keep it in mind.

I think one of the important things is to remind people that at level 1, there really isn't that much difference between characters in terms of their specialisations yet. You can't just all hide behind the fighter, he probably only has a couple of points of AC on you and a couple of HP. Depending on what you're fighting that might not even equate to one extra hit to down. I once played in a game where everyone told me I was crazy for running my dragon sorc into the middle of a group of enemies ahead of the fighter until I pointed out I had more HP and a higher AC than they did, took the dodge action and soaked up all their attention.

[sophontteks]

I think one of the important things is to remind people that at level 1, there really isn't that much difference between characters in terms of their specialisations yet. You can't just all hide behind the fighter, he probably only has a couple of points of AC on you and a couple of HP. Depending on what you're fighting that might not even equate to one extra hit to down. I once played in a game where everyone told me I was crazy for running my dragon sorc into the middle of a group of enemies ahead of the fighter until I pointed out I had more HP and a higher AC than they did, took the dodge action and soaked up all their attention.

I found the opposite. Frontliners can start at 18 AC with a shield and that's really hard for early enemies to deal with outside of a crit. Then with crits, they are less likely to be instantly killed

Taking the dodge action like you did will dramatically reduce the chance of that crit. People don't use dodge enough.

[stoutstien]

At my tables my npc cannot critical until lv 3. Sometimes I just use the average damage roll also if I want to hold back a tad.

[Sigreid]

Just do what you should always be doing anyway, everything you can to make the fight as one sided in your favor as you can get. Try to strike first. Try to strike brutal. Try to choose the best ground for your side to fight on. Minimize the enemy's ability to fight back as much as possible. If the enemy manages to get you on their ground where they are holding all the good cards, run away until you can get them on ground you want to fight them on.

[JackPhoenix]

I found the opposite. Frontliners can start at 18 AC with a shield and that's really hard for early enemies to deal with outside of a crit. Then with crits, they are less likely to be instantly killed

Taking the dodge action like you did will dramatically reduce the chance of that crit. People don't use dodge enough.

I think there are two reasons for that. Many things you'll fight at level 1 are weak enough to go down in one hit, so killing them and stopping them from attacking in the first place is viable, and frontliners generally have better at-will damage options than spellcasters. And there are no MMORPG or 4e-like aggro mechanics. Dodging won't help you protect the rest of your party. To be a target, you must both look like a viable target and like a threat. Dodge makes you less viable target, because you're hard to hit in the first place, and you've just made it even tougher (and unlike your HP value, opponents can see when you shift your focus entirely to defense), and less of a threat, as you're spending your action on self-defense instead of attack. Intelligent foes will ignore you and go after other, easier targets. You're left with opportunity attack, and you better hope the tactical situation allows you to threaten more than one foe (not that you can make more than one OA, but most smart enemies won't want to be the first one moving).

So, if you're facing zombies, which are tough enough to survive few hits and stupid enough to attack the closest target instead of acting intelligently, dodge is great tactic. If you're fighting goblins, it's terrible, because they are squishy enough to go down in one hit, they are smart enough not to waste their effort on hard-to-hit target, and they are mobile enough so you can't keep them near you without Sentinel.

[Tanarii]

So in OD&D or 2e, I would have said 4 Orcs on 4 lvl 1 PCs to be fair. But not in 5e.

I don't recall 2e, but in Classic orcs were dangerous, typically a 50-50 shot as to who hit first and killed the other in a fight between a level 1 fighter and an Orc. A 50-50 shot of winning isn't "fair". (Edit: technically it is, but I mean in modern rpg common usage regarding chance of PCs getting killed in a fight. )

I like that Orcs and Gnolls and Hobgoblins are deadly 1-to-1 in 5e. They aren't supposed to be mooks until you've gained a few levels, maybe level 5 or so. Gives them a nice old-school feel.

[Contrast]

I found the opposite. Frontliners can start at 18 AC with a shield and that's really hard for early enemies to deal with outside of a crit. Then with crits, they are less likely to be instantly killed

Taking the dodge action like you did will dramatically reduce the chance of that crit. People don't use dodge enough.

A CR1/4 goblin has +4 to hit. About half at likely to hit the AC18 fighter than a generic light armour wearing Dex 14 person and much more likely to hit both than 'crits only'. Which means being in combat with two goblins is just as dangerous for him as being in combat with one goblin is for the 'squishy' character. What I'm saying is if there are a group of goblins, its much better to not let all of them mob the fighter and watch him go down rather than distract at least some of them to give him a reasonable chance of actually surviving.

