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<blockquote data-quote="Cap'n Kobold" data-source="post: 9364462" data-attributes="member: 6802951">I think treatment of falling damage depends on the type/genre of game that you want to run.D&amp;D is by default a fairly heroic fantasy, where higher-tier characters operate more by &quot;action movie rules&quot;, and then can go into into full mythological hero. They are assumed to be resilient and capable in a variety of dangerous situations, not just combat, and will find a way to survive for as long as they can, no matter what.If you want to run a more realistic game and encourage more use of magic, or run hit points as meat, making hazards like falls more dangerous would help the game fit into that style better.I operate on the basis that characters will try to survive situations and will take actions to do so. I run falling damage by the basic rules, and if a character survives an otherwise fatal fall, I will ask the player to describe how their character managed it.Social contract avoids players abusing this in the hypothetical example of jumping down a cliff with no attempt to mitigate the landing just to save time.How would you feel if the character was described as hop-scotching their way across the rocks floating on the surface of the lava? &nbsp;A quick blast of pure fire would be eminently survivable by someone in heavy armour blocking the brunt and protecting any exposed parts with a shield. A sustained blast from a flamethrower, with the likelihood of&nbsp; getting coated in burning fuel, would probably be more dangerous, but it can take a while for heat to conduct through the heavy padding.A higher level character who failed their save might be taking the same actions as a lower-level one who passed their save, in order to reduce the damage. Such is the capability of experience.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Cap'n Kobold, post: 9364462, member: 6802951"] I think treatment of falling damage depends on the type/genre of game that you want to run. D&D is by default a fairly heroic fantasy, where higher-tier characters operate more by "action movie rules", and then can go into into full mythological hero. They are assumed to be resilient and capable in a variety of dangerous situations, not just combat, and will find a way to survive for as long as they can, no matter what. If you want to run a more realistic game and encourage more use of magic, or run hit points as meat, making hazards like falls more dangerous would help the game fit into that style better. I operate on the basis that characters will try to survive situations and will take actions to do so. I run falling damage by the basic rules, and if a character survives an otherwise fatal fall, I will ask the player to describe how their character managed it. Social contract avoids players abusing this in the hypothetical example of jumping down a cliff with no attempt to mitigate the landing just to save time. How would you feel if the character was described as hop-scotching their way across the rocks floating on the surface of the lava? A quick blast of pure fire would be eminently survivable by someone in heavy armour blocking the brunt and protecting any exposed parts with a shield. A sustained blast from a flamethrower, with the likelihood of getting coated in burning fuel, would probably be more dangerous, but it can take a while for heat to conduct through the heavy padding. A higher level character who failed their save might be taking the same actions as a lower-level one who passed their save, in order to reduce the damage. Such is the capability of experience. [/QUOTE]

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