Mike Mearls (creator of D&D 5e) declares his opposition to safety cowtools, and describes games without character death or similar long-term consequences as "time-wasting slop".

Because I'm at Gary Con and feeling salty - I think the idea that younger gamers want a "safe" game - whatever that means - is utterly wrong. Participation trophies are there to make the parents feel good about themselves. The kids know it's a show.

— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) March 20, 2025

Because I'm at Gary Con and feeling salty - I think the idea that younger g*mers want a "safe" game - whatever that means - is utterly wrong. Participation trophies are there to make the parents feel good about themselves. The kids know it's a show.

The meaning of play comes from the sense of risk. We roleplay because it is a place where we can experience risk, loss, and defeat without enduring tangible harm. We're wired as humans to roleplay to learn how to navigate life's twists and turns.

Whether it's a dead character or failure in whatever context the session presents, the bigger the threat, the more meaning play has to us emotionally and spiritually. Removing it from the game turns it into time-wasting slop.

Bonus post:

Three attacks from an anti-paladin wielding a vorpal unholy blade. Three decapitated characters. #garycon pic.twitter.com/sdA3K2dfJo

— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) March 18, 2025

Three attacks from an anti-paladin wielding a vorpal unholy blade. Three decapitated characters.

As you can see in the image, this is a scenario from an edition of D&D where a vorpal sword decapitated on a roll of 17-20 (actually 20-23 counting only the item's modifier but it had +3 on the attack roll).