Death isn't deadly enough

[delericho]

Isn't it a little too hard to die?

This is by design. They felt it was better to present a less deadly baseline that groups could then adjust, rather than presenting a much more deadly baseline that would frustrate players.

It says (RAW) that you immediately are no longer unconscious if you regain any hit points whatsoever. Doesn't that mean a single healing word has you back in action?

Pretty much. Personally, I wouldn't have a PC at 0 hit points be unconscious, but rather simply out of action - like Boromir at the end of "Fellowship of the Ring".

Any ideas on how to make players pay more for falling to 0 HP?

The simplest way is to have healing work slowly - magical healing stabilises you immediately, but you don't actually regain the hit points until a minute has passed (or whatever). That way, dropping to 0 effectively takes you out of the combat.

(But be wary - this means that if the Fighter goes down due to a freak set of dice rolls, the encounter could go south very quickly, because it means that the rest of the party can't get him back in the fight.)

The suggestion of having a drop to 0 impose a level of exhaustion is probably a better one, or you could have it impose disadvantage on attack rolls for X rounds.

One other option is to revert back to the 3e rules for death and dying: count negative hit points, and have PCs die at -10. This means that they need to be a bit more wary of dropping to 0 (as they'll burn through that buffer quite quickly), and also means that minor healing may not be enough (if you're at -5 and get healed for 4, you're now not dying but you're still at -1 and so unconscious). That wouldn't be my preferred approach, though - indeed, I stopped using those rules even for 3e.

 

[Herobizkit]

If you really want to change rules, have the healing spells become "regenerate" spells that only heal X/round instead of their full amount. 3e did this by introducing vigor spells (not the same spell as on the SRD - it's in the 3e Spell Compendium).

 

[transcendantviewer]

I just like to see hit points as an abstraction. They represent your vigor in a fight; the less you have, the closer you are to actually getting knocked down by a devastating hit. Every attack that "Hits" you instead is more absorbed by your armor, leaves flesh wounds, and just tires you out, but the last one - the one that actually puts you on the ground in a bloody stupor - that's the one that hit home. Magical healing acts to repair the damage and bring you back from the brink of death. It's magic. It does that. I'd say just impose some sort of penalty at some junctures, like when a creature is reduced to half health, have its speed cut in half and impose a -2 to its attack rolls and ability checks. Do this for every creature, not just PCs. It makes the damage look and act like it's wearing on them. When they get down to 25% health, tack on a Dexterity Score Penalty that goes away when they get beyond this point. When they're at about 5% or less health, have attacks against them gain advantage, as they're virtually barely moving. Then, when they drop to 0, have them start making death saves. Apply Death Saving Throws to all creatures, not just PCs. (If a creature states that something happens when it's reduced to 0, have that happen instead.) I find that this will make the players start to think tactically and really fear their opponents, as well as give them some cues as to what their opponents are actually feeling.