Looking for feedback on a new house rule .... So, rules as written for falling are thus .... "At the end of a fall, a creature takes 1d6 bludgeoning damage for every 10 feet it fell, to a maximum of 20d6.  The creature lands prone, unless it avoids taking damage from the fall" (PHB, 183). 

Now, the average damage output of 20d6 is 70.  70 Bludgeoning damage!  That's it!?  If you're a level 10 Barbarian that's not even your max HP!  And if you're raging that's only going to be 35 damage.  A level 5 raging barbarian (average HP 40) could probably survive a 10,000 foot fall! ... I mean, I'm not a DM that aims for hyper-realism, but that just seems far-fetched to me.

So, here is my proposed house rule for falling.  Please tell me if it makes sense, or give suggestions for how to tweak it. .... First, everything in the PHB stands as is.  1d6 bludgeoning / 10 feet of falling with a maximum of 20d6.  However, when you fall 100 feet or more you must roll a constitution saving throw (DC 15 minus your Constitution modifier).  On success you take fall damage as you normally would and fall prone.  On fail, you land prone with 0 HP and begin making death saving throws.  

Justification for this house rule ... If you google it, the average height at which a person can fall with 0% survivability is 100 feet.  Players are basically super-heroes, so, to me, it makes sense to give them a saving throw to see if they can beat death.  But, rules as written, for most players in the level 10 to 15 range, falling just isn't all that dangerous.  

I agree falling isn't dangerous enought and it's why i houseruled falling damage in my campaigns so they're exponential 10 ft = 1d6, 20 ft = 3d6, 30 ft = 6d6, 40 ft = 10d6 etc

A commoner, a regular everyday person, has 4 hp.

A fall from just 10ft kills them fully half the time. 

A fall from 20ft, 2d6, is the same as being friggen cleaved by a Greatsword. Fun fact about getting cleaved by greatswords: that just plain kills most people. So does the 20ft fall.

You problem isn't with falls. Your problem is with how many HP high level characters have and how well they shrug off damage that would, should, could kill normal people.

But the solution to that is just: Get over it. Your 5th level raging barbarian IS a superhero. He just is. 

40 hp? Half damage? He has effectively 20 times as many HP as a regular person. It would take 20 times as much force to properly wound and damage him or kill him. He could get ran over by a friggen bus and shrug it off.

He is a superhero. D&D characters have super resilience as they get higher level. 

They can get peppered by arrows. Poisoned. Life drained. Dragons chew on them, or fireballs explode in their face. They shrug all of it off. 

But then falls are a problem? Why? People make too big a deal about this. The players are superheroes. Superheroes survive crazy falls all the time.

Yep. Rule #1 of D&D:

Hit Points make no sense, and nothing you can do will ever fix that.

And to the person about to chime in with "They represent luck and skill in part; you're not taking real damage until you lose your last few!", I point to the topic of this thread. Or fireball. Or poison. Or....

They make no sense, but they don't need to. They work to make combat a thing that the players will engage in with regularity. They allow the barbarian to jump off a cliff because it's the fastest way to get into the fight. It's has no passing resemblance to realism, but that's fine. Nothing else here does.

As for the exponential dice mentioned above, they tried that in 1e days, first in Dragon magazine and then (IIRC) in Unearthed Arcana. They got rid of it again later, because people didn't like it. In modern times, with the far greater ability to move enemies around, I'd be looking to use it as a weapon. It's like two turns of grapple and levitate to do 70 damage, no saving throw. It turns knocking flying enemies prone from a cool trick to a significant source of damage, and so discourages that part of tactics on both sides.

How is a 5th level barbarian surviving a 200' fall any worse than a 5th level barbarian surviving being bitten by a tarrasque?

Not for nothing, but in 1972 a woman survived a fall from a height of 33,300 feet (10.16 km) without a parachute. She was no raging barbarian, or superhuman, or anything like that. She was just a regular person, with a regular job (flight attendant), who fell over thirty-three thousand feet and survived. True story. She lived another 44 years after that and just died less than 10 years ago.

In real life, people have fallen from incredible heights and lived with just a few broken bones, bleeding, and possibly a coma.

Vesna Vulovic survived a fall of over 6 miles.  They think she survived because she hit trees which slowed her down, and landed in snow.

We are playing heroic characters, they should be killed by monsters, not falls.   

No need to fix the admittedly low damage current system, it fits the rule of cool.

Another reason fall damage is lackluster is to discourage players from building gimmick combos to kill enemies with drops.

Also, as I understand it, it’s not usually the fall that kills most people (or the sudden stop at the end, har har). I have been told that most people die from a heart attack before they hit the bottom. And we all know that adventurers are made of heartier stuff than that.

Quote from The_Ace_of_Rogues >>

Another reason fall damage is lackluster is to discourage players from building gimmick combos to kill enemies with drops.

