Stupid Wildshape Trick

[Darkness]

I thought I read somewhere (on this forum) that falling damage was capped at 20d6?

D'oh.
You're right, of course. I forgot that this rule applies not only when you just fall down, but also when you fall into someone else.

 

[Tabarnak Smokeblower]

I thought I read somewhere (on this forum) that falling damage was capped at 20d6?

Also, if the druid casts meld into stone before he falls, wouldn't he be able to avoid damage (or do those spells go away after he shape-changes?) by "melding" into the earth.

Yet again, if he impacts the tarrasque and never specifically hit the earth I guess it wouldn't work - but I'd expect him to take less damage since his fall was broken by the creature. Yes?

So many things to think about here.....

Falling damage is indeed capped at 20d6 (maximum velocity), but you have to take into account the impact damage because of sheer mass. Unless this all changed in 3.5...

Wait a minute, why is the earth elemental taking 100d6 damage? The tarrasque is taking it because a 16-ton (you haul 16 tons and what do you get?) earth elemental fell on its head, but shouldn't the damake taken by the wildshaped druid be limited to 20d6 (assuming he falls for high enough)?

TS

(oh yeah, about the druid in the guzzard discussion, we're all assuming that the druid made its Concentration check?)

 

[reapersaurus]

One more thing to think about:

Why are we assuming that the magic size increase is stronger than flesh and bone?

I'd conjecture that magic is much weaker in applying force when increasing size due to Wildshaping than a creature's internal structure is. It just doesn't 'feel' right to me that a Wildshaper's size increase would trump physiology when it (arguably) wasn't designed to do so.

I'd say that the Wildshaper would attempt to grow in size, but max out at the max size the gizzard could hold. It would be extremely uncomfortable for both parties. Probably not a good idea.

 

[Magus Coeruleus]

One more thing to think about:

Why are we assuming that the magic size increase is stronger than flesh and bone?

I'd conjecture that magic is much weaker in applying force when increasing size due to Wildshaping than a creature's internal structure is. It just doesn't 'feel' right to me that a Wildshaper's size increase would trump physiology when it (arguably) wasn't designed to do so.

I'd say that the Wildshaper would attempt to grow in size, but max out at the max size the gizzard could hold. It would be extremely uncomfortable for both parties. Probably not a good idea.

I'm not sure I understand what magic has to do with it. The Wildshape increase in size happens because the character's physiology changes. I don't see it as magic vs. physiology but rather magic-induced physiology vs. normal (albeit fantastical in some cases) physiology. A Wildshape druid has the physical characteristics of the new form, including height, weight, natural armor, Strength and Constitution. Isn't that relevant?

 

[Blood Jester]

I'd ask the player, "what makes you think you won't take an equivalent amount of damage to that which you cause?" and point out that it would take more damage to rupture a creature's body than to merely kill it.

Threatening players with logic generally seems to work for me.

Logically?

The force and pressure applied to your tender insides is more likely to do damge that applied to your tougher outsides. Plus living creatures are (roughly) designed to withstand assault from without, not within. The same amount of force applied to compressing your curved skull or ribcage from without will be withstood much better than its equivalent applied outward from within.

Careful making magic arguments with logic.

 

[Dirigible]

[probably what you'd call a hijack] Shouldn't an earth elemental be immune or super resistant (eg, percentage damage reduction ather than threshold) to falling damage? It is a mass of earth and stone. It has no organs to suffer deceleration damage or internal splatter. As I recall, hitting rock with a sledgehammer is a lot less effective than with a pickaxe.

 

[green slime]

Wouldn't you look really stupid if you flew above the to-be-bombed, shapechanged into a massive earth elemental, then actually missed?

20d6 damage to yourself, a large crater in the ground, and two rounds of actions, if not more, for nothing.

Sort of reminds me of the antics of a certain coyote...

Can't be easy, aligning yourself just right on target, shapechanging so that you loose the power of flight at just the right moment, taking into consideration wind drift and your forward motion, and the fact that, viewed from above, the target may actually present a smaller area. I almost want some power mad PC to try this trick at my table.

 

[Eccles]

Wouldn't you look really stupid if you flew above the to-be-bombed, shapechanged into a massive earth elemental, then actually missed?

20d6 damage to yourself, a large crater in the ground, and two rounds of actions, if not more, for nothing.

I take the point about it being embarassing to miss...

But would you take full falling damage if you did?

From the 3.5 SRD:
"Earth Glide (Ex): An earth elemental can glide through stone, dirt, or almost any other sort of earth except metal as easily as a fish swims through water. Its burrowing leaves behind no tunnel or hole, nor does it create any ripple or other signs of its presence."

Therefore there's no crater. And at worst, the druid would take damage as though they'd dived into water. So we can write off 4d6 damage, which is an improvement.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

I take the point about it being embarassing to miss...

But would you take full falling damage if you did?

From the 3.5 SRD:
"Earth Glide (Ex): An earth elemental can glide through stone, dirt, or almost any other sort of earth except metal as easily as a fish swims through water. Its burrowing leaves behind no tunnel or hole, nor does it create any ripple or other signs of its presence."

Therefore there's no crater. And at worst, the druid would take damage as though they'd dived into water. So we can write off 4d6 damage, which is an improvement.

Yeah! He won't be killed outright, only be brought to negative HP. So he ends up unconscious and deep within the earth where his friends cannot get to him without extensive digging. Great improvement

 

[green slime]

I take the point about it being embarassing to miss...

But would you take full falling damage if you did?

From the 3.5 SRD:
"Earth Glide (Ex): An earth elemental can glide through stone, dirt, or almost any other sort of earth except metal as easily as a fish swims through water. Its burrowing leaves behind no tunnel or hole, nor does it create any ripple or other signs of its presence."

Therefore there's no crater. And at worst, the druid would take damage as though they'd dived into water. So we can write off 4d6 damage, which is an improvement.

How cool is that?

The dwarves IMC use airships to bomb cities with earth elementals, but they caused craters (3.0): this way, if they miss, they don't even get hurt! mwahahahahahahahaha!