NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="LexStarwalker" data-source="post: 7067733" data-attributes="member: 6733461">I've found 5e quite deadly, more so than 2nd & 3rd, which are the other editions I have the most experience with. Getting a PC to 0 hp might be an issue at higher levels, but once there, death is difficult to avoid.1.) Any damage at 0 hp = a failed death save. This includes damage from AoE spells (e.g. fireball), environmental damage, etc. Any decent high level encounter will have enemies using AoE abilities or environmental damage, if not both, so that's at least one automatic death save failure per round for downed PCs, if not more, in most encounters.2.) A smart NPC will finish off downed PCs if they know the party has healing ability. Any attack vs. an unconscious PC has advantage. Any damage taken results in a death save failure. Any attack within 5' of the downed PC is an automatic critical if it hits. Critical hits = 2 death save failures. 3.) If a PC at 0 hp takes damage equal to his hit point total, he dies instantly. This is less likely at higher levels, but could happen with a critical hit, which any hit from a target within 5' will be. For these reasons, even at high levels, an encounter with intelligent NPCs/monsters that the DM isn't softballing will be very deadly to any PCs that get to 0 hp. More often than not, PCs at 0 hp would be killed before they even got a chance to roll their first death saving throw, unless the next PC in the initiative order is able to heal them.</blockquote>

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