I generally try to resist the temptation of interjecting in player discussions, but there are a couple of things that trouble me slightly about the wider game that I feel I ought to raise. I also like numbered lists, so: 1. I know some of the suggestions are only half-serious, but the whole " it's worth a try, because if we die we can just roll up a new character and be in much the same situation as we were before " attitude is a direction I really want to head off. Life is undoubtedly cheap in this game. Cheaper than I ever thought it would be. A big part of the reason for this is the Old School rules and the Old School modules. But life is supposed to matter. Escaping by the skin of you teeth and living to fight another day should be seen as a real victory, just as an avoidable death should be seen as something of a failure. There's something wrong with the game if death is no longer seen as a major penalty. I'm not sure exactly what to do about this. There are all kinds of house rules I could introduce to reduce the number of deaths. Or we could move to a less deadly ruleset. But part of the original attraction of this game was the chance to pit ourselves against the classic modules with the classic rules and see if we could "beat" them with a little bit of luck and a lot of clever play. As a temporary solution, until we come up with a better option we all agree on, I'm going to say that all new characters start at level 1. That should provide at least something of an incentive to keep characters alive, particularly when they get to level 3+. 2. " Speaking as a player, gear is such a huge part of character development in this version of D&D ". Actually, I disagree with this from one perspective. On the one hand, yes you're right ... that extra couple of points of AC can make all the difference. But, on the other hand, these Old School Modules are absolutely chock-full of magic items. In the space of three low level adventures, you accumulated more magic items than you could sensibly keep track of. Personally, I think you're making too big a deal of your equipment. Sure, you'll be bit weaker in the short term without it, but there will be plenty of opportunities to acquire new (and better) items in the future. 3. I would say Gran's analysis of the culture of these gnolls in the post above is pretty much spot on. 4. Re; the challenge fight option ... I like the fresh thinking. However, do consider why this would be an attractive proposition for the gnolls. If the gnolls win, they are in pretty much the same situation as they were before. If they lose, they've lost their chief and a load of their precious treasure (remember, they will now see the loot as rightfully theirs, in the same way that you did when you liberated it from it's previous owner). In other words, the gnolls have little to gain and everything to lose by fighting Gran. 5. " Run away and borrow money from Gran who apparently stashed something away somewhere. Try and bootstrap a new adventuring career with the bonus of having slightly more hitpoints and abilities to start with ". I'm a bit surprised (and, if I'm honest, disappointed) this has been so readily discounted. For me, that's the true Old School way of doing it. Accept when the odds are stacked against you and live to fight another day. Another story for Petros to tell his grandchildren, rather than another underdeveloped character in the Graveyard topic. Sorry for butting-in, but I really felt some of that had to said for the wider good of the game. At the end of the day, as always, the decision rests with Petros, Gran and co. Carry on!