So I have an idea to play a mount based paladin, not the most creative I know. Will try and fix it with some roleplay ideas, hopefully.
Anyways, when you finally reach the point where you can have flying mounts like the Pegasus or Griffon. If you were to jump or fall of your mount, could it catch up to you when it dives down before you hit the ground? (Given you are high enough in the air)
So basically: Is the speed of a flying mount flying straight down faster then my falling speed?
(First time trying to ask so hope I'm not doing it wrong, apologies in advance)
The basic rules give no rate for falling and Xanathar's guide gives 500 feet per round. A pegasus can only fly up to 180 feet (and a griffon only 160') using both its action and movement to move. So, no, If you fall off of your flying mount, generally they won't be able to fly to keep up with you during your fall.
Now what if they fall themselves? I am not entirely sure on the rules of choosing to fall. Aside from that, since they start after you and fall at the same rate, the best they could do is keep the same distance between you. I would not allow them to use their movement and fall to catch up faster - If you fall 500 feet in a round you've already moved more than your movement so you don't have any movement left to use to fly.
While the falling mechanics in the game are loosely based on physics, let's look at the rules for falling in our world.
Gravity accelerates a body at 32.2 Ft/sec^2.
Typical character flying speeds are 30ft/round (round = 6 sec) to 120 ft/round. So character speeds are 5ft/sec to 20ft/sec.
Free falling continues to speed you up until you reach terminal velocity. At some point the air resistance causes you to accelerate at less than the speed of gravity until you settle in to terminal velocity. But you will be going plenty fast enough before the air resistance matters. I looked it up and it is somewhere in the ballpark of 216 ft/sec. The short answer is if you fall for one round, you'll probably be going too fast for a flying mount to catch up to you, unless you have some sort of parachute method of increasing your coefficient of drag. However, if you are a magic wielding character you may be lucky enough to fall for more than one round and therefore be able to cast a spell on the next round to slow you down.
I figured it out and you are falling almost 100ft/sec in 3 seconds. That's pretty fast and will kill you; well it is the sudden stop at the end that kills you. In the time it takes to get to that speed you will have covered 145 ft.
But like almost any other question, ask your DM what he thinks and try to go with that. Good luck and enjoy.
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Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
Even if the Pegasus took the Dash action to try to catch you, the furthest the could go would be 360 ft. in the time it took you to fall 500 ft. If the Pegasus was hasted, then they could conceivably go 1,080 feet in that time.
Even if the Pegasus took the Dash action to try to catch you, the furthest the could go would be 360 ft. in the time it took you to fall 500 ft. If the Pegasus was hasted, then they could conceivably go 1,080 feet in that time.
A pegasus has 90' of flying. With dash that goes to 180.
Even if the Pegasus took the Dash action to try to catch you, the furthest the could go would be 360 ft. in the time it took you to fall 500 ft. If the Pegasus was hasted, then they could conceivably go 1,080 feet in that time.
A pegasus has 90' of flying. With dash that goes to 180.
So you’re right! So hasted that goes to 540 ft./round, but would leave the mount no action left with which to catch the falling rider.
Possibly the pegasus could just stop flying to go faster. Kind of like how modern birds dive to go faster when catching prey.
They'd fall 500 feet as well, and then be able to catch you on the next turn.
... As I mentioned in the first post, thing A that is falling at the same rate as thing B cannot catch up with thing B, all it can do is stay the same distance behind.
And I'd still stand behind the ruling that falling 500' means you've used your flying for the round.
Peregrine falcons can dive up to 230 miles per hour.
I think that diving should be possible, by using all your flying speed and choosing to fall when you dive.
Do I need to quote the "using different speeds" rules section? If you have more than one speed, the maximum distance you can move in one turn is the largest of them, not the total of them.
Using Different Speeds
If you have more than one speed, such as your walking speed and a flying speed, you can switch back and forth between your speeds during your move. Whenever you switch, subtract the distance you've already moved from the new speed. The result determines how much farther you can move. If the result is 0 or less, you can't use the new speed during the current move.
Internal monologue for the DM me in this scenario:
Well, if the falling rider spreads out to maximize surface area and therefore wind resistance, thereby lower their terminal velocity...
AND the Pegasus minimizes surface area, thereby increasing their terminal velocity...
AND the Pegasus is actively propelling themselves in the same direction as gravity, thereby superseding it’s own terminal velocity...
THEN maybe... sounds like there would theoretically be a chance for either success or failure..... Isn’t there already a mechanic for stuff like that? Oh yeah!
What I would say to the player:
”You and the Pegasus will have to each make an (Acrobatics) check.”
Yes, I agree it doesn't really make sense for a pegasus to fly downwards (unless upside down, I guess), so if they to tuck in their legs, and dive towards them to eliminate as much drag as possible, and the person extends their arms and legs, it would make sense for the pegasus to catch up.
I would definitely require some rolls for this as well, an acrobatics check to get back on the pegasus without hurting them or yourself, an athletics check to hold on as they pull up, and a possible few saving throws.
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(Also, terminal velocity isn't dependent on your mass. Everything falls at the same speed. Drag is the only thing that makes a difference. If you drop a rock and a feather on the moon or in a vacuum, they fall at the same speed.)
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I don't do math like that in my games. I'm good at math, but not fast enough to do physics and other stuff like that in game.
I typically make rulings that make sense with physics, so instead of calculating how long it would take for the pegasus in a nosedive to catch up, I would just make a simple ruling, like one or two rounds depending on their distance away when the pegasus started diving.
