Originally posted by HangarPilot:

Not an expert but the math looks right.

20 block skill - 6 (30% of 20) = 14

Or...

20 block skill - death1 - 19.0 (-5% or 95% or original)
19 - death2 - 18.05 (-5% or 95% of 19)
18.05 - death3 - 17.15
17.15 - death4 - 16.29
16.29 - death5 - 15.48
15.48 - death6 - 14.7

Run skill 50 - 7.5 (15% of 50) = 42.5 for your friend. If your friend lost count and actually died 4 times the math is perfect (50 - 10 = 40).

That said, I think the "death penalty" is a bit of the steep side.

The skill loss penalty is actually quite steep. You gain skill progress extremely slow and only a little faster while you have the rested buff. No idea if you have played Terraria but i would like the options Terraria has to pick and choose the difficulty with aspects of the game. For more casual people, being able to lessen the current death penalty or multiply the exp gain for skills would be nice. The only skill i had 50 or more was running and that has since been absolutely destroyed in 4 days going from a low 70 to mid 40s. While I do like a punishment for death giving a reason why you want to stay alive, i prefer a casual approach for this kind of game. Not a fan of relying on mods to fix a game especially one that is in early access but I cannot complain. There is options so just use them and know the consequences of modding.