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Message: <blockquote data-quote="The Shaman" data-source="post: 2550795" data-attributes="member: 26473">Go back and re-read the MSRD description of Tumble in my earlier post.First, the other approach is that instead of creating a plethora of detailed rules, teach GMs to make consistent calls based on abilities or skills or whatever mechanic generally covers the action you want to resolve - this is how slim rulebooks are made.I'm not suggesting that one approach is better than another - I do know which one I prefer.Second, it's the rare actions what will bring the game to a screaming halt as GM and players fumble through rulebooks - teaching GMs good skills for making those rulings quickly, along with the understanding among everyone at the table that it's the GMs role to make that ruling, are what keep the action front and center.Actually, it is addressed by the uneven terrain provision in the rules, as I believe Majoru Oakheart noted earlier, so yes, changing heights can affect the ability to Tumble.Once again your spotting the trees but missing the forest.Circumstance modifiers are subject to GM fiat - in many cases so are DCs. A 3e GM may increase a DC to reflect a higher degree of difficulty for a task, as per the rules - however, this is exactly the kind of GM "control" that a number of of posters suggested was such a problem with earlier editions of D&D.Jump covers more than just avoiding falling damage - it also covers getting from one place to another safely, and it carries consequences for failure other than damage, such as falling prone for failing an untrained check. Adding the chance of falling while jumping from a table in the middle of a melee (which is quite different from falling out of bed) adds to the excitement and the challenge - make it a DC 5 check, such that it's just a formality for most characters but still makes the challenge just a little more difficult, the action a bit more intense.For me, the rules are a tool to generate that feeling among the players. If the rules work against that, then it's the rules that need to change. If that makes me a power-mad control-freak GM, well, I'll wear that label and not lose any sleep.I never played 2e, so I couldn't predict how such a discussion might play out. I can for Castles and Crusades however - make a Dex check and maybe a Str check if the CK is so inclined. (Didn't have to crack a book to come up with that one, either.)You attribute the fact that our answers are simliar to 3e/d20's rules - I attribute it to the fact that we were describing a similar action. What I find amusing is that there was variance at all - for all its vaunted consistency, three different GMs had three different (though similar) rules interpretations for resolving both actions.</blockquote>

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