Just make a ruling as the DM that makes sense.
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Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
So I have an idea to play a mount based paladin, not the most creative I know. Will try and fix it with some roleplay ideas, hopefully.
Anyways, when you finally reach the point where you can have flying mounts like the Pegasus or Griffon. If you were to jump or fall of your mount, could it catch up to you when it dives down before you hit the ground? (Given you are high enough in the air)
So basically: Is the speed of a flying mount flying straight down faster then my falling speed?
(First time trying to ask so hope I'm not doing it wrong, apologies in advance)
The basic rules give no rate for falling and Xanathar's guide gives 500 feet per round. A pegasus can only fly up to 180 feet (and a griffon only 160') using both its action and movement to move. So, no, If you fall off of your flying mount, generally they won't be able to fly to keep up with you during your fall.
Now what if they fall themselves? I am not entirely sure on the rules of choosing to fall. Aside from that, since they start after you and fall at the same rate, the best they could do is keep the same distance between you. I would not allow them to use their movement and fall to catch up faster - If you fall 500 feet in a round you've already moved more than your movement so you don't have any movement left to use to fly.
While the falling mechanics in the game are loosely based on physics, let's look at the rules for falling in our world.
Gravity accelerates a body at 32.2 Ft/sec^2.
Typical character flying speeds are 30ft/round (round = 6 sec) to 120 ft/round. So character speeds are 5ft/sec to 20ft/sec.
Free falling continues to speed you up until you reach terminal velocity. At some point the air resistance causes you to accelerate at less than the speed of gravity until you settle in to terminal velocity. But you will be going plenty fast enough before the air resistance matters. I looked it up and it is somewhere in the ballpark of 216 ft/sec. The short answer is if you fall for one round, you'll probably be going too fast for a flying mount to catch up to you, unless you have some sort of parachute method of increasing your coefficient of drag. However, if you are a magic wielding character you may be lucky enough to fall for more than one round and therefore be able to cast a spell on the next round to slow you down.
I figured it out and you are falling almost 100ft/sec in 3 seconds. That's pretty fast and will kill you; well it is the sudden stop at the end that kills you. In the time it takes to get to that speed you will have covered 145 ft.
But like almost any other question, ask your DM what he thinks and try to go with that. Good luck and enjoy.
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
Even if the Pegasus took the Dash action to try to catch you, the furthest the could go would be 360 ft. in the time it took you to fall 500 ft. If the Pegasus was hasted, then they could conceivably go 1,080 feet in that time.
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A pegasus has 90' of flying. With dash that goes to 180.
So you’re right! So hasted that goes to 540 ft./round, but would leave the mount no action left with which to catch the falling rider.
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Possibly the pegasus could just stop flying to go faster. Kind of like how modern birds dive to go faster when catching prey.
They'd fall 500 feet as well, and then be able to catch you on the next turn.
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... As I mentioned in the first post, thing A that is falling at the same rate as thing B cannot catch up with thing B, all it can do is stay the same distance behind.
And I'd still stand behind the ruling that falling 500' means you've used your flying for the round.
Darned Physics always getting in the way.
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But, you fall at the end of the round. The pegasus could dash, and then stop flying to dive, making it so they could catch up.
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I stand by the ruling that any distance that you move downward comes off of your flying speed.
I personally disagree with that ruling.
Peregrine falcons can dive up to 230 miles per hour.
I think that diving should be possible, by using all your flying speed and choosing to fall when you dive.
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Do I need to quote the "using different speeds" rules section? If you have more than one speed, the maximum distance you can move in one turn is the largest of them, not the total of them.
But falling isn't a speed. Falling is gravity. It makes sense that if you're flying you can let gravity take over to make you go even faster.
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But gravity can't be made stronger without increasing the planet's mass? Whatever.
Internal monologue for the DM me in this scenario:
Well, if the falling rider spreads out to maximize surface area and therefore wind resistance, thereby lower their terminal velocity...
AND the Pegasus minimizes surface area, thereby increasing their terminal velocity...
AND the Pegasus is actively propelling themselves in the same direction as gravity, thereby superseding it’s own terminal velocity...
THEN maybe... sounds like there would theoretically be a chance for either success or failure..... Isn’t there already a mechanic for stuff like that? Oh yeah!
What I would say to the player:
”You and the Pegasus will have to each make an (Acrobatics) check.”
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Yes, I agree it doesn't really make sense for a pegasus to fly downwards (unless upside down, I guess), so if they to tuck in their legs, and dive towards them to eliminate as much drag as possible, and the person extends their arms and legs, it would make sense for the pegasus to catch up.
I would definitely require some rolls for this as well, an acrobatics check to get back on the pegasus without hurting them or yourself, an athletics check to hold on as they pull up, and a possible few saving throws.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
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(Also, terminal velocity isn't dependent on your mass. Everything falls at the same speed. Drag is the only thing that makes a difference. If you drop a rock and a feather on the moon or in a vacuum, they fall at the same speed.)
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
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Of course, what’s the airspeed coefficient for a winged horse in a nosedive compared to an undescribed adventurer?
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I don't do math like that in my games. I'm good at math, but not fast enough to do physics and other stuff like that in game.
I typically make rulings that make sense with physics, so instead of calculating how long it would take for the pegasus in a nosedive to catch up, I would just make a simple ruling, like one or two rounds depending on their distance away when the pegasus started diving.
Just make a ruling as the DM that makes sense.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms