Experiences with running "level 1 to level 20" campaigns, using DFRPG

[mlangsdorf]

DF also has the very short term attrition of good defenses: best Parry, shield Block, Retreat vs 1 foe, possibly a single Acrobatics enhanced Dodge, maybe an Ally's sacrificial parry.

A lot of common monsters need to collectively attempts 4-8 attacks in a single round at a single melee focused delver in order to attrite all the good defenses down to the point where the monsters can hope to inflict HP loss or crippling injury.

But on each character's turn, all their defenses reset and the attrition starts anew. But it's a meaningful consideration on both sides, on top of the long term concerns about HP, consumable equipment, luck or destiny points, and the action economy.

One attrition concern that you missed is the cumulative penalty for healing spells (or once/day spells like Great Healing) that influences the willingness to press on after a bad fight. A well-designed healer can heal around 30 HP of injury per delver each day, but most groups won't seek out more combat after receiving 2 Major and Minor Heals because there's no margin if a catastrophic hit occurs.