Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Climbing a tower rules 5e
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="DND_Reborn" data-source="post: 8192018" data-attributes="member: 6987520"><p>I completely agree with this, sort of. I think one success is all that should be required, but that <em>might</em> need more than one check if the first roll fails...</p><p></p><p>I would ask for <em>one</em> check, to succeed. I would set the DC at 8 for climbing a rope, with advantage for it being knotted. With no modifier at all, the PC would only fail the check about 12% of the time. But, as (hopefully) we all know, failure doesn't necessarily mean "falling", it just means a lack of progress (e.g. the PC gets stuck, tangled in the rope, has to hang and rest a moment, etc.). At which point, I would require a second check, again only failing 12% of the time with <em>NO</em> modifier at all. A second failure, which works out to just 1.5% over all, I would require a DEX save to avoid falling (e.g. you have slipped and need to catch yourself before you fall). If you <em>actually</em> rolled badly enough to require a third check, then you proceed until the PC has a success (finally) or falls (failing the DEX save) or gives up and climbs back down. If the PC falls, I would randomly determine their height (2d4 x10) to determine damage.</p><p></p><p>I think another thing people aren't really considering is the fact this is an 80' climb! Falling anywhere near the top would likely be lethal for most people. I know PCs are "heroes" and get plot armor, but HP attrition is part of the game and falling and the resulting damage is part of it IMO.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Which is perfectly fine for your game, but if you joined another game and the DM asked for an ability check, would you say "No, I am not doing it."??? As I have stated for myself, an 80-foot climb <em>IS</em> risky and involves and element of danger and stress---so I would call for a check.</p><p></p><p>Now, if the first PC made it up, and dropped a second rope so secure other climbers to, further reducing the risk, etc. then I wouldn't bother with checks <em>unless</em> other circumstances made it necessary. Use of a climber's kit would also make the need for a check unnecessary IMO, but if another DM still required a check I wouldn't question it.</p><p></p><p>Likewise, if I joined a game and the DM hand-waved the challenge away because the party had enough rope and a grappling hook, I'd be fine (as a player) with that, too.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Great, so you learned the technique to climb a rope. I was decently strong and had great endurance from running, but it took me several attempts to learn to climb ropes like that.</p><p></p><p></p><p>No, I'm sorry but with this I must disagree. All of that depends entirely on your ability scores. A PC with a STR 10 is only as strong as a commoner with a STR 10, and many PCs are not "seasoned marines" whose physical scores would be above normal. Are physical-oriented PCs that way, sure, but a lot of clerics, druids, other casters and even rogues, archer-types, etc. don't typically have "greater strength" because many such builds have STR 8-12, rarely higher.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Maybe I missed their posts, but no one is doing that. The DCs people have suggested for the OP that I've seen range from 8-12. Climbing a wall of ice with bare hands would be a DC 25 in my book, anyway--hardly as easy as walking across a room.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="DND_Reborn, post: 8192018, member: 6987520"] I completely agree with this, sort of. I think one success is all that should be required, but that [I]might[/I] need more than one check if the first roll fails... I would ask for [I]one[/I] check, to succeed. I would set the DC at 8 for climbing a rope, with advantage for it being knotted. With no modifier at all, the PC would only fail the check about 12% of the time. But, as (hopefully) we all know, failure doesn't necessarily mean "falling", it just means a lack of progress (e.g. the PC gets stuck, tangled in the rope, has to hang and rest a moment, etc.). At which point, I would require a second check, again only failing 12% of the time with [I]NO[/I] modifier at all. A second failure, which works out to just 1.5% over all, I would require a DEX save to avoid falling (e.g. you have slipped and need to catch yourself before you fall). If you [I]actually[/I] rolled badly enough to require a third check, then you proceed until the PC has a success (finally) or falls (failing the DEX save) or gives up and climbs back down. If the PC falls, I would randomly determine their height (2d4 x10) to determine damage. I think another thing people aren't really considering is the fact this is an 80' climb! Falling anywhere near the top would likely be lethal for most people. I know PCs are "heroes" and get plot armor, but HP attrition is part of the game and falling and the resulting damage is part of it IMO. Which is perfectly fine for your game, but if you joined another game and the DM asked for an ability check, would you say "No, I am not doing it."??? As I have stated for myself, an 80-foot climb [I]IS[/I] risky and involves and element of danger and stress---so I would call for a check. Now, if the first PC made it up, and dropped a second rope so secure other climbers to, further reducing the risk, etc. then I wouldn't bother with checks [I]unless[/I] other circumstances made it necessary. Use of a climber's kit would also make the need for a check unnecessary IMO, but if another DM still required a check I wouldn't question it. Likewise, if I joined a game and the DM hand-waved the challenge away because the party had enough rope and a grappling hook, I'd be fine (as a player) with that, too. Great, so you learned the technique to climb a rope. I was decently strong and had great endurance from running, but it took me several attempts to learn to climb ropes like that. No, I'm sorry but with this I must disagree. All of that depends entirely on your ability scores. A PC with a STR 10 is only as strong as a commoner with a STR 10, and many PCs are not "seasoned marines" whose physical scores would be above normal. Are physical-oriented PCs that way, sure, but a lot of clerics, druids, other casters and even rogues, archer-types, etc. don't typically have "greater strength" because many such builds have STR 8-12, rarely higher. Maybe I missed their posts, but no one is doing that. The DCs people have suggested for the OP that I've seen range from 8-12. Climbing a wall of ice with bare hands would be a DC 25 in my book, anyway--hardly as easy as walking across a room. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Climbing a tower rules 5e
Top