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Message: <blockquote data-quote="jodyjohnson" data-source="post: 7244884" data-attributes="member: 5590">Firstly, I think I would use an idea I've seen suggested a number of times that falling damage be based on size rather than just being d6 per 10'.  HD size per 10' seems appropriate: slightly more dangerous for medium sized creatures (d8) and hugely more dangerous for the largest creatures and for creatures below Tiny non-existent (3.x calls these 'Fine' or 'Diminutive' as a size).  This falls more under a 'real world physics' type rule.Secondly, there seems to be a pretty commonly voiced desire to not have characters fall 'lethal' feeling distances without a high likelihood of fatal consequences.  A number of threads have proposed solutions that add additional mechanics to result in more lethal consequences for these falls.  That said, the issue might be defining a 'lethal distance'.My proposal is that it be tier based and might vary depending on the level of 'gonzo' for your campaign.  For example in a pretty mundane level of 'gonzo':Tier 1 = 20', for levels 1-3 anything beyond a 20' fall might be potentially lethal in feel.Tier 2 = 40', levels 4-10Tier 3 = 60', levels 11-16Tier 4 = 120', levels 17+Or alternately just think of it as the height you'd allow a character to fall and still stick a variant of the 3-point or Superhero landing.[ATTACH]89417[/ATTACH]Or how high does my level 1, 8 Con Wizard need to fall before he even has a chance of invoking massive death instead of just being prone and waking up after an hour most of the time.So at this point let's say we picked an increasing distance progression where the feel is right for how far a character can fall before a Suspension-of-Disbelief(tm) threatening event occurs.  So beyond that you slap on your Make-It-More-Deadly house rule.But what else happens when a character falls long distances?  In a typical scenario lasting a very short period of time they are out of the encounter.  From a narrative or cinematic standpoint they might as well be dead/unconscious.  For each tier the characters can fall a certain distance and rejoin the encounter but for many classes it doesn't have to be very far before there are probably done for the fight.Now some of this depends on how you model hit points and narrate damage.  If HP loss requires physical damage and must be commensurate with the cause than this is probably off the table, but if you have your hit point loss be more stamina/luck/ablative then this alternative may be an option.When a character falls beyond the distance for their tier and the damage total is less than their current hit points they do not actually fall that distance.  Instead they subtract the damage and only fall some distance between 0 (catch the edge) or 'grab/are snagged by' something on the way down up to the tier distance and hang there.  Alternately some combo of events where they fall the distance but it can be plausibly not fatal (see Peter Parker in Spiderman 2 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QVjG6V1yqc" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QVjG6V1yqc</a> at the :40 mark).The character's hit points are reduced (consequence is applied) but they can still participate and the Suspension of Disbelief is not harmed irreparably.  This falls more within pretty much every instance of a potential fall in a movie/show short of something like the Hulk, Ironman, Thor, Superman, or other top tier superhero.In another variant, I might summon the 'Do or Do Not, there is no try' cinematic rule where if a character fails a jump check it instead pulls up short and wastes the action rather then 'hilariously' displaying their incompetence by missing the check and falling to their quite likely minor inconvenience.[ATTACH]89418[/ATTACH]</blockquote>

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