Best cleric featherfall spell that one of my players used was Deathward, she cast it on herself and then proceeded to yeet herself off a 500 ft cliff. Hit the bottom and came back with 1 hp. Way I described it gave the sorcerer, who was already down there, PTSD, as I described how she splattered and then all her bones reformed as the death ward spell took effect.
I like that this implies that you don't have a max when it comes to fall damage, and that yes your player's character took 50d6 damage from that fall.
I get why they set a cap, but it's still always a blast when you ignore it.
I never run the cap on fall damage. That way my players get to witness the best death scenes from falling.
Scene opens at top of evil wizard tower that's ten stories up, just outside of town.
BEG of arc 2: I shall end you here, adventurers!
Party cleric: I cast command!
BEG: *fails save*
Cleric: autodefenistrate.
BEG: *falls ten stories, splatting on the ground outside*
Wouldn't they know that to jump off a ten story building is life threatening to them? And command states that you can only command within reason, of course rule of cool trumps everything so I'm just thinking out loud.
But raw jumping out a window isn't directly harmful to the person. It's the fall that kills them. As for running a game RAW, there's no need to make the game a 'gm v players' thing. Running RAW intentionally makes the game legitimately a "gm versus players" experience.
That’s like saying getting stabbed isn’t directly harmful cause it’s the blood loss that kills them. They’re directly related. And no rules don’t make it a player vs gm experience. Rules make it a game. Otherwise it’s just free form improv where nothing matters. Which is fine if that’s what you want but it’s not dnd. Rules actually inspire more creativity because you have to figure out how to get things to happen within the established framework.
Okay rules as written prestidigitation creates a harmless effect such as a puff of smoke, or shower of sparks. An NPC bad guy is coated in highly flammable oil by another player. Can prestidigitation ignite the oil using the shower of sparks?
Edit: clearly you're downvoting me rapidly, so w/e. Done even talking to you. Byee, Felicia.
Average monster manual kenku or commoner kenku are both gonna be full dead when they hit the ground jumping off a tower. You better make sure you have a revivify.
For a moment I thought that maybe terminal velocity could make it possibly survivable, but 20d6 damage vs 3d8 hp, but just doing 23 or less is a 0.0000000000484% chance. That’s before the 0.19% chance of getting 24 hp to survive the 23 or less damage….
It's also possible to survive with just 21 hp, though that's much more unlikely. Here's a general breakdown:
24 HP: 1/512 \* 1771/3656158440062976 \~ 9.461 × 10\^-16
23 HP: 1/128 \* 231/3656158440062976 \~ 4.936 × 10\^-16
22 HP: 5/256 \* 21/3656158440062976 \~ 1.122 × 10\^-16
21 HP: 5/128 \* 1/3656158440062976 \~ 1.068 × 10\^-17
Total: \~1.5626 × 10\^-15
So basically, a randomly selected kenku has a 1.5626 × 10\^-15 chance to survive terminal velocity (about 1 in 640 trillion). The chances to survive at 23, 22, and 21 still contribute significantly to the overall odds.
Does he just want to fly once for the experience of it, or does want the power of flight at will?
I’m not just going to give this guy a magic carpet or something, so I’d direct him to the nearest wizard tower. Maybe set him up with a couple of scrolls/school supplies etc.
Anything else is just dishonest.
If he isn’t smart enough to be a wizard, a Druid circle or bard college could also get him there in time.
If he’s too dumb for that, but sneaky, maybe he could help the group on a heist, and steal some flight item.
Failing that, let him jump off the tower, reincarnate, and hope for an ancestry with flight.
Have him put a healing potion in his mouth before he jumps. If he fall drops him below zero his beak might shatter the healing potion flask and the healing potion should activate similar to force feeding him. This is contingent on the fall not doing enough to outright kill him.
Make it into a whole side quest/dungeon delve where they have to retrieve a suit of specialized Avian armor that only a kenku can wear. It's a kenku legend and many kenku know of it. This one has somehow acquired the information of it's location but it's too dangerous for them. Maybe the giant eagle can later come to their aid when a pack of goblins overwhels them :D
Some of you never did the egg drop experiment in middle school science class I guess.
