it states that you use half your movement to get up from being knocked prone. I always found this a strange ruling, it makes someone that is faster to have to "pay" more to get up. I usually rule that you need to spend 15f to get up, and not half your movement speed.
Do you guys have any other ways to deal with it, or have good reasons to use it as it is in the book.
I think there is value in playing RAW. Fewer house rules mean less explaining and that helps speed up the game.
Consider also the athlete feat. Most players won't get over 40' speed. You have to try pretty hard to get over about 55' speed (wood elf monk or Barb with mobile feat). Your rule in that case would save 12.5' of movement, which is significant. In either case, with your rule a player only saves 10' by selecting the athlete feat making it even weaker.
What about the poor little folk with 25' movement? They are already locomotionally challenged. Do you really want to penalize them more?
Those reasons aside, I agree that the rule is a bit odd.
Under the official rules, everyone pays half their movement. If you knock a 30 speed and a 60 speed creature prone, the latter is still able to move twice as far as the former after standing up. Your house rule makes slower characters pay more than faster characters; getting up with 20 speed means you lose 3/4 of your movement, while getting up with 45 speed only costs you 1/3. It also means no one can stand up if their speed is reduced below 15 instead of 0. That's a dealbreaker.
Very true - take some creatures with a base speed of 25 and hit them with a Slow and then they wouldn't be able to get up from being knocked prone. Yes, it's a bit specific, but it's worth noting as a scenario that could arise from changing the rule.
There's also Ray of Frost and the Lance of Lethargy invocation, which are easy ways to drop speed by 10 and can be combined with each other or the Slow spell. And it only takes 2 levels of Exhaustion to halve your speed, so god help you if you're caught in Sickening Radiance with this house rule.
It’s fine the way it is. Look at it this way. Your moment is how far you can move in six seconds. It doesn’t matter how fast you are, it takes 3 seconds to stand from being prone.
It’s fine the way it is. Look at it this way. Your moment is how far you can move in six seconds. It doesn’t matter how fast you are, it takes 3 seconds to stand from being prone.
It’s fine the way it is. Look at it this way. Your moment is how far you can move in six seconds. It doesn’t matter how fast you are, it takes 3 seconds to stand from being prone.
While I do think it's fine the way it is, I do agree it's not very realistic (which, again, is fine!). If you're really fast, you should be able to stand up from being prone faster. On the other hand, how tall you are shouldn't affect it at all (so short races with lower speed shouldn't be penalized, either).
I'm sure there's a more realistic way to model it, but it would have to take into consideration the reasons behind a move speed other than 30 (is it 25 because you're short, or slow? Is it 40 because you're long-legged, or fast?), and it would almost certainly be way too complicated to be useful. As it is, it's balanced, streamlined, easy to remember, and feels natural.
While I do think it's fine the way it is, I do agree it's not very realistic (which, again, is fine!). If you're really fast, you should be able to stand up from being prone faster.
Being "really fast" can mean a lot of things (fast runner, fast reflexes, fast weapon attacks) and you can't assume human anatomy or skills when thinking about the prone condition, which applies to all creature types. I wouldn't expect a horse to get up from prone faster than a human just because it can run much faster. If you want to make the argument that you're extra athletic/acrobatic and thus can get up faster, well, there's already a feat for that.
It’s fine the way it is. Look at it this way. Your moment is how far you can move in six seconds. It doesn’t matter how fast you are, it takes 3 seconds to stand from being prone.
IMO, they want you to choose to either take a whole action, while still prone, or stand up, and be left with half the action.
If you change it that it still cost half of your movement and say that 15 is max that would spare creatures with less than 30ft. movement speed and still allow faster creatures to get a benefit from their speed and also i am not sure is it possible in the first place but if it is you could still stand up even if your speed is zero (0/2 is still 0, and you probably have that much)
I guess time is the key here. If you use half of your time that turn to get up, you can move the second half of your time. That means half of your speed/ft.
Hey everyone,
it states that you use half your movement to get up from being knocked prone.
I always found this a strange ruling, it makes someone that is faster to have to "pay" more to get up.
I usually rule that you need to spend 15f to get up, and not half your movement speed.
Do you guys have any other ways to deal with it, or have good reasons to use it as it is in the book.
Thanks!
I think there is value in playing RAW. Fewer house rules mean less explaining and that helps speed up the game.
Consider also the athlete feat. Most players won't get over 40' speed. You have to try pretty hard to get over about 55' speed (wood elf monk or Barb with mobile feat). Your rule in that case would save 12.5' of movement, which is significant. In either case, with your rule a player only saves 10' by selecting the athlete feat making it even weaker.
What about the poor little folk with 25' movement? They are already locomotionally challenged. Do you really want to penalize them more?
Those reasons aside, I agree that the rule is a bit odd.
Under the official rules, everyone pays half their movement. If you knock a 30 speed and a 60 speed creature prone, the latter is still able to move twice as far as the former after standing up. Your house rule makes slower characters pay more than faster characters; getting up with 20 speed means you lose 3/4 of your movement, while getting up with 45 speed only costs you 1/3. It also means no one can stand up if their speed is reduced below 15 instead of 0. That's a dealbreaker.
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D&D Beyond FoundersVery true - take some creatures with a base speed of 25 and hit them with a Slow and then they wouldn't be able to get up from being knocked prone. Yes, it's a bit specific, but it's worth noting as a scenario that could arise from changing the rule.
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There's also Ray of Frost and the Lance of Lethargy invocation, which are easy ways to drop speed by 10 and can be combined with each other or the Slow spell. And it only takes 2 levels of Exhaustion to halve your speed, so god help you if you're caught in Sickening Radiance with this house rule.
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It’s fine the way it is. Look at it this way. Your moment is how far you can move in six seconds. It doesn’t matter how fast you are, it takes 3 seconds to stand from being prone.
I agree with this wholeheartedly.
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While I do think it's fine the way it is, I do agree it's not very realistic (which, again, is fine!). If you're really fast, you should be able to stand up from being prone faster. On the other hand, how tall you are shouldn't affect it at all (so short races with lower speed shouldn't be penalized, either).
I'm sure there's a more realistic way to model it, but it would have to take into consideration the reasons behind a move speed other than 30 (is it 25 because you're short, or slow? Is it 40 because you're long-legged, or fast?), and it would almost certainly be way too complicated to be useful. As it is, it's balanced, streamlined, easy to remember, and feels natural.
Being "really fast" can mean a lot of things (fast runner, fast reflexes, fast weapon attacks) and you can't assume human anatomy or skills when thinking about the prone condition, which applies to all creature types. I wouldn't expect a horse to get up from prone faster than a human just because it can run much faster. If you want to make the argument that you're extra athletic/acrobatic and thus can get up faster, well, there's already a feat for that.
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IMO, they want you to choose to either take a whole action, while still prone, or stand up, and be left with half the action.
If you change it that it still cost half of your movement and say that 15 is max that would spare creatures with less than 30ft. movement speed and still allow faster creatures to get a benefit from their speed and also i am not sure is it possible in the first place but if it is you could still stand up even if your speed is zero (0/2 is still 0, and you probably have that much)
Actually, if your speed is 0, then you have no movement, therefore ineligible to stand.
RAW, PH, p. 191. lYou can’t stand up if you don’t have enough movement left or if your speed is 0.”
I guess time is the key here. If you use half of your time that turn to get up, you can move the second half of your time. That means half of your speed/ft.
People who run faster do not necessarily stand up faster.