Guess scavenging gear before doing the academy is now a necessity as well. Hrumph.
I checked an archived copy of an Academy file which was downloaded in 2000 or so, and was written well before that.
Guess what NPC's combat stats are the same today as they were probably 13+ years ago?
And yes, the higher-level NPCs in the Academy do periodically kill level 1ish PCs. It takes a run of luck (and/or a headstart from the PC beginning while wounded), but it's always happened. If you want to further minimize that minimal risk, the consider command is your friend.
