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i have always liked this ability, but feel that despite being 'always on', it is overshadowed by low-level spells, and is a little restrictive in it's use. that said, i think that the level of acquisition and topping-out ought to be lowered (to 2nd and 10th respectively), as well as taking the restriction (need for a wall) and turning it into a corner-case privilege. thus i propose:
At 2nd level or higher, a monk sustains less damage when he falls. When first gaining this ability, he takes damage as if the fall were 10 feet shorter than it actually is. The monk's ability to slow his fall (that is, to reduce the effective falling distance) improves by +10 feet every even-numbered monk level, until at 10th level he can fall any distance without harm.
If the monk is within arm's reach of a wall when using this ability, he can slow fall twice the listed distance, and he always lands on his feet.
thoughts?
I've always just given monks the ability to fall any distance when within arm's reach of a wall.
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ok.
next iteration.
restored it to it's original level of acquisition, doubled the effect, and framed it in terms of 'damage dice reduction' rather than 'effective distance subtracted' (so the ability is still useful if he falls over 200 feet)
also took Ninjariffic's advice. overall boost doesn't seem out of place for a 4th level ability.
:
At 4th level, a monk sustains less damage when he falls. Reduce his total falling damage by one die (1d6) for every monk level he possesses.
If the monk is within arm's reach of a wall when using this ability, he sustains no damage from the fall no matter the distance fallen, and he always lands on his feet.
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cheers
Consider this ultra-cheap item..
Boots of the CatPrice 1,000 gp; Aura faint transmutation; CL 1st; Weight 1 lb.
These high-soled blue boots provide a great deal of comfort and arch support while also making the wearer appear a little bit taller than normal. The boot's wearer always takes the minimum possible damage from falls (as if the GM had rolled a 1 on each die of damage incurred by the fall) and at the end of a fall always lands on his feet.
Construction Requirements
Cost 500 gp
Craft Wondrous Item, feather fall
I think the Monk should always land on his feet, even on normal falls. I think that if he has a wall next to him, he never takes damage.
How he reduces damage after that, I don't know.. but it should be something that can compare to buying a 1k boot.
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well, falling prone as opposed to landing on your feet is a function of whether or not the fall caused you lethal damage.
example: my 5th level monk falls 50 feet, slow fall (as above) reduces 5d6 to 0d6 damage, thus the monk lands on his feet unharmed.
example: my 5th level monk falls 80 feet, slow fall (as above) reduces 8d6 to 3d6 damage. if he makes a DC 15 Acrobatics check, he sustains 1d6 lethal and 1d6 subdual damage, landing prone. if however the ground he lands on is soft, he instead sustains 2d6 subdual damage, thus landing on his feet.
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i see your point Kaisoku, and i deliberated whether or not to permit slow fall (an extraordinary ability) to automatically lessen all falling damage into subdual damage - which means he would always land on his feet, as you suggest (unless he passes out!). but i think i like the different consequences that result from considering Height, Level, Acrobatics, and Softness as variables. that way some falls are a hand-wave, others are dicey, and yet others will just plain hurt. it is notable that a 20th level monk always negates all falling damage (20d6 - 20d6 = 0d6) and thus always lands on his feet.
besides, if he wears these boots, he can't wear those boots.
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next evolution. how about:
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A 4th level monk automatically reduces the total damage he sustains from falling by one die (1d6) per two monk levels he possesses.
Whenever he deliberately falls, all damage sustained is further converted into subdual damage.
If the monk is within arm's reach of a wall when using this ability, whether of not he is deliberately falling, he can slow fall any distance without taking damage.
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this will allow him to land on his feet every time he deliberately falls, but not every time he accidentally falls (unless by a wall).
thoughts?
I like it, actually. Still scales but is still a nice effect.
Gonna hafta fix the spider/cloud feats that rely on distance numbers part of slowfall to work. Although a simple fix of 10 feet per d6 negated by slowfall would work okay.
As it stands now, its kind of wonky with unlimited at 20th, lol.