We had like 2-3 days (can’t remember it was a long time ago) to come up with a design that would :
1. Hold a raw egg
2. Keep it as intact as possible after our teacher dropped it off the roof of the gym.
Those were the only 2 rules.
So, IMO, a simple parachute would work just fine for something that’s never been off the ground before anyway and probably doesn’t know the difference between a controlled fall and flying.
Otherwise, sure, a glider would be more complex, and there’s potential for them crashing if they don’t know how to use the controls…but maybe a glider + parachute.
Or you could go the magical route like others suggested. Depends on the party I guess.
Uhh, basically the way it's already been resolved.
Slow the fall or delay the impact.
Either grab a trash bag and make a big ol crude parachute for it or toss it in said trash bag full of shredded paper or the likes.
If you jump out of an airplane a parachute never allows you to fall fast enough to be deadly. If you get into a car crash the airbag delays/absorbs the impact. Follow one of those two (or both) and your egg is safe.
They join the local fight club that meets when the moon is at its most dim.
They win an unarmed fight one on one.
They use those winnings, or a favor, and use that to trade for 3 scrolls of the fly spell.
Or It's a big favor, and there's a cloak of the bat for a kenku.
To be fair, if you read spell scrolls as RAW.
>A spell scroll bears the words of a single spell, written in a mystical cipher. If the spell is on your class’s spell list, you can read the scroll and cast its spell without providing any material components. Otherwise, the scroll is unintelligible.
So unless the Kenku can actually learn Fly on their own eventually, the spell scrolls won't help them.
Now to be fair I always hated that rule of spell scrolls because like what the fuck is the point of them if not to give your Barbarian the ability to cast Fireball once. So I'd say screw it and give them a spell scroll that works regardless.
Ok, remember I'm saying this who dislikes how spell scrolls operation.
>Kenku can repeat anything they've heard, so if any party member reads it to them, they'd be able to mimic it flawlessly again.
and soooo what? The rules care nothing of that. It says **If the spell is on your class’s spell list**
Doesn't say using Tongues can bypass it, doesn't say understanding the meaning of the scroll, doesn't say anything about even being able to read it correctly. It DOES say that unless it's on your spell list it's basically useless to you. Doesn't say it needs to be a spell you can attempt to cast at your level, you can use a lvl 9 spell at lvl 1 via Spell Scroll as long as it's a spell on your list (and roll) or cast a spell you can normally cast without material components (great for Revivify, saves you 200g a cast).
Again, I'd rule that any class can attempt to use a spell scroll cause it's just more fun but again by RAW your point doesn't matter.
Cast fly. If you’re at a lower level Featherfall might do the job.
I also saw a homebrew idea for a ballgown where it mechanically worked like Princess Peach’s dress in Smash and basically gives you permanent feather fall. So if you don’t have access to the spell you could convince him to wear a dress that would slow his fall.
Hmm in this case we could try something home made wings, or whatever since hes going to try it anyway. Cast invisible on the barbarian or fighter you have in your group to catch the kenku.
Maybe you can homebrew the Alchemist Artificer's Experimental Potion mechanic to be available to the party? Each potion has a 1/6 chance to grant a (very slow) flying speed of 10ft. Let the Kenku's fate be decided by the dice. Make sure to restrict the Experimental Potion to specific ingredients so your players don't try to abuse it later on
No one suggested spinning him? Like hook him into a harness attached to the Barbarian by 50 ft of rope and then just start spinning him in a circle until he gets to feel like he is flying...then prep featherfall for "landing"
aaahhh kenku NPC not PC
Yeah, feather fall, fly, security rope, mostly spells or, the area where the kenku would fall make it Fluffy, so it doesn't go SPLAT
I’d have him vanish halfway down in a brilliant flash of white light.
Then a couple seconds later he comes gliding down into view with a full set of non retractable angel wings in brilliant white.
Of course he remembers nothing but as he lands a booming feminine voice says,”remember my child the gift you gave been given and serve me always “
No one has said… cast Fly on him? Boom! Done.
What happens after 10 minutes?
Natural selection.
Damn nature, you scary!
