D&D 5E Forced Movement in 5e ?

Amatiel · Oct 15, 2017

How do your groups handle forced movement ? In the group I currently DM for I have a warlock with repelling blast. Back in 4e, there were a ton if rules explaing forced movement. In 5e, it would appear they have simplified it somewhat...As in, there are none! From what I can find, forced movement would seem to apply and tough luck and

happens! ?

As an example, in our last game the warlock struck an enemy wizard on a bridge into a chasm with a river. At first, I just said he is knocked into the chasm. I made a comment about like. "wow, cool shot!" followed by something like "huh, forced movement can be lethal huh? chuckle". The PCs thought about that, and said wait, shouldn't he get a saving throw?

So, how do you deal with forced movement in 5e?

cmad1977 · Oct 15, 2017

Maybe I’d give him a dex check to grab the edge but the you’re just delaying they’re inevitable death unnecessarily. The bag guy vanished into the mist never to be seen again...

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Xeviat · Oct 15, 2017

This isn’t just a warlock issue. Anyone can use Push and open hand monks can push far with their flurries. I’d go with a Dex save, like 4E, when someone is being pushed into harming terrain. Then use the damage by level table to help you decide how deep falls should be for your adventures.

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Oofta · Oct 15, 2017

I give dex saves based on the situation, basing the DC on the edge. Waist high wall? DC 10. Sheer edge off an icy cliff? DC 25.

It's nothing official of course, but the PCs know that turnabout is fair play, so they've never complained.

Jester David · Oct 15, 2017

This is an example of rulings not rules.
4e had the saving throw mechanic where you could fall prone if pushed off a ledge. Which is weird as saving throws were a duration tracking mechanic.

The DM can easily do something similar. There just isn't a hard rule for it. They can improvise depending on the situation and terrain (or if a PC is being knocked backwards). A railing might provide a lower DC while a crumbling cliff will be harder.

dave2008 · Oct 15, 2017

I feel like there is almost this specific example in the DMG, and it suggest providing a saving throw. But it is not a rule, just a suggestion on a ruling. Can remember for sure if that was the DMG or somewhere else I read that though.

The Crimson Binome · Oct 15, 2017

If you push someone such that they're still adjacent to a cliff face, then they might reasonably be able to grab something before or during their fall. If you blast someone so hard that there's nothing within five feet of them, then there's not really anything they can do about it.

The reason you needed the rule in 4E was because push effects were extremely common, in order to facilitate interesting tactics on a grid. The grid is optional in 5E, and push effects are relatively rare, so it shouldn't matter how generous the rules are because shoving people off a cliff isn't supposed to come up much. If your particular campaign takes place on a lot of airships, then you may wish to introduce such a rule.

Harzel · Oct 15, 2017

Oofta said:
I give dex saves based on the situation, basing the DC on the edge. Waist high wall? DC 10. Sheer edge off an icy cliff? DC 25.

It's nothing official of course, but the PCs know that turnabout is fair play, so they've never complained.

Personally, I would distinguish between something that stops lateral movement and something that prevents a fall. A waist high wall might have a chance to stop lateral movement, but that would apply whether or not there was a chasm in back of the wall. If there is no obstacle that might stop the lateral movement, then the forced creature will move the entire forced distance. If at the end of the forced movement, the creature has only open space below them, but is within reach of something that could prevent a fall, then a DEX saving throw to allow them to hang on seems reasonable. However, if, for example, a medium or smaller creature with normal-sized arms is on the edge of a precipice and gets pushed 10 ft or more, then there is no chance to avoid the fall.

Put a bit differently, I want to be consistent* in how I adjudicate the lateral forced movement. If I allow a save to stop the lateral movement, then I allow it regardless of whether you are on the edge of a cliff or on a flat plain. There is not an additional chance to stop the lateral movement solely because it takes you over a vertical drop.

* That is not to be taken to accuse @Oofta of being inconsistent just because I was quoting them.

EDIT: [MENTION=6775031]Saelorn[/MENTION] appears to have made much the same point much more succinctly.

Li Shenron · Oct 15, 2017

Repelling Blast is a boost to Eldritch Blast so the "saving throw" is actually the target's AC against the attack roll required by E.B.

However, fighting next to a chasm is a VERY dangerous thing. Someone IS going to fall into it. This time the player was lucky to be on right side of it.

Shiroiken · Oct 15, 2017

Li Shenron said:
However, fighting next to a chasm is a VERY dangerous thing. Someone IS going to fall into it. This time the player was lucky to be on right side of it.

This. High action style combats, as oft suggested by various DMGs, are DEADLY! Fighting on a rope bridge over a volcano is not "cool," it's incredibly stupid, since instant death is only a bad roll away. Players should be aware of such dangers, and smart ones will turn it on you (like retreating back to the end, cutting the rope bridge, and dropping your bad guys into the volcano).