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General Tabletop Discussion
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How to make an encounter with falling great distances interesting and dangerous, but not deadly?
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<blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 7532361" data-attributes="member: 20323"><p>This Sunday, my party is going to be ascending a cliffside with stone ramps and degraded wooden walkways leading up to an aarakocra monastery built some 550 feet up (Kir Sabal). Along the way there are gaps in the walkways that can be climbed around, oddly spaced support beams which can be balanced upon, and rotted planking which can be spotted. I'd like to make this more interesting than the adventure (<em>Tomb of Annihilation</em>) presents (which is make 3 checks, on a failure take 3d6 damage or 1 level of exhaustion). And in particular I'd like to make falling at great height more meaningful...without being a game over.</p><p></p><p>[SBLOCK=Original Text from Tomb of Annihilation (and my commentary in red)]To reach the monastery from the ground, a character must make three ability checks. Each time a check fails, the character must choose between either taking 10 (3d6) bludgeoning damage from a fall or gaining 1 level of exhaustion (which means disadvantage on further ability checks). <span style="color: #FF0000">For my party, this would be a non-choice – take the damage, get healed by druid, enjoy the long rest at top, no way would anyone choose exhaustion.</span> The three ability checks are as follows:</p><p>• A DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check to climb around gaps in the walkway.</p><p>• A DC 15 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to cross wide gaps in the wooden walkways by jumping along oddly spaced support beams.</p><p>• A DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check to spot rotted planking that won't support weight.</p><p></p><p>The climb takes 1 hour, plus 10 minutes for every failed ability check. Unless characters make the climb invisibly, at night, or during a rainstorm, it's impossible to reach the monastery without the aarakocra knowing they're coming.[/SBLOCK]</p><p></p><p>The general situation is that there is no imminent risk of combat, and no other traps/hazards. The aarakocra aren't going to help people up, as they view the ascent as a test of one's character, but they are happy to offer food, drink, and shelter to respectful guests (i.e. long resting is easy). So the only challenge is getting up there.</p><p></p><p>What if in this situation, a falling character could take a special reaction chosen from a few meaningfully differentiated options? How could I make that work?</p><p></p><p>For example: Grab a ledge/control your rope-anchored fall (take a guaranteed moderate amount of damage), Fall into a cliffside dwelling (take variable damage and roll on a random table), Land on a lower walkway (take very little damage, but make a Dex save or continue falling), etc.</p><p></p><p>EDIT: Part of my dilemma is figuring out what's at stake.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Quickleaf, post: 7532361, member: 20323"] This Sunday, my party is going to be ascending a cliffside with stone ramps and degraded wooden walkways leading up to an aarakocra monastery built some 550 feet up (Kir Sabal). Along the way there are gaps in the walkways that can be climbed around, oddly spaced support beams which can be balanced upon, and rotted planking which can be spotted. I'd like to make this more interesting than the adventure ([I]Tomb of Annihilation[/I]) presents (which is make 3 checks, on a failure take 3d6 damage or 1 level of exhaustion). And in particular I'd like to make falling at great height more meaningful...without being a game over. [SBLOCK=Original Text from Tomb of Annihilation (and my commentary in red)]To reach the monastery from the ground, a character must make three ability checks. Each time a check fails, the character must choose between either taking 10 (3d6) bludgeoning damage from a fall or gaining 1 level of exhaustion (which means disadvantage on further ability checks). [COLOR="#FF0000"]For my party, this would be a non-choice – take the damage, get healed by druid, enjoy the long rest at top, no way would anyone choose exhaustion.[/COLOR] The three ability checks are as follows: • A DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check to climb around gaps in the walkway. • A DC 15 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to cross wide gaps in the wooden walkways by jumping along oddly spaced support beams. • A DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check to spot rotted planking that won't support weight. The climb takes 1 hour, plus 10 minutes for every failed ability check. Unless characters make the climb invisibly, at night, or during a rainstorm, it's impossible to reach the monastery without the aarakocra knowing they're coming.[/SBLOCK] The general situation is that there is no imminent risk of combat, and no other traps/hazards. The aarakocra aren't going to help people up, as they view the ascent as a test of one's character, but they are happy to offer food, drink, and shelter to respectful guests (i.e. long resting is easy). So the only challenge is getting up there. What if in this situation, a falling character could take a special reaction chosen from a few meaningfully differentiated options? How could I make that work? For example: Grab a ledge/control your rope-anchored fall (take a guaranteed moderate amount of damage), Fall into a cliffside dwelling (take variable damage and roll on a random table), Land on a lower walkway (take very little damage, but make a Dex save or continue falling), etc. EDIT: Part of my dilemma is figuring out what's at stake. [/QUOTE]
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How to make an encounter with falling great distances interesting and dangerous, but not deadly?
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