Alright...

[snow]

You have a fresh level 1 caster. You journey a bit and see a jackal.

1. You can't run. It's faster than you.
2. You can't fight. There's always more that one and you'll run out of MP.

What do you do? Unavoidable deaths happen but jackals on the first floor? Really? I can understand ice beasts since you can run but having enemies you can't even run from on the first floor (or even the second for that matter) just seems like bad game design.

What would you do in such a situation? Even if you have a 95% chance of death what's the best way to aim for that 5% chance of survival?

[KoboldLord]

What caster is this that can't handle a jackal? I guess fire elementalists are still resorting to range 1 Flame Tongue, and enchanters, stalkers, and transmuters are probably going to have to figure out something based on the situation at hand, but every other caster should be able to handle the situation fairly well.

First off, you can run. That one jackal will certainly follow you, but the other three in the pack haven't seen you yet. They'll come looking, but once you've disposed of that one you can elude them without too much trouble.

You can head for a nearby corridor if one is available. Only the jackal in front will matter, and you can frequently one- or two-shot them with your starting spell. Slowly backing down the corridor will reduce the number of attacks that lead jackal gets as your mp regenerates.

If there's a door nearby, it will shut out jackals regardless if the others have seen you or not. Even if there's another way around, the jackals will not know to take a roundabout path, and you can explore elsewhere until you've gotten that second level.

If there's a stairwell down nearby, you can take it and come back for the jackals later. D2 is not exactly a death sentence compared to D1, and there's no chance of missing a time portal vault or the like.

[snow]

I was under the impression that the group would follow me if I ran.

I guess I didn't think this one out. I was just very upset about dying on the first floor. >.>

[Megabass]

Well that's only if you're lucky and the rest haven't seen you yet. And if the jackal that has seen you doesn't whip up a barking storm and attract their attention, etc.

[KoboldLord]

If one jackal sees you and barks, that one knows exactly where you are but the others in the pack only know where that one barked. Those others will continue to follow the one that barked as long as they see it, but until they actually see you they'll be chasing that other jackal, not you. If you Magic Dart the first one to death and flee before the others arrive, you got away. If you go around a corner, kill that first one the moment it comes around the corner, and then dart behind another corner, you got away.

Jackals certainly are a potentially serious threat for a L1 character, but speed is really their main point of interest since they are neither strong nor durable. They should be manageable, at least usually. Unfair is when a kobold with a short sword of distortion or a goblin with a wand of draining starts coming after you.

[7hm]

I was under the impression that the group would follow me if I ran.

I guess I didn't think this one out. I was just very upset about dying on the first floor. >.>

This is what leads me to believe that most "unfair deaths" are entirely player caused (due to lack of knowledge or tactical awareness or whatever) and not unfair at all.