Jumping off a 10' building = automatic prone?

[Tony Vargas]

Taking damage from /successfully/ jumping over an obstacle? There's nothing to indicate that. No 'if the object you clear is 10' or higher,' you fall. If you clear the object, however tall it is, you just land in the square as with any other successful longjump.

 

[keterys]

The rule you're looking for is under 'Falling', not 'Jumping'. Just like the rules for Jumping Down.

If you're on a 2 ft tall rock and you jump down to an 8' deep pit... you presumably took 1d10 damage, same as if into a 10' deep pit. If you leap off a griffon when it's 10' up... 1d10 damage.

When you're in the middle of a jump that takes you from 10' above the ground... just as much reason for taking falling damage, under one theory. The rules are imprecise.

 

[Infiniti2000]

Taking damage from /successfully/ jumping over an obstacle? There's nothing to indicate that. No 'if the object you clear is 10' or higher,' you fall. If you clear the object, however tall it is, you just land in the square as with any other successful longjump.

Why would you? It doesn't work that way in the Olympics! Take away the sand pit and mats and see how the athletes fair.

 

[Turtlejay]

I guess my browser ate my earlier reply...

There is a real world justification for this (as much as I hate using the real world to inform the game world). Falling safely is a skill, one developed by gymnasts, skydivers, freerunners, and others. It is more related to how you move as you impact the ground than how strong or tough you are. Hence I don't think Athletics really applies. Yes you *can* in the real world jump so high you injure yourself. When I was younger I broke my elbow coming down from a basketball rim.

I don't think there is a problem with the situation as it is written.

Jay

 

[Garthanos]

I guess my browser ate my earlier reply...

There is a real world justification for this (as much as I hate using the real world to inform the game world). Falling safely is a skill, one developed by gymnasts, skydivers, freerunners, and others.

And the others... includes martial artists and some football players.

It is more related to how you move as you impact the ground than how strong or tough you are. Hence I don't think Athletics really applies. Yes you *can* in the real world jump so high you injure yourself. When I was younger I broke my elbow coming down from a basketball rim.

I don't think there is a problem with the situation as it is written.

Jay

Note hit points not meaning wounds --- applies here... you can visualize the lost hitpoints as being "luckily landing on a soft spot" or if you like being really tough and not even noticing the scrapes which get added to all the others or being really skillfully fatiguing yourself avoiding those scrapes... if you have acrobatics the roll out of it doesnt even cost a minor action otherwise it does.

Another anneqdote (which confirms damage for minions): My brother jumped over a high jump... but jumped too far over the matts and gave himself a concussion and amnesia ... he didn't remember the jump and was asking if it was his turn yet several minutes later after regaining coherence .

Real people are bloodiable minions ;-)
Anything doing even 1 hit point loss... has to be something which could knock somebody out.... or result in something fairly traumatic the above counts (he qualified as knocked out I think.)

 

[Dr_Sage]

Even if you didn't take damage, you can argue the major disconnect in either direction. Maybe he SHOULD take damage, thus the disconnect is in Athletics not Acrobatics.

I mean, last I knew Olympic long jumpers jumped into a huge pile o' sand, not gravel. High jumpers landed on a massive padded mat, not a stone floor.

Very good points.

Actually gived the demigod lv 30 example he would just loose 1 second or 2 and keep moving (spending a move action to stand-up), becuse a couple of dice of damage wouldn't do much against a 250hp character. The "damage" should be described as a minor interrupt.

So even at level 30, acrobatics still have this particular utility, otherwise Tougnness feat (giving 15hp on epic) would do more for a person than the acrobatics skill in this situation.

 

[Tony Vargas]

When you're in the middle of a jump that takes you from 10' above the ground... just as much reason for taking falling damage, under one theory. The rules are imprecise.

The rules are inconsistent on this point, but it happens they are precise enough. If you're using the falling rules, falls of 10' or more do damage an knock you prone, no matter how superhuman your STR and Athletics may be. If you use the jumping rules, and are sufficiently extraordinary, you can manage superhuman long jumps - shattering RL olympic records with a 'double move,' for instance - and incidentally clearing 10' or more without falling prone or taking damage. That's just what the rules say.

If you want to restore consistency by /further/ cheating characters trained in Athletics of a reasonable function of thier skill, you can. I think it would make more sense to restore consistency by letting characters 'jump down' using Athletics as part as a move, as with other rules on jumping.

But the inconsistency is there. Nothing vague about it.

 

[keterys]

Nothing says you have to use _either_ the falling or jumping rules for any particular action.

In fact, one thing specifically says to use both.

So if you want things to be consistent, in the rules, and with real life, apply falling damage to jumps that at any point in the jump result in a fall of ten feet.

I don't particularly feel a need to be consistent, but it would solve your problem and be far more realistic.