Greg Benage
Legend
I've never used the "encounter building" rules and didn't notice any game theory in the OP, but I think 5e's easy mode is all about death saves. I think it has nothing to do with feats, though I have complaints about some of them for other reasons.
The death save mechanic and subsequent whack-a-mole effect also scales with party size. You get a six character party and half of them have healing word (plus Healer, plus Lay on Hands, plus...), and there's really very little suspense even in super deadly battles. As long as you're not in TPK danger, you're not really in danger.
I tried the exhaustion levels as a cost of being knocked unconscious, but our experience was that it made the game less fun without actually increasing the sense of danger. I'll probably just chuck it all and go back to negative hit points and bleeding next campaign.
The death save mechanic and subsequent whack-a-mole effect also scales with party size. You get a six character party and half of them have healing word (plus Healer, plus Lay on Hands, plus...), and there's really very little suspense even in super deadly battles. As long as you're not in TPK danger, you're not really in danger.
I tried the exhaustion levels as a cost of being knocked unconscious, but our experience was that it made the game less fun without actually increasing the sense of danger. I'll probably just chuck it all and go back to negative hit points and bleeding next campaign.