Didn't realize I could heal, was surviving purely on the level-up autoheal. Didn't really work out when the xp requirements went up.
Infra Arcanum, Geen's posts convinced me to try it
...
Oh, fine. After I figured out healing, I started a new game and eventually entered an high ceiling-ed room filled with zombies, and three colors of spiders in between me and them. Lit up some dynamite, expecting to block off the exit and dodge spiders for a few turns. I was immediately bitten AND PARALYSED, still holding the dynamite. And then, unable to dodge, I'm blinded by green spider venom.
I survived that, shaking off the paralysis and blindly tossing the dynamite into the room, then I ran like hell. One zombie followed me, so I shot it dead and then healed up. At the third dungeon level, I found myself then found myself face to face with five axe wielding zombies. The area behind me we was, as far as I could tell, a dead end. I had a grand total of four explosives left and maybe a dozen bullets, so I decided to fight them off with a machete. Something got behind me and by the time it was dead I had 2 health left, and so "hold them at a choke point" turned into "run away and bar the doors". In the end, I found myself huddled in a corner of a room where the only exit had a spike jammed into it by yours truly, desperately trying to patch up my wounds. When the zombies broke down the door I tried to hold them off with my revolver. This worked for a little because the zombies came in one at a time, but then one who died in the middle of the room reanimated, rushed up, and cut me down in a single blow.