Obviously goes double for common enemies at low level such as wolves and kobolds which really double down on the ganging up.

I just get frustrated when I see wizards with full HP and Mage Armour up disengage away from a combat because they've got it in their head that wizards shouldn't be in melee, using up their action and leaving the fighter with 1HP as the only combatant or people letting one guy get hammered in melee because they built a 'ranged' character - sometimes its best to share the pain around and particularly at level 1, no-one is strong enough to survive being focus fired.

Of course you can just ignore all of the above and listen to the best advice for surviving level 1 which is to ensure there are several casters in the party with sleep and the party only consists of elves and half-elves

[Asmotherion]

I've heard that compared to other editions, 5e is really brutal for a 1st level character. Now, I've never had the (mis)fortune to experience this for myself, until now, where the campaign I'm joining is starting there.

Do you guys have any advice, any tips I should know? Is it as lethal as I've heard, and if it is, what can I do to mitigate it?

DO NOT:
-Engage in melee if you're not designed for it.
-Use up all your spell slots on blasting if a caster; Cantrips do almost the same damage and you probably can use your spell slot for something better than damage your opponent.
-Underestimate the Dodge action. it can save lives if used at the right moment.
-Spam the Dodge Action. Contribute to the fight as much as possible and save it for when you're incomfortably in melee.
-Forget Cover Rules. Natural Cover can save your life even at higher levels. And since you'll probably either have a cantrip or a bow and 5e needs no feat to break your movement between attacks you can attack and take cover again.
-Overthink it. Play to have fun. Most DMs don't include death threat 'till you are at least level 3. Levels 1-3 shouldn't be more than 3 sessions and i'm probably streatching it. Discuss how your DM deals with death of a character and based on the information you get don't get too attached to your character.

DO:
-Hope that your DM has a good grasp of the CR system. if they don't you're probably screwed anyway.
-Remember Action Ecconomy and Resource Managment. if you have spell slots try to optimise their usefullness. Before casting a spell ask yourself "do i cast it because i think it looks cool or because it contributes to the fight". if you don't have a plan just cast a cantrip; You loose 0 resourses doing so and still contribute to the fight...

[Zhorn]

And if your DM awards XP for roleplay, lay it on thick. Every scrap you can muster will get you out of 1st level faster.

[Citan]

I've heard that compared to other editions, 5e is really brutal for a 1st level character. Now, I've never had the (mis)fortune to experience this for myself, until now, where the campaign I'm joining is starting there.

Do you guys have any advice, any tips I should know? Is it as lethal as I've heard, and if it is, what can I do to mitigate it?

Hi!

First of all, during session 0, try to have everyone (players & DM) agree on what kind of experience you're looking for.
If everyone is ready to lose characters abruptly, then just play the game to your fullest.
If everyone would like to keep their characters, then it may fall upon DM to either guide you a bit by giving strong hints about fights you can take and ones you should flee, or adapt encounters slightly, or give you some NPC that can strongly support you in resilience (heal/buff/etc).
Also, ensure that DM actually rewards *every* interesting/smart thing you make and not just monster kills (which any proper DM would do imo).

Otherwise, as far as RAW goes...
1. Be a coward.
2. Be smart.
3. Be a frigging smarty COWARD!!!!

Thing is, sh** can happens even if you play smart. Nobody (at level 1 at least) is immune to a critical from an enemy, and advancing recklessly means you can quickly be targeted by half a dozen attacks, with a single of them being potentially enough to deplete your HP.

So...
1. Try to prepare encounters as much as possible. This is heavily DM dependent and campaign dependent but the idea is "get as much information as possible". Without metagaming if possible. :)

For example, if you have a Cleric in party and going against undead, it should be reasonable for a DM to consider that Cleric just knows all weaknesses about them.

Let's know say you have been tasked with taking down a group of bandits.
- What kind of bandits are they? Goblins, Humans, Orcs?
- How many of them? What are their usual strategies? Can you know where they hide?

If you have instead to bring down a monster, spend as much time as you can afford studying lore in libraries or listening to local legends, unless someone in your group would have all legitimity to already know all about it from class/background.

2. Be ghosts. Be as much careful as you may be within the time limit a quest may have fixed: trying to Stealth as often as possible, always having one (or two) guys looking out for traps and enemies, etc. Scout enemy places and guys when you can.

3. Try diplomatic way to resolve conflict as often as possible. Sometimes it will hasten the way to violence, but everytime it works is less risk upon your survival.
Diplomatic in the "broadest" meaning: it may be actually intimidating/persuading opponents, but it may also be just making them focus on something/someone else than you as their primary threat.
And it should net you some XP too. :)

4. Buy healer's kits (especially if you have no Druid with Goodberries nor anyone with Spare the Dying). Healing Words is nice but precious. Potions are nice but stupidly expensive for level 1 characters. Even without related feat, those kits can at least keep someone alive at end of a fight.

5. Try to always have a backup plan or a runaway strategy wherever you go.

6. When fight is just unavoidable or you want it...
- Respect your supposed role as well as others's. If you are a Wizard, don't rush into the frontlines. Actually, whatever class you are (even if you are a Barbarian), don't rush into the frontlines. Try to all keep a pace that allows one ally to stabilize another in a single turn if need be. If someone has vision/land hazard spell, don't hesitate to use it to divide and conquer, provided you don't bother your friends. ^^
- Try to avoid having more than 2 enemies being able to reliably target the same ally whatever happens, even if he's a frontliner. You can achieve this by using aforementioned spells, inflicting debuffs or putting enemies prone, set up some covers with Minor Illusion and Mold Earth...
- Do NOT engage in melee unless you have a high chance of moving away without suffering opportunity attack (because of an ability, because high AC and enemy prone, or because you plan on killing it with your blow). Being a melee-tailored guy does not mean you have to act stupid about it. If you're a Barbarian, use thrown weapons. If you're a Monk, well, same. XD
If you are a DEX guy, use ranged weapons until switching to melee simply has become a requirement (like some enemy closed in and engaged you in close fight).

In short: "until you're level 3 (I'd even say level 4-5 personally because I'm a scaredy-cat ;)), consider that any single attack have the theorical potency to down you and plan whatever you do from that assumption".

I sadly have the feeling all that I said is useless because it's just basic, general advice. Hope that can help though. :)

[MrStabby]

I've heard that compared to other editions, 5e is really brutal for a 1st level character. Now, I've never had the (mis)fortune to experience this for myself, until now, where the campaign I'm joining is starting there.

Do you guys have any advice, any tips I should know? Is it as lethal as I've heard, and if it is, what can I do to mitigate it?

It depends on your DM. Is your DM "fair", "friendly" or "tough"?

If the DM wants to help you survive the danger levels then they may do things like spacing encounters out, giving you more time to rest and so on. The trick is to give the DM some good excuses to help you. Ask "what's the safest inn in town?" to help ensure you don't get attacked at night when low on resources. Burn resources to stay alive - why take risks if you can be pretty confident your DM will let you rest when you need to. Take spells (if a caster) that mitigate bad luck rather than those objectively best (well for clerics/druids that are not locked in). Aid can be a great spell for this level even though bless is generally a better use of the action and spell slot. The DM is not trying to kill you but the dice might.

At the other end of the scale your DM is a hardass in an unforgiving world. No help there to survive; you have to fight every step of the way. Here you are more likely to die because the enemies outfought you rather than just dumb luck. Pick the tactically best options you can and make sure everyone has a healing kit. A bit of low level side questing to get some more equipment might help, enlisting the help of NPCs or buying some attack dogs to get you through the low levels could be a good use of gold.

[hymer]

If you character dies at level 1 in the first session, you lose next to nothing. Make a new character and carry on. Unless you read out your background story or something (should you have one), you can pretty much copy it if you want to.

[KorvinStarmast]

I am currently playing in a retro first edition game and it is a lot easier to die. No death saves just hit zero and die.

Oddly, AD&D 1e had the bleeding out introduced to the game. Original game did not. 2d edition AD&D went back to dead at 0 HP, but some DM's chose to keep the 1e convention alive at their table. Hope you are enjoying the retro games.

As far as surviving first level, play as a team, play/fight tactically, don't just barge into a room and expect to defeat the monsters. Set up the battle in your favor.
Bottom Line: Fight smarter, not harder.

[Citan]

If you character dies at level 1 in the first session, you lose next to nothing. Make a new character and carry on. Unless you read out your background story or something (should you have one), you can pretty much copy it if you want to.

Thanks to you, I now have a concept of a bunch of artificially created clones of some guy set up by a powerful evil Wizard, that can even hope to get freedom only if they manage to overcome a deadly challenge... XD

[MThurston]

I played in a one shot and had two people trying to loot while the other 3 in the party were still being attacked.

So stay together and support each other. If you have a chance to revive someone, do it.

[Resileaf]

A few weeks ago, my sorcerer was on watch at night. Her perception is crap, and she got surprised by a warg. Taken down in a single attack, and got a 1 on my death save.

Somehow, I survived.