I think I already know the answer, but I also want a second opinion, if you fall slowly, essentially defying gravity, that has to be magic. It doesn't say if this feature is magical, depending on if everything that defies real world logic is considered magical, then it's magic.
Hypothetical scenario: a level 20 monk steals a bag filled with gp; unbeknownst to him the bag is cursed and prevents thieves from using magic. He's surrounded by guards on all sides except for a moderately high cliffside, he decides to jump off expecting for the slow fall to save him.
In my opinion, no. I think the name is rather poorly chosen and it makes people think of the feather fall spell; but maybe there isn't really a good name to pick for it. It doesn't slow the monks descent like the spell would, it simple reduces damage taken from falling. I think of it more like the monk has the proper training to know how and when to break their fall, reducing the damage they would take, compared to someone else without the proper training.
It's the difference between you pushing me and a black belt martial artist off a second floor balcony. The martial artist is more likely to be less physically hurt than I am.
Slow fall is not magical, it doesn't say anywhere that it is magical and by all the guidelines we're given HERE, it's not magical. In real life, various martial arts have breakfall techniques meant to reduce impact and prevent injury from falling. A D&D monk is the heroic fantasy version of that.
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Canto alla vita alla sua bellezza ad ogni sua ferita ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
Older editions specified that you had to be within reach of a wall, tree, or other large, sturdy thing that you could grab onto. That seems to be too specialized for 5E so it works all the time. The ability description for 5E doesn't require anything explicitly supernatural, it could be training about how to spread your body while falling and how to land in order to minimize the force of the impact on you. D&D tends to operate on action movie physics, after all. That being said, a moderately high cliff probably won't deal enough damage to a 20th level monk to drop them to zero HP unless they're already pretty beat up first.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
It doesn't slow the monks descent like the spell would, it simple reduces damage taken from falling.
Even with proper training it's pretty magical to sustain less damage from tall heights, especially when slow fall makes the difference between life and death
So if it doesn't explicitly state in the description that a class feature or effect is magical, then it's not magical?
Yes. RAW, if it does not say it is magical, it is not magical. Dragon's ability to fly would not make sense with real world physics, but that does not mean it is magical. Zombies might have origins started by magic via spells, but zombies themselves are not magical.
It doesn't slow the monks descent like the spell would, it simple reduces damage taken from falling.
Even with proper training it's pretty magical to sustain less damage from tall heights, especially when slow fall makes the difference between life and death
Yes, it does. Knowing how to fall greatly reduces your injury. It's one of the first things they teach in martial arts, or at least some, for this reason. It makes sense that trained people can reduce how injured they get from a fall. Does the magnitude of that reduction seem realistic? It's D&D, where you can get roasted by dragon fire and brush it off. Let's not go too far down that path.
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If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
A commoner has 4hp (possibly up to 8) and has a 50% chance of being knocked unconcious / dying from a 10 ft fall. That is probably not too far off real life, if an untrained person falls 10 ft they are likely to get hurt and if unlucky it could kill them (though chances of death are probably less than 50%)
A parachutist lands at the speed equivalent to a 10 ft fall but knowing how to land means they rarely get hurt.
Adventurers are far more hardy than normal folk. Is it magic that an adventureer can take several blows from a sword that would kill anyone else? Even for falling a moderately high level adventurer will survive a fall from any height unless they are already hurt (theoretically you need 121 hp for it to be guaranteed but once you are over 90 you are pretty safe).
If slow fall is magical because a normal person can not do that then does the same apply to having more than 8 hp
It doesn't slow the monks descent like the spell would, it simple reduces damage taken from falling.
Even with proper training it's pretty magical to sustain less damage from tall heights, especially when slow fall makes the difference between life and death
Not really. It's a little something called "technique" and can be applied to all sorts of scenarios. If you have the proper technique you can survive for longer without breathing for example. If you have the proper technique you can grab sharp objects without cutting yourself. It's really quite obvious if you think about it.
