Horizontal falling objects?

[Christian]

Mass has something to do with it, sure. But when you fall two feet and hit the planet Earth at ~6 m.p.h., it's the same as the Earth moving up and smacking you at the same speed. It's because of the relatively enormous mass of the Earth, or the truck, that the person comes to a fast stop. The reasons the truck hurts so much is (a) it's metal, so there's no give, (b) you're liable to get run over, which will hurt a lot, and (c) you're not generally prepared to cushion an impact in that direction. But seriously, as long as you don't get dragged underneath (if, say, you're knocked clear into a bush), the truck impact really won't hurt as much as you might think. No more than a slip on a patch of ice, and possibly less.

 

[Crothian]

THat is true, but there's no reason to think the thing is going to hit you and stop. I think it's going to bowl right over you. But that's really hard to judge without knowing the specifics.

 

[PenguinKing]

The precise physics? For simplicity's sake, let's just call it a wide, stone-paved road, several inches above which, very large boulders that are apparently not subject to gravity come drifting from time to time at around six and a half miles per hour. Assume that the character is standing in the middle of the road.

Yes, there is a long story behind that.

 

[Crothian]

The precise physics? For simplicity's sake, let's just call it a wide, stone-paved road, several inches above which, very large boulders that are apparently not subject to gravity come drifting from time to time at around six and a half miles per hour. Assume that the character is standing in the middle of the road.

Yes, there is a long story behind that.

I'd also treat it as a bullrush or an Over Run.

 

[PenguinKing]

For a fifty-ton rock floating two inches above the ground whacking into a human? I don't think you need to roll dice to see who gives way for whom!

- Sir Bob.

 

[Magus_Jerel]

as far as why you don't "hurt so bad when you fall and hit the earth" - you have to remember that the earth has a relative speed of zero - as it is inducing 99.99% of the gravitational pull that is making you "fall". A truck - isn't inducing the gravity - so its relative speed is whatever speed the truck is traveling at.

now - when it comes to why in the blazes the dumb character did not choose to get the heck out of the way - I don't know.

I think we need the exact details here as to what is going on - to be fair to the player - no "simplicity's sake"...

 

[PenguinKing]

Because a) it's night (or will be, at the time), b) these things are almost dead silent, and c) my players never remember to ask for Spot or Listen checks when explorin' th' ruins.

- Sir Bob.

 

[CRGreathouse]

Because a) it's night (or will be, at the time), b) these things are almost dead silent, and c) my players never remember to ask for Spot or Listen checks when explorin' th' ruins.

They shouldn't have to - Spot and Listen are reactive skills.

 

[PenguinKing]

They shouldn't have to - Spot and Listen are reactive skills.

Nah - they accuse me of being unfair when I call the shots on when Spot and Listen are called for, so aside from obvious game-mechanical cues, they decide.

- Sir Bob.

 

[Christian]

That's strange, Your Icy Highness. How do they know when there's something their characters might be able to see?

And from the description, it sounds like they'd be in deep doo-doo if they didn't see one of these monsters coming. Unless the boulders have a 'cow-catcher' or something like it, the victim is almost certain to be squeezed into that two-inch space between the boulder and the road. Even without the weight of the rock pressing down on them (since it's floating, after all) the sheer mass of it relative to an adventurer will prevent it from moving up any noticeable amount. I'd say a Reflex save to get clear, with some reasonable DC, failure = death. Or at least 20d6 damage, probably more.