 I have to agree. This comes up a LOT.

Quote from IamSposta >>

Also, as I understand it, it’s not usually the fall that kills most people (or the sudden stop at the end, har har).

This is a myth. There is evidence for cardiac arrest by people who suffer long falls, but that occurs on landing (i.e. the heart takes exception to the sudden stop at the end and ceases to function). The real answer here is that D&D hit points are cinematic, if you want a game with realistic lethality I suggest finding a different game system (this is not a terribly segment of the gaming market, it turns out most people like their larger than life heroes).

Love all the feedback!   So, I get it and agree ... HP is a tool for combat.  It isn't balanced and maybe that's on purpose.  And yes, Players are Superheroes!  I definitely don't want to take away from that at all.  All good points from everything above.

But, after reading everyone's feedback, I think my issue isn't honestly with HP, as someone suggested ... And and I don't think my issue is with how tough or superhero-ish players can be.  I want players to feel cool and feel tough.  .... I think my issue is just the lack of danger.  I have found in my games that the things that are meant to scare players and force them to be cautious (traps, dangerous terrain, fireballs, bosses, etc.) ... at a certain point they just don't have that effect anymore.   

Incidentally, this is why I really enjoy seemingly low-level monsters that have abilities that are deadly.  A banshee's wail taking players to 0 HP, or a Ghost's Horrifying Visage causing players to age 60 years.  They catch players off guard and make them cautious and panicked again.  Which, is something I know my players want.  They want to feel tough BECAUSE they have overcome something dangerous, not because their stats are super high and nothing is a challenge.

So ... I think I have to respectfully disagree with fall damage, as it is, being something that fits the rule of cool and something that Superhero players can and should survive.  How about they COULD survive it, but let's add something that still makes it dangerous?   

And speaking of "the rule of cool" ... Yes, "cool" can be .. "I can jump off the tallest mountain, get bit by a Terrasque and hit by a bus and still survive no problem."  Absolutely, that can be cool.  But, that's cool for the sake of stats ... What about cool for the sake of story?  Couldn't it be just as "cool" to be the hero that fights the dragon in the skies and falls to his death while delivering the final blow, but saving his party?  ... But if there's no danger in the game, there's less and less moments like that.  

Anyway, again, let me say ... all the feedback from you all above was really great.  Super good stuff.   Thank you.   ....  No gaming system is perfect, but it is fun to play around with things. 

Quote from Pantagruel666 >>

Quote from IamSposta >>

Also, as I understand it, it’s not usually the fall that kills most people (or the sudden stop at the end, har har).

This is a myth. There is evidence for cardiac arrest by people who suffer long falls, but that occurs on landing (i.e. the heart takes exception to the sudden stop at the end and ceases to function). The real answer here is that D&D hit points are cinematic, if you want a game with realistic lethality I suggest finding a different game system (this is not a terribly segment of the gaming market, it turns out most people like their larger than life heroes).

 Turns out, enough trauma to the chest can cause your heart to stop beating.  What a shock (pun intended).

There is the optional massive damage rule from m the DMG: When a creature takes damage from a single source equal to or greater than half its hit point maximum, it must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or suffer a random effect determined by a roll on the System Shock table.

Come to think of it  that’s really got the potential to screw even some mid-level wizards  And most level 1 characters  

Also, if that raging barb falls further than 500’, odds are they are no longer raging when they land, unless they found some way to attack something on the way down. 

In real life you fall at 32 ft per second per second, do the math from real life:

1. sec you fall 16 ft but are now falling at 32 ft per sec.(average speed was (0+32)/2=16)
2. sec you fall another 48 ft, for a total of 64 ft and are now falling at 64 ft per sec
3. you fall another 80 ft, for a total of 144 ft, and are now falling at 96 ft per sec
4. You fall another 112 ft for a total of 256 ft, and are now falling at 128 ft per sec.
5. You fall another 144 ft for a total of 400 ft, and are now falling at 160 ft per sec
6. You fall another 176 ft for a total of 576 ft and are now falling at 192 ft per second.

So in six seconds (one round) a human in real life falls 576' and one second later has the the terminal velocity of a human falling 216 ft per second.

Rage lasts one minute.   The barbarian will still be raging after falling 500 ft.  1 minute of falling will be a bit less than 54*216 + 176, or 11,840 ft.  That is more than 2 miles.

You can literally throw a raging barbarian off the tallest building in the world and he will still be raging when he hits the ground. 

