1. Don’t Depend on the Dice Every AD&D campaign requires a certain level of tension—a great adventure includes something glorious to gain and something equally important to be lost. It’s a good idea to play a light adventure just for laughs from time to time, but the game is at its best when the PCs find themselves poised between grand success and dismal failure.

Early in a campaign, just rolling the dice provides enough uncertainty to keep everyone on the edge of their seats. Fighters hack at their opponents, hoping their attacks hit. Even against lowly goblins, a 1st-level fighter misses with a melee attack about half the time (more than that if the character doesn’t enjoy combat bonuses from Strength and weapon specialization). All players wince inwardly—sometimes visibly—when the DM calls for a saving throw; a simple poison has an excellent chance to slay or incapacitate a 1st-level character. Likewise, when each player character has only a handful of hit points, even the initiative roll is crucial because a single blow from a sword often spells death for a novice adventurer.

In each of the preceding examples, the chance of failure is significant for the PC, and the consequences of not succeeding are grave. As the campaign matures and the PCs become more powerful, however, players learn not to dread the dice so much. Fighters of 4th to 6th level can expect their attacks to hit more often than they miss, and even priests and rogues can expect to hold their own in a short fight. All characters at this level have more staying power than 1st-level characters, and they can afford to take a little abuse when they face dangerous opponents. The DM still can make the players fear for their characters’ lives, however, by confronting them with increasingly powerful enemies.

Increasing the foes’ strength is a good thing for low- to mid-level campaigns for two reasons. First, it helps maintain the level of tension by making things more difficult for the heroes. Mid-level characters can expect to hit goblins more often than they miss, but they have a harder time dealing with wyverns. Second, it helps maintain the level of reward. The tougher the foe, the more experience you can award. This is important for maintaining a steady rate of advancement because a PC advancing from 1st to 9th level must earn an increasing amount of experience between each level, as even a cursory glance at Figure 1 reveals. Figure 2 shows the increasing rewards for more powerful foes.

The cycle of escalating power begins to break down as the PCs exceed level 9. First, the PCs’ THAC0 and saving throw numbers become so low that success is virtually assured, especially when the effects of high ability scores and magical items are factored in. Likewise, PC Armor Classes tend to become so good (again due to magical items and high ability scores) that many monsters can’t damage the PCs in combat. Second, the experience required to gain the next level no longer increases geometrically once the PCs reach 9th level—there is a flat increase from level to level instead. Figures 3 and 4 help illustrate the problem.

Combat, once the most dramatic activity in the game, can become a dull routine of hack, inflict damage, and hack again—especially if the DM allows the players to think their characters are invincible. Of course, you can restore the level of tension by presenting the PCs with increasingly powerful foes. However, simply bringing the antagonists to the PCs’ level of power is not a good idea—it cheapens the heroes’ accomplishments. Tension in the game is a positive element, but many players despair when they realize that their characters are always in some kind of peril. Players often feel their characters are pushing their luck with each new adventure and opt to retire their favorite characters before they are killed. Stiffening the opposition also brings the PCs more experience, which accelerates level advancement, and in turn makes the whole problem even worse.

The key to maintaining tension in the game without inflating the level of power is to create situations where the players must rely on their own memories and reasoning skills. Rather than confronting high-level player characters with huge numbers of powerful foes, try smaller numbers of weaker foes who attack according to a plan. Also, not every encounter has to be a fight. Give your players problems that require them to think rather than roll dice—complex political struggles, mysteries, puzzles, and the like challenge the players directly. To keep the game centered on the characters, present the players with situations that make them search for new ways to use their characters’ abilities. See Chapter Two for more suggestions.

Do not try to eliminate dice rolling altogether, however. Everyone likes to trash something once in awhile, and players expect to be able to do something with their high-level characters’ newfound powers. The key is to not allow the PCs to become so dominant that every situation descends into a die-rolling extravaganza where the only fun involved is in determining the number of casualties the party can create in one round.

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