Ok, I have been working on getting to level 5 in m&m 1. I have gotten decent armor for my front line melee people - it hasn't really made a difference - hits are just as likely to land. I am trying to map areas, and usually everything is ok, but out of the blue I will get an encounter which totally wrecks me. Am I playing the wrong way or something? I just used the default starting party. - was that a mistake? Even with +2 weapons I am as likely to miss as I am to hit. Most recently I was exploring the dungeon under scorpigal when I got in an encounter with locust plagues that hit for 90 damage. It was instant death. Can I expect for different parts of the same map to have radically different difficulties? Its kind of annoying to get through 5 or 6 manageable fights, and then lose all that progress by getting into an encounter with enemies that 1hko every member of the party.

Is the Bard's Tale less random in killing your party?

The early levels in MM1 are the hardest. Make sure you are using your sorcerer's spells. Always have Leather Skin on (first thing you should cast after resting, since it will last until the next time you rest), and putting enemies to sleep can be very useful too. From my experience, character level is the best determinant of how often they will hit enemies, so keep working on that dungeon under Sorpigal to get more XP. You might consider retreating after every tough fight to save in the inn. When your magic-users gain enough levels to unlock the higher-tier spells things will get a lot easier.

The starting party is fine, although it can be fun to roll new characters and get a really nice roll. Later on it will hardly matter what you started with as you get better equipment and stats.

Since you've got some +2 weapons, I assume you know to search after every fight? This is not necessarily obvious, but it's the only real way to get better equipment (and money). If you're hurt, rest first... as long as you don't leave that square, you can search after resting and the treasure will still be there. Always have your robber open the box, as he or she will often be able to disarm any traps.

It sounds like you're mostly doing things right. I don't remember running into locust plagues in the dungeon under Sorpigal; that may have just been extremely bad luck. If things down there are too tough you can grind a bit in the town itself or maybe take a poke around outside in the overworld. Generally, if an area is too tough, just try going somewhere else; it's a fully open world to explore and you can go wherever you want.

Keep at it, though, because the game gets really fun once you're slightly higher level and start exploring more.

Awesome! I actually finished clearing the dungeon under Sorpigal before I went to Erliquin, but I also don't remember running into battles as tough as the ones you were finding down there. But it doesn't matter, you should go wherever you want. Just be sure to check underneath Sorpigal again later, once you've gotten more powerful.