See i like to see PC death, if i think the DM is pulling his punches its no fun, whats the point if i know if i do something dumb, the DM just slaps me on the hand. Its like using a cheat code to finish a game, i never saw the point, i want to have the risk of dying else what is the point. Then you got everyone with 20th level PC and walking around like they own the world. I rather KNOW i earned my 20 levels fighting through death traps and encounters that would kill lesser men/women, then think that my DM let me get to 20th level cause he is soft. I think alot of DM are almost scared to kill of a PC incase they offend their players. But then i come from a different era in 2e where PC death was a regular thing and raise dead was your friend, even if it cost you a con point

I don't kill PCs often because it's convenient for me, not out of consideration to the players.

If PCs die too often you find yourself in a situation where most or none of the party are original members. All the effort you made to tie them into the story and relationships with NPCs is essentially void, and it's like you're running a whole new campaign except everyone (including me as the GM quite frankly) has now less vested interest in it.

Death should be possible but IMO it should be rare, and if possible serve the story when it happens to increase the drama. Likewise, Raise Dead should be a significant aspect of a story, maybe even the subject of a quest to some hard to find, mystic location with revivifying properties. I hate games where spells like this can be treated like pez coming out of a dispenser.

I have more interest in the roleplay aspect than the game aspect though. I'm less concerned about the crunch, or the feeling of win/loss, than I am with telling a good story.

spells like raise dead allow Dms to be a bit more lethal in their encounters IMO, and your right, that is why raise dead SHOULD cost a con point instead of a level, if i remember correctly it did BOTH in 2e. So it hurt a little when you died, but it was not completely a screw over(unlike the level drain of 2e, man how depressing is it to lose a few hard earn levels, that was worst that death!)

A 5th-level spell, accessible only to L9+ parties or from NPCs (for only 450gp, true) but also with a cost of 5k's worth of diamonds? Not something which is achievable at low levels. Sure, at higher levels that's trivially easy but then things start eating your corpses.

Also, I would say a level is easier to earn back than a Con point (i.e. possible, rather than impossible).

yes so that is why i say it should be con over level, to leave a string at being brought back. I dont like things easy, i dont want to walk through a mission, i want to crawl on hands and knees through the blood and guts and when i complete the task, KNOW it took a hero to do it.