Does teleportation negate falling damage?

[Verdande]

I'd say teleport neutralizes the momentum of prior movement and just plops you in the square you emerge into. Besides, this gives the character way more options to execute cool maneuvers.

If you ask me what kind of teleportation I'd develop, I'd tell you momentum-less teleportation, for most of the reasons outlined above. It's just safer, and a race like Eladrin doesn't really strike me as being all that adventurous with their teleportation- at least, not enough to want to fling themselves using their powers like a giant feywild-themed slingshot.

It makes for cooler maneuvers, and that's what this game is all about, isn't it?

 

[Grazzt]

I'm kinda curious as why he wanted to reach the bottom... but that aside I would rule that he just negates the damage he teleported, not the rest of the fall, otherwise your setting yourself up to where he never takes falling damage so long as he has a teleport available.

Yep. Agreed. I'd say he just negates part of it. And takes the rest as falling damage. That's how I'd rule it anyway.

 

[keterys]

No rule says it does, nor does it by any common sense DM ruling, ergo it does not. 5 squares of falling damage

 

[Celebrim]

There are a large number of valid answers:

a) Board Game: No. When you enter a pit square, you are immediately moved to the bottom and take appropriate damage. You can then continue your move from there.

b) Gamist: Yes. Conservation of momentum is going to make your head hurt. Ignore it. All momentum is lost.

c) Simulation (old school flavor): Partially. Normally, in D&D teleportation is assumed to move instantly through a space with no gravity - normally said to be the astral plane. When you teleport while falling, you subtract the distance teleported from the total distance of the fall. In the case of the example, the teleporter arrives at the bottom having fallen 5'.

d) Simulation (new school flavor): No. A fey step is non-instantaneous movement through a space which has gravity. That's why it requires a move action and not a free action. Hense, if you step out into this space while falling, you continue to fall, and when arrive back in the normal world you still have all the momentum you built up while falling in the feywilde.

For 4e, I believe that the 'correct' ruling is 'd'. A feystep isn't true teleportation. It's closest in old school terms to an ethereal jaunt, only the place you jaunt through is a much closer physical approximation of the real world than the ethereal plane is. However, do what suits your camapaign style.

 

[Byronic]

If we were going to you the "What Would Nightcrawler Do" ruling then he would simply negate the space he fell (so he gets damage for 5 instead of 10 squares) since Nightcrawlers teleportation talent does not make him lose momentum.

But since that does make them good jumpers I wouldn't frown too much.

 

[The Little Raven]

A feystep isn't true teleportation.

It isn't a true teleportation, yet has the Teleportation keyword, says it teleports you 5 squares, and refers you to the rules for teleportation in it's writeup?

 

[Scribble]

I would rule that you negate the spaces you teleport through.

1. Teleportation is instantaneous.

2. You don't move through anything to do it. (which is why you can do it even if immobilized.)

3. You take damage for every 10' you fall. You didn't fall through those squares. You didn't move through them at all- you skipped them.

 

[Rith the Wanderer]

Everyone seems to mention the "I'm walking through the feywild" for feystep, but I thought that was kinda just conjecture. Is this specifically said in the rules anywhere? All I see is it saying "cloaked in the magic of the feywild" under the play eladrin if you want to... section. This is pretty vague, seems like you could just be teleporting.

 

[Scribble]

Everyone seems to mention the "I'm walking through the feywild" for feystep, but I thought that was kinda just conjecture. Is this specifically said in the rules anywhere? All I see is it saying "cloaked in the magic of the feywild" under the play eladrin if you want to... section. This is pretty vague, seems like you could just be teleporting.

It doesn't say that... I think someone mentioend it once as a flavor thing, but the rules reffer to it as a teleportation.

Teleportation is instant.

 

[IceFractal]

Since 4E values simplicity so much, the 4E-style answer is probably that momentum is not conserved, because saying it is opens a whole can of worms.

However, you can have a lot of fun with momentum-conserving teleport - see Portal. So if you don't mind a bit of added complexity and want to see some cool teleportation stunts, go for it!


Keeping momentum doesn't mean you necessarily take the falling damage though - there's lots of better ways to use it:
* Teleport upward 5 squares, changng orientation so you are now "falling" diagonally upward out of the pit.
* Teleport to the bottom of the pit, but with orientation flipped so you fly upward from it and then fall back (you'd still take some damage from this, ~2-3 squares worth).

And with momentum conserved, higher level spells like the Wizard utility that actually makes portals can really make things interesting.