So, I'm sure what I'm asking was answered when Reaper mode was first implemented, but why does Reaper mode scale down player power? I understand the penalty to self-healing in order to encourage grouping, but I don't understand the scaling down of player damage and saving throws. Wouldn't it make more sense to scale up monster HP and DC's instead of weakening the player's damage and throws?

I've been looking in wiki's and threads but haven't found the design philosophy behind this.