Death Effects have been toned down in the Alpha 3. Instead of causing automatic instant death on a failed save, they now cause hit point damage of 10 x caster level. I wanted to suggest adding randomness to the damage of death effects, as some randomness in damage is one of the hallmarks of D&D. In order to keep a similar mean, I would propose using slightly different formula for the hit point damage caused. Instead of using:
Caster level x 10
I would suggest using:
Caster level x d20
Of course, for groups wanting to save time on rolls, this would preserve the option of essentially 'taking 10' and obtaining average damage (well technically speaking the average is 10.5, but that doesn't really matter).
As an aside, I think the removal of direct save-or-die effects does not really resolve the save-or-die issue at all, since indirect save-or-die spells, such as dominate, turn flesh to stone, baleful polymorph and so on still exist in their full form. As such, it simply makes death effects relatively less powerful vis-à-vis petrification effects etcetera.