Grabbing the side of a cliff

[dangerous jack]

By the RAW, forced movement over a cliff allows the creature make a save to not fall and instead fall prone in the last safe square.

So that I can use dramatically high cliffs without the danger of removing a PC from a fight, I'm proposing a house rule that a creature that is forced over a cliff, or misses a jump, can make a choice:

1) fall

2) grab the edge with 2 free hands
* creature grants combat advantage

3) grab the edge with 1 free hand
* creature is dazed until the end of its next turn and grants combat advantage

4) attempt to grab the edge with no free hands
* requires an acrobatics DC 30 check or the creature falls
* creature dazed until the end of its next turn and grants combat advantage


In all cases, the current move action or forced movement ends and the creature is in the square adjacent to the cliff. I'm also thinking about a creature that successfully grabs the side of a cliff takes 1d10 damage.

Thoughts? Loopholes or problems? Other ideas?

 

[Alex319]

I'm a little confused. Is this a replacement for the existing save mechanic?

Is your goal to reduce the probability that a player falls over the side?

It seems like for characters with no free hands (which will be most front-line characters) this just hurts them (unless they have an acrobatics modifier +20 or greater).

 

[dangerous jack]

I'm a little confused. Is this a replacement for the existing save mechanic?

Is your goal to reduce the probability that a player falls over the side?

It seems like for characters with no free hands (which will be most front-line characters) this just hurts them (unless they have an acrobatics modifier +20 or greater).

The game situation it developed out of was the Paladin missing a 1 square jump over a 6 square drop. He could've taken the damage, but it would've taken 4 (?) rounds for him to get back into things. So I ruled that he could grab the side of the cliff, but he would grant combat advantage and forfeited a move action to steady himself before he could climb up and be prone on the edge of the cliff.

So I figured it might be applicable to being pushed off a cliff too. I haven't thought this through completely, and I admit that it looks like it will hurt two-weapon rangers or implement & weapon characters the most (not my intention).

I think the save mechanic to fall prone should remain. This is a last resort scramble for PCs (and maybe monsters?) that go over the edge.

 

[NMcCoy]

I've always interpreted the "ledge save" as actually hanging from the ledge. With that in mind, I'd allow a ledge save for jumps that fall 1 square short.

Also, by RAW you can make an Athletics check as a free action (Surface DC +5) to catch yourself if you fall while climbing. (Which leaves you in the "climbing" state, granting combat advantage and requiring a move action to get back to the top, oddly enough...) It seems reasonable to extend this to other falls.

How do you calculate the 4 rounds to get back in? Assuming the Paladin rolls poorly on Athletics checks to climb back up? I get a minimum of 2 rounds if all checks are made:
Round 1: Stand from prone (move), climb at half speed (standard->move) 2 squares. Round 2: double climb (move and standard->move) 5 squares.
Athletics DC for an uneven surface such as a cave wall is DC 15. Since the gap was narrow, I'd let him "brace...between two surfaces" for +5 on the check.

 

[dangerous jack]

Also, by RAW you can make an Athletics check as a free action (Surface DC +5) to catch yourself if you fall while climbing. (Which leaves you in the "climbing" state, granting combat advantage and requiring a move action to get back to the top, oddly enough...)

I completely missed that one. I haven't read over climbing in a while. That seems to be pretty close to what I wanted. Thanks.

How do you calculate the 4 rounds to get back in? [...]
Athletics DC for an uneven surface such as a cave wall is DC 15. Since the gap was narrow, I'd let him "brace...between two surfaces" for +5 on the check.

Well, they were jumping from a hanging platform above water with a slight current, so no bracing himself and he would've had to swim for a square, but that trivia aside, really I had just guessed at the 4 rounds because I hadn't read the climbing rules.