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<blockquote data-quote="el-remmen" data-source="post: 8287243" data-attributes="member: 11">I have definitely had foes do this when it made sense to do this (and have had PCs take the time to check if someone is really dead, b/c I have had foes roll a 20 on a death save and pop up and flee or try to surreptitiously drink a potion or something).I also think spending an action to check someone's pulse or breathing is fine (maybe in reality it'd take longer, but so should using the medicine skill to stabilize someone - in our 3E house rules it took 1d10 rounds - which even then was kinda quick from a &quot;real world&quot; perspective).&nbsp; Lots of things are handwaved in D&amp;D.I think one of the ways combats in my game remain dynamic and tactical is that there are frequently things both PCs and monsters have to or choose to do that draw them away from using actions for just attacking/combat spellcasting, stuff like putting themselves in position to do those more optimal actions, for example. Or blocking exits, getting to exits and holding them in case the PCs need to retreat, healing or picking up/dragging unconscious companions out of the middle of the scrum (don't want them there when the AoE damage spells go off!), stuff like that. This has the added benefit of mitigating the (weird to me) idea that &quot;every action must be the most optimal one or it is wasted&quot;Anyway, not too long ago I had an NPC opponent pick up the stabilized but still unconscious PC gnome to use as a shield and hold a dagger to his neck. There was momentary stand-off (we even stopped the session there as a cliffhanger) while the two sides talked - but then when the barbarian charged anyway, the PC gnome took a critical hit and auto failed two death saves - but luckily this did not pass his max. damage threshold - so he survived that round and luckily the party druid was able to heal him before the next.&nbsp;I do like Ruin's idea of people at 0 being able to move 10'.&nbsp; Maybe you can do that until you fail your first death save, and then you are really unconscious and can't act or move.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="el-remmen, post: 8287243, member: 11"] I have definitely had foes do this when it made sense to do this (and have had PCs take the time to check if someone is really dead, b/c I have had foes roll a 20 on a death save and pop up and flee or try to surreptitiously drink a potion or something). I also think spending an action to check someone's pulse or breathing is fine (maybe in reality it'd take longer, but so should using the medicine skill to stabilize someone - in our 3E house rules it took 1d10 rounds - which even then was kinda quick from a "real world" perspective). Lots of things are handwaved in D&D. I think one of the ways combats in my game remain dynamic and tactical is that there are frequently things both PCs and monsters [I]have to[/I] or [U][I]choose to[/I][/U] do that draw them away from using actions for just attacking/combat spellcasting, stuff like putting themselves in position to do those more optimal actions, for example. Or blocking exits, getting to exits and holding them in case the PCs need to retreat, healing or picking up/dragging unconscious companions out of the middle of the scrum (don't want them there when the AoE damage spells go off!), stuff like that. This has the added benefit of mitigating the (weird to me) idea that "every action must be the most optimal one or it is wasted" Anyway, not too long ago I had an NPC opponent pick up the stabilized but still unconscious PC gnome to use as a shield and hold a dagger to his neck. There was momentary stand-off (we even stopped the session there as a cliffhanger) while the two sides talked - but then when the barbarian charged anyway, the PC gnome took a critical hit and auto failed two death saves - but luckily this did not pass his max. damage threshold - so he survived that round and luckily the party druid was able to heal him before the next. I do like Ruin's idea of people at 0 being able to move 10'. Maybe you can do that until you fail your first death save, and then you are really unconscious and can't act or move. [/QUOTE]

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