As it says on the title, what rate do creatures fall at before Feather Fall is cast on them? I can't seem to find anywhere where the rate of decent for falling creature is at least roughly defined, the only point of reference for the rate of decent is when Feather Fall has been cast, reducing it to 60ft/round.
A hypothetical situation that brought about this thought and search for answers was if the adventurer had access to Feather Fall, but had used their reaction in the round they being falling in. They could still be falling in the subsequent round if the height was big enough, but how far do they fall in that first round? How many rounds is 200, 400, 600, etc., feet for the adventurer?
In general I think the revision of the rules coming next year could tidy up and/or clarify some of these simple mechanics that have been left vage for editions. Might also be a waste of time as I doubt this really bugs many people.
As it says on the title, what rate do creatures fall at before Feather Fall is cast on them?
The core rule for falling assumes that a creature immediately drops the entire distance when it falls, unless you're using the optional rules in Xanathat's Guide to Everything, for a rate of falling 500 ft./round. So the outcome will depend on which rule is used and the distance fallen.;
Core rule: Fall all the way.
Optional Rule: Fall 500 feet, then next round, cast Feather Fall.
Falling
Falling from a great height is a significant risk for adventurers and their foes. The rule given in the Player’s Handbook is simple: at the end of a fall, you take 1d6 bludgeoning damage for every 10 feet you fell, to a maximum of 20d6. You also land prone, unless you somehow avoid taking damage from the fall. Here are two optional rules that expand on that simple rule.
Rate of Falling
The rule for falling assumes that a creature immediately drops the entire distance when it falls. But what if a creature is at a high altitude when it falls, perhaps on the back of a griffon or on board an airship? Realistically, a fall from such a height can take more than a few seconds, extending past the end of the turn when the fall occurred. If you’d like high-altitude falls to be properly time-consuming, use the following optional rule.
When you fall from a great height, you instantly descend up to 500 feet. If you’re still falling on your next turn, you descend up to 500 feet at the end of that turn. This process continues until the fall ends, either because you hit the ground or the fall is otherwise halted.
As up2ng, said, per xanathar’s, creatures fall at 500 feet per round. So if someone has used their reaction already, the fall would need to be 501 feet or more for them to have a chance to cast feather fall.
Odd to think that the base rule is an assumption of the entire distance regardless of how large the measurement is. I think I'll find myself a copy of Xanathars next time I'm at my friendly LGS.
@JeremyECrawford The basic falling rules in D&D assume a fall is instantaneous. If you'd like rules for a very long fall, take a look at the section called "Falling" in "Xanathar's Guide to Everything" (p. 77). #DnD
Something to remember with featherfall is it only has a duration of 1 minute so if the fall is more than 600 ft the spell will end before you reach the ground (In my campaign last week, I had to ask the DM how high we were to see if I needed ot cast earth find to turn extend the 60ft descent rate by 10 minutes.
Something to remember with featherfall is it only has a duration of 1 minute so if the fall is more than 600 ft the spell will end before you reach the ground (In my campaign last week, I had to ask the DM how high we were to see if I needed ot cast earth find to turn extend the 60ft descent rate by 10 minutes.
1 minute is 10 rounds. At 500 per round, that comes to 5,000 feet before the spell ends.
Something to remember with featherfall is it only has a duration of 1 minute so if the fall is more than 600 ft the spell will end before you reach the ground (In my campaign last week, I had to ask the DM how high we were to see if I needed ot cast earth find to turn extend the 60ft descent rate by 10 minutes.
1 minute is 10 rounds. At 500 per round, that comes to 5,000 feet before the spell ends.
While the spell is active, you aren't falling at 500 per round, you're falling at 60.
Something to remember with featherfall is it only has a duration of 1 minute so if the fall is more than 600 ft the spell will end before you reach the ground (In my campaign last week, I had to ask the DM how high we were to see if I needed ot cast earth find to turn extend the 60ft descent rate by 10 minutes.
1 minute is 10 rounds. At 500 per round, that comes to 5,000 feet before the spell ends.
While the spell is active, you aren't falling at 500 per round, you're falling at 60.
As you start falling, you basically cast Feather Fall as a reaction, slowly falling 60 ft/round until you land or the spell ends after 600 feet on the 11th round, at which point you fall if still in midair (rinse and repeat if you have spell slots)
The problem with that is that the fall is supposed to be instantaneous so there is no time even for a reaction and you simply smash into the ground full force (OUCH). As a home rule I have the fall occur (instantaneously) at the end of the round not the start allowing time for reactions etc. for the OP’s info - the 500’/round is a round off of the distance you would fall from 0 ft/sec over a 6 second fall under earth gravity ( I did the calc once and I believe the actual distance was 560’).
The problem with that is that the fall is supposed to be instantaneous so there is no time even for a reaction and you simply smash into the ground full force (OUCH). As a home rule I have the fall occur (instantaneously) at the end of the round not the start allowing time for reactions etc. for the OP’s info - the 500’/round is a round off of the distance you would fall from 0 ft/sec over a 6 second fall under earth gravity ( I did the calc once and I believe the actual distance was 560’).
