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<blockquote data-quote="Tormyr" data-source="post: 6485450" data-attributes="member: 6776887">Option 3 mostly happens to low level PCs.&nbsp; That being said, there are a couple ways to do it, and a couple ways of killing PCs that are like doing that 1 big hit but over a couple of turns.A 10th level character could reasonably have 42 (Con 10 Wizard) to 125 (Con 20 Barbarian) hit points.&nbsp; So a single shot would have to do double that to kill a PC at full hit points.&nbsp; However there are plenty of times where PCs are not at full hit points.&nbsp; That being said, I can think of a few 1 shot ways that might kill a PC.1. The CR 8 assassin: If it surprises a PC and hits, it does 87 (24d6 +3) damage on a failed DC 15 Con saving throw. However that is average damage.&nbsp; You could roll high.&nbsp; The theoretical maximum is 147 damage.2. You could swap out the CR 12 Archmage's 9th level spell with power word kill.&nbsp; Any targeted creature with less than 100 hit points dies.3. Give too high of a challenge.&nbsp; The CR number on a monster indicates at roughly what level a character can deal with that creature &quot;safely&quot; whether by absorbing damage or dealing with some special trick of the monster. A couple breath attacks from an adult dragon could kill a character before its allies could come to the rescue.&nbsp; A purple worm can swallow a character and continue to deal damage to the PC while the characters cannot come to the rescue.4. Separate the characters. Prevent the players from rescuing an unconscious and dying PC.5. Send the PC to another plane. Like death but with the benefit of a side quest to rescue the PC.6. Have an armored PC fall unconscious into water or lava.As for PCs dying I only have had 1 character death in my game, and that was a (un)lucky hit from a creature I had made up that was meant to take all 6 PCs and 1 PC was caught on its own. The PC was level 1, and I gave the player the option of reviving their character on the spot if they wanted.&nbsp; The player still had story he wanted to explore, so I cooked up a means of reviving that will have ramifications in the future.&nbsp; Aside from that, no one has died.&nbsp; There have been tons of close calls, but there is always a healing word, lay on hands for 1 hp, or a potion of healing to keep PCs alive. Having 6 to 7 PCs means that there are lots of people watching each other's backs.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Tormyr, post: 6485450, member: 6776887"] Option 3 mostly happens to low level PCs. That being said, there are a couple ways to do it, and a couple ways of killing PCs that are like doing that 1 big hit but over a couple of turns. A 10th level character could reasonably have 42 (Con 10 Wizard) to 125 (Con 20 Barbarian) hit points. So a single shot would have to do double that to kill a PC at full hit points. However there are plenty of times where PCs are not at full hit points. That being said, I can think of a few 1 shot ways that might kill a PC. 1. The CR 8 assassin: If it surprises a PC and hits, it does 87 (24d6 +3) damage on a failed DC 15 Con saving throw. However that is average damage. You could roll high. The theoretical maximum is 147 damage. 2. You could swap out the CR 12 Archmage's 9th level spell with [I]power word kill[/I]. Any targeted creature with less than 100 hit points dies. 3. Give too high of a challenge. The CR number on a monster indicates at roughly what level a character can deal with that creature "safely" whether by absorbing damage or dealing with some special trick of the monster. A couple breath attacks from an adult dragon could kill a character before its allies could come to the rescue. A purple worm can swallow a character and continue to deal damage to the PC while the characters cannot come to the rescue. 4. Separate the characters. Prevent the players from rescuing an unconscious and dying PC. 5. Send the PC to another plane. Like death but with the benefit of a side quest to rescue the PC. 6. Have an armored PC fall unconscious into water or lava. As for PCs dying I only have had 1 character death in my game, and that was a (un)lucky hit from a creature I had made up that was meant to take all 6 PCs and 1 PC was caught on its own. The PC was level 1, and I gave the player the option of reviving their character on the spot if they wanted. The player still had story he wanted to explore, so I cooked up a means of reviving that will have ramifications in the future. Aside from that, no one has died. There have been tons of close calls, but there is always a healing word, lay on hands for 1 hp, or a potion of healing to keep PCs alive. Having 6 to 7 PCs means that there are lots of people watching each other's backs. [/QUOTE]

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