@OP. No, there's nothing magical about slow fall. The problem is one of language. Many people read it as "[adjective] Slow [noun] fall" (that the fall is actually slower/that you fall slower) when it's actually supposed to be "[verb] slow [noun] fall" in that by rolling, bracing yourself or whatever else you might do that works you break/slow the impact of the fall. This is quite clear from the descriptionof the ability in the PHB.
I think I already know the answer, but I also want a second opinion, if you fall slowly, essentially defying gravity, that has to be magic. It doesn't say if this feature is magical, depending on if everything that defies real world logic is considered magical, then it's magic.
Hypothetical scenario: a level 20 monk steals a bag filled with gp; unbeknownst to him the bag is cursed and prevents thieves from using magic. He's surrounded by guards on all sides except for a moderately high cliffside, he decides to jump off expecting for the slow fall to save him.
It is absolutely not magical, unless you consider Jackie Chan falling off a building but managing to hit every awning on the way down a kind of magic
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Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
I think I already know the answer, but I also want a second opinion, if you fall slowly, essentially defying gravity, that has to be magic. It doesn't say if this feature is magical, depending on if everything that defies real world logic is considered magical, then it's magic.
Hypothetical scenario: a level 20 monk steals a bag filled with gp; unbeknownst to him the bag is cursed and prevents thieves from using magic. He's surrounded by guards on all sides except for a moderately high cliffside, he decides to jump off expecting for the slow fall to save him.
It is absolutely not magical, unless you consider Jackie Chan falling off a building but managing to hit every awning on the way down a kind of magic
Indeed. It's completely unrealistic to be able to do it without magic, but D&D isn't living in the world of realism. High-level monks can run on water and walls, and that's not magic either.
My working assumption is that the secret technique monks learn is to fall so that you land with one knee down, one knee up, one fist on the ground in front, and your other arm stretched out behind you.
It's just proper technique paired with the general unrealistic nature of things. Second wind for fighters is also unrealistic, but it's not meant to be magical either.
Knowing how to fall and land (and roll) can greatly reduce the damage taken from falls and other “high speed” collisions. I’m living proof as that skill, learned as a kid in judo classes has either saved my life or minimized/eliminated the injuries sustained at least 4 times so far. It probably shouldn’t really be called “slow fall” but rather “extend landing” which is right in line with the physics principle of impulse.
A commoner has 4hp (possibly up to 8) and has a 50% chance of being knocked unconcious / dying from a 10 ft fall. That is probably not too far off real life, if an untrained person falls 10 ft they are likely to get hurt and if unlucky it could kill them (though chances of death are probably less than 50%)
A parachutist lands at the speed equivalent to a 10 ft fall but knowing how to land means they rarely get hurt.
Adventurers are far more hardy than normal folk. Is it magic that an adventureer can take several blows from a sword that would kill anyone else? Even for falling a moderately high level adventurer will survive a fall from any height unless they are already hurt (theoretically you need 121 hp for it to be guaranteed but once you are over 90 you are pretty safe).
If slow fall is magical because a normal person can not do that then does the same apply to having more than 8 hp
Something to point out about this: does slow fall remain active even when the monk is unconscious?
If the monk becomes unconscious and then falls off tall heights, but slow fall makes the difference between life and death, then despite it not saying anywhere that it's magical, that sounds totally magical doesn't it?
A commoner has 4hp (possibly up to 8) and has a 50% chance of being knocked unconcious / dying from a 10 ft fall. That is probably not too far off real life, if an untrained person falls 10 ft they are likely to get hurt and if unlucky it could kill them (though chances of death are probably less than 50%)
A parachutist lands at the speed equivalent to a 10 ft fall but knowing how to land means they rarely get hurt.
