I've had mixed experiences. First play-through I really struggled with; second has been a lot easier in that I'm probably getting the hang of the rules, though given the amount of stuff I don't use there's obviously a lot I don't know. A combination of separation, high-ground, sneak and not being afraid to play dirty! And having at least one party member with an escape plan should the worst happen, i.e. pay to resurrect the others at camp. Only had to do that once so far, and yeah, it was the spider!
Dice-rolls are the real killer and a number of people have commented on a tendency to roll low (some people vehemently dispute this but the number of times I'll roll a four or less in dialogue checks is remarkable; well, it's more remarkable if I roll a 17 or over as it happens so rarely...) but if you have the patience you can save during combat and reload if you get an unlucky streak.
