D&D 5E My biggest gripe with 5e design

[jayoungr]

I feel like it is too easy for PCs to stay alive. I would prefer that when you hit 0 hit points, you have X rounds and then you're dead.

Try having the monsters continue to target PCs after they go down. Every hit on a PC who's at 0 is an auto-fail.

As it is, the odds are that you are going to stabilize without help.

I've never studied statistics, but aren't the odds exactly 50-50?

 

[Oofta]

Try having the monsters continue to target PCs after they go down. Every hit on a PC who's at 0 is an auto-fail.

In addition if the attack is from an adjacent creature it's automatically a critical. If that doesn't kill the PC outright, it's 2 failed death saves.

So yes, it takes a bit of effort but if you really want to kill off PCs it's not that hard.

 

[DND_Reborn]

I've never studied statistics, but aren't the odds exactly 50-50?

No, because you succeed on a 10, which means you have a 55% chance per roll of making the death save. Also, the 1 counting as two fails and the 20 auto-stabilize will mess with it further.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I've never studied statistics, but aren't the odds exactly 50-50?

10 or better so actually 55% chance on each roll. And you usually get 3. So de facto (and yes this is a simplification) it's more like a 9-10% chance to not stabilise over those three checks. Obviously a lot can interfere with this in both directions. Monsters continuing to attack a downed PC will typically kill them the next round in my experience.

 

[jayoungr]

No, because you succeed on a 10, which means you have a 55% chance per roll of making the death save.

Ah, right. Well, I did say I never studied statistics!


Still, monsters attacking will cancel that out pretty quickly.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Ah, right. Well, I did say I never studied statistics!


Still, monsters attacking will cancel that out pretty quickly.

Very true LOL!

 

[NotAYakk]

No, because you succeed on a 10, which means you have a 55% chance per roll of making the death save. Also, the 1 counting as two fails and the 20 auto-stabilize will mess with it further.

Build a graph like this:

				FAIL
		LIVE	DIE	LIVE	DIE	LIVE	DIE
		0​	0​	1​	1​	2​	2​
	0​	0.181375​	0.404875​	0.1425​	0.5825​	0.0875​	0.7875​
SUCC	1​	0.14​	0.265​	0.115​	0.435​	0.075​	0.675​
	2​	0.0805​	0.1145​	0.07​	0.23​	0.05​	0.45​

LIVE means get up; DIE means die, remaining chance is stabilize. I filled the cells "outside" with 100% death chance at more than 2 failures, and 0% live/death chance in all other outside cells. Then wrote a formula for each cell in terms of the stuff right of it and stuff below it.

 

[5ekyu]

Ah, right. Well, I did say I never studied statistics!


Still, monsters attacking will cancel that out pretty quickly.

Also, AoE attacks have good chances of catching down foes. Even tossing one dart from a MM. Though the better choice may be Chill Touch.

But, if you include adversaries you may invlude friendlies which takes it out of odds and to choices.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Build a graph like this:

				FAIL
		LIVE	DIE	LIVE	DIE	LIVE	DIE
		0​	0​	1​	1​	2​	2​
	0​	0.181375​	0.404875​	0.1425​	0.5825​	0.0875​	0.7875​
SUCC	1​	0.14​	0.265​	0.115​	0.435​	0.075​	0.675​
	2​	0.0805​	0.1145​	0.07​	0.23​	0.05​	0.45​

LIVE means get up; DIE means die, remaining chance is stabilize. I filled the cells "outside" with 100% death chance at more than 2 failures, and 0% live/death chance in all other outside cells. Then wrote a formula for each cell in terms of the stuff right of it and stuff below it.

Why do all that if you don't give the final result of death saves? I don't know if your set-up will work or not, but for anyone who wants to know the percentages they are (close to what @Ruin Explorer said):

DEATH: 11.683375%
LIVE: 88.316625%

So, @jayoungr , unfortunately is is not even close to 50-50.

 

[NotAYakk]

Why do all that if you don't give the final result of death saves? I don't know if your set-up will work or not, but for anyone who wants to know the percentages they are (close to what @Ruin Explorer said):

DEATH: 11.683375%
LIVE: 88.316625%

So, @jayoungr , unfortunately is is not even close to 50-50.

I did? The 0,0 entry? At 0 0 you have a 40% chance of dieing if left alone, and an 18% chance of getting back up shortly, and a 42% chance of bring stable and getting up in hours.