Long Jump DCs & High Jump DCs

[Zyraen]

The following are "standardised" long jump DCs, as a tool for GMs to use them, though the GM may increase or reduce the DC based on the situation at hand.
The DCs do not deal with jumping higher than the usual, the GM can also modify it by a numerical value as required.

The following are for Athletics checks.

For every 5'/1 square of distance leaped over, the DC is 10. Hence
1 square - DC 10
2 squares - DC 20
3 squares - DC 30
So on so forth

If one has a running start - characterised by at least 2 squares of movement not perpendicular to the leap - the Athletics check is doubled.

The total movement travelled is still limited by one's maximum speed, which must be sufficient to LAND at the other side of the jump.
The person jumping may of course choose to run, this is always an option.

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Note by default, Acrobatics is not a substitute for Athletics when it comes to long jumping.

This is often asked because of "traditional" view of Acrobatics in popular games etc.

It also doesn't help that most trained acrobats in real life are generally, extremely athletic.

However a GM might at his discretion allow Acrobatics to be substituted, perhaps with or without a penalty (typically -4 as a benchmark), based on situation.

Edit 31 Mar 2021: instead of the DC being halved with a running start, the result of the Athletics check is doubled.

[Zyraen]

High Jump DC as follows, for Athletics checks
1' - DC 08
2' - DC 16
3' - DC 25
4' - DC 35
5' - DC 45

If the character moves 1-2 squares (no more and no less) while making the High Jump, the character gains a +5 to the check.
Making a high jump always provokes OAs, even if the character does not leave the square.

Regarding Acrobatics, the same note as the prior post applies.

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How High Can One Reach?

The High Jump distance is for how high the character's feet can clear the ground.

Theoretically, a character can reach up about 1/3 above its height (rounded down), so a 6' tall character reaches up 8'. For simplicity since almost all PCs are about 1 square in height (5' to 6'), we basically add the character's height, plus an extra 2'.

So most characters that are 5-6' high and jump 2' ( DC 16 ) would reach up 9-10'.

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Melee Attacks and High Jumps

So again, for simplicity, a character that is medium and jumps 2' (DC 16), assuming his height is not specified, would be able to reach up to a height of 10'. Adding the reach of a weapon, that would allow him to attack a creature 10' / 2 squares with a melee weapon, or 15' / 3 squares above the ground with a melee reach weapon.

But then how will he be able to do so in a mid jump, ie mid movement? To do so, for simplicity he will consume both his standard action and his interrupt during such an attempt (effectively he has to ready his action for when he jumps up). In the spirit of being fair with action economy (it is already frustrating to not be able to engage a flying enemy), if he does not hit the required Athletics DC, he does not consume his interrupt nor his standard action.

Some interrupts may allow a character to shift a certain number of squares (or charge) before making a melee attack. If the ability allows enough movement, the character may jump as part of the movement, and make the melee attack, provided he hits the required DC.

[Zyraen]

Combining the DCs for Longs Jumps and High Jumps

When comparing the base DC for a long jump and a high jump, we observe that the long jump has a higher DC. It is reasonable to assume that a character making a long jump would also clear some minimum height.

We start with a base of a 1' height for a 1 square / 5' jump, and then half a foot higher for each additional 1 square / 5' cleared by the long jump.

Athletics
DC 10 - 1 square / 1.0'
DC 20 - 2 squares / 1.5'
DC 30 - 3 squares / 2.0'
DC 40 - 4 squares / 2.5'
etc etc

If the Height required to be jumped up is more than the minimum Height (such as when leaping from one lower outcropping to a higher level outcropping), as a rule of thumb we can add 5 to the DC for every 0.5' additional height required.

So a 2 squares / 10' long jump that requires the character's feet to clear at least 2' (due to the other side of the ledge being 2' higher) would require a 20+5 = DC 25 Athletics check.

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Failing the DC

If the DC is failed by 5 or less, the character clings onto the edge of the surface that he/she is jumping to. After hanging on for dear life, the character may then climb up the edge. At the GM's discretion, this clinging on result may be substituted by falling prone on the other side.

If the DC is failed by 10 or less, the character makes a saving throw. If he passes, it is as if he failed the DC by 5 or less. If he fails, the result is one worse than if he had passed, ie either cling on instead of falling prone, or falls instead of clinging on.

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"That is too High!"

Sometimes the height to be cleared in order to leap across is simply too high. In such a case, provided the surface is not too high, the character can simply jump across the distance, grab hold of the edge for dear life, and then clamber up after that.

Generally speaking, the DCs for any surface that is 8' (ie less than 2 squares) from the current level the PCs are jumping should have no impact on the Long Jump. They make a long jump as usual, except that they cling on to the side of the surface. When it is 9' or 10' higher, then they have to hit the required High Jump DC as per earlier segment.

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Clambering Up

Climbing up the side is usually a climb check, ie another Athletics check (DC varies based on the surface itself), but if a character only failed the DC by a bit, this should be an auto-pass or given a generous bonus.

A character that climbs up usually is standing after climbing, but if the failure was especially bad, the character ends up prone after climbing up, and possibly out of movement (he would have been climbing while prone, making each square of the climb use up 3 squares of movement).

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Important Notes

All of the above is intended to serve as a guideline to assist GMs, and are definitely not hard-and-fast rules when combining long jump and high jumps.

In general, if a character would fall to certain death and this does not suit the intention of the GM, the character may cling on to the side of the surface and be stunned. If it would take multiple turns to recover from it, removed from play for a few rounds also works. When these conditions end, the character is "prone" (ie off balance) holding on to the side of the surface, and has to clamber up (see below)