Flying & Falling (All)

[Zyraen]

NOTE : Except for the note in *, these are NOT house rules, they are standard rules for 4E from the Rules Compendium (RC for short). They are placed here for easy reference by Players not yet familiar with flying.

FLYING & FALLING

Fly Speed - RC Pg 210
You can take appropriate actions while flying. Unless you have an altitude limit, there's no need to be a certain number of squares above ground.
Altitude Limit only kicks in at the END of the Turn.

Flying Creatures that Fall - RC Pg 209
When calculating damage for flying creatures that fall, deduct the Creature's Fly Speed from the Falling Distance.

Acrobatics (Trained Only) - RC Pg 133
You reduce falling damage by your Acrobatics check, divided by 2.
You can only do this if you are trained.

Falling Prone & Remaining in the Air - RC Pg 210
A flying creature does not need to take any particular actions to remain aloft; it is assumed to be flying as it takes actions.
It falls when stunned (unless it can hover) and when knocked prone.
Hovering creatures that are knocked prone fall as well.*
When knocked unconscious, A flying creature is treated as knocked prone and also falls.

NOTE : Past Rules had a minimum movement to maintain flight, but this is no longer the case.

* - Certain Creatures may have immunity to falling, even when knocked prone / unconscious.
This may be due to certain effects, such as being secured to the side of the wall by devices, or simply by virtue of being tied around the waist by a rope from above, etc.
In some cases where it makes sense, the DM may also rule that some creatures have no weight and ignore gravity. Many insubstantial flying creatures would fall into this category eg. Wraiths, Ghosts, Spectres.
This can be considered a House Rule since it is never mentioned in the rules that they are immune to falling.
In all such cases they still count as being knocked prone in the square they occupy, granting CA etc appropriately.

[Zyraen]

From Rules Compendium

High-Altitude Falls: Some encounters take place very high above the ground. In such an encounter, it is possible for a creature to spend more than 1 round falling to the ground. As a rule of thumb, such a creature falls 500 feet during its first turn of falling. If it is still falling at the start of its turn, it can take actions on that turn as normal. If none of those actions expressly halts the fall, the creature falls 500 feet at the end of the turn. This sequence continues until the creature lands.

Flying Creatures: If a creature falls while it is flying (see below), it descends the full distance of the fall but is likely to take less damage than a creature that can’t fly. Multiply the creature’s fly speed by 5 and subtract that value from the distance of the fall, then figure out falling damage. If the difference is 0 or less, the creature lands without taking damage from the fall. For instance, if a red dragon falls when it is 40 feet in the air, subtract its fly speed of 8 (8 squares = 40 feet) from its altitude. The difference is 0, so the dragon lands safely and is not prone.
If a creature is flying when it starts a high-altitude fall, it has one chance to halt the fall by making a DC 30 Athletics check as an immediate reaction, with a bonus to the check equal to the creature’s fly speed. On a success, the creature falls 100 feet and then stops falling. On a failure, the creature falls as normal.

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House Rules as follows

- Falling Creatures fall 100' in One Turn, not 500'. . 100' is treated as a High Altitude Fall.

- When they start the Fall at "High Altitudes", Flying Creatures (or creatures with Fly Speed) can make a DC 30 Athletics check as an immediate reaction, with a bonus to the check equal to the creature’s Fly speed to stop the fall (as per normal rules)
Thereafter, as an Immediate Reaction after every fall of 100', they can make a DC 30 Athletics check as an immediate reaction, with a bonus to the check equal to the creature’s Fly speed.

- The Athletics check above can be replaced by with a Saving Throw, modified by a -5 penalty, and a bonus to the check equal to their Fly Speed. No feat or item related bonuses apply to this.

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Note that Broomsticks / Discs / Armchairs of Flying are treated as Mounts, and the following rules apply.
This is only a House Rule insofar that these items are treated as Mounts. Note that these Items are not truly Mounts and will generally never be targeted by attacks.

Falling Prone: If the mount falls prone, the rider is dismounted and falls prone in an unoccupied space of the rider’s choice adjacent to the now-prone mount. However, if the mount is flying when it is knocked prone, it instead falls. The rider isn’t dismounted unless the mount lands and falls prone itself.
A rider who is knocked prone can immediately make a saving throw. On a roll of 9 or lower, the rider is dismounted and falls prone in an unoccupied space of the rider’s choice adjacent to the mount. On a roll of 10 or higher, the rider is neither dismounted nor knocked prone.
A rider who voluntarily drops prone falls prone in an unoccupied space of the rider’s choice adjacent to the mount.

[Zyraen]

For those wondering why the reduction of fall from 500' to 100', it just means that if you survive the fall, you will only be 20 squares away instead of 100 squares away.

Being 100 squares away typically means unless you are able to travel the full distance back, you will probably miss the rest of the Encounter. And possibly wish you had died instead, if you have an Epic Destiny or some other feature that lets you Revive next to the Party.