First of all, apologies for the rather dumb title. The thing is, I'm mostly a Morrowind player and thus more used to the dice-roll combat system that relies on character's skills, than to Skyrim's system that relies on player's skills.

However, I find that while I can beat bandit chiefs (admittedly on the lowest dificulty and depleting my entire potions reserve in the process), I keep being whacked by Mother Nature, i.e. smilodons, bears and snow trolls.

I'm currently level 11, so am I just too low-level to wander off the road, or is there some game mechanic I'm not using properly, or am I simply too carefree ?

You're doing things wrong, but I can't know unless you post your difficulty, character build and gameplay affecting mods.

Well, I don't have mods, my difficulty level is Novice, as for my build...I have no idea what is is ^^. I think my highest skills are Two-Handed weapons and heavy armor though. Maybe around 40 each.

1. Well,a good tip is to have a look at some You Tube, play. Not in depth, just a few example of how others do combat and survive. That will show you if you're way off beam.

2. You're not meant to be able to best everything straight away, certainly not Sabrecats or Frost Trolls. Bears are also bad news for the first several levels.

3. Have a couple of mess around goes just to find out which things are instantly deadly ( Ice Wraiths) and which things are do'able like Skeevers, wolves and basic bandits.

4. In Skyrim the general idea is that you build up your skills, weapons, armours etc gradually and tackle enemies in small steps of ascending difficulty.

5. Always be ready to run or hide or get somewhere inaccessible if you bite off more than you can chew. Scouting out a room or area before engaging in combat can pay dividends.

Good luck...you will get better!

As a long-time MOrrowind player, I can offer some insight...maybe... for one thing, the differences in combat aren't as great as they seem at first. the Player's skils and the character's skills are meant to complement each other. So... a guy wandering around in heavy armor with a two-handed weapon should be pretty tough on a setting like novice. So do you block often, rarely, or never? Blocking is of course a character skill, but the player has to determine the appropriate time do use it, and the perks that have been allotted to it.

That's my first bit of advice, learn to block and use it often. Then, learn to bash while blocking, and when you've staggered your opponent, use your weapon to hammer him and keep him of balance then drop back into a block. Other than that, Rick's advice is spot on, eh?

What armor are you wearing? What weapons do you use? What perks do you use?

Some tips:

-Don't mix light and heavy armor

-Don't use more than two means of attack(one handed, two handed, destruction, archery)

-Don't use too many skills in general

Thanks for your advices, guys.

First of all, it seems that my settings had been reset so I was actually on Normal difficulty. I lowered it back again to Novice and it helps a lot against human foes.

@ Neildarkstar: Well, I never use block. I do know it is useful, but I always thought that, in Skyrim or Oblivion, I would be hopeless bad at it and I never really serisouly tried.

@MarkedForDeath: I actually mix heavy and light, since I figured wearing light boots will help me be stealthier.

@Rick: that;s a relief to know it is actually normal to die against them, I wasn't sure. I kept playing and it seems running away from danger is indeed a good option ^^

Anyway, although I'm being killed a lot, it doesn't kill the fun for me so far ^^

Block IS pretty vital for any physical combat character, as Neil said. Duel weilding negates blocking, but you need to be at least moderately skilled to use it well and avoid being hit.

Here's why block is important.......many times you will face a high superiority powerful heavy hitter ( Orc, or those random spawned World encounter types). They will raise their weapon and perform a power attack. This is like double normal damage and you will likely die. They do this commonly when you are already staggered or trapped in a narrow passage.

If you face one of these, in the time it take you to turn around, you'll be dead. You can step back to evade the strike IF you think fast on your feet and IF you have room behind you. Otherwise, the harsh reality is that you have to sponge/ tank/ absorb the hit at least once......

Later on you'll learn other techniques to offset a power attack, like shouting at them or diving in with a quick weapon loaded with paralyse poison.

However, the best most fail safe way to take a really big hit is to raise your shield. Even just carrying a shield raises your armour level by the shields armour rating. Blocking soaks up serious amounts of punishment and you can bash with a shield to stagger your foe.

Get the best shield you can......smith it up. Enchant it with block or buy one imbued with the block enchantment.

Block frequently against softer foes like wolves and basic bandits to build your block skill and your real timing.

There are other ways to play and be smart, but good blocking early on is a simple, effective life saver..........

Being light on your feet does not work that way

Get yourself a full set of heavy armor and get some perks for it. Light boots won't make you stealthier and even if they did, you don't have to be stealthy as a two handed heavy armor warrior.

Next question, what race are you playing as?

This was true in Oblivion. But Skyrim uses a more sophisticated system to compute stealth. Skyrim factors in the combined weight of all equipped armor.

Bears and frost trolls are pretty tough until you are a bit higher than level 11. Different strategies work for different enemies. Frost trolls regenerate (so they are particularly hard to kill until you get your DPS up) but are weak to fire, which seems to stop their regeneration for a second so use a weapon with a fire enchantment and you can kill them quicker. Bears do a crapton of damage with a frontal attack, but if you can flank them and stay on their side as you attack, you can kill them pretty easily. Another strategy against bears and sabercats is to sprint for some rocky terrain. They don't do well on the rocks and you may be able to jump to safety or at least break off the attack long enough to regain your composure, heal or get away. If you are on the rocks in a place where bears/cats can't go, you can pull out a bow and get a few shots in, but they are usually smart enough to run away, rather than stand there and be killed by repeated arrows like in Morrowind.

Skyrim's got more emphasis on the action elements than Morrowind so you may need to try to learn a little dodging and blocking. Bashing is good too cause it staggers and interrupts spells and power attacks.

You say you are a Morrowind player. If you left out of Balmora at a relatively low level and came across a Daedric ruin that had a Dremora, Frost Atronach, and Scamp walking around would you think of trying to take them on? Sure you might be up to the task for the scamp, but probably not the others. Learn your enemies and over time you will know who you can take and who you can't. Even at higher levels I still get skittish if I see a sabre cat walking around. I know I can take them easily now, but those early levels that I got mauled stuck with me. Same with bears.

And I always use block for melee characters. It can make a difference. Same with bash, though it takes a little getting used to how much stamina it uses. And a quick use of unrelenting force can give you an advantage in a fight.

. That's my favorite way of dealing with bears and sabercats once you get the third word of unrelenting force. Don't need a cliff. A gentle slope will do. Fus Roh Duh them down the hill and the fall will kill them.

Lots of good advice here, but one of the biggest lessons I learned was to simply run away. You don't have to fight and defeat everything you encounter.

Other tips:

It really helps if you have a horse. For a mere 1000 gold, you can get a horse and simply out run wolves, bears, etc. It's a much safer way to travel.

Also, getting to know your enemies is invaluable. Bandits level up as you level up so you'll start seeing Bandit Marauders and Bandit Chiefs later in the game and they are much tougher than the ones you face now. I think you'll start to run across other types of creatures (Falmer) and hostile natives (Forsworn) as you pick up quests so be careful.

Having a follower also helps - you can hire one for 500 gold at most Inns.

If you are using Conjuration, quickly throw up an atronach to act as a distraction while you run away (or as an ally as you both fight).

If you are using Alteration magic, the Detect Life and Detect Dead spells really help scout the way ahead. It's slower than just boldly striding through the countryside but it can save your skin!

Good luck!