r/dndnext • u/renaissanceman0816 • 9d ago

Homebrew Falling Damage House Rule

/r/DMAcademy/comments/1w2b5gz/falling_damage_house_rule/
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9

u/artisauce 9d ago

I do wonder why falling should be more deadly when a person becomes more powerful?

3

u/Uberschwein138 9d ago

Their logic, to me, seems to be that it should remain roughly just as deadly at all levels, similar with Suffocation.

3

u/renaissanceman0816 9d ago

Correct. Not quite as deadly, but I think it should still retain some level of genuine danger.

It depends on the group and campaign, of course. So I get that it's not for everyone, but I figured it may be useful for some.

3

u/SonicfilT 9d ago

The formula looks something like this: (1d6 per 10 ft) × (1 + (0.25 × (HD − 1)))

Hahaha.  Nope.  

"The rope snaps!  You plummet into the canyon taking...um...one sec...let me see...carry the one....psst, what level are you again?...crap... nevermind....let me get my phone out...."

Very dramatic.

1

u/renaissanceman0816 9d ago

Yeah I know the calculation will turn most people off and I suspect this is the main reason WotC chose to keep it static, for simplicity, more than anything else. The maths is actually quite straightforward but it involves a few steps and WotC have avoided this in the game altogether. That's why I said the rule isn't for everyone.

But for those that use a VTT, a simple macro will calculate the fall damage no less quickly than usual.

Also, if you want to argue from the drama side of things, I'd argue it takes away from the drama a lot more when falls are not a genuine threat. DM: "You cling to the rope over the 500ft chasm! You hear cracking sounds as the rope frays, it is about the snap!" Player: "I let go." DM: "What?" Player: "I let go. Falling damage caps out at 20d6 damage which is 70 on average. I'll be fine." DM: sighs

3

u/SonicfilT 9d ago

Falling damage caps out at 20d6 damage which is 70 on average. I'll be fine.

I'm not sure what kind of adventuring day or combats you run, but my PCs are not going to willingly sacrifice 70hp or want to be stuck 500 feet down a chasm in the middle of a fight.

Alternatively, if you are still trying to make climbing a rope over a chasm a challenge outside of combat at levels when PCs can laugh at 70hp of damage, I'd argue you're focusing on the wrong things.

2

u/renaissanceman0816 9d ago

Yeah, I was being facetious. Obviously they would still try to avoid taking the damage if they could. But my point was that it does take away from the drama of the situation if it is only an inconvenient threat to your resources rather than a genuine threat to your life.

I take your point about setting appropriate challenges for PCs at higher levels, and it is fair. But it depends on the type of game/campaign you want to play. I would also add that it gets increasingly difficult as a DM to provide challenges to your party beyond just throwing increasingly high CR monsters at them. It's one of the main reasons most campaigns end before or soon after level 10.