Don't fall!

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

So, do characters only fall on their turn? I'm not sure.

Yeah, me either. I rule the way I do because I'm really answering a different question. Specifically:

"Is an out-of-turn cast featherfall the only way to save someone who's falling less than 500'?"

I *think* 500' is the most-recently agreed on number for "how far you fall in the first round of falling." Therefore, it's the distance someone who falls immediately falls before their turn even comes up.

The other reason I don't like "You fall on other people's turns" is the following: Let's say we have 11 characters in combat, appropriately named 1-9 and Wizard. The Wizard is flying via the Fly spell. Initiative looks like this:

--Round 1--
Wizard
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
--Round 2--
Wizard
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
--etc.--

Now, unfortunately for Wizard, enemy #1 dispels his Fly spell in round 2. If Wizard falls during the "not his round" period, how far does he fall during 1's turn? How far during 2's turn? Etc. If the answer is, "He falls the entire distance during 1's turn," then that's 500' feet immediately, and no one - 2-9 - gets a chance to react. If the answer is, "He falls 500' / number of people remaining before his turn + him," then he'd fall 50' per person acting.

However, what happens if several new combatants enter the fray after 8's turn, but before 9's turn? Does the wizard's rate of fall change?

In other words, I think the math gets more complicated than it really needs to be if you try to divide up the fall, and it still hoses the Wizard if #9 dispels him.

So, I rule that the Wizard falls on his turn because, otherwise, people falling less than 500' automatically hit the ground before anything else can happen - including daring, midair rescues by their pegasus-riding allies, and that's the kind of stuff I like to see happen in my D&D games.

 

[IcyCool]

So, I rule that the Wizard falls on his turn because, otherwise, people falling less than 500' automatically hit the ground before anything else can happen - including daring, midair rescues by their pegasus-riding allies, and that's the kind of stuff I like to see happen in my D&D games.

Well, you've sold me on this. I think I can safely say that I agree with this ruling 100%.

 

[tensen]

Second point, Philip already said it, a character "hanging" in mid-air simply could delay until someone grasps him and pulls him into safety. This is legal if you treat falling as a part of your movement, but it makes barely sense.

I like that logic... It would make a lawyer proud...
however I think falling would be counted as involuntary movement. And no.. you can't just run in the opposite direction.... unless you are playing Cartoon Heros or some similar game.

 

[RandomPrecision]

I've always strongly supported the rule interpretation that you only fall on your turn - as previously stated, there's no pause in falling according to this - all concurrent rounds take place at the same time, but initiative determines the order in which players and monsters declare their actions.

However, there's one major thing that I don't like about falling - the fact that it's based on initiative, and initiative is based on dexterity. This means that more dexterous creatures fall before less dexterous creatures can act. While this doesn't sound like a special case, the thing that irks me is a scenario where a spellcaster summons a large creature over a group of enemies (some argue this is against the rules, but whatever, it's a hypothetical situation that illuminates my problem with the rules). If the creature summoned above the enemies is quick and dexterous, it falls before the enemies have a chance to get out of the way. However, a clumsy, but potentially larger creature allows enemies to get out of the way before it falls on a lower initiative count. Issues like that don't usually come up, but they do necessitate some more arbitrary rulings about the initiative and falling systems.

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

If falling is immediate as a hard and fast rule you will more severe nonsense in aerial combat than with Patryn's ruling. I think that making allowances so that rescue is possible is more in keeping with the genre that the D&D rules seek to emulate. It is extremely bizarre for magic laden heroes to watch completely helplessly while a friend falls hundreds of feet to his death.

Aerial combat should be fun. Not flirting with instant death merely because of a quirk in the Initiative rules.

 

[Liquidsabre]

Bing! Patryn has it my friends, I've been using falling in this way IMC. Often this allows for dramatic moments where characters begin falling (subject to the falling condition immediately but movement only occurs during that character's turn) but other heroic actions may still take place within the next round or so to save the character. This is great especially since I can usually delay a character's reflex save to catch something if they are near a ledge or something to grab onto, literally leaving the player in free-fall to further stretch out that tension. Muhahaha.

The jumping rules gives us an excellent example of using movement for falling in this way and Patryn has hammered out the details quite nicely for all the sticking rules-points. I'm going to compile your rules-points Patryn for clarification for my game group and post it on our game board, so thanks a million! Good stuff.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Bing! Patryn has it my friends,

Wow!

I got a bing! Schweeet!

The only problem remaining with "You fall on your turn" is that, sometimes, other people still don't have any chance to react. Specifically, in the earlier example, if #9 had dispelled the Wizard's Fly spell, no one would be able to react (other than to cast an out-of-turn feather fall).

I can't see a way around this, however, other than ruling that falling works like summoned monster durations - you fall 1 round's distance in between the guy who made you fall's current turn and his next turn.

Thus, the wizard would fall (given 10 combatants) 50' each time someone new came up in the initiative order until #9's turn came up again, at which point he would fall 100' each time someone new came up in the initiative order (and, thus, hit terminal velocity).

However, this gets complicated whenever the number of combatants changes (especially if it increases), and is probably not worth the additional effort.

Anyway, glad to see someone else likes what I've proposed.

 

[Felix]

As you guys like, but I'd prefer to make sure that any PC that doesn't sport some kind of wings has that ever-present threat of immediate falling to cuddle up to. Makes them careful of what they do. After all, if we were meant to fly, we'd have been born with Wings of Flying.

That, and it's simple simple simple; that does carry with it its own kind of virtue.

 

[RandomPrecision]

As you guys like, but I'd prefer to make sure that any PC that doesn't sport some kind of wings has that ever-present threat of immediate falling to cuddle up to. Makes them careful of what they do. After all, if we were meant to fly, we'd have been born with Wings of Flying.

That, and it's simple simple simple; that does carry with it its own kind of virtue.

I don't support these rules because I want epic air-rescues to occur, I do it for the continuity of the game. If jumping can occur in multiple rounds, so can falling. Every action in every initiative count takes place during the same six seconds. If we start having immediate falling, then someone has performed a full-round action and fallen up to 570 feet in the same six seconds that someone else can only perform a full-round action.

 

[isoChron]

Well if a monk makes a run and moves 200 ft. he does it completly on his turn. It takes him 6 seconds to do that, but a fighter could't charge him or cross his path at half his movement. There is no interception possible. Why should it be different for the falling character ?

The magic fails at the dispellers turn, not thereafter.
You fall from a simple trip attack immediatly (and receive the extra attack from improved trip).
Now if you fall from greater height it happens to wait until you can react ? No surprise that your mighty magic fails ?
Why doesn't the tripped character get a chance that anyone bullrushes the evil tripping opponent out of reach for his improved trip attack.
What about the bullrushed character ?
I always thought the movement that happens on your turn is willing movement. If it is a surprising / unwilling movement it happens immediatly.

I'm with the falling immediatly faction
Fly is a good spell .... as long as you wear a ring of featherfall, prepared a featherfall spell or don't fly higher than you can fall and stay alive.

EDIT: if some ally is near the path of the falling character (5 ft) I would grant him an AoO to catch him from falling. That's what AoO's are for. To react to something when it's not your turn.