D&D 5E Is 5e still full of Save or Dies?

[GX.Sigma]

How do you guys deal with that? I'm really curious.
Also, anywhere i can find a list of these kind of abilities so that i can ban/fix them for my playstyle?

Solution to this problem: Have the players tell you what spells they want. If one of them seems like it won't fit in the style of game you want to run, tell them that and have them pick a different one.

Meta-solution to the meta-problem: Frame expectations and options before and during character creation. Create characters together, not in isolation.

 

[Madeiner]

Monsters also have save or die effects.

Solar bow attack, Beholder death ray, Death Tyrant death ray, Demilich energy drain, Clay Golem slam attack, Mummy Rot, Will-o-Wisp consume life, and others.

In pathfinder, i removed all those abilities from monsters in place of new, custom ones. (I'm particular fond of end-of-turn free actions that come into being at the beginning of the enemy's next turn -- and are extremely powerful, so PCs have to move out of the area of effect)
Especially abilities that i knew would remove a character from play for more than 1 or 2 rounds.
If i knew PCs had a way to remove a SoD effect, i'd maybe use them, fully expecting them to remove the effect a round later.

Solution to this problem: Have the players tell you what spells they want. If one of them seems like it won't fit in the style of game you want to run, tell them that and have them pick a different one.

Meta-solution to the meta-problem: Frame expectations and options before and during character creation. Create characters together, not in isolation.

Yeah, probably the easiest option here. However divine casters are a problem and i still have to sift through the list.

 

[Morlock]

If you get turned to stone by a basilisk, it shouldn't wear off ten seconds later.

Yeah, I was just reading the basilisk and was like, "WTF is this #*@&?" Then I looked at the challenge rating and figured they're supposed to be some kind of basilisk mooks, or something. Or maybe it was a cockatrice. Either way, trivial to make a real one. And personally, I wouldn't use a basilisk/cockatrice mook. I think of both monsters as much more interesting as "hooollllly $@*! guys, it's a basilisk/cockatrice! Turn around, turn around, turn around..." type monsters. Wide berth. Either avoid it, or come up with a Plan. The icing on the cake is that if you don't know what a basilisk/cockatrice is (everyone in the campaign should know; critters like that, word gets around), it's a total Monty Python "rabbit stew comin up!" situation, which I find funny.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

It's watery bed was only 20'? You'd think it would want a larger cave, simply for the comfort factor. If it's a medium-large cavern of 50' radius, that would still be enough to let it stay underwater while avoiding the tentacles.

The cavern was only partially underwater: the "front half" was mostly dry, with areas of wade-able pools that would attack creatures on or adjacent to them, while the "back half" had the actual deep water with the submerged dragon. The spell was sufficiently large and properly placed such that the dragon could not remain entirely submerged in the water if it wanted to avoid making a save every round, so it had to climb partway onto the shallow water/dry land part of the cave, which meant we could melee attack it.