Does anyone have examples of effects that insta-kill without rolling damage? Thanks.

Power Word Kill is one such example.

Thanks!

If your enemy is below 6 hp, use magic missile. This is an example....

Sixth level of Exhaustion and Drowning come to mind.

Quote from TableFlop >>

If your enemy is below 6 hp, use magic missile. This is an example....

No it isn't.  That deals damage.

Yes, but multiple instances of it. If you use a 2nd level magic missile Vs 6 hp and roll all 1s, you'll deal 2 damage four times. The third would drop it to zero, but due to death ward instead drop them to 1. The fourth missile will down them.

Quote from Richybabes >>

Yes, but multiple instances of it. If you use a 2nd level magic missile Vs 6 hp and roll all 1s, you'll deal 2 damage four times. The third would drop it to zero, but due to death ward instead drop them to 1. The fourth missile will down them.

Magic missile doesn't work that way.  They don't hit one after another.

"The darts all strike simultaneously, and you can direct them to hit one creature or several."

Death Ward would protect against it, no matter what. 

A Banshee’s scream.

The one time it mattered was in a Tier 4 Adventure League scenario. I was playing a sorcerer17/cleric1 and I also had one (or possibly two)  resurrection options. Anyway, the DM played hardball and the fact that my PC would purchase and then cast Death Ward at the beginning of every session saved my PC from death and directly helped us complete the adventure successfully.

IT

Quote from RhettS >>

A Banshee’s scream.

Narp: You get a save, then "On a failure, a creature drops to 0 hit points."

This puts the subject in the situation where he needs to make death saving throws, it does not result in death outright.

-JD

Will do in a pinch when you don't have Featherfall at hand.

Well technically wouldnt disintegrate hitting someone below the minimum damage count?

Quote from Kelain >>

Well technically wouldnt disintegrate hitting someone below the minimum damage count?

 The wording for Disintegrate is actually very specific. the spell must "leave the target with zero health" to destroy the body. This gives time for Contingency, deathward to restore the individual. I also Believe the Half-Orc Relentless Endurance would work as it states if the Damage does not kill you out right, you instead go to 1 HP. So you are reduced to zero, you get increased to one, then the Disintegrate checks to see if you have stayed at zero. Since you have increased in HP you are not destroyed.

What about falling 1,000 ft? 

Assuming you're not a barbarian, it goes like this: you take 20d6(terminal velocity) damage, and if you have enough levels you might not even drop to 0, and if you're barbarian then it's only 10d6. Then, if you did drop to 0 or below, you instead drop to 1 HP. This even works against instakill damage, as since there isn't negative HP, you can only drop down to 0, which then gets set to 1 because of this spell.

Death ward is just feather fall with more crunch.

This is now one of my favorite spells of all time! It has saved my character over three times in six sessions... And I am the healer in a group that doesn't have many potions. I can get the whole group up in three rounds ( we have a big group but twin cast).

Vorpal blade also applies

The wand of Orcus