Knowing how to tighten fasteners without stripping or braking things is a learned skill. Drain pan bolts need to be snugged down but they definitely don't need to be cranked on.
A lot of it comes down to common sense. With a small fastener, use light force. With a large fastener, use heavy force. You need to understand mechanical advantage. If you're tightening a small nut or bolt, either use a small ratchet/wrench or choke up on the wrench to reduce the mechanical advantage. If you're tightening a large nut or bolt, use a large ratchet/wrench and use all the mechanical advantage the tool offers by grabbing the end of the tool. If you're trying to break loose a large bolt or nut, the longer tool you have (ie Breaker Bar) the easier time you'll have braking it loose.
Having a torque wrench at your disposal is definitely helpful and will assist you to learn how much force is enough. But, you can get away without having a torque wrench for many applications like tightening drain plugs. I've tightened 100's of drain plugs over the years and never stripped one. And, a fresh drain plug gasket/washer is always a good idea. I always, always put a new drain plug gasket or washer when servicing my vehicles.