The reaction is meant to interrupt before you fall, according to reaction timing, it must happen before it's trigger rather than after;
Reaction Timing: Certain game features let you take a special action, called a reaction, in response to some event. Making opportunity attacks and casting the shield spell are two typical uses of reactions. If you’re unsure when a reaction occurs in relation to its trigger, here’s the rule: the reaction happens after its trigger completes, unless the description of the reaction explicitly says otherwise.
The core rule for falling assumes that a creature immediately drops the entire distance when it falls, unless you're using the optional rules in Xanathat's Guide to Everything,
I disagree with this statement. The core rules make no mention of rate of falling--only what happens when you land. If a DM wanted to run cinematic falling, there is nothing in the falling rules (outside of XGtE) that would run afoul of RAW. You could infer that because the rules don't describe a rate of falling, it means you fall the entire distance all at once, but it would be exactly that--your inference.
In the core rule a fall happen in no time specified. They clarified it in Xanathat's Guide to Everything what is assumed by that before introducing the optional rule for rate of falling from a great height.
For those interested, its also an opinion shared by the Devs that its instantaneous.
@JeremyECrawford The basic falling rules in D&D assume a fall is instantaneous. If you'd like rules for a very long fall, take a look at the section called "Falling" in "Xanathar's Guide to Everything" (p. 77).
The problem with that is that the fall is supposed to be instantaneous so there is no time even for a reaction and you simply smash into the ground full force (OUCH). As a home rule I have the fall occur (instantaneously) at the end of the round not the start allowing time for reactions etc. for the OP’s info - the 500’/round is a round off of the distance you would fall from 0 ft/sec over a 6 second fall under earth gravity ( I did the calc once and I believe the actual distance was 560’).
The reaction is meant to interrupt before you fall, according to reaction timing, it must happen before it's trigger rather than after;
Reaction Timing: Certain game features let you take a special action, called a reaction, in response to some event. Making opportunity attacks and casting the shield spell are two typical uses of reactions. If you’re unsure when a reaction occurs in relation to its trigger, here’s the rule: the reaction happens after its trigger completes, unless the description of the reaction explicitly says otherwise.
I don’t disagree, but I was pointing out that if the fall is instantaneous AND at the start of the round ( or the point in the round where the fall starts) then a reaction that activates at the completion is useless. If the reaction can occur before the fall starts or if the fall starts but finishes at the end of the round then there is time for the reaction to occur.
In the core rule a fall happen in no time specified. They clarified it in Xanathat's Guide to Everything what is assumed by that before introducing the optional rule for rate of falling from a great height.
For those interested, its also an opinion shared by the Devs that its instantaneous.
@JeremyECrawford The basic falling rules in D&D assume a fall is instantaneous. If you'd like rules for a very long fall, take a look at the section called "Falling" in "Xanathar's Guide to Everything" (p. 77).
Thanks for this. I do appreciate getting the thoughts of the designers when trying to dig into the reason why things are the way they are in the books. It seems weird to assume that a fall from any distance is instantaneous without a rule to say as much. I generally expect things in D&D as behaving more or less like they do in the real world, unless there is a rule or guidance to change that expectation.
Thanks for this. I do appreciate getting the thoughts of the designers when trying to dig into the reason why things are the way they are in the books. It seems weird to assume that a fall from any distance is instantaneous without a rule to say as much. I generally expect things in D&D as behaving more or less like they do in the real world, unless there is a rule or guidance to change that expectation.
You're welcome, glad you appreciate. There is a lot of D&D rules that don't behave like real world, mainly for simplicity's sake. Simialrly, an arrow is fired from a bow 600 feet away in no time because the core rules don't mention any and it's assumed to be instantaneous but in reality an arrow don't take the same time to travel 20 feet than 600 feet.
What'll really blow your mind is that technically if you use the "immediately" fall 500ft rules, that happens "instantaneously... if the distance is less than 500ft, then they fall immediately, and are at no "point in time" a "falling creature". So you can't even use feather fall at all unless the distance is over 500ft.
That's why all the existing rules on falling, even the "updated" ones, are problematic.
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I got quotes!
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As it says on the title, what rate do creatures fall at before Feather Fall is cast on them? I can't seem to find anywhere where the rate of decent for falling creature is at least roughly defined, the only point of reference for the rate of decent is when Feather Fall has been cast, reducing it to 60ft/round.
A hypothetical situation that brought about this thought and search for answers was if the adventurer had access to Feather Fall, but had used their reaction in the round they being falling in. They could still be falling in the subsequent round if the height was big enough, but how far do they fall in that first round? How many rounds is 200, 400, 600, etc., feet for the adventurer?
In general I think the revision of the rules coming next year could tidy up and/or clarify some of these simple mechanics that have been left vage for editions. Might also be a waste of time as I doubt this really bugs many people.
