Making the OSR less Deadly?

One of the things that the OSR is well know for is its deadliness, this can be great for those looking for a challenge and is largely deserved but sometimes the deadliness isn't a result of intentional game design but unspoken assumptions and rules not being followed.

The first of these big assumptions is group size, early D&D was focused round groups of 6 as a minimum as well as assuming at least a few retainers or hirelings, many retro clones and even some more contemporary OSR systems tend to run on the same assumptions, a few house rules such as starting with max hp at level 1 or more access to healing (especially if the party doesn't have a cleric)can help make these  systems a bit less of a meat grinder for smaller groups which are more common in the modern TTRPG hobby

Another that I have heard lamented by others who have been in the OSR longer than me, is that more modern OSR adventures don't have enough treasure to level the party at an appropriate rate, this might not be a direct problem to you if you are creating your own dungeons and adventures but keeping in mind that treasure is a crucial resource for levelling in OSR systems as well as providing access to equipment and hirelings that make future adventures possible, it is worth over stocking a dungeon with hidden treasure rooms or optional side areas

lastly be careful about throwing poisonous monsters especially ones that attack from ambush like some giant spiders, poison is one of the deadliest mechanics in OSR systems as most use the classic save or die poison, though as long as your players are aware of the risk such monsters pose and there's some telegraphing (such as spiders webs and snake skins) nothings stopping you from putting pit snakes or giant jumping spiders in your level 1 dungeon (I suppose level draining monsters are similar but they are usually found on higher dungeon encounter tables and rarely on wilderness encounter tables) 

lots of this is just adapting your game to the type of group you have, though I have often found myself running for quite small groups, let me know that you think of this post

M.C.