Forced movement abilities

[RigaMortus2]

Yep.

Lesson- don't send the characters into environments which can auto kill them, then put in monsters that can push them into environmental hazards.

In other words, Mechanics before Story

 

[D'karr]

In other words, Mechanics before Story

Yep, just like in 3e.

 

[brehobit]

Yep, just like in 3e.

I don't know. In 3e Eberron, having fights over lava and stuff seemed pretty common, at least in the (published) games I played. You wouldn't want to do that in 4e from what we've seen.

Also, it just seems odd to me that the 15' tall giant with a sword is less scary near lava then a goblin with a harpoon...

Put differently, it is _really_ hard to kill someone with a single blow in 4e (or 3e past level 3 or so) but it's easy to push them around and kill them that way. That seems neither "realistic" nor consistent with the genre or previous editions or other FRPGs.

 

[D'karr]

I don't know. In 3e Eberron, having fights over lava and stuff seemed pretty common, at least in the (published) games I played. You wouldn't want to do that in 4e from what we've seen.

I would do exactly the same thing and not change a thing. Just because a DM didn't use the rules to shove your characters into the environmental hazards doesn't mean that he couldn't. Bull rush, Grappling, etc. all allowed the DM to do exacly that. Try grappling with a Salamander and have that sucker decide to move into the Lava. The same applies here.

If the DM wants to be a dill, he can do it in either system. So yes, a DM should always consider the relevant mechanics and that is not edition dependent.

 

[Hawke]

Perhaps house ruling here - but what if a failure on one of those "save or fall" would provide the player an opportunity to drop a significant chunk of their hp to avoid the fall. Essentially... we're assuming that when a player is trying avoid being pushed around on a flat plain battlefield they'll do so in very reasonable ways. When they're avoiding being pushed into a lava pit they'll do extraordinary things like throwing themselves on rocks or slicing their leg as they try to dodge the pusher's attack.

Sort of reminds me of Batman's rope being cut and him slamming into the side of a building dislocating his shoulder and nearly breaking his legs to avoid falling 10 more stories to his death.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

I could also see, situations like falling off a cliff as a kind of Skill Challenge.

The PC is pushed off the cliff, and the game pauses, I the DM decides the PC has four chances to try and save himself in mid-fall. If he successfully completes the 4 skill challenges (out of a total of 7) he lives.

These can be things like:

Athletics: Grabbing onto a branch or rocky outcropping.

Acrobatic: Springing off rocky outcropping to a safe area to land.

Athletics(or Acrobatic, whichever covers Use Rope): Swinging a rope around a branch.

Endurance: Managing to hit a slope on the way down and surviving the tumble.

etc.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Perhaps house ruling here - but what if a failure on one of those "save or fall" would provide the player an opportunity to drop a significant chunk of their hp to avoid the fall. Essentially... we're assuming that when a player is trying avoid being pushed around on a flat plain battlefield they'll do so in very reasonable ways. When they're avoiding being pushed into a lava pit they'll do extraordinary things like throwing themselves on rocks or slicing their leg as they try to dodge the pusher's attack.

Sort of reminds me of Batman's rope being cut and him slamming into the side of a building dislocating his shoulder and nearly breaking his legs to avoid falling 10 more stories to his death.

Nice approach to it. If hit points allow you to turn a serious blow into a less serious one, they might also you to turn a fall into a less serious fall .
Question might be if you're content with just some "appropriate" damage, or if you want to attach further conditions (like prone, must make a climb check to get back into the fight, and stuff like that).
Might be to abstract for some taste, though.

 

[med stud]

In other words, Mechanics before Story

Maybe...

OTOH, if a fight is set on a narrow bridge across a volcano, I would expect the volcano to play a large part in that particular fight. If it was a movie, it would be surprising if anyone didn't fall into the lava or was in danger of falling into the lava. The increased forced movements of 4e seem to make D&D the same way.

 

[Jhaelen]

#1 Bottomless pits and lava are very lethal in reality.

What's lethal about a bottomless pit?

 

[Plane Sailing]

#1 Bottomless pits and lava are very lethal in reality.

Aside from the obvious jokes about the reality of bottomless pits

How do bottomless pits get to be lethal? Starve to death or die of thirst while falling?