How fast do you fall?

[AGGEMAM]

Who gives a crap about earth physics in worlds where magic and gods actually exists. Just use the 300' first round, and 600' consecutive rounds rule of thumb. That's a lot easier.

 

[Piratecat]

Who gives a crap about earth physics in worlds where magic and gods actually exists. Just use the 300' first round, and 600' consecutive rounds rule of thumb. That's a lot easier.

600' and 1500' would be more realistic, and just as easy. But I agree; stopping the game dead to discuss physics is NOT fun.

 

[mmu1]

Here's how fast you really fall. I think people fall slower on D&D worlds.

Hey, the formula in that table looks suspiciously like the one I posted almost an hour earlier.

 

[Piratecat]

Darn tootin', although I wrote up that table something like seven or eight years ago. I just thought I'd add graphic verisimillitude to your otherwise sterile formula.

 

[AGGEMAM]

I just thought I'd add graphic verisimillitude

Hey, watch out for Eric's Grammy, mate

 

[Tiefling]

Vinyafod, I'm pretty sure that terminal velocity is 293 feet per second. Your numbers seem really low to me... although I don't know enough about air resistance to argue intelligently.

Saying that terminal velocity is a flat 293 ft/sec is pretty sketchy. Terminal velocity at a given viscosity is extremely varied, depending on position, body shape and even type of clothing. Having looked into this matter before, I can tell you that terminal velocity for a horizontal spread-eagle position at normal altitudes is around 160-180 ft/sec. One of several sources:

http://hypertextbook.com/facts/JianHuang.shtml

821 mph is something like 1200 feet per second, which seems bizarre. Can someone explain how is it possible to fall faster than terminal velocity?

Terminal velocity is, as has been mentioned, a function of air density. Specifically, the two are indirectally related. At 30,000 feet it is thus considerably greater than at a typical 10,000 feet. I haven't heard about this particular story, and the above source questions its veracity, but there's nothing about terminal velocity that prevents it from occuring as far as I know.

 

[arbados]

Thanks all, but I have to mostly say thanks to AGGEMAM for I was thinking the same thing (it's D & D). The 300'/600' thing works just fine for me. I was getting a bit overwhelmed there for a second and started thinking how all other game rules should be looked at with the same sort of science and physics analogy!! Nahh, are you crazy!!!

 

[Vinyafod]

I messed up in my previous posts.Sorry. The guy I mentioned tried to do the jump but failed.

Anyway, you might want to check out the following site .

It is about a woman who will try to do a jump from 40,000 meters height.
Pretty interesting stuff. Mach 1.3 is supposed to be her top speed when she falls.

 

[the Jester]

Just to add in my two coppers, I believe the 1e Wilderness Survival Guide set falling speed at 1000'/round, but that was with a one-minute melee round.

Which makes even less sense than before.

 

[dcollins]

Per the 3rd Edition Dungeon Adventure "The Storm Lord's Keep" (Dungeon #93, p. 79):

670 feet the first round, 1,150 feet each successive round

Personally, I use a figure of 500 ft on first round, 1,000 feet each later round, as taken from the book Skydiving by Bud Selig.

The 300/600 foot figure from the DMG is definitely for winged creatures that are falling out of natural flight (due to too much damage).