Here's my rules for falling, which I spawned because EwanGilchrist made a thread about it and set my mind a-spinning on the subject!
I'll spoiler it, hopefully it's easy reading!
Summary of what these rules do that the current ones don't:
how much damage you take revolves around your constitution or acrobatics checks, as well as how far you fall.
subtly different damage reduction methods for tumbling (involuntary) or dropping (voluntary).
damage modification for falling on smaller creatures, or for having larger creatures fall on you.
Fall distances round up, not down!
In Depth Falling
The current rules for falling offer limited scope for variation. Whilst they work well in a general sense, there are often specific cases where it just feels wrong. This document addresses those cases.
Tumbling & Dropping
There are now two methods for the gravity-assisted descent known collectively as Falling, and these are Tumbling, and Dropping. Tumbling is generally done involuntarily, either by being thrown, pushed, tripped, teleported, catapulted, or otherwise launched into sudden descent without any means of controlling your landing. Dropping is generally done voluntarily and revolves around jumping off of something with a view to sticking the landing.
Fall Damage
The damage dealt from Falling is 1d8 bludgeoning for each 10ft. fallen, rounding up.
Tumbling
When a creature or character takes a tumble - that is, when they Fall without making an action to Drop - they must make a constitution save. The result of this save is deducted from the distance they Fell, and then the amount of damage is worked out from the result, as if that were how far they had Fallen. They land Prone.
Example: Dwrmun the Dwarf is thrown out of the window of a tavern, 25ft. high. They roll a constitution save, and the result of the roll is 17. This is deducted from 25ft., leaving 8ft., meaning they take 1d8 bludgeoning damage from the fall.
Natural 1's and 20's for Tumbling
If a Natural 1 is rolled for Tumbling, the damage is not reduced in any way. If a Natural 20 is rolled, then the character or creature lands on its feet (or equivalent) and is not prone, though it still takes any damage as normal.
Dropping
When a creature or character is within 5ft. of a drop that they can access (such as the edge of a cliff, the railing of a balcony, etc.), then they can make a Drop action. They immediately Fall down the drop, landing at the bottom, and make an Acrobatics check. The result of the acrobatics check is deducted from the damage taken, to a minimum of 0.
Example: Fleif the Tiefling sees Dwrmun laying winded on the ground and decides to drop down from the window and land beside him. Fleif uses a Drop action, and Falls 25ft., incurring 3d8 bludgeoning damage, which rolls 14 damage. Fleif rolls Acrobatics, and gets 15, taking 0 damage from the Fall.
Natural 1's and 20's for Dropping
If a Natural 1 is rolled for Dropping, then the Drop turns into a Tumble. If a Natural 20 is rolled, then any remaining damage is halved, rounding up.
Look Out Below!
When you Fall onto another creature from a height, if they perceive you coming then they can choose to make a Dexterity save with a DC of 15 to move out of your way. If they succeed, then they move the minimal distance necessary to avoid you. In the case of creature which you can share a space with, they do not move (Imagine that they dodge briefly and then return to their position). If they do not perceive you or fail their Dexterity save, then you Fall onto them and you are both considered to have Fallen half the distance that you did, rounding up. The target (being landed on) is considered to have Tumbled.
Example: The Bandit who threw Dwrmun drops down onto him from the window to finish the job. Dwrmun fails his Dexterity save, and so both he and the Bandit are considered to have fallen half the distance rounding up, being 13ft. The Bandit rolls Acrobatics and rolls a 12, reducing their 2d8 damage by 12. Dwrmun rolls a constitution save and also rolls a 12, reducing the distance he "fell" by 12, from 13ft. to 1ft., meaning he still takes 1d8 damage!
Size and Look Out Below!
Being fallen onto by a dwarf is a different prospect from being fallen on by, say, an ogre, or a giant. Similarly, an ogre falling on a halfling cannot expect it to do much to break its fall!
• When a creature falls on one or more other creatures, they are considered to have fallen 5ft. further for each size smaller than them that the largest target creature is.
• When a creature is being fallen on by another creature, they are considered to have fallen 5ft. further for each size larger than them that the falling creature is.
