Fall Damage

Definition

Fall Damage is damage taken from a character struck with the force of their own mass and gravity against another object, usually the terrain. Generally, characters take fall damage when they fall a significant height from an elevated position down to the ground below.

Effects

When a character falls far enough, they take Fall damage, this is a modified damage type, so it generally counts as Blunt/Bludgeoning and Gravity for determining damage resistances and immunities. Abilities that change how 'Fall damage' is applied also affect damage taken. The amount of damage taken is determined by the character's Body or Reflex, their size (in height) and distance fallen. There is also a difference between a Safe fall and a dangerous one.

When a character falls further than their height, their speed will be reduced to 0 for one frame as they try to recover from the high fall. If the character takes any fall Damage from this, they fall Prone, and must spend a frame to stand back up before they can move normally (otherwise they can only move and act while prone).

Trigger

Fall damage starts when a character safely falls a distance greater than their height (in feet), however the character's Body or Reflex value subtracts from fall damage from any safe lands (whichever is better). There is a difference between when falling damage should start and when a character actually takes damage from a fall.

There is a Minimum Height of 5ft to trigger Fall damage for all creatures and characters so long as they make safe falls or landings. So creatures who are shorter than this value can still fall this distance without fear of taking fall damage. This does not apply for forced and unsafe falls.

Effect

Damage
Characters takes 1 damage per foot fallen beyond their height until they fall a distance equal to double the relevant core, in which case they take 2 damage per foot fallen total.

This damage increases for every multiple of their Body/Reflex exceeded, so falling three times as far causes 3 falling damage per foot fallen. This continues until the fall damage multiplier reaches four times. The multiplier is applied to total damage of the fall.

Stagger / Prone
If a character falls further than their height but takes no damage due to their Body/Reflex, the character's speed is reduced to 0 for one frame. If they do take fall damage, they are instead forced Prone, and must spend an Action-Frame to stand up.

Size Affects Fall Damage
For creatures of Size-2 or larger, multiply the amount of falling damage they resist equal to their Size-Rating. So a Size-8 creature with a Body of 12 will be able to resist up to 96 falling damage if they fall a distance greater than their own height.

Characters who are Small or smaller may suffer less Fall damage compared to those of Medium size or larger. There is a Minimum Height to when falling damage can trigger, to ensure very small characters don't break easily. The table below shows the modifiers for each size category:

Size Category	Falling Damage Modifier
Medium and Larger	Fall Damage Reduction equal to Body/Reflex * Size.
Small	Double Body/Reflex for calculating Fall damage reduction.
Tiny	As Small, but also gain Resistance to Fall Damage.
Diminutive	As Tiny, but also cap Long-Fall damage multiplier to x2, and doesn't get staggered or forced prone from falls.
Fine	As Diminiutive, but does not receive fall damage under normal conditions.

Unsafe Falls

Examples given above assume the character is bracing or prepared for a fall as they land, landing on their feet or at the very least upright for their body type. Landing unsafely is to hit a surface on vulnerable parts of the body not designed to withstand impact.

When a character makes an unsafe landing, they lose their Body or Reflex damage reduction to the fall damage. So a character with 12 Body or Reflex would no longer reduce fall damage taken by 12.

Unsafe landings from a distance equal or less than the character's height take d6 falling damage * their Size-rating.

Forced Falls

Another form of unsafe fall damage is when a character is forcibly moved or slammed into terrain such as walls. While the character does not 'fall' in the traditional sense, the impact generated still follows the same rules. The most common form of forced fall is from the Knockback effect, an instantaneous status inflicted by kinetic forces and attacks.

If the character is knocked away in some direction, they can roll a combined Body & Reflex save against the attacker's Knockback Magnitude. If they succeed they can apply the greater value of their Body or Reflex core to reduce damage of the fall and  they can avoid falling prone or stagger from the impact.

Saving Throw Formula
♦ d12 + Character's Body or Reflex + Other Modifiers.
♦ If Saved: Apply damage reduction, not prone or staggered.
♦ If Failed, but less than Body/Reflex: Take half damage, staggered after impact.
♦ If Failed, but >= Body/Reflex: Take full damage, prone after impact.

Knock Directionality against Surfaces

When a character is thrown, pushed or otherwise forced into movement then collides with a solid surface. Determine the distance vertically and horizontally in increments of 5ft (round up or down as necessary). The kind of surface impacted and knockback type used determines the 'distance fallen' for dealing damage.

If the effect is a Knockdown, then the vertical distance is half the thrown character's height.

If the effect is Knockback or Knockup, you can add the Knockback's horizontal and added vertical distance as well (respectively). These will determine the total Fall distance. The table below details the distance fallen based on the knocked character's destination, which is the Floor if nowhere else. Knockback assumes about a maximum of 45 degrees of variance.

Knock-Direction	On Floor	On Wall	On Ceiling
Down	1/2 character's height	-	-
Back	1/2 character's height	Distance pushed	-
Up	Distance pushed	-	Distance pushed

For calculating damage, only use the surface impacted. if the character fails their Reflex save, they are treated as prone on the ground. If they fall from a wall or ceiling impact zone, the character can suffer additional fall damage, they can attempt additional saves or try to land safely if able.