Falling onto Trees

[BrockNicholson]

I understand the basic formula to calculate falling damage. My question is how would one model falling onto trees or other spear like objects?

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by BrockNicholson

I understand the basic formula to calculate falling damage. My question is how would one model falling onto trees or other spear like objects?

Spearlike objects would do impaling damage if you fall onto their points.

Trees usually would not be spear-like objects to a human...

[BrockNicholson]

So you think taking the typical damage formula and using impaling instead of crushing accounts for the damage caused? That makes a lot of sense, I don't know why I didn't think of it myself. I suppose I was overcomplicating the scenario. Thanks.

And yeah, trees are not normally spear like to humans, but to a particularly unlucky vampire parts of a tree would be spear like. :)

Hopefully my players think to check their plane for traps before they take off.

[Turhan's Bey Company]

Originally Posted by BrockNicholson

And yeah, trees are not normally spear like to humans, but to a particularly unlucky vampire parts of a tree would be spear like. :)

Well, they'd be equally spear-like (or not spear-like) for anybody. The thing about falling into a tree is that trees are mostly not composed of rigid bits pointing straight up at you. There's a lot more in the way of leaves and thin springy or easily snapped branches pointing every which way, breaking your fall by absorbing energy as you go and not hurting you so much. I'd probably count falling into trees as falling onto a soft surface, but rolling some dice against the possibility of hitting a solid and maybe even up-pointing branch and getting that nasty impaling or at least crushing damage, which would be ever so bad for the living and the undead alike.

[BrockNicholson]

I was thinking of giving the players a chance to roll against acrobatics to intentionally avoid sharp bits, and making a second 12 or higher roll gets you impaled for those that don't have acrobatics or fail their attempt. Does that seem like a fair chance or should I raise the threshold for impalement?

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by BrockNicholson

I was thinking of giving the players a chance to roll against acrobatics to intentionally avoid sharp bits, and making a second 12 or higher roll gets you impaled for those that don't have acrobatics or fail their attempt. Does that seem like a fair chance or should I raise the threshold for impalement?

While I have no statistics on the likelyhood of impalement by falling into trees, my impulse would be that that's way too high. Very little of a tree resembles an upward-pointing spear.

[lexington]

Originally Posted by BrockNicholson

So you think taking the typical damage formula and using impaling instead of crushing accounts for the damage caused? That makes a lot of sense, I don't know why I didn't think of it myself. I suppose I was overcomplicating the scenario. Thanks.

I believe damage is halved.