In addition to this, if a creature has to move further than 5ft. to avoid being landed on (for example, if a huge creature were falling on them) then they have disadvantage on the Dexterity save for Look Out Below.
Example A Dragon (Gargantuan) happens to be flying low overhead when it suffers a bout of narcolepsy and drops from the sky like a stone. It Tumbles 100ft. onto the 3 people stood outside the tavern.
• Fleif had to move 5ft. to avoid being landed on, so makes a dexterity save and rolls a 17, successfully moving out of the way of the dragon.
• The Bandit was looking down, so didn't notice the dragon falling and didn't get to make a save.
• Dwrmun saw the dragon coming but had to move over 5ft. to escape, and so rolled with disadvantage and rolled an 8, failing to save.
• Dwrmun, The Bandit, and the Dragon are all considered to have Tumbled 50ft. after resolving Look Out Below. Due to the size difference between Medium and Gargantuan, they are all considered to have fallen an additional 15ft., as the dragon is 3 sizes larger than them, totaling 65ft. They all then make Constitution Saves and reduce their distances accordingly, then roll damage.
New Feats for Falling & Dropping
Cat-Like Reflexes
When you are Falling, if you are Tumbling over 30ft., you can use a reaction to change the Tumble to a Drop. You can add your proficiency bonus to acrobatics checks made for dropping. If you are already proficient at acrobatics checks, you can double your proficiency bonus when rolling acrobatics checks for Dropping. This does not apply when being Fallen onto.
Way of the Sky Hammer
(Monks Only)
When you Drop onto another creature from a height of 30ft. or more, you can spend a Ki point to focus the energy of the fall into them. Make an attack roll in place of the Acrobatics check, reducing the damage to yourself by the amount rolled (after modifiers) as normal. On a hit, each point of damage which you remove from yourself is instead inflicted on the target creature as Magical Bludgeoning Damage, in addition to any normal damage from the attack.
I like the idea of expanding on rules for falling.
My question is how do these rules apply to features which trigger on a fall (like a Monk's Slow Fall feature or the Feather Fall spell? Do these effects only trigger when Tumbling, or can the apply to a Drop as well?
If it does apply to a Drop action as well, with your rules how does the Slow Fall reaction affect damage dealt to another creature if the monk drops on top of them?
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Very thorough, but I think Acrobatics should be an option for Dropping.
Thanks! I did wonder which one would be the best for it, I'm starting to think that I've gotten it wrong - athletics is more for the strength of a jump, not the strength of it's landing! I'll redo it as Acrobatics, I think!
I like the idea of expanding on rules for falling.
My question is how do these rules apply to features which trigger on a fall (like a Monk's Slow Fall feature or the Feather Fall spell? Do these effects only trigger when Tumbling, or can the apply to a Drop as well?
If it does apply to a Drop action as well, with your rules how does the Slow Fall reaction affect damage dealt to another creature if the monk drops on top of them?
I would say that anything which reduces fall damage due to slowing them down would reduce it for both the one falling and the one being fallen on. Feather fall would absolutely deal no damage to either, as you'd just land neatly on top of the target!
I would also probably say that Slow Fall would need to be rewritten, as I feel it should only work to full effectiveness when dropping and not when tumbling:
Slow Fall
Beginning at 4th Level, you can use your Reaction when you fall to reduce any Falling damage you take. If you are tumbling, you can use your reaction to change your Fall into Dropping, and then reduce the distance you are considered to have fallen by three times your monk level. If you are dropping, you can use your reaction to reduce the distance you are considered to have fallen by five times your monk level. This will also reduce the damage dealt to any creature you drop onto.
So this means a level 4 monk can drop 20ft. in absolute safety if they use a reaction, and a level 20 Monk can use it to drop 100ft. in absolute safety!
Then add in what will be an acrobatics check to reduce damage further and they can probably drop a fair old distance without taking any damage!
What about Graviturgy wizards?? there spells add force so how greatly would that affect the players damage??
Thanks for the catch - I hadn't thought about gravity manipulation!
