Falling damage -- the leaping off a cliff example

[Sammael]

Using Gygax's intended falling damage of 1d6 per 10 feet, cumulative, makes falling a very deadly prospect:

10--1d6
20--3d6
30--6d6
40--10d6
50--15d6
60--21d6 (maximum velocity)

That's what I do, but I don't cap the damage at 21d6.

 

[Jeff Wilder]

IMO, the new mechanic in 3E for "deadly damage" -- i.e., taking Constitution damage or drain -- was brilliant. I don't understand why it wasn't expanded. It should have been used for any situations over which the character has little or no control over the damage taken: helplessness, immersion in acid, drowning, being burned at the stake ...

None of these things should be more survivable by a 10th level fighter than they are by a 3rd level fighter. All of them should use ability damage mechanics.

 

[Jeff Wilder]

Sure, it's unrealistic to be able to fall increasingly large distances and brush it off, but the rules work quite well for a heroic and cinematic game, which many campaigns are.

Do they?

I can't think of any movies in which the characters fall 100 feet to the ground and survive. Hell, the only comics books I can think of that have those scenes are those books involving characters, e.g. the Hulk or the Thing, with invulnerability. Sure, there are plenty of comic book heroes who fall and "break their fall" with awnings, flagpoles, or swing-lines ... that's unrealistic, of course, but that I accept as heroic and cinematic. Simply falling (or jumping) 100 feet, getting up and dusting off, isn't heroic or cinematic. It's just stupid.

 

[Patman21967]

Using Gygax's intended falling damage of 1d6 per 10 feet, cumulative, makes falling a very deadly prospect:

10--1d6
20--3d6
30--6d6
40--10d6
50--15d6
60--21d6 (maximum velocity)

Exactly my method, and had a 15th level Dwarf Berserker take the 40 foot leap of death to get to a downed party member getting swarmed by Hill Gaints...he was at about 70 HP, and lost 32 in the jump.

 

[wingsandsword]

I can't think of any movies in which the characters fall 100 feet to the ground and survive. Hell, the only comics books I can think of that have those scenes are those books involving characters, e.g. the Hulk or the Thing, with invulnerability. Sure, there are plenty of comic book heroes who fall and "break their fall" with awnings, flagpoles, or swing-lines ... that's unrealistic, of course, but that I accept as heroic and cinematic. Simply falling (or jumping) 100 feet, getting up and dusting off, isn't heroic or cinematic. It's just stupid.

Die Hard with a Vengeance

Look how far they fall off that cable when trying to get onboard the thief/terrorist freighter, that was probably 100 feet (which hurt the protagonists like heck, but they sorely got up and kept fighting). Samuel L. Jackson's character was originally just going to jump the entire distance down, but was talked out of it.

Not exactly "realistic" but cinematic and it would fit in D&D.

 

[blargney the second]

Well, we played tonight and I fit in a good solid fall!

We were playing Speaker in Dreams, and I managed to get to the top of the bell tower, separated from the other two PCs. Two gargoyles sat down on either side of me and started having lunch.

That's when the option of jumping down 60' into the interior of the tower started looking like a good option.

-blarg

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

I use a variant of d20 Modern's Massive Damage Threshold. (Since there's so many high-damage attacks in D&D, I allow them to add their HD to MDT.)

Haven't had a problem with base jumpers since.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I've not had jumpers because I've always used alternative falling damage. Either the cumulative +1d6 per 10ft outlined above, or the "died from multiple wounds" system - 1d6 per 10ft fallen, but you get this 1d6 times, which factors in bad landings. It is possible to fall 100ft and take 10d6 damage (a 1 on the multiple injuries roll) and get away with it - probably only 35 damage. Might get a 6 on the multiple injuries roll and end up with an average of 210 damage though...

Cheers

 

[Quasqueton]

Using Gygax's intended falling damage of 1d6 per 10 feet, cumulative, makes falling a very deadly prospect:

10--1d6
20--3d6
30--6d6
40--10d6
50--15d6
60--21d6 (maximum velocity)

I have the Dragon magazine where it is said that Gygax originally wrote "1d6 per 10' per 10'", and the editor took off the second "per 10'". But in the AD&D1 PHB, it actually says, "1d6 for each 10' of distance fallen to a maximum of 20d6". But I've seen nowhere Gygax say officially that the rule should be as said above (although I like it)---and he had plenty of official outlets to make that rule clear; he did not personally write the "article" in Dragon I mention here.

This is either a myth/D&D legend, or another example of passing the blame for something in the rules that many D&D gamers disliked.

Quasqueton

 

[Gentlegamer]

I have the Dragon magazine where it is said that Gygax originally wrote "1d6 per 10' per 10'", and the editor took off the second "per 10'". But in the AD&D1 PHB, it actually says, "1d6 for each 10' of distance fallen to a maximum of 20d6". But I've seen nowhere Gygax say officially that the rule should be as said above (although I like it)---and he had plenty of official outlets to make that rule clear; he did not personally write the "article" in Dragon I mention here.

This is either a myth/D&D legend, or another example of passing the blame for something in the rules that many D&D gamers disliked.

Quasqueton

One need only look at the rules for the Thief-Acrobat to see what Gary really intended for falling damage.

Why not put this question to Gary in the Q&A thread?