Quote from Mog_Dracov >>

In real life you fall at 32 ft per second per second, do the math from real life:

1. sec you fall 16 ft but are now falling at 32 ft per sec.(average speed was (0+32)/2=16)
2. sec you fall another 48 ft, for a total of 64 ft and are now falling at 64 ft per sec
3. you fall another 80 ft, for a total of 144 ft, and are now falling at 96 ft per sec
4. You fall another 112 ft for a total of 256 ft, and are now falling at 128 ft per sec.
5. You fall another 144 ft for a total of 400 ft, and are now falling at 160 ft per sec
6. You fall another 176 ft for a total of 576 ft and are now falling at 192 ft per second.

So in six seconds (one round) a human in real life falls 576' and one second later has the the terminal velocity of a human falling 216 ft per second.

Rage lasts one minute.   The barbarian will still be raging after falling 500 ft.  1 minute of falling will be a bit less than 54*216 + 176, or 11,840 ft.  That is more than 2 miles.

You can literally throw a raging barbarian off the tallest building in the world and he will still be raging when he hits the ground. 

 Per xanathar’s, falling is 500’ per round. Rage ends if you go a round without attacking someone. Therefore, a fall of 501’ or greater means you won’t be raging when you hit bottom. Unless, as I said, you find a way to attack someone on the way down. I guess there might also be some initiative order quirk where you fall off turn after you’ve attacked someone and could get an extra 500’ of the fall, as well.

Quote from Mog_Dracov >>

In real life you fall at 32 ft per second per second, do the math from real life:

1. sec you fall 16 ft but are now falling at 32 ft per sec.(average speed was (0+32)/2=16)
2. sec you fall another 48 ft, for a total of 64 ft and are now falling at 64 ft per sec
3. you fall another 80 ft, for a total of 144 ft, and are now falling at 96 ft per sec
4. You fall another 112 ft for a total of 256 ft, and are now falling at 128 ft per sec.
5. You fall another 144 ft for a total of 400 ft, and are now falling at 160 ft per sec
6. You fall another 176 ft for a total of 576 ft and are now falling at 192 ft per second.

So in six seconds (one round) a human in real life falls 576' and one second later has the the terminal velocity of a human falling 216 ft per second.

Rage lasts one minute.   The barbarian will still be raging after falling 500 ft.  1 minute of falling will be a bit less than 54*216 + 176, or 11,840 ft.  That is more than 2 miles.

You can literally throw a raging barbarian off the tallest building in the world and he will still be raging when he hits the ground. 

 

 Rage "ends early if you are knocked unconscious or if your turn ends and you haven’t attacked a hostile creature since your last turn or taken damage since then." so Xalthu is almost correct when he says a barbarian will not be raging after they have fallen for 6 seconds unless they have a way to attack something on the way down. If he is taking damage on the way down they can also maintain rage but if they are relying on attacking "something" it needs to be a hostile creature (attacking his shield or even a rat in a bag wont work).

You have ignored air resistance in your calculation of travelling 576 ft in 6 seconds so the actual didstance travelled will be less than that, it how much less depends on whether our barbarian is hrezontal in a clasic skydiver position or vertical in a more streamline position but 500ft seems a reasonable figure. (I'll assume gravity is the same in our D&D worlds)

If he is smart, he throws something - even an improvised weapon - at a creature should give him another round of falling.  More importantly, initiatie order quirk should be COMMON.  That is you are unlikely to fall on your own turn, instead more likely be pushed or thrown off on someone else's turn.  So you should fall 500 ft before your turn starts, allowing for a 1000 ft total.

Quote from Xalthu >>

There is the optional massive damage rule from m the DMG: When a creature takes damage from a single source equal to or greater than half its hit point maximum, it must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or suffer a random effect determined by a roll on the System Shock table.

Come to think of it  that’s really got the potential to screw even some mid-level wizards  And most level 1 characters 

That's why System Shock typically isn't checked for attacks that deal less than 20 damage even if it is used.

Quote from Pantagruel666 >>

Quote from IamSposta >>

Also, as I understand it, it’s not usually the fall that kills most people (or the sudden stop at the end, har har).

This is a myth. There is evidence for cardiac arrest by people who suffer long falls, but that occurs on landing (i.e. the heart takes exception to the sudden stop at the end and ceases to function). The real answer here is that D&D hit points are cinematic, if you want a game with realistic lethality I suggest finding a different game system (this is not a terribly segment of the gaming market, it turns out most people like their larger than life heroes).

 
Maybe it’s a myth. Maybe it isn’t. I really cannot say with any certainty. Frankly, I find it hard to believe with any certainty that a coroner could say with absolute certainty whether or not the heart attack happened an instant before, at the same instant as, or an instant after impact on account of the fact that their “patient’s” thorax has been turned into chunky hamburger by that aforementioned impact.

What I can say with absolute certainty is that someone has actually survived a fall of over 33,300 feet. That’s reality. If a (guessing from the photographs) approximately 110-125 pound flight attendant could survive that, then a “larger than life hero” like a D&D PC could possibly do it too. 💁‍♂️