D&D 5E How far can you climb per action?

[Hriston]

I think clearly setting the stakes before the roll would have improved the gameplay experience here. You mentioned that the wall was DC 10 to climb, but I think it was unclear to the player what success and failure on that check would look like. Making that explicit before the roll, including whether degrees of success are in play, would help avoid a mismatch in expectations about how a 20 should be interpreted, for example.

 

[Ovinomancer]

I think clearly setting the stakes before the roll would have improved the gameplay experience here. You mentioned that the wall was DC 10 to climb, but I think it was unclear to the player what success and failure on that check would look like. Making that explicit before the roll, including whether degrees of success are in play, would help avoid a mismatch in expectations about how a 20 should be interpreted, for example.

I'm of the school that DCs should be based on the action intended, which also includes stake setting. In this case, the note that the wall was DC 10 would be a baseline note for me to use to adjudicate actions. If a player declared they wanted to just use their normal movement up the wall, my note would help me say this was an easy challenge with low stakes, so DC 10, failure means you lose half your climb distance as you encounter a difficult stretch.

If the action declared was an attempt to make the climb in one go, I'd look at what's possible normally and decide if it's possible to do this. In the OP case, I would. But, this seems like a "hard" thing to do and pretty risky, so I'd set the DC at 20, success meaning you gain the window, failure meaning you fall. In this case, I'd set the fall distance at 60 ft -- where normal movement would have gotten you.

I don't like using the die to determine range of outcome. I prefer to let players tell me what the PCs try, and then setting a DC appropriate to the task. The dice then are succeed/fail on what the players attempt. Using high rolls to extend success margins (or vice versa) feels like reducing the player's input to the fiction. To me, YMMV.

 

[Fenris-77]

Do you need a climb check per move action? So the monk Dashed, 20'+20' and then burned a ki point to Dash again, +20'...but that's only 60'. Would the monk need 3 climb checks to climb 60', or one check to climb 60'? Is there a rule for that or is it DM fiat? Rolling the 20, the player thinks 20 = Win

Wait a minute. Now I'm confused. The Monk moves 40' base, giving her an 80' Dash, which reduces to 40' for climbing. If she burns Ki and dashes twice she climbs 80'. I haven't had my second cup of coffee yet, so maybe I'm missing something...

 

[Maestrino]

Ah, here's your problem.

Movement: 40' (halved to 20' for climbing)
Action: Dash another 40' (halved to 20' for climbing)
Bonus Action: Step of the Wind dash - another 40' (halved to 20' for climbing)
So that's 60' climbing in one round.

As mentioned earlier in the thread, though, I would not allow use of a ki point to move at normal speed up a vertical surface, because full-speed movement up vertical surfaces (and across liquids) is very specifically granted as a 9th level monk ability.

 

[Nebulous]

Your assessment that she could climb 60' per turn RAW seems right to me (if she was level 5 or less - see below). As others have said, checks are up to the DM's judgement. For most towers or other fortifications, I think I'd have required a check with a middling-high DC (14+, depending on the construction).

But you have to watch out for monks:
At 6th level, unarmored movement bonus increases to 15.
At 9th level, they get to "move along vertical surfaces and across liquids on [their] turn without falling during [their] move". Interpret as you will; I'd say this generally removes the check regardless of surface.
At 10th level, unarmored movement bonus increases to 20 (and also increases at 14th and 18th, if you get that far).

She was 4th level. I think I set the DC low, at a 12.

 

[Nebulous]

I think clearly setting the stakes before the roll would have improved the gameplay experience here. You mentioned that the wall was DC 10 to climb, but I think it was unclear to the player what success and failure on that check would look like. Making that explicit before the roll, including whether degrees of success are in play, would help avoid a mismatch in expectations about how a 20 should be interpreted, for example.

Yes. So next session I'm actually going over ALL this with the players and explain how far she climbed, and why, and how the 20 pushed the ki point that last bonus 20 feet to the window. I will also explain what failure would have looked like. For example, at the end of the scenario the wizard was trying to climb down and rolled a 1 from 80 feet up and hit the ground. The player was like, I am perfectly OK with that.

 

[Oofta]

Yes. So next session I'm actually going over ALL this with the players and explain how far she climbed, and why, and how the 20 pushed the ki point that last bonus 20 feet to the window. I will also explain what failure would have looked like. For example, at the end of the scenario the wizard was trying to climb down and rolled a 1 from 80 feet up and hit the ground. The player was like, I am perfectly OK with that.

How you want to handle it is completely up to you. However, I would just tell the group at the next get together that I had made a mistake. The monk should have gotten to 60 feet, ending her turn clinging to the wall. I'm not going to undo anything, just letting people know how I will rule in the future.

In my games, an ability check of 20 doesn't mean automatic success. It may effect some things, and in this case I may rule that a high enough result may add 5 or 10 feet because it was exceptionally high but that's it.

That and in the future, the player just tells me the number they get and I will let them know if the result.

Again though, that's just me. Do what makes sense for you and your group.

 

[Nebulous]

How you want to handle it is completely up to you. However, I would just tell the group at the next get together that I had made a mistake. The monk should have gotten to 60 feet, ending her turn clinging to the wall. I'm not going to undo anything, just letting people know how I will rule in the future.

In my games, an ability check of 20 doesn't mean automatic success. It may effect some things, and in this case I may rule that a high enough result may add 5 or 10 feet because it was exceptionally high but that's it.

That and in the future, the player just tells me the number they get and I will let them know if the result.

Again though, that's just me. Do what makes sense for you and your group.

Well I can do that as well. And also explain that 20 doesn't equal win necessarily, but the game does teach us that in combat with critical hits so it gets entrenched in their heads. What I'm really trying to curb them from doing (and this would be a separate thread) is to stop rolling dice for whatever skill they want, whenever they want, and then dictate what happens. The DM calls for the skill rolls, not the player.

 

[Undrave]

It's not in the rules, but I would inclined to allow "run up a wall" as a valid use of a ki point. DM's call.

Monks can do that at level 9.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

How you want to handle it is completely up to you. However, I would just tell the group at the next get together that I had made a mistake. The monk should have gotten to 60 feet, ending her turn clinging to the wall. I'm not going to undo anything, just letting people know how I will rule in the future.

In my games, an ability check of 20 doesn't mean automatic success. It may effect some things, and in this case I may rule that a high enough result may add 5 or 10 feet because it was exceptionally high but that's it.

That and in the future, the player just tells me the number they get and I will let them know if the result.

Again though, that's just me. Do what makes sense for you and your group.

You don’t allow a skill check to climb or swim faster?