Assuming I'm looking at the right thing, the only things I consider would have effects are:
Adjust Density - this shouldn't affect anything except terminal velocity (400ft.) which is high enough to deal enough damage without this needing an effect!
Magnify Gravity - I would say any creature falling into the sphere is considered to fall 10ft. further than they did
Gravity sinkhole is instantaneous so if it's affecting a falling creature, they've already fallen 400ft. and that's enough damage!
So I'll add on a bit for Magnify Gravity, but otherwise it shouldn't affect too much!
What about Graviturgy wizards?? there spells add force so how greatly would that affect the players damage??
Thanks for the catch - I hadn't thought about gravity manipulation!
Assuming I'm looking at the right thing, the only things I consider would have effects are:
Adjust Density - this shouldn't affect anything except terminal velocity (400ft.) which is high enough to deal enough damage without this needing an effect!
Magnify Gravity - I would say any creature falling into the sphere is considered to fall 10ft. further than they did
Gravity sinkhole is instantaneous so if it's affecting a falling creature, they've already fallen 400ft. and that's enough damage!
So I'll add on a bit for Magnify Gravity, but otherwise it shouldn't affect too much!
No problem also i believe there is a black hole spell or two i could be wrong but watch out cause that would make gravity go to hell.
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Here's my rules for falling, which I spawned because EwanGilchrist made a thread about it and set my mind a-spinning on the subject!
I'll spoiler it, hopefully it's easy reading!
Summary of what these rules do that the current ones don't:
In Depth Falling
The current rules for falling offer limited scope for variation. Whilst they work well in a general sense, there are often specific cases where it just feels wrong. This document addresses those cases.
Tumbling & Dropping
There are now two methods for the gravity-assisted descent known collectively as Falling, and these are Tumbling, and Dropping. Tumbling is generally done involuntarily, either by being thrown, pushed, tripped, teleported, catapulted, or otherwise launched into sudden descent without any means of controlling your landing. Dropping is generally done voluntarily and revolves around jumping off of something with a view to sticking the landing.
Fall Damage
The damage dealt from Falling is 1d8 bludgeoning for each 10ft. fallen, rounding up.
Tumbling
When a creature or character takes a tumble - that is, when they Fall without making an action to Drop - they must make a constitution save. The result of this save is deducted from the distance they Fell, and then the amount of damage is worked out from the result, as if that were how far they had Fallen. They land Prone.
Natural 1's and 20's for Tumbling
If a Natural 1 is rolled for Tumbling, the damage is not reduced in any way. If a Natural 20 is rolled, then the character or creature lands on its feet (or equivalent) and is not prone, though it still takes any damage as normal.
Dropping
When a creature or character is within 5ft. of a drop that they can access (such as the edge of a cliff, the railing of a balcony, etc.), then they can make a Drop action. They immediately Fall down the drop, landing at the bottom, and make an Acrobatics check. The result of the acrobatics check is deducted from the damage taken, to a minimum of 0.
Natural 1's and 20's for Dropping
If a Natural 1 is rolled for Dropping, then the Drop turns into a Tumble. If a Natural 20 is rolled, then any remaining damage is halved, rounding up.
Look Out Below!
When you Fall onto another creature from a height, if they perceive you coming then they can choose to make a Dexterity save with a DC of 15 to move out of your way. If they succeed, then they move the minimal distance necessary to avoid you. In the case of creature which you can share a space with, they do not move (Imagine that they dodge briefly and then return to their position). If they do not perceive you or fail their Dexterity save, then you Fall onto them and you are both considered to have Fallen half the distance that you did, rounding up. The target (being landed on) is considered to have Tumbled.
Size and Look Out Below!
Being fallen onto by a dwarf is a different prospect from being fallen on by, say, an ogre, or a giant. Similarly, an ogre falling on a halfling cannot expect it to do much to break its fall!
• When a creature falls on one or more other creatures, they are considered to have fallen 5ft. further for each size smaller than them that the largest target creature is.
• When a creature is being fallen on by another creature, they are considered to have fallen 5ft. further for each size larger than them that the falling creature is.
