Why is Jump skill so useless?


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I'm just amused cause I can do a standing high jump of over three feet (more like 3 1/2) without any thought, if I prepped I can probably make at least 4 feet. That's over a DC 32. :)
 

reanjr said:
Sure you can:

c = (malloc(p) = -1): if c

:p

My BASIC skills are decrepit, but wouldn't that assign a truth value to c, instead of the result of malloc(p)? Anyway, assignment and comparison are very different concepts; why use the same syntax for both?
 

Ferrix said:
I'm just amused cause I can do a standing high jump of over three feet (more like 3 1/2) without any thought, if I prepped I can probably make at least 4 feet. That's over a DC 32. :)

I've got to ask - do you mean clearing your legs over 3.5ft by bringing your knees up, or actually getting your hands 3.5ft higher up into the air?

Cheers
 

Oh, and on the subject on the usefulness of Balance, we have three characters in our party with the skill maxed out, and it hardly ever comes up. But with the advent of Complete Adventurer, we can now use our Balance at -10 instead of Strength checks to avoid being tripped. Because we've been blowing points in this skill for so many levels, we are now nigh untrippable.
 

Kilroy said:
What is 'terrain'? Is that like the thin black lines our characters step over when they move somewhere?

This is the main reason jump is so useless to many people; DMs don't realize how "non-flat" the world is. Maybe it's because I'm an engineer and look at contours and elevations all the time but for those who haven't noticed, flat is not the norm. The Salt Flats are used for speed tests because they are one of the few areas in North America (a very big place) that are naturally flat for mile after mile.

The Monk in my game uses it a lot; leaping from ground to trees to attack airborne foes, going after snipers on roofs, running through caves with significant terrain changes, etc. Last game session he did most of those once the Fly spell on him was dispelled. Sure, magic supercedes many skills but it's almost impossible to immobilize the monk.

Now balance is an underused skill IMC. There's only so many tightropes & narrow walkways you can justify as a DM and generally the first guy across mounts a second rope and sets up a safety line. Of course, that could be a learned response from the days when a short fall could be fatal.

I'm tempted to use that "balance vs. trip attempts" option. It makes sense IMO.
 

reanjr said:
Sure you can:

c = (malloc(p) = -1): if c

:p

Unfortunately you just allocated memory and dropped it. Meanwhile, someday later you'll end up using whatever c is supposed to point to, and corrupt something vital.

you can do it, but you have to do
c=malloc(p): if c=-1

however, notice the problems caused by just using the one syntax.
 

Kilroy said:
After playing a character for over a year, (13th level Monk/Cleric/Sacred Fist now), I finally had a chance to use Jump skill for the first time tonight. I've put quite a few of my sparse skill points into it, and combined with monk speed increases, I'm now at a +24 to Jump. There were archers standing 30' up in trees, with branches 10' up and 20' up.

hmm, I dmed RttToEE and the Monk player used Jump skill to great effect. Some of the more memorable fights involved him jumping incredible distances.

In my experience it is one of the more useful skills and definantly one of the more fun and swashbuckling skills. IMO the 3.5 jump rules work quite well.
 

Jump

I am off the grid so when characters want to jump the result is equal to amount rolled, half if the character doesn't have a running start and half if the character is trying to jump horitzontally. I am tempted to give monks the same levels of jumping that a BESM d20 Ninja has.
 

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