Falling Damage

[Ashtagon]

Inspired by YAFDT

Stuff I like about that thread: It is an attempt to make falling damage survivable fro commoners, but not something to ignore for high level characters. That proposal basically swaps hp damage for Con damage.

The problem is that Con damage essentially affects Concentration checks (which means only casters, and not even them unless they are dumb enough to cast in melee range), hit points (in which case why do the swapperoo at all), and Fortitude saves. It also makes them that little bit more vulnerable to negative energy attacks. The other main effect is that healing Con damage is much harder than healing hp damage.

But... you still stand up and walk away afterwards. And if your cleric has a lesser restoration, it is still something to essentially ignore.

So.... a revision...

Falls do 1d6 hp per ten feet fallen. This is capped at 60 dice of damage.

(Aside 1: terminal velocity on earth is 120 mph for a skydiver slowing his fall, reached after about 5.5 seconds and 600 feet. 200 mph is reached at ground-level air densities (9 seconds of free fall, about 1500 feet covered) for a spherical object. The world record freefall velocity is 614 mph (28 seconds to accelerate, about 13,000 feet covered). What this means is that if you aren't controlling your fall, there isn't any effective upper limit on damage within survivable amounts of damage).

(Aside 2: I'm dropping the idea in the other thread about larger creatures taking more falling damage. Comparing squirrels to horses as an example of small vs large taking different damage through terminal velocity or whatever was a red herring, as one is not like the other. Squirrels have a racial advantage in falling (which could be represented very well with a good Jump skill). Comparing a horse with a poodle would be better - neither is used to moving in the third dimension, and both would be very unhappy with any significant fall).

Falling onto a yielding surface (mud, long grass, snow drifts) converts one die of damage from lethal to non-lethal damage.

Any character who is conscious can attempt a DC 10 Reflex save to convert one die of lethal damage to non-lethal damage. This save is deliberately quite easy, in order to offer a reasonable chance of survival for commoners, while at the same time not making every 20-foot fall non-lethal.

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Normally, when you fall, you land prone. You can choose to try to land on your feet (DC 5 Jump check, +5 per 10 feet fallen; eg. DC 10 for a 10-ft fall, DC 15 for a 20-ft fall, etc.). If this roll succeeds, you land on your feet, and take no damage. Otherwise, it is treated as a normal fall.

If you try to land on your feet, you cannot choose to try to jump down safely (DC 15 Jump or Tumble check; choose one). Jumping down this way allows you to reduce the effective distance fallen by ten feet, as you roll with the fall. If you fall by accident (rather than go down intentionally), you cannot attempt either of these.

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Falls daze and stun. It's a bit of a psychological shock to have your movement stopped in such a fashion, even if you don't land on your head. Roll a DC (15 +1 per 10 feet fallen) Fort save. If you fail, you are stunned (drop everything held, can't act for one round), and you are also dazed for one round per 10 feet fallen. If you succeed on the saving throw, you are not stunned, and each point you beat the save DC by reduces the duration of the daze effect by one round.

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Falls can cause twisted ankles, sprained wrists, and other awkward injuries.

For each die of lethal damage taken, you also take 1d4-3 (min 0) Dexterity damage, and a similar amount of Strength damage. Roll a DC 20 Fortitude save. Each point by which you beat the save DC lets you reduce the Strength damage and the Dexterity damage by one point each.

(Aside 3: Not too sure on the Strength damage bit. But I want a way to ensure that melee types aren't able to fight so well. Maybe the loss of Dexterity and thus reduced effective AC will be enough?)

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Opinions?

Edit: "Final" version posted here (click link).

 

[Ashtagon]

Worked examples:

1st level commoner with average stats:
* 10-foot fall onto mud: 1d6 non-lethal damage.
* 20-foot fall onto stone courtyard: 2d6 lethal damage, or 1d6 if he makes a DC 10 Reflex save. he isn't likely top be able to jump down safely (DC 15 Jump check). He will likely fail the DC 17 Fort check to avoid being stunned, and will also be dazed for two rounds. Assuming he fails his Reflex save, he takes 2d6-6 Dexterity damage (average 2). This will heal like any other ability score damage.

3rd level rogue falls 40 feet onto stone: He will likely pass the DC 10 Reflex check, so he takes 1d6 non-lethal and 3d6 lethal damage. If he had time to prepare, he could have used his Tumble skill to roll with the fall, and likely succeeded, reducing it to 2d6 lethal damage. But he fell, so he doesn't. It is a DC 19 Fort save to avoid being stunned, and he has +2 on that save (Con +1 , level +1), so in all probability he is dazed for 4 rounds. Better hope there isn't something nasty at the bottom. He also takes 3d6-9 Dexterity damage. Ouch. Rolling a natural 20 on his Fort save would potentially reduce that by 2 points, since he has a +2 modifier on that save.

10th level rogue falls 40 feet onto stone: he passes the DC 10 Reflex save easily, so damage is same as his 3rd level cousin - 1d6 non-lethal, 3d6 lethal, DC 19 Fort save to avoid being stunned (+2 from Con, +3 from level, so difficult save still). 3d6-9 Dex (average: 3) damage, and his save to reduce that will probably reduce it by one point.

20th level barbarian falls from orbit: 60d6 lethal damage (average: 210). Unless he has some serious damage reduction, he's paste.

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Conclusion: i think if I change "converts one die of lethal damage to non-lethal damage" to "converts one die of lethal damage to 1 hp of lethal damage", it would make more sense. Having commoners routinely fall unconscious, rather than moaning at their hp loss, makes little sense.

 

[Ashtagon]

bump

someone say this is good or bad. please?

So far, my main issue is the number of saving throws involved. I'm not sure what's the best way to fix this.

 

[Ahnehnois]

I run the UA vp/wp system and I put falling straight to wound; problem solved.

The complexity of this solution is endemic to the D&D hp system. Similarly, one has to address why it takes a high level fighter years to starve to death, freeze to death if naked in below freezing water, the list goes on.

I see good things here, just seems like a lot of work and another houserule subsystem the players have to learn. My question would be: does the game you're running frequently deal with falling, have a gritty feel overall, etc. Is it worth it to revise this particular rule?

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

I think it looks good, especially the 60d cap and the stun/daze effects.

As you pointed out, it does seem a little heavy on the rolls, though. Is it possible to condense everything down into 2 saves? I haven't done any numbers on it, but off the top of my head maybe something along the lines of:

(1) Ref save vs. DC 10 + 1 per 10' fallen. If conscious, allow character to add Jump or Tumble ranks to roll.

• Success: convert an additional 1d6 to non-lethal, and land prone.
• Success by 5 or more, and if no lethal falling damage is taken: character lands on feet.
• Natural 1 failure: all damage is lethal, and character takes 1 point ability damage per 10' fallen, split between Dex and Str (split evenly or at DM discretion). [I'd like to include some sort of speed penalty here, too, but not sure how. -5' per Dex damage or something]

(2) Fort save vs. DC 10 + 1 per 10' fallen

• Success, if no lethal damage taken: no effect.
• Success, if lethal damage sustained: dazed 1 round per 10' fallen
• Fail: stunned, and dazed 1 round per 10' fallen
• Natural 1 failure, if ability damage taken: unconscious.

I don't like how these two saves are interconnected here, and it feels a bit look-up-tablesque, but it does cut down on all the rolling a little.