In addition to this, if a creature has to move further than 5ft. to avoid being landed on (for example, if a huge creature were falling on them) then they have disadvantage on the Dexterity save for Look Out Below.
New Feats for Falling & Dropping
Cat-Like Reflexes
When you are Falling, if you are Tumbling over 30ft., you can use a reaction to change the Tumble to a Drop. You can add your proficiency bonus to acrobatics checks made for dropping. If you are already proficient at acrobatics checks, you can double your proficiency bonus when rolling acrobatics checks for Dropping. This does not apply when being Fallen onto.
Way of the Sky Hammer
(Monks Only)
When you Drop onto another creature from a height of 30ft. or more, you can spend a Ki point to focus the energy of the fall into them. Make an attack roll in place of the Acrobatics check, reducing the damage to yourself by the amount rolled (after modifiers) as normal. On a hit, each point of damage which you remove from yourself is instead inflicted on the target creature as Magical Bludgeoning Damage, in addition to any normal damage from the attack.
Please let me know what you think!
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Very thorough, but I think Acrobatics should be an option for Dropping.
I like the idea of expanding on rules for falling.
My question is how do these rules apply to features which trigger on a fall (like a Monk's Slow Fall feature or the Feather Fall spell? Do these effects only trigger when Tumbling, or can the apply to a Drop as well?
If it does apply to a Drop action as well, with your rules how does the Slow Fall reaction affect damage dealt to another creature if the monk drops on top of them?
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Thanks! I did wonder which one would be the best for it, I'm starting to think that I've gotten it wrong - athletics is more for the strength of a jump, not the strength of it's landing! I'll redo it as Acrobatics, I think!
I would say that anything which reduces fall damage due to slowing them down would reduce it for both the one falling and the one being fallen on. Feather fall would absolutely deal no damage to either, as you'd just land neatly on top of the target!
I would also probably say that Slow Fall would need to be rewritten, as I feel it should only work to full effectiveness when dropping and not when tumbling:
Slow Fall
Beginning at 4th Level, you can use your Reaction when you fall to reduce any Falling damage you take. If you are tumbling, you can use your reaction to change your Fall into Dropping, and then reduce the distance you are considered to have fallen by three times your monk level. If you are dropping, you can use your reaction to reduce the distance you are considered to have fallen by five times your monk level. This will also reduce the damage dealt to any creature you drop onto.
So this means a level 4 monk can drop 20ft. in absolute safety if they use a reaction, and a level 20 Monk can use it to drop 100ft. in absolute safety!
Then add in what will be an acrobatics check to reduce damage further and they can probably drop a fair old distance without taking any damage!
Make your Artificer work with any other class with 174 Multiclassing Feats for your Artificer Multiclass Character!
DM's Guild Releases on This Thread Or check them all out on DMs Guild!
DrivethruRPG Releases on This Thread - latest release: My Character is a Werewolf: balanced rules for Lycanthropy!
I have started discussing/reviewing 3rd party D&D content on Substack - stay tuned for semi-regular posts!
What about Graviturgy wizards?? there spells add force so how greatly would that affect the players damage??
Thanks for the catch - I hadn't thought about gravity manipulation!
Assuming I'm looking at the right thing, the only things I consider would have effects are:
Adjust Density - this shouldn't affect anything except terminal velocity (400ft.) which is high enough to deal enough damage without this needing an effect!
Magnify Gravity - I would say any creature falling into the sphere is considered to fall 10ft. further than they did
Gravity sinkhole is instantaneous so if it's affecting a falling creature, they've already fallen 400ft. and that's enough damage!
So I'll add on a bit for Magnify Gravity, but otherwise it shouldn't affect too much!
Make your Artificer work with any other class with 174 Multiclassing Feats for your Artificer Multiclass Character!
DM's Guild Releases on This Thread Or check them all out on DMs Guild!
DrivethruRPG Releases on This Thread - latest release: My Character is a Werewolf: balanced rules for Lycanthropy!
I have started discussing/reviewing 3rd party D&D content on Substack - stay tuned for semi-regular posts!
No problem also i believe there is a black hole spell or two i could be wrong but watch out cause that would make gravity go to hell.