Fixing Gravity

[Cheiromancer]

Wow. When PCs (not piratecats) fall off of cliffs, they sure do go slowly.

Clearly the default DnD setting has a much lower gravity than our world. Which helps explain how creatures as large as dragons can fly, and how mountain giants can walk without breaking their femurs, etc.

 

[Jeph]

Clearly the default DnD setting has a much lower gravity than our world. Which helps explain how creatures as large as dragons can fly, and how mountain giants can walk without breaking their femurs, etc.

That still doesn't explain anything. After one round of falling, they simply stop accelerating. They don't just accelerate slowly, they *don't* accelerate.

 

[Spatzimaus]

That still doesn't explain anything. After one round of falling, they simply stop accelerating. They don't just accelerate slowly, they *don't* accelerate.

You're still missing the point of "terminal velocity". Once you reach a certain speed, the acceleration due to gravity is exactly balanced by the deceleration due to air friction. You DO stop accelerating after you hit that speed, which takes about 10 seconds to reach. (Okay, it's asymptotic in reality, but the difference is negligible)

Look at the numbers Piratecat gave. 600' in the first round, 1600' in the second, 1800' in every later round. Okay, so the 3E numbers are too small by a factor of 4-6, but it's not important, the underlying pattern they use is correct, and there aren't many places you could fall off of and NOT hit the ground within the first round or two.

Cheiromancer has it right. A lower gravitational force would explain why Dragons can fly (well, Magic can explain it too). It wouldn't be needed to explain Giants, since you'd assume they'd develop thicker bones and musculature to compensate (they wouldn't just be scaled-up Humans).

 

[tburdett]

<Cheiromancer has it right. A lower gravitational force would explain why Dragons can fly (well, Magic can explain it too). It wouldn't be needed to explain Giants, since you'd assume they'd develop thicker bones and musculature to compensate (they wouldn't just be scaled-up Humans).>

The answer probably wouldn't be for the Giants to just develop thicker bones and musculature, it would probably be a little more 'accurate' to assume that they would develop denser bones and musculature as well.

Not that it really matters.

 

[Corlon]

*sigh*

my question is... WHY!?

why the heck are we arguing this point. Obviously we're more intellectually inclined then wizards figured we might be. This game is already fairly complicated. If you want to do the math, then do it in your campaign. Why not just go with what the rules say, its much easier that way, and the numbers are easier to add!

Well, if you guys want to argue about this, I can't really stop you.

And about dragons, well, yeah, they probably couldn't fly very well, but if you think about teradactals (I have no idea how to spell that), they're pretty big creatures, yet they fly! All they need is a big flat area, or a cliff. And since dragons are magical, and in stories they fly, why not let them, this isn't real life!

 

[Jeph]

Re: *sigh*

if you think about teradactals (I have no idea how to spell that)

It starts with a P. Aside from that, neither do I.

 

[Corlon]

wha, no it doesn't

ya know, the big dinosaur flying things with big wings and a beak. They don't start with a P, thats a different flying dinosaur

 

[Jeph]

Pterodactyl. I just looked it up.