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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ahnehnois" data-source="post: 5829817" data-attributes="member: 17106">"Balance" in this case means "everyone can do it". If wizards can give you the finger (of death), your fighter should be able to maim or kill with an exceptionally good single blow.There's also the simple issue of ease of access and use. People who complain about SoD talk about casters "spamming" it repeatedly and ubiquitously, which really should not happen (and is symptomatic of larger issues with powerful spells being too easy to cast). You simply should not be able to cast disintegrate five times a day at the cost of only five spell slots; that's too easy.Lastly, there's the issue of what percentage chance the ability has of working. If you can just shoot off an ability in regular combat, and is has a 5% chance (or more) of killing someone outright, that's not good. OTOH, if you have to sneak up on them (assassin) or hurt them first (Power Word: Kill), that's okay; a high percentage chance of success is acceptable only if the situation is compromising for the defender (or, in the case of a medusa or the like, the SoD is definitional for that monster). Since d20 mechanics don't directly accomodate chances less than 5%, there have to be multiple rolls or something to prevent SoD from happening too easily.Umm, Indiana Jones?It's generally accepted by a vocal minority. The loss of SoD is also a significant point for 4e critics, of whom there are plenty. Also, I suspect that like most things the average gamer is not particularly partisan on this issue.This is a good point. Assassins typically slit people's throats, but really anyone should be able to kill a compromised target quickly, and CdG doesn't always cover it.</blockquote>

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