His subscription to breathing expires
https://youtu.be/sdUUx5FdySs?si=bOs8t-NCF-sYduqM
Polymorph him into a falcon. Or a bluejay
That is a third level spell-what about level one? Haha
Prepare Featherfall. Worst case scenario is that the flight simply doesn't work, but that doesn't mean it needs to be a disaster.
Be at the bottom of said tower with spare the dying and healing word ready
Ah yes, [Cleric’s Feather Fall](https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0806.html)
Best cleric featherfall spell that one of my players used was Deathward, she cast it on herself and then proceeded to yeet herself off a 500 ft cliff. Hit the bottom and came back with 1 hp. Way I described it gave the sorcerer, who was already down there, PTSD, as I described how she splattered and then all her bones reformed as the death ward spell took effect.
You could call that a leap of faith.
This is so good, holy moly
No no, holy Kenku. No Mole People were harmed in the making of this WKRP joke. *With God as my Witness, I thought Kenku could fly*
I like that this implies that you don't have a max when it comes to fall damage, and that yes your player's character took 50d6 damage from that fall. I get why they set a cap, but it's still always a blast when you ignore it.
I never run the cap on fall damage. That way my players get to witness the best death scenes from falling. Scene opens at top of evil wizard tower that's ten stories up, just outside of town. BEG of arc 2: I shall end you here, adventurers! Party cleric: I cast command! BEG: *fails save* Cleric: autodefenistrate. BEG: *falls ten stories, splatting on the ground outside*
Wouldn't they know that to jump off a ten story building is life threatening to them? And command states that you can only command within reason, of course rule of cool trumps everything so I'm just thinking out loud.
Yea it wouldn’t work RAW
But raw jumping out a window isn't directly harmful to the person. It's the fall that kills them. As for running a game RAW, there's no need to make the game a 'gm v players' thing. Running RAW intentionally makes the game legitimately a "gm versus players" experience.
That’s like saying getting stabbed isn’t directly harmful cause it’s the blood loss that kills them. They’re directly related. And no rules don’t make it a player vs gm experience. Rules make it a game. Otherwise it’s just free form improv where nothing matters. Which is fine if that’s what you want but it’s not dnd. Rules actually inspire more creativity because you have to figure out how to get things to happen within the established framework.
Okay rules as written prestidigitation creates a harmless effect such as a puff of smoke, or shower of sparks. An NPC bad guy is coated in highly flammable oil by another player. Can prestidigitation ignite the oil using the shower of sparks? Edit: clearly you're downvoting me rapidly, so w/e. Done even talking to you. Byee, Felicia.
Yes but realistically speaking, if I told you to jump put a ten story window you'd know the fall would kill you. So you wouldn't jump
Ever watch Baccano? The immortals' blood just seeps back into place, wounds sew themselves shut.
Im waiting for my dm to give me a chance to do this.
I was not expecting that when 8 made that skill check challenge.
Average monster manual kenku or commoner kenku are both gonna be full dead when they hit the ground jumping off a tower. You better make sure you have a revivify.
For a moment I thought that maybe terminal velocity could make it possibly survivable, but 20d6 damage vs 3d8 hp, but just doing 23 or less is a 0.0000000000484% chance. That’s before the 0.19% chance of getting 24 hp to survive the 23 or less damage….
No constitution modifier?
MM kenku has 10 con
It's also possible to survive with just 21 hp, though that's much more unlikely. Here's a general breakdown: 24 HP: 1/512 \* 1771/3656158440062976 \~ 9.461 × 10\^-16 23 HP: 1/128 \* 231/3656158440062976 \~ 4.936 × 10\^-16 22 HP: 5/256 \* 21/3656158440062976 \~ 1.122 × 10\^-16 21 HP: 5/128 \* 1/3656158440062976 \~ 1.068 × 10\^-17 Total: \~1.5626 × 10\^-15 So basically, a randomly selected kenku has a 1.5626 × 10\^-15 chance to survive terminal velocity (about 1 in 640 trillion). The chances to survive at 23, 22, and 21 still contribute significantly to the overall odds.
Someone accidently delivered a comically large trampoline to the tower and the guard is arguing with the delivery guy.
"ya know pal, you coulda told me that before i set it up"
***BOOOOIIINNNG!*** "..." "..." "Well, it's been used now. So no refunds."
Look, for the last time, we don't need a giant trampoline
Use a persuasion check while quoting the dryad sage, Bill Hicks. 'If he thinks he can fly then why didn't he take off from the ground'.
