Ring of Jumping

[Menexenus]

One of my players just got a Ring of Jumping, but there has been some controversy as to exactly how it works. There is a small piece of text in the ring's description that some of us in the group are interpreting in different ways. The text says that the ring "..eliminat[es] [the wearer's] usual maximum distances."

Now I (as DM) want to say this means that the character wearing the ring can ignore the Maximum Distance column of the Table included in the Jump description in the Player's Handbook (Page 70). However, it still seems to me that the normal limits for movement in a round remain in force. This character happens to be a monk with 40' of movement.

So suppose this character moves 20' to take a Running Jump. If the jump carries the character more than 20 additional feet, then the character must have taken a double-move. If the jump carries the character more than 60 additional feet, then the character must be considered to be "running" (thereby losing his DEX bonus to AC). And under no circumstances can the character move more than 120' in a round.

The player whose character has the ring sees things differently. He claims that the "eliminates the maximum distances" wording also applies to the normal movement limits per round. This player would like his character to be able to move 20 feet, take a jump, land wherever the ring lets him land, and only call that a move-equivalent action (even if the running jump took him 60 feet from his starting point).

So who is right here? Me (who believes that the normal limits for movement in a round still apply) or my player (who believes that normal movement limits do not apply because of the wording of the magic item)?

Thanks in advance.

 

[smetzger]

You can always jump further than your movement allows. However, if you want to jumpo further than your movement then you effectively stop in midair at your max movement and then continue your jump on your next turn.

The above applies whether you have the ring or not.

 

[Dagda]

IIRC the ring eliminates the maxium jump distance in the table. When a character with 30' speed runs 20' then jumps 90' using a full round action, he ends his turn in mid-air 40' from the edge (20 move + 40 jump = 60' for a full round move). The next round, he move the remaining 50' and has 10' of movement left.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

You're partially correct, Menexenus.

The Ring of Jumping allows the wearer to ignore the Maximum Distance column, as you'd surmised. However, as smetzger points out, you can jump farther than your movement rate, but it takes more than one round to complete the jump. Also, your status does not change during the jump (i.e. you are not considered to have taken a double move, or to be running.) The monk could make an attack and then jump 120 feet away, it would simply take extra rounds for him to land.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I just assumed it was an unedited holdover from 3.0e where your maximum jump distance was limited to a multiple of your height (unless you were a monk or had the ring of jumping or a jump spell).

That maximum jump distance was eliminated in 3.5e

 

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

Plane Sailing, maybe he's playing 3.0. His post doesn't specify, and I don't have the 3.5 DMG in front of me. That text might be in both for all I know.

 

[Herpes Cineplex]

The Ring of Jumping allows the wearer to ignore the Maximum Distance column, as you'd surmised. However, as smetzger points out, you can jump farther than your movement rate, but it takes more than one round to complete the jump. Also, your status does not change during the jump (i.e. you are not considered to have taken a double move, or to be running.) The monk could make an attack and then jump 120 feet away, it would simply take extra rounds for him to land.

Well put, sir.

I'm going to go with what Lord Pendragon just said: it's playable, it's elegant, and it looks like the most accurate interpretation of the rules.

--
thread over, cut here
ryan

 

[BelXiror]

The Ring of Jumping allows the wearer to ignore the Maximum Distance column, as you'd surmised. However, as smetzger points out, you can jump farther than your movement rate, but it takes more than one round to complete the jump. Also, your status does not change during the jump (i.e. you are not considered to have taken a double move, or to be running.) The monk could make an attack and then jump 120 feet away, it would simply take extra rounds for him to land.

This just made me thing of a Giant with a club and awesome blow thinking to itself "Batter Up!"

 

[Menexenus]

Thanks for all the help so far. I had not considered that a character could be in mid-air at the end of a round... Interesting.

But here's a situation that I'd like to get a definitive answer about. The monk (with 40' of base movement) runs 20' in order to take a running jump. Then he jumps, and the jump carries him 45 additional feet. He lands right next to an opponent. Can he attack?

My view is that the only way he can take an attack is if the entire move is considered a charge. Otherwise, the character's total movement for the round is 65 feet which would constitute a double move for that character. Since he has taken a double move, he cannot attack (unless he is charging).

Am I correct about this?

 

[babomb]

You are correct. Jumping is treated as a part of normal movement. Thus, he has to charge to make an attack.