D&D 5E How do you kill a 10th level character?

[SirAntoine]

The players will not react in the same way, Kaychsea. The DM is there to be a referee, not to make the monsters and NPC's as brutal as possible. In games where characters die at 0 hp, the DM should divert some of the monsters' attacks to other PC's. The loss of a character, even the potential loss, is often a traumatic event.

DM's would also be good to not use area of effect damage when it could kill dying or badly injured PC's.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

The players will not react in the same way, Kaychsea. The DM is there to be a referee, not to make the monsters and NPC's as brutal as possible. In games where characters die at 0 hp, the DM should divert some of the monsters' attacks to other PC's. The loss of a character, even the potential loss, is often a traumatic event.

DM's would also be good to not use area of effect damage when it could kill dying or badly injured PC's.

It really, really depends on the players. Personally, I would be insulted if the DM went out of his or her way to play enemies poorly. Meta-gaming like that is far worse than the mere death of a character.

There is zero sense of accomplishment in surviving under such conditions.

 

[Kaychsea]

There are some here who think I run a soft game because I don't like bad dice to slaughter a party (the best example was the repeater breath weapon that wouldn't fail to recharge).

Even I think this is wrapping things in cotton wool.

They villains are not just there as XP fodder. They should have aspirations of their own, and at the absolute least that should be living to the end of the day. If you are facing a spell caster with Burning Hands, why would he not use it because it worked? Or a low int beast with a breath weapon?

Anything that has survived a fight with PCs before will know that they don't stay down unless you keep them there.

Players should learn to cope, dragging bodies out of the front line, healing on the go. Expecting them to survive the three to five rounds of saves should, on occasion (statistically half of the time), end badly.

 

[SirAntoine]

You have to be nice.

 

[Anth]

3. An ability that explicitly says it causes death

Despite hunting and searching, I haven't found anything in the game that qualifies for number 3.

It is correct that it's quite hard to die in 5E.
But I would say that petrification is the same as death.
Both Greater Restoration and Raise Dead are level 5 spells so it's equally hard to get rid of the petrified condition as it is from being dead.
So for me the Basilisk, Gorgon and Medusa all have death attacks.

 

[CapnZapp]

That's the surest way to lose your players.

Not contested

I'm just answering the OP's question.

Besides, just cast a Fireball that "accidentally" includes the downed hero, and then another

 

[Derren]

This is a general "problem" in 5E. Killing someone without lots of AoE effects nearly always requires you to target downed PCs, but as this thread shows this is a taboo on most tables.
And even if the enemy targets downed PCs, they are still hard to kill as seen in the HotDQ duel where the enemy specifically hits the PC one when he is down, but it is still unlikely that the PC will die as he will receive aid the next round.
And good look trying to kill someone while he sleeps. You have to spend 20 seconds butchering him to make sure that he is dead and even that is not a sure way as he could have rolled a crit on his saving throw resetting the death save counter.

 

[Psikerlord#]

This is a general "problem" in 5E. Killing someone without AoE lots of AoE effects nearly always requires you to target downed PCs, but as this thread shows this is a taboo on most tables.
And even if the enemy targets downed PCs, they are still hard to kill as seen in the HotDQ duel where the enemy specifically hits the PC one when he is down, but it is still unlikely that the PC will die as he will receive aid the next round.
And good look trying to kill someone while he sleeps. You have to spend 20 seconds butchering him to make sure that he is dead and even that is not a sure way as he could have rolled a crit on his saving throw resetting the death save counter.

Sleep is an interesting one. At our table, assuming there are no other active threats, we say the combat has ended, and allow instant death for cutting the throat etc of a sleeper or other incapacitated person. I guess maybe not for a PC... they would instead go to zero HP and start making death saves, instead. Throw the PCs a bone, kinda thing.

 

[Paraxis]

Attacking downed targets is very effective, the attacker has advantage on the attack and if adjacent any melee hit is a critical hit so that is 2 failed death saves right there. Also it is each hit, and many opponents have multi-attack. So very easy to kill someone if you want to and in a world of magical ranged healing it would be more common than in our own world to spend an extra few seconds making sure your opponent is truly dead before moving on.

Looking at the MM I can see a fight with an Aboleth, Beholder, Adult White Dragon, Young Red Shadow Dragon, Remorhaz, and a few others are all very deadly and within the Hard XP budget.

But yeah AoE and striking unconscious characters are going to be the two most common ways to die.

 

[SirAntoine]

No one would be trying to finish off enemies because raise dead exists. Once a combat begins, everyone has to fight to win, not waste time.