Mitigating Parachute shock.

[ChevronTango]

for reference, the drag values of the parachutes are:

stowedDrag = 0.22

semiDeployedDrag = 1

fullyDeployedDrag = 500

and the force can be calculated by the usual method, though the drag force for each parachute is proportional to its as mass, vis-a-vi Kerbal Physics

[lajoswinkler]

It would be good if the auxiliary parachute (Mk25) could be stacked above Mk16/Mk16-XL, because now you have to put them side by side, and that means they aren't centered on the axis where center of mass is. The result is rocking, tilting and unevenly positioned landing.

[Cartz]

Drogue chutes are specifically designed to solve this problem.

If you're really hard pressed, I took it upon myself to duplicate Squad's radial mount parachute, and copy into the duplicate cfg the stats of the drogue chutes. Rename and save in its own directory, and Voila, a radially mounted drogue chute. Really helps with the rapid unplanned disassembly issues if you have a few of these puppies fully deployed 2000m before your mains deploy.

I also don't feel it's cheaty because their exclusion feels like an oversight, and the inability in stock to place a drogue anywhere but the top of a part stack seems like artificial difficulty.

If you must go stock, lessen your re-entry angle. The more atmosphere you cut through before your chutes open, the slower you'll be going.

[Smoke]

You can also use the Cubic Octagonal Strut to mount them radial. As extra bonus you can use this to strut the parachute to your craft.

[Starwaster]

Small radial thrusters with just enough fuel to slow your descent just prior to CFD (chute full deployment)