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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jester David" data-source="post: 6155281" data-attributes="member: 37579">I'll expand a little. Pre-4e, instant kill powers existed, as did other nasty monster powers with penalizing effects that lasted beyond a single combat: poison, disease, ruined weapons. While rare they were always a possibility, so entering combat with an unknown foe was always a tactical risk. Even if you won there might be consequences that impact the next fight above and beyond spent healing and powers. Add into this the idea of "balanced" encounters, which meant the majority of the time fights should be fair or slanted towards the PC's favour. Which has been around for two editions and really permeated the gamer unconscious. So you know (as long as you survive) there'll be no long term consequences, and as long as the DM is playing by the rules you have a reasonable chance of winning. What reason is there to avoid combat? I think this was really seen in watching people initially play Next and Caves of Chaos, where they might just charge into a room filled with orcs with a "I'm sure they're all minions." mindset.Now, this doesn't mean people will start playing stupid and charge in like a pack of feral barbarians. If stealth is faster and might mean half as many fights, then stealth is the better option. It just means, all things being equal, there's no reason not to charge.</blockquote>