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Defining Fall Damage
How To Calculate Fall Damage
Things That Affect Fall Damage
Some may say that the most dangerous part of is the Dungeon Master, but an arguably more dangerous part is the player. Many campaigns have ended with good ideas going badly, bad ideas going well, or just straight-up bad ideas going bad.
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The stronger a player character gets and the more powerful gear and skills they gain, the more they transform into a walking glass case of nitroglycerin. One way that players tend to hurt themselves beyond recognition is by falling, but there are multiple factors to take into effect when you calculate fall damage.
Updated March 8, 2024, by Sean Murray: High-flying adventures can sometimes have high-flying consequences. If you're looking to prevent a deadly fall, this guide has you covered. We've updated this guide with our latest formatting, given it a few more helpful pointers to avoid fall damage, and given it more links to other helpful D&D topics.
Defining Fall Damage
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Unlike a majority of video games, Dungeons & Dragons realism very seriously, save for all the fantastical elements that define it. Although there is a wide range of species, each with its strengths and weaknesses, most of them will still take plenty of damage from falling a long way to the ground.
Player characters and NPCs are eligible to receive fall damage once they fall further than ten feet. However, take into effect equipment, racial bonuses, class bonuses, passive skills, and active magic before you dish out the damage dice.
How To Calculate Fall Damage
Based on the current version of Dungeons & Dragons, which is 5e, characters will take fall damage in batches of ten feet. After falling the first ten feet, a character has a chance to receive 1d6 of fall damage. Every additional ten feet adds another d6, for a maximum of 20d6.
This has a max damage output of 120 hit points, which is enough to kill a majority of player characters.
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Depending on the type of ground (rocky, spiky, grassy, etc.), you can add or subtract damage at your discretion. If they fall past the 20d6 mark, you don't add any additional damage dice, so this leads to the interesting scenario that a bulky character can fall thousands of feet and still only take a little over 100 points of damage.
For flying creatures, calculations are a bit different. If anything happens to the flyer to cause it to stop flying (being knocked prone, stunned by an attack, etc.) it starts falling from the distance it was when it was stopped.
However, for the sake of realism, most flyers will react somehow to reduce their speed when falling, like flapping. To calculate this, subtract the speed that the flyer was moving at from the fall height to get the right amount of d6s.
When it comes to falling during combat, you can discuss how best to treat it. A general rule of thumb is to treat falling as instantaneous. As an example, imagine a battle where two players are fighting an orc archer positioned on a watch tower. One player launches a spell at the orc, causing him to lose his balance and fall.
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The watch tower is 30 feet up (so the orc would take 3d6 fall damage), but the orc can hit the ground the moment he falls, or the group can discuss a scenario where player two tries to stop his descent somehow.
Falls from extreme height, however, cannot be considered instantaneous. If a creature falls from greater than 590 feet (the distance it would fall in six seconds, which is the time represented in a single round of combat), you'll have to determine how long it takes to reach the ground. This is only truly relevant when falling from a flying dragon or a hot air balloon or something.
Things That Affect Fall Damage
There are a number of spells, items, and abilities that can affect fall damage. Essentially, anything that grants flight prevents fall damage (provided that creature is still actively flying), and anything that provides resistance or immunity to bludgeoning also prevents fall damage. A few of these sources are listed below.
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Class Abilities
Class | Ability | Description |
|---|---|---|
Monk | Slow Fall | Reduces falling damage by five times your monk level. |
Barbarian | Rage | Provides resistance to bludgeoning damage, which cuts fall damage in half. |
Spells
Spell | Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
Feather Fall | 1st Level Spell | Reduces a falling creatures descent to 60 feet per round, takes no fall damage upon reaching ground. |
Levitate | 2nd Level Spell | Target levitates 20 feet above the ground, and gently floats to the ground once the spell ends. |
Fly | 3rd Level Spell | Provides a flying speed of up to 60 feet. Lasts 10 minutes (at which point the creature will fall if it's not on the ground). |
Items
Name | Rarity | Description |
|---|---|---|
Winged Boots | Uncommon | Grants flying speed equal to walking speed. When duration expires, descend at a rate of 30 feet per round. |
Wingwear | Uncommon | Gain flying speed of 30 ft. At the end of each turn, your altitude drops by five feet. |
Ring of Feather Falling | Uncommon | Provides the effects of Feather Fall when worn. |
Broom of Flying | Uncommon | Provides a flying speed of up to 50 feet. |
Species Abilities
Species | Ability | Description |
|---|---|---|
Aarakocra | Flight | Flying speed equal to walking speed. |
Aasimar | Celestial Revelation - Radiant Soul | Flying speed equal to walking speed. |
Air Genasi | Mingle with the Wind | Cast the spells Feather Fall, Levitate once per long rest. |
Fairy | Flight | Flying speed equal to walking speed. |
Owlin | Flight | Flying speed equal to walking speed. |
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