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<blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 8582585" data-attributes="member: 22779">So, if this is always true, then why the argument that 5e combat is not lethal enough?&nbsp; I'm kinda confused.And, remember, the point of combat is not to kill PC's.&nbsp; It never was.&nbsp; Killing PC's is easy.&nbsp; Threatening PC's just enough to make the combat interesting without killing them is the trick.To me, this goes right back to the point I made earlier about choice and the differences between editions.&nbsp; In earlier editions, PC death was largely a matter of luck.&nbsp; The dice gods declare you dead and you die.&nbsp; In 5e, that's rarely true. It's not easy for the dice gods to kill a PC in 5e.&nbsp; But, it is easy for the DM.&nbsp; That means that the DM, at the table, has to turn to the player and deliberately declare that the DM is trying to kill that PC.&nbsp; For years, we've been taught as DM's that that's a bad thing.&nbsp; You're never supposed to try and kill someone's character.&nbsp; If the character dies in the course of adventuring, well, that's fine and dandy.&nbsp; But we're DM's.&nbsp; We're supposed to be neutral (or at least not antagonistic).&nbsp; And it's really hard not to take it as antagonistic when the DM deliberately tries to whack your character.It really is a major shift in how the game works.&nbsp; Moving from &quot;the dice determine outcomes&quot; to &quot;the DM has to choose an outcome&quot; is a big change.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Hussar, post: 8582585, member: 22779"] So, if this is always true, then why the argument that 5e combat is not lethal enough? I'm kinda confused. And, remember, the point of combat is not to kill PC's. It never was. Killing PC's is easy. Threatening PC's just enough to make the combat interesting without killing them is the trick. To me, this goes right back to the point I made earlier about choice and the differences between editions. In earlier editions, PC death was largely a matter of luck. The dice gods declare you dead and you die. In 5e, that's rarely true. It's not easy for the dice gods to kill a PC in 5e. But, it is easy for the DM. That means that the DM, at the table, has to turn to the player and deliberately declare that the DM is trying to kill that PC. For years, we've been taught as DM's that that's a bad thing. You're never supposed to [I]try [/I]and kill someone's character. If the character dies in the course of adventuring, well, that's fine and dandy. But we're DM's. We're supposed to be neutral (or at least not antagonistic). And it's really hard not to take it as antagonistic when the DM deliberately tries to whack your character. It really is a major shift in how the game works. Moving from "the dice determine outcomes" to "the DM has to choose an outcome" is a big change. [/QUOTE]

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