New Falling Damage Rules - Todd E. Schreiber I've developed a new set of rules for falling damage. The old rules were not as "scientifically" accurate, not to mention harder to use. Therefore, I have devised this new rule in hopes to make falling damage determination a little easier. These rules also provide for planned falls and jumping down from heights. Here's the formula, explanation to follow: Damage Points = Falling Points - Absorption Points Damage Points = (Dist x Sfc Mult) - (Mod AG - 2d10) How it works: 1. Falling Points are calculated based on distance fallen and landing surface. Falling Points = Distance (in feet) x Landing Surface Multiplier Landing Surface Multiplier Chart 0.5 = Water, Hay Stack, Giant Whoopee Cushion 1.0 = Hard Ground, Flat Rock, Asphalt Driveway 1.5 = Hard Protrusions, Jagged Rock, The California Coast line GM should assess Multiplier as he sees fit. Perhaps a 0.9 for a wooden floor. 2. Absorption Points are determined based on Mod. AG minus (-) a dice roll. For planned jumps, use just the Mod. AG without the dice roll. Absorption Points = Modified Agility - 2d10 (special - see note) Note 1 - Roll 2d10, but treat 0's as zero not ten, ie. a roll of 2&0 would total 2 and not 12. There is also a special rule for rolls of 99. If a fall results in damage to the character, and a 99 was rolled, then the character has received a broken neck. Note 2 - If it is a controlled fall or jump, rather than an uncontrolled fall, only one D10 is rolled and subtracted from Modified Agility. I.e. a character who decides to jump down into a 10 foot pit would use the controlled fall rules. A character that fell into a 10 foot pit that opened beneath his feet would use the regular uncontrolled fall rules. 3. Actual Damage Points are a result of subtracting Absorption Points from Falling Points. Actual damage is applied to Fatigue and then Endurance. Unlike combat damage, once Fatigue runs out, the remainder of the actual damage is subtracted from Endurance. Damage Points = Falling Points - Absorption Points 4. Grievous Injuries: For every 10 Endurance points taken due to a fall, roll a Class C grievous injury check. For most characters, you'd have to be dead to receive 2 grievous rolls. If the roll falls between 01-69, no grievous injury occurs. 70-00, take the grievous injury. EXAMPLE A: Bud gets pushed off a 35 foot cliff by a nasty Orc. Bud has FT=21, EN=19, and Mod AG=12. Lucky for Bud there are no jagged rocks where he lands. He rolls a 2&6 on his dice roll. He takes : (35'x1.0)-(12-8) = 35-4 = 31 points of damage. He loses all his Fatigue and 31-21 = 10 points to Endurance so he's down to 9 EN and rolls a grievous. 78! Oh no! A massive chest wound! Broken ribs and other nasty stuff, he takes 5 more Endurance, now he's down to 1 EN. In 4 months when he recovers, he'll kick the Orc's ass I'm sure. EXAMPLE B: Strongbow returns the favor to the Orc, unfortunately for the Orc, he doesn't miss the jagged rocks and boulders. The Orc has FT=24 EN=23 Mod AG=14. The Orc rolls a 7&9, he takes: (35x1.5)-(14-16) = 42-(-2) = 44 points of damage. All 24 FT and 20 more to EN now he's down to 3 EN, and has to roll for grievous twice. The first roll = 03, nothing. The second roll = 68, nothing again. The lucky Orc is unconscious but alive. EXAMPLE C: Strongbow, realizing that his friend is hurt, and that the Orc isn't dead yet, decides to jump down and correct the situation. FT=24 EN=17 Mod AG=14. He tosses down his pack and weapons (hope nothing broke), now his Mod AG is 17. He hangs off the side of the ledge, effectively reducing his fall by 5 feet, and jumps from there. He rolls 1 D10, a 9 and takes: (30x1.0)-(17-9) = 30-8=22 points of damage. He's got 2 FT and all 17 EN, plenty of strength to kill the Orc, and help the Dwarf to safety. (Optional) Miracle Rule: Everyone has heard about someone falling a great distance, and surviving, well maybe your character needs the same miracle. If your character dies from a fall, you can call upon the god(s) for just such a miracle. Calculate the damage the character took from the fall, and the resulting negative Endurance points. The Character can get 2 points of Endurance back, but has to make a Class C grievous check. A roll of 70-00 means the character takes that injury. However, should he roll 01-69, he will get the 2 points back on EN. The character can continue to do this until he is either alive or mutilated beyond all recognition. Basically any character that needs more than 4 EN points to regain life will have to be very lucky to survive. It might even be fun to keep a tally of the mounting injuries a character takes until he finally gives up. GM can pull the plug on the character after any grievous if he wants.