Essentials (Comments)

[Plane Sailing]

A lot of people can drop 10 feet without hurting themselves.

Have you ever fallen 10ft? I remember that I used to scoff at 10ft falls in D&D until the time I actually fell 8ft while climbing a wall and by goodness that hurt, and I couldn't walk or run properly for a week or so.

Falling 10ft is significantly worse than hanging off a 10ft ledge and dropping down the last 2ft, or even sitting on the edge and jumping down.

Sure, highly trained acrobats can leap down 10ft while doing parkour without hurting themselves - and that is what acrobatics and athletics skill is for, no?

Cheers

 

[Aegeri]

I wonder how many people have fallen 10 feet while wearing full plate armor, a heavy shield and a greatsword for that matter.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Oops, realised that others had already covered this. Didn't mean to dogpile in, Sorry!

 

[MerricB]

Oh dear, you seem to have fallen down a 30 foot well. Are you alright?

 

[caudor]

Falling is a strange thing. My daughter's porch has only one small step. Of course, while backing away from her door I fell and broke my leg. That four extra inches put me in a cast

 

[Wik]

To put things into perspective - I am a trained first aider. I have the highest level of training possible without being a paramedic, and have been the head first aider at a few different places of business.

If someone falls ten feet, we have to consider a head injury and have to treat the patient as a head injury until we can rule it out. If a person falls twenty feet or more, we are unable to rule out any internal damage or head injury on the scene, and have to immediately call 911.

In other words, if you fell twenty feet, got up, brushed yourself off, we'd still be dialing the parameds, because odds are you're actually pretty banged up.

Does that mean that when I GM, I enforce crazy realistic falling damage rules? Nope, absolutely not - these characters get engulfed in draconic fire, get hit with death rays, poisoned, and everything else. Not to mention that it's assumed there's some weird stuff going on - the wizard survives a fifty foot fall due to casting a magic spell that takes off the worst part of the fall (he still takes "damage", but it's been lessened by an un-named spell or two as he fell). The Cleric and paladin don't die from the fall due to divine intervention, but still get a scrape or two. And that fighter or rogue doesn't die due to natural toughness and extraordinary training (and definitely a touch of luck).

 

[Wik]

I wonder how many people have fallen 10 feet while wearing full plate armor, a heavy shield and a greatsword for that matter.

Well, the weight might not make much of a difference. After all, you're not going to fall any faster, or hit the ground any harder. In fact, the cushioning on the armour might help. After all, there's a reason we armour football and hockey players - I've taken hard falls in hockey gear and barely felt it.

As for the sword and shield... I imagine those using such implements would be trained in how to handle them when they fell (ie, make sure you don't stab yourself on the pointy end!).

Historically, though, people that fell from the back of their horse would generally not die from the fall - yet would be unable to get up. I've heard stories of knights being knocked from the saddle in full plate, surviving, only to drown in a stream a foot deep because they were unable to raise their heads above the water.

Whether that's true or not, I honestly don't know. But I do know full plate is pretty heavy stuff.

 

[Kerranin]

Well, the weight might not make much of a difference. After all, you're not going to fall any faster, or hit the ground any harder. In fact, the cushioning on the armour might help. After all, there's a reason we armour football and hockey players - I've taken hard falls in hockey gear and barely felt it.

It isn't that you fall faster, but that your kinetic energy is more because of the greater mass. This then requires a greater force being exerted on your body, to decelerate you, when you impact the ground.

There are other factors ofc.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Also think about the mass: Your bones are not thicker, just because you are fat...

Also always keep in mind, that the stability of your bones increases with r², while your mass increases with r³... so yes, if you are bigger, chances you break something actually increases.

 

[twilsemail]

Historically, though, people that fell from the back of their horse would generally not die from the fall - yet would be unable to get up. I've heard stories of knights being knocked from the saddle in full plate, surviving, only to drown in a stream a foot deep because they were unable to raise their heads above the water.

Whether that's true or not, I honestly don't know. But I do know full plate is pretty heavy stuff.

As a guy who hangs out with people who regularly (not often, but regularly) wear plate mail, I find this unlikely. Most of them, if the armor is properly fitted, could likely swim in the stuff. It wouldn't be pretty, but they could do it. Someone who was clumsy enough that they couldn't stand up in the stuff would be dead meat on a battlefield.

Alternately, in the military I had to swim 50 meters with 30 kilos of gear (more than the listed weight of plate armor in the phb) before they let me out of training. I'd imagine a knight would have an easier time of it, as their armor was more evenly distributed than my kit.