I've been playing OB since its release, and like many others, I do not like the scaled content. It's just too much. My mage character was able to defeat the king of worms and become arch-mage at level 12, even though other magic practitioners still had tons of spells I couldn't even learn because my magicka pool and/or skill level was not sufficient. I can close an Oblivion gate at level 1, when the combined forces of the empire have trouble just holding the Daedra back. I can get my alchemy up to 75, yet I still only find novice-level retorts, mortar & pestles, etc.

So, the logical move would be to install a mod like OOO. However, I tried this some blue monday, and there are some reservations that hold me back from playing characters through OOO. The reasons are pretty simple. Although I think it's logical and rewarding that a lot of areas are 'off-limits' to my weak character, it's not clear enough in a mod like OOO what I can or cannot do. For example, I can get into most dungeons, kill some mobs, but the deeper I get into the dungeon, the harder it gets. The only way for me to find the limit is to die in a fight, retry a couple of times, and accepting my character just cannot do it. Also, I can start all kinds of quests I pick up early in game, but while I find some easy, some are also impossible to finish.

Other games with content that is just too difficult, usually make sure you don't reach that content unless you are actually pretty much equipped to handle it. Take World of Warcraft for instance. Sure, most areas are way too hard for a low-level character. But the way you receive quests makes sure you play through the stuff you can handle first, and in the meantime your character improves enough to be able to handle the next areas that you end up in. In other words, the quests take you to a logical place. OOO does not seem to have anything like this. You can still take all the quests out there, even though your character will never be able to handle them. If I ever run into a mob that one-shots me, I can of course try to go back to that mob every time I advance a level, and see if I can beat it then. But the process of continuously dying, and having to load up my last save just takes a lot of the fun/RP out of the game as well. I'm also afraid that whatever quest I pick up that requires me to find some kind of cave in the middle of nowhere, is just not worth it, because I will get killed many times before I even reach the cave.

Basically I would like to install and play with OOO again, but the problems I've described make me unsure on how to play a character in such a dangerous world. What would be the best strategy to minimize dying to extremely overpowered opponents, and still being able to play through the game's content? Are there any tips on how I should approach such a play-through, or from what I've typed, do you suggest that OOO might not be the mod for me, and I should try something different?

To add, I play more-or-less a vanilla game, except that I recently installed Oblivion XP and love it. (It's a mod that makes you level based one experience, which you get from making potions, killing, completing quests, etc. and on level-up you get a number of points to increase your stats and skills. You do not level skills by using them anymore.) Oblivion XP seems a perfect fit to combine with OOO.

First, you're basically correct. OOO doesn't "flag" highlevel areas or hinder the PC from entering a highlevel dungeon on level 1. OOO is based on the premise that the player isn't the center of the world, but it's not exactly a random world based on just enter/die/wait for higher level trials either. On level 1 the whole world is basically stronger than the PC, so caution is warranted. What I mean is that if a level 1 player wander off in the unknown wilderness and suddenly is attacked and one hit killed - that's not random. A puny level 1 char should preferably stay rather safe and if tempting fate should be very careful (and thus perhaps notice the Mountain Lion or whatever). This can of course be frustrating for a new player - but note that it's also hardest on the first couple of levels. All this said - a player new to OOO will die a lot on lower levels.

I am curious about the point the OP made regarding Oblivion XP.

have people played through a protracted game using it? What was that like?