ProDM on StartPlaying. Running weekly paid campaigns: https://startplaying.games/gm/platinumpiece
I think Xanathar book suggests 500 feet per round.
The core rule for falling assumes that a creature immediately drops the entire distance when it falls, unless you're using the optional rules in Xanathat's Guide to Everything, for a rate of falling 500 ft./round. So the outcome will depend on which rule is used and the distance fallen.;
Core rule: Fall all the way.
Optional Rule: Fall 500 feet, then next round, cast Feather Fall.
Falling
Falling from a great height is a significant risk for adventurers and their foes. The rule given in the Player’s Handbook is simple: at the end of a fall, you take 1d6 bludgeoning damage for every 10 feet you fell, to a maximum of 20d6. You also land prone, unless you somehow avoid taking damage from the fall. Here are two optional rules that expand on that simple rule.
Rate of Falling
The rule for falling assumes that a creature immediately drops the entire distance when it falls. But what if a creature is at a high altitude when it falls, perhaps on the back of a griffon or on board an airship? Realistically, a fall from such a height can take more than a few seconds, extending past the end of the turn when the fall occurred. If you’d like high-altitude falls to be properly time-consuming, use the following optional rule.
When you fall from a great height, you instantly descend up to 500 feet. If you’re still falling on your next turn, you descend up to 500 feet at the end of that turn. This process continues until the fall ends, either because you hit the ground or the fall is otherwise halted.
As up2ng, said, per xanathar’s, creatures fall at 500 feet per round. So if someone has used their reaction already, the fall would need to be 501 feet or more for them to have a chance to cast feather fall.
Thanks all!
Odd to think that the base rule is an assumption of the entire distance regardless of how large the measurement is. I think I'll find myself a copy of Xanathars next time I'm at my friendly LGS.
ProDM on StartPlaying. Running weekly paid campaigns: https://startplaying.games/gm/platinumpiece
Spot on with Dev's suggestion for that matter;
Something to remember with featherfall is it only has a duration of 1 minute so if the fall is more than 600 ft the spell will end before you reach the ground (In my campaign last week, I had to ask the DM how high we were to see if I needed ot cast earth find to turn extend the 60ft descent rate by 10 minutes.
1 minute is 10 rounds. At 500 per round, that comes to 5,000 feet before the spell ends.
While the spell is active, you aren't falling at 500 per round, you're falling at 60.
Ahhhh. Thank you
As you start falling, you basically cast Feather Fall as a reaction, slowly falling 60 ft/round until you land or the spell ends after 600 feet on the 11th round, at which point you fall if still in midair (rinse and repeat if you have spell slots)
The problem with that is that the fall is supposed to be instantaneous so there is no time even for a reaction and you simply smash into the ground full force (OUCH). As a home rule I have the fall occur (instantaneously) at the end of the round not the start allowing time for reactions etc. for the OP’s info - the 500’/round is a round off of the distance you would fall from 0 ft/sec over a 6 second fall under earth gravity ( I did the calc once and I believe the actual distance was 560’).
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
The reaction is meant to interrupt before you fall, according to reaction timing, it must happen before it's trigger rather than after;
FYI, this site does a nice job adding a bit of nuance/verisimilitude to falling rules:
https://www.hipstersanddragons.com/falling-damage-5e-dnd/
I disagree with this statement. The core rules make no mention of rate of falling--only what happens when you land. If a DM wanted to run cinematic falling, there is nothing in the falling rules (outside of XGtE) that would run afoul of RAW. You could infer that because the rules don't describe a rate of falling, it means you fall the entire distance all at once, but it would be exactly that--your inference.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
In the core rule a fall happen in no time specified. They clarified it in Xanathat's Guide to Everything what is assumed by that before introducing the optional rule for rate of falling from a great height.
For those interested, its also an opinion shared by the Devs that its instantaneous.
I don’t disagree, but I was pointing out that if the fall is instantaneous AND at the start of the round ( or the point in the round where the fall starts) then a reaction that activates at the completion is useless. If the reaction can occur before the fall starts or if the fall starts but finishes at the end of the round then there is time for the reaction to occur.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
Thanks for this. I do appreciate getting the thoughts of the designers when trying to dig into the reason why things are the way they are in the books. It seems weird to assume that a fall from any distance is instantaneous without a rule to say as much. I generally expect things in D&D as behaving more or less like they do in the real world, unless there is a rule or guidance to change that expectation.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
You're welcome, glad you appreciate. There is a lot of D&D rules that don't behave like real world, mainly for simplicity's sake. Simialrly, an arrow is fired from a bow 600 feet away in no time because the core rules don't mention any and it's assumed to be instantaneous but in reality an arrow don't take the same time to travel 20 feet than 600 feet.
What'll really blow your mind is that technically if you use the "immediately" fall 500ft rules, that happens "instantaneously... if the distance is less than 500ft, then they fall immediately, and are at no "point in time" a "falling creature". So you can't even use feather fall at all unless the distance is over 500ft.
That's why all the existing rules on falling, even the "updated" ones, are problematic.
I got quotes!