Adventurers are far more hardy than normal folk. Is it magic that an adventureer can take several blows from a sword that would kill anyone else? Even for falling a moderately high level adventurer will survive a fall from any height unless they are already hurt (theoretically you need 121 hp for it to be guaranteed but once you are over 90 you are pretty safe).
If slow fall is magical because a normal person can not do that then does the same apply to having more than 8 hp
Something to point out about this: does slow fall remain active even when the monk is unconscious?
If the monk becomes unconscious and then falls off tall heights, but slow fall makes the difference between life and death, then despite it not saying anywhere that it's magical, that sounds totally magical doesn't it?
No, slow fall doesn't work while unconscious, because you are also incapitated which doesn't allow you take actions or more importantly in this case reactions.
A commoner has 4hp (possibly up to 8) and has a 50% chance of being knocked unconcious / dying from a 10 ft fall. That is probably not too far off real life, if an untrained person falls 10 ft they are likely to get hurt and if unlucky it could kill them (though chances of death are probably less than 50%)
A parachutist lands at the speed equivalent to a 10 ft fall but knowing how to land means they rarely get hurt.
Adventurers are far more hardy than normal folk. Is it magic that an adventureer can take several blows from a sword that would kill anyone else? Even for falling a moderately high level adventurer will survive a fall from any height unless they are already hurt (theoretically you need 121 hp for it to be guaranteed but once you are over 90 you are pretty safe).
If slow fall is magical because a normal person can not do that then does the same apply to having more than 8 hp
Something to point out about this: does slow fall remain active even when the monk is unconscious?
If the monk becomes unconscious and then falls off tall heights, but slow fall makes the difference between life and death, then despite it not saying anywhere that it's magical, that sounds totally magical doesn't it?
No, slow fall doesn't work while unconscious, because you are also incapitated which doesn't allow you take actions or more importantly in this case reactions.
Does it say that slow fall is an action or reaction? Don't you need to roll for actions and reactions? Slow fall is a passive effect, right?
Does it say that slow fall is an action or reaction? Don't you need to roll for actions and reactions? Slow fall is a passive effect, right?
Slow Fall
Beginning at 4th level, you can use your reaction when you fall to reduce any falling damage you take by an amount equal to five times your monk level.
It does in fact require a reaction. Most actions require some sort of roll, but not all of them.
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I think I already know the answer, but I also want a second opinion, if you fall slowly, essentially defying gravity, that has to be magic. It doesn't say if this feature is magical, depending on if everything that defies real world logic is considered magical, then it's magic.
Hypothetical scenario: a level 20 monk steals a bag filled with gp; unbeknownst to him the bag is cursed and prevents thieves from using magic. He's surrounded by guards on all sides except for a moderately high cliffside, he decides to jump off expecting for the slow fall to save him.
In my opinion, no. I think the name is rather poorly chosen and it makes people think of the feather fall spell; but maybe there isn't really a good name to pick for it. It doesn't slow the monks descent like the spell would, it simple reduces damage taken from falling. I think of it more like the monk has the proper training to know how and when to break their fall, reducing the damage they would take, compared to someone else without the proper training.
It's the difference between you pushing me and a black belt martial artist off a second floor balcony. The martial artist is more likely to be less physically hurt than I am.
Slow fall is not magical, it doesn't say anywhere that it is magical and by all the guidelines we're given HERE, it's not magical. In real life, various martial arts have breakfall techniques meant to reduce impact and prevent injury from falling. A D&D monk is the heroic fantasy version of that.
Canto alla vita
alla sua bellezza
ad ogni sua ferita
ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty
To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me
The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
Older editions specified that you had to be within reach of a wall, tree, or other large, sturdy thing that you could grab onto. That seems to be too specialized for 5E so it works all the time. The ability description for 5E doesn't require anything explicitly supernatural, it could be training about how to spread your body while falling and how to land in order to minimize the force of the impact on you. D&D tends to operate on action movie physics, after all. That being said, a moderately high cliff probably won't deal enough damage to a 20th level monk to drop them to zero HP unless they're already pretty beat up first.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Even with proper training it's pretty magical to sustain less damage from tall heights, especially when slow fall makes the difference between life and death
So if it doesn't explicitly state in the description that a class feature or effect is magical, then it's not magical?
