Greater Command of "Fall" on a Flying Creature?

[NewJeffCT]

I don't think the command fall will accomplish what you want.



Webster's II New Riverside University Dicitonary (check other definitons to see how it could be interpreted)

"fall (v):
1) To come down without restraint, due to weight of gravity
2) to drop oneself to a lower or less erect position
3) to lose an upright or erect position
4) to descend from or as if from the sky 'The night falls quickly in the desert'
5) to come to rest, settle

etc"

Unless I am mistaken the affectted is free to follow the command as he sees fit.

So

1) is not an option since it outside his control and not a conscious action (he can't control gravity)

2) could be an option depending on the situation, basically if on say a flying carpet the affected would simply lie down.

3) Could also be an option by not being erect when flying the affected has already fallen

4) is likewise not an option since it is outside the affected's control

5) seems to be the option you want to get to

But like I said it depends - and unless I am mistaken the affected gets to choose which way to interpret the command and most often would choose the way most beneficial to himself.

Now going by what the PHB gives for choices and what happens the command fall seems to imply to fall to pron from the standing position. I agree qith the choice of Halt being the best choice to get the affected to stop flying.

While I think "Halt" might be the best option, the spell descriptor for "Fall" says that falls to the ground and remains prone and not just falls prone Also, the beginning of the spell reads that You give the subject a single command, which it obeys to the best of its ability at its earliest opportunity. If they are using a Fly spell, they have the ability to get to the ground and then fall prone.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

I'd interpret fall as the creature ceasing to resist gravity. Standing foes would crumple to the ground prone. Flying creatures, regardless of maneuverability, would stop trying to fly, and fall the appropriate distance for that one round (feather fall would still be able to be used to fall safer and slower, since the command is to fall without any regard for efficiency), similar to how lower maneuverability fliers can stall. Just how I'd rule it.

 

[irdeggman]

While I think "Halt" might be the best option, the spell descriptor for "Fall" says that falls to the ground and remains prone and not just falls prone Also, the beginning of the spell reads that You give the subject a single command, which it obeys to the best of its ability at its earliest opportunity. If they are using a Fly spell, they have the ability to get to the ground and then fall prone.

If they are using the fly spell they don't have the ability to "fall" to the ground. They have the ability to "float" to the ground (Spell description says when it ends you descend safely - essentially floating). They have the ability to "fly" or "move using fly speed" to the ground neither of which is "falling"..

Fall (see dictionary description) implies in this case that "gravity" takes over - which is not the case since you would be falling and taking damage due to the fall.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Random thought, to be a RBDM:

Player's Fighter has just fallen down a 100 ft spiked pit trap. He has to climb back out and is nearly at the top as the BBEG cleric appears, flying in the air, hovering near the edge of the pit.

DM: He casts Greater Command and tells you to fall.
Player: *rolls a 1* ....I hate you... *Fighter lets go of the pit wall*

 

[NewJeffCT]

Random thought, to be a RBDM:

Player's Fighter has just fallen down a 100 ft spiked pit trap. He has to climb back out and is nearly at the top as the BBEG cleric appears, flying in the air, hovering near the edge of the pit.

DM: He casts Greater Command and tells you to fall.
Player: *rolls a 1* ....I hate you... *Fighter lets go of the pit wall*

RBDM?

and, I don't think I'd be that cruel a DM to do that... though, that is good timing on the BBEG's part and would make the party hate him even more.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Rat Bastard DM

 

[frankthedm]

If they are using the fly spell they don't have the ability to "fall" to the ground.

Using the fly spell is a concious choice. You can chose not to use it. Greater Command just made that choice for you.

 

[irdeggman]

Using the fly spell is a concious choice. You can chose not to use it. Greater Command just made that choice for you.

No it is not - it is a set duration (not concentration) and not "dismissable".

You do have the choice of choosing where (and how) to move - but that is not "falling".

When the spell ends and then

Should the spell duration expire while the subject is still aloft, the magic fails slowly. The subject floats downward 60 feet per round for 1d6 rounds. If it reaches the ground in that amount of time, it lands safely. If not, it falls the rest of the distance, taking 1d6 points of damage per 10 feet of fall. Since dispelling a spell effectively ends it, the subject also descends in this way if the fly spell is dispelled, but not if it is negated by an antimagic field.

So for the first 1d6 rounds you are not "falling" since falling applies the effects of gravity and the subsequent damage.

 

[green slime]

No it is not - it is a set duration (not concentration) and not "dismissable".

You do have the choice of choosing where (and how) to move - but that is not "falling".

When the spell ends and then



So for the first 1d6 rounds you are not "falling" since falling applies the effects of gravity and the subsequent damage.

So you are suggesting that it would be impossible for someone under the influence of a fly spell, to choose to walk? That seems like a strange interpretation. But a definite consequence of your reading. I'm with FranktheDM on this one.

 

[irdeggman]

So you are suggesting that it would be impossible for someone under the influence of a fly spell, to choose to walk? That seems like a strange interpretation. But a definite consequence of your reading. I'm with FranktheDM on this one.

No I never said that, or at least that is not what I meant.

I said that the spell is still in effect. If you are in the air - you can't walk (impossible by the rules of the game), like you can't swim or burrow if you are not in the appropriate medium.

If you are on the bottom of the ocean you can "walk" or you can "swim" these are rules that a spelled out.

I said that it is not a conscious choice concerning the spell. When the spell is in effect you have the choice of available movement modes. When in the air the only one is using your fly speed. You do not have the choice to "fall" since the spell is still in effect. In order to reach the ground when in the air (under the effects of the fly spell) you must "move using your fly speed" to reach the ground which is not the same as "falling".