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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 3875490" data-attributes="member: 29398">Perhaps, though it also depends on how many times the creature is able to get its death effect away, and at how many targets each time.  A Beholder, for example, gets its death and disintegrate rays once per round (assuming they happen to be pointing the right way) at single targets...*and* they have to roll to hit.  Now, it's only rolling vs. touch, so it's going to hit most of the time; but that it can miss still lowers the death chance.  Compare this with a Banshee, who (in 1e anyway) can only wail once per *day* but auto-forces everyone around her who can hear into a SoD.  Compare this with a Medusa...or Bodak, or Basilisk...whose death ability is always-on.  Those are the ones that'll run up the death count! <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />I like the mechanic mainly because it allows me when designing monsters to build a glass cannon if I want to.  Ditto for level-drainers, and critters that can do other very nasty things.  I prefer the variety...some monsters are all-defense-no-offense, others the reverse, and many do both equally well (or badly).  I'd far rather see that than hear "ho hum, another bag of experience p...er, I mean hit points" from the players when a battle starts.Lanefan</blockquote>

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