Yes. RAW, if it does not say it is magical, it is not magical. Dragon's ability to fly would not make sense with real world physics, but that does not mean it is magical. Zombies might have origins started by magic via spells, but zombies themselves are not magical.
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That's funny; it's like car that keeps driving after its battery runs out. Lol
Yes, it does. Knowing how to fall greatly reduces your injury. It's one of the first things they teach in martial arts, or at least some, for this reason. It makes sense that trained people can reduce how injured they get from a fall. Does the magnitude of that reduction seem realistic? It's D&D, where you can get roasted by dragon fire and brush it off. Let's not go too far down that path.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
A commoner has 4hp (possibly up to 8) and has a 50% chance of being knocked unconcious / dying from a 10 ft fall. That is probably not too far off real life, if an untrained person falls 10 ft they are likely to get hurt and if unlucky it could kill them (though chances of death are probably less than 50%)
A parachutist lands at the speed equivalent to a 10 ft fall but knowing how to land means they rarely get hurt.
Adventurers are far more hardy than normal folk. Is it magic that an adventureer can take several blows from a sword that would kill anyone else? Even for falling a moderately high level adventurer will survive a fall from any height unless they are already hurt (theoretically you need 121 hp for it to be guaranteed but once you are over 90 you are pretty safe).
If slow fall is magical because a normal person can not do that then does the same apply to having more than 8 hp
Not really. It's a little something called "technique" and can be applied to all sorts of scenarios. If you have the proper technique you can survive for longer without breathing for example. If you have the proper technique you can grab sharp objects without cutting yourself. It's really quite obvious if you think about it.
@OP. No, there's nothing magical about slow fall. The problem is one of language. Many people read it as "[adjective] Slow [noun] fall" (that the fall is actually slower/that you fall slower) when it's actually supposed to be "[verb] slow [noun] fall" in that by rolling, bracing yourself or whatever else you might do that works you break/slow the impact of the fall. This is quite clear from the descriptionof the ability in the PHB.
It is absolutely not magical, unless you consider Jackie Chan falling off a building but managing to hit every awning on the way down a kind of magic
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Indeed. It's completely unrealistic to be able to do it without magic, but D&D isn't living in the world of realism. High-level monks can run on water and walls, and that's not magic either.
My working assumption is that the secret technique monks learn is to fall so that you land with one knee down, one knee up, one fist on the ground in front, and your other arm stretched out behind you.
It's just proper technique paired with the general unrealistic nature of things. Second wind for fighters is also unrealistic, but it's not meant to be magical either.
Knowing how to fall and land (and roll) can greatly reduce the damage taken from falls and other “high speed” collisions. I’m living proof as that skill, learned as a kid in judo classes has either saved my life or minimized/eliminated the injuries sustained at least 4 times so far. It probably shouldn’t really be called “slow fall” but rather “extend landing” which is right in line with the physics principle of impulse.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
Something to point out about this: does slow fall remain active even when the monk is unconscious?
If the monk becomes unconscious and then falls off tall heights, but slow fall makes the difference between life and death, then despite it not saying anywhere that it's magical, that sounds totally magical doesn't it?
Slow Fall require a Reaction, you cannot use Reactions while unconscious.
Canto alla vita
alla sua bellezza
ad ogni sua ferita
ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty
To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me
The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
No, slow fall doesn't work while unconscious, because you are also incapitated which doesn't allow you take actions or more importantly in this case reactions.
Does it say that slow fall is an action or reaction? Don't you need to roll for actions and reactions? Slow fall is a passive effect, right?
It does in fact require a reaction. Most actions require some sort of roll, but not all of them.