D&D 5E Climbing a tower rules 5e

[TaranTheWanderer]

WOW, I am amazed this is still going on... I really thought it had been settled last night.

Well, since this is still going, I made a quick little visual aid:

View attachment 132590
This shows a 6-foot tall person and the top horizontal line is 80-feet.

Any DM who doesn't want to call for a check due the stress involved and danger of such a climb, knock yourselves out. Performing a task, even climbing a rope, is influenced by the stress involved.

A warhorse has a STR 18. According to the rules, it can make a long jump of 18 feet. So, if the PCs are riding warhorses and come to a chasm 15 feet across, but plummets 200 feet down, would you have them make any sort of Animal Handling check to get the horse to make the jump and for them to not fall off?

Odds are, if you won't ask for a climb check in the 80-foot tower scenario, you won't ask for a check in the warhorse jumping scenario, either. Of course, I would.

Sure, add in your "factors": being chased by enemies, in a raging storm, or whatever floats your boat.

Anyway, continue the back and forth.

El Capitain is 3000 feet and lots of people climb it. Alex Honnel climbed it in 2.5 hours.
Also I have seen people unable to ascend a 20 foot length of rope using Prussik knots, getting fatigued and so hopelessly stuck that I had to rescue them.

So, idk. I'd say it's a DMs call.

 

[DND_Reborn]

El Capitain is 3000 feet and lots of people climb it. Alex Honnel climbed it in 2.5 hours.

Very true, but they have TONS of climbing experience and in game their modifier would make it so at worst they would suffer no progress IMO.

Also I have seen people unable to ascend a 20 foot length of rope using Prussik knots, getting fatigued and so hopelessly stuck that I had to rescue them.

Yep, this sort of stuff happens a lot IME.

So, idk. I'd say it's a DMs call.

Precisely!

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

If you've made it this far in the thread, you deserve to watch this video:


Enjoy

 

[DND_Reborn]

If you've made it this far in the thread, you deserve to watch this video:


Enjoy

But it was after 11 attempts or something and obviously an example of a very experienced climber whose modifier would be pretty good in game terms....

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

But it was after 11 attempts or something and obviously an example of a very experienced climber whose modifier would be pretty good in game terms....

It took him 11 attempts to break the world record. If he was making skill checks, it was to beat someone else's climb - not to fall.

 

[DND_Reborn]

It took him 11 attempts to break the world record. If he was making skill checks, it was to beat someone else's climb - not to fall.

If his modifier was good enough, I'd agree with you since even a natural 1 would be, at worst, lack of progress, and not a fall.

But, if you want to talk according to the "rules", you move at half your speed--you can't climb any faster than that apparently.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Oh, and FWIW, by the RAW, your STR 8 nobody PC could make that 3000 ft climb in 20 minutes without any checks (half that if you use the Dash action!).

Guess that would blow the record out of the water!

 

[SkidAce]

No, it doesn’t. It depends on what the swimming conditions are like or if there’s a creature or other obstacle interfering with your swimming, things of that nature. Also, 20 miles is too far to swim in an eight hour day, so then you’re making Con saves versus exhaustion.

There should be some significance to distance.

I can swim across a 20 foot pool and back. I could not even begin to contemplate actually swimming even a mile (or half, etc).

 

[Charlaquin]

Oh, and FWIW, by the RAW, your STR 8 nobody PC could make that 3000 ft climb in 20 minutes without any checks (half that if you use the Dash action!).

Guess that would blow the record out of the water!

The Dash action is something specific to combat. Out of combat you could take a Fast pace, which would allow you to climb 3000 feet in 15 minutes. Which certainly does blow the record out of the water! Though, that video looked like a series of shorter climbs, all of them on what I would describe as sheer surfaces with few hand and footholds, punctuated by breaks on sizable outcroppings.

 

[Charlaquin]

There should be some significance to distance.

I can swim across a 20 foot pool and back. I could not even begin to contemplate actually swimming even a mile (or half, etc).

I hate to break it to you, but you aren’t a D&D character.