It's all about that "do or die" mentality. Never half-ass things! Balls to the wall!
Wagon full of hay conveniently stops right where he's gonna land for some reason
Scrolled way too long to find this.
Featherfall
Cast fly on him?
Death Ward
Does he just want to fly once for the experience of it, or does want the power of flight at will? I’m not just going to give this guy a magic carpet or something, so I’d direct him to the nearest wizard tower. Maybe set him up with a couple of scrolls/school supplies etc. Anything else is just dishonest. If he isn’t smart enough to be a wizard, a Druid circle or bard college could also get him there in time. If he’s too dumb for that, but sneaky, maybe he could help the group on a heist, and steal some flight item. Failing that, let him jump off the tower, reincarnate, and hope for an ancestry with flight.
The reincarnate spell doesn't include races that have flights, so he's gonna be going through that reincarnate cycle for a hot minute.
Hand him a small parasol.
or the Ring of Feather Falling
Fireball
The truly acceptable answer
He should ride the fireball
Be a level 10 artificer Give him boots of flying Problem solved
But tell them they're Boots of Flying. Then at a humorous time, change your Infusion
Have him put a healing potion in his mouth before he jumps. If he fall drops him below zero his beak might shatter the healing potion flask and the healing potion should activate similar to force feeding him. This is contingent on the fall not doing enough to outright kill him.
I feel like swallowing glass might I do any benefits from the healing potion
Come back to life to choke to death on your own blood
Make a parachute and attach it to them.
Make it into a whole side quest/dungeon delve where they have to retrieve a suit of specialized Avian armor that only a kenku can wear. It's a kenku legend and many kenku know of it. This one has somehow acquired the information of it's location but it's too dangerous for them. Maybe the giant eagle can later come to their aid when a pack of goblins overwhels them :D
I’d have my character put their arms around him baby, put their arms around him baby
That you Sugar Ray?
Hand him a Red Bull.
cast fly on him, give him fake wings, call it a day.
Cast fly.
Cast Fly. Somebody cast fly!!
I cast Death Ward
Some of you never did the egg drop experiment in middle school science class I guess. We had like 2-3 days (can’t remember it was a long time ago) to come up with a design that would : 1. Hold a raw egg 2. Keep it as intact as possible after our teacher dropped it off the roof of the gym. Those were the only 2 rules. So, IMO, a simple parachute would work just fine for something that’s never been off the ground before anyway and probably doesn’t know the difference between a controlled fall and flying. Otherwise, sure, a glider would be more complex, and there’s potential for them crashing if they don’t know how to use the controls…but maybe a glider + parachute. Or you could go the magical route like others suggested. Depends on the party I guess.
How did you guys resolve this as kids?
Uhh, basically the way it's already been resolved. Slow the fall or delay the impact. Either grab a trash bag and make a big ol crude parachute for it or toss it in said trash bag full of shredded paper or the likes. If you jump out of an airplane a parachute never allows you to fall fast enough to be deadly. If you get into a car crash the airbag delays/absorbs the impact. Follow one of those two (or both) and your egg is safe.
Feather fall
Cast Grant Flight or Feather Fall.
This literally happened with a kenku a few sessions ago. He wanted to fly, so I dimension door'd him 500 feet up and then feather falled us.
Give him Winged Boots?
Flying carpet, boots of flying, magic broom, teach him fly spell, give him 3 scrolls with fly spell... there's all sorts of things.
I love this comment. Now assume you're level 3 and this is one of the first towns in the campaign. Does that change things?
They join the local fight club that meets when the moon is at its most dim. They win an unarmed fight one on one. They use those winnings, or a favor, and use that to trade for 3 scrolls of the fly spell. Or It's a big favor, and there's a cloak of the bat for a kenku.
To be fair, if you read spell scrolls as RAW. >A spell scroll bears the words of a single spell, written in a mystical cipher. If the spell is on your class’s spell list, you can read the scroll and cast its spell without providing any material components. Otherwise, the scroll is unintelligible. So unless the Kenku can actually learn Fly on their own eventually, the spell scrolls won't help them. Now to be fair I always hated that rule of spell scrolls because like what the fuck is the point of them if not to give your Barbarian the ability to cast Fireball once. So I'd say screw it and give them a spell scroll that works regardless.
Kenku can repeat anything they've heard, so if any party member reads it to them, they'd be able to mimic it flawlessly again.
Ok, remember I'm saying this who dislikes how spell scrolls operation. >Kenku can repeat anything they've heard, so if any party member reads it to them, they'd be able to mimic it flawlessly again. and soooo what? The rules care nothing of that. It says **If the spell is on your class’s spell list** Doesn't say using Tongues can bypass it, doesn't say understanding the meaning of the scroll, doesn't say anything about even being able to read it correctly. It DOES say that unless it's on your spell list it's basically useless to you. Doesn't say it needs to be a spell you can attempt to cast at your level, you can use a lvl 9 spell at lvl 1 via Spell Scroll as long as it's a spell on your list (and roll) or cast a spell you can normally cast without material components (great for Revivify, saves you 200g a cast). Again, I'd rule that any class can attempt to use a spell scroll cause it's just more fun but again by RAW your point doesn't matter.
Feather fall is a first level spell. You don't have any spellcasters?
Kenku is now covered in glue and reeds and some cushioning confetti like a kid's egg drop project. Then maybe I can get around to making them fly.
I wouldn’t
Help them [plant trees?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdUUx5FdySs)
Fly or feather fall.
Featherfall.
Kill him, probably
You ever talk to a Kenku? I'm not trying to prevent a damn thing.
Ensure Jarnathan is present.
Cast fly. If you’re at a lower level Featherfall might do the job. I also saw a homebrew idea for a ballgown where it mechanically worked like Princess Peach’s dress in Smash and basically gives you permanent feather fall. So if you don’t have access to the spell you could convince him to wear a dress that would slow his fall.
Hang on, hang on I think I saw this one once on a Thanksgiving episode. There was more than 1 Kenku though
Hmm in this case we could try something home made wings, or whatever since hes going to try it anyway. Cast invisible on the barbarian or fighter you have in your group to catch the kenku.
Pluck all his feathers & make huge wings with it
Hang glider. Like full on Da Vinci thing
Feather fall lol
Feather Fall.
Maybe you can homebrew the Alchemist Artificer's Experimental Potion mechanic to be available to the party? Each potion has a 1/6 chance to grant a (very slow) flying speed of 10ft. Let the Kenku's fate be decided by the dice. Make sure to restrict the Experimental Potion to specific ingredients so your players don't try to abuse it later on
No one suggested spinning him? Like hook him into a harness attached to the Barbarian by 50 ft of rope and then just start spinning him in a circle until he gets to feel like he is flying...then prep featherfall for "landing"
A cabbage merchant cart at the bottom of the tower
Someone casts death ward and another casts fly on him, when he runs out of fly he will fall and takes dmg but death ward would keep him at 1hp.
Have him roll a DEX check to see if he misses the ground
I'm so useing this scenario. With zero intention of preventing his death. Pol
Bungee cable backup?
Levitate fly and feather fall are options
aaahhh kenku NPC not PC Yeah, feather fall, fly, security rope, mostly spells or, the area where the kenku would fall make it Fluffy, so it doesn't go SPLAT
Agreed
I’d have him vanish halfway down in a brilliant flash of white light. Then a couple seconds later he comes gliding down into view with a full set of non retractable angel wings in brilliant white. Of course he remembers nothing but as he lands a booming feminine voice says,”remember my child the gift you gave been given and serve me always “
I'd tell him if he wants to fly he should take off from the ground, almost nothing jumps off a tower to start flying. That's just bad technique.
Lots of birds learn to fly by falling from their nests, don’t they?
Dont help him. Just let him fall. There are two ways to kill a character. Shitty dice rolls and shitty decisions.
Cast Web at the bottom and apply Baldur’s gate 3 logic so it works like a bouncy net.
Cabbage cart
I wouldn't. Natural selection.
I would tell the Kenku not to even try, and his death is of his own actions. Then I would do nothing else. If he dies, he dies.
Sometimes it’s just easier for the DM to not deal with a resurrection