Falling speed

[MarkB]

According to the D&D rules you fall 150 ft. the first round and 300 ft every round after that.

Only if you're a stalled flying creature.

 

[Raven Crowking]

According to the D&D rules you fall 150 ft. the first round and 300 ft every round after that.

Assuming a six-second combat round and no air resistance, IRL you would fall 32 feet per second per second until reaching terminal velocity, or 32+64+96+128+160+192 = 672 feet within that first round. Obviously, our stalled flier is still using its abilities to slow its descent. See also this wiki article, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminal_velocity, which includes this tidbit:

For example, the terminal velocity of a skydiver in a normal free-fall position with a closed parachute is about 195 km/h (120 mph or 54 m/s). This velocity is the asymptotic limiting value of the acceleration process, since the effective forces on the body more and more closely balance each other as it is approached. In this example, a speed of 50% of terminal velocity is reached after only about 3 seconds, while it takes 8 seconds to reach 90%, 15 seconds to reach 99% and so on.

Higher speeds can be attained if the skydiver pulls in his limbs (see also freeflying). In this case, the terminal velocity increases to about 320 km/h (200 mph or 89 m/s), which is also the maximum speed of the Peregrine Falcon diving down on its prey.​

In D&D 3e, the combat round is broken down into actions occurring at various points in that 6-second window. In order to prevent our friend from hitting the bottom of the 100-foot shaft, our spellslinger must make a web within an approximate 2-second timeframe between the fall and the splat.

However, in D&D, we also know that creatures like dragons can fly and that falling does a lot less damage in some cases than it does IRL. It is therefore not unreasonable to assume that there is more air resistance in a D&D world than in the real world. This means, if accepted, that objects fall more slowly in the game than IRL. In other words, the spellcaster has more than 2 seconds to react.

But in D&D you can normally change your stated action based upon the actions of others, so fast reaction times are the order of the day. The question is, can the spellcaster cast his spell before his friend meets the bottom of the shaft? The DM might be fair in saying that a readied action is needed; I would certainly argue this if the shaft was shorter. The DM might also argue that, if there are 20+ different "counts" in the initiative cycle, that each one must therefore occupy less than a second each. Then the only question is, how close is one init to another? This seems reasonable if the pit is long enough (at least to me).

In any event, as I said, I'd have allowed it.

YMMV.



RC

 

[Justin Bacon]

He should have hit bottom. The only spell that could have saved him would have been feather fall. The slowest non safe fall rate in the game [for failing to keep up minimum speed while flying] is 150' the first round [300' on the next rounds as you try to save yourself].

Did the caster at least have line of sight / line of effect to the area to be webbed?

Hmm... Interesting question: If you fall, do you move the falling distance on your turn? Or immediately on the turn of whatever action triggered the fall? On what initiative count should you fall a further distance if the fall is long enough to take more than one round?

 

[frankthedm]

Hmm... Interesting question: If you fall, do you move the falling distance on your turn? Or immediately on the turn of whatever action triggered the fall? On what initiative count should you fall a further distance if the fall is long enough to take more than one round?

The written rules are somewhat quiet on the subject until you get to the flying rules. A flying critter that failed to move its Minimum Forward Speed falls 150' right at the end of it's turn, no waititng, no hang time. That is clear enough to me the intent is falls happen right when they occur. I suggested dividing the plummet up amount the initiative cycle among the 20-1 ticks. 25' per initiative tick for falling, 7.5’ per initiative tick for wing flapping plummet. After the first round, double these numbers. This lets allies work in concert to have a small chance to save an ally and allows foes to set their spears to impale.

Minimum Forward Speed: If a flying creature fails to maintain its minimum forward speed, it must land at the end of its movement. If it is too high above the ground to land, it falls straight down, descending 150 feet in the first round of falling. If this distance brings it to the ground, it takes falling damage. If the fall doesn’t bring the creature to the ground, it must spend its next turn recovering from the stall. It must succeed on a DC 20 Reflex save to recover. Otherwise it falls another 300 feet. If it hits the ground, it takes falling damage. Otherwise, it has another chance to recover on its next turn.



ules are se

 

[mvincent]

Although physics (rather than D&D rules) says otherwise, falling action scenes in movies/tv/etc. are always chock full of doing stuff while falling long (but not 500' long) distances, and it's more fun that way.

Consider that in D&D: a person can hang in mid-air during a jump (if he runs out of movement in the middle of it) while everyone else takes a turn. This could even include a jump off a cliff. So, with the right (cinematic) timing and an agreeable DM, a person could very well take up to a full action while falling 100'.

 

[Raven Crowking]

Besides, falling with flying creatures is not the only relevant rule. What if I fall down the 100 foot pit on purpose (i.e., make a Jump check)?

 

[Darklone]

I miss the old stoneskin spell. Cast stoneskin on everyone and jump down the 1000ft chasm.