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Last Sunday I tried out a druid technique. I was wearing a pair of boots of the cat, while I wildshaped into a raven. I flew up 100 feet into the air, and turned into a dire ape, smushing the person below. The GM said it deals 1d6 per 10 feet, even though the rules say 4d6 per 10 feet for a falling object (A creature qualifies as a falling object, which has been proven in a couple of scenarios before. Bad goblin snipers ring a bell?). He said the reason behind this is that I'm wearing the boots of the cat so I fall lightly, which is not only flavor text, but not even mentioned in the boots of the cat.
Price 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.
Later on, he didn't even allow me to use it when I wanted to do it again. Would he be right, saying the enemy barely takes any damage?
RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 8
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Interesting rules question. I'd have to agree with your GM on the damage you take from falling. It's a direct quote from the GMG.
Creatures that fall take 1d6 points of damage per 10 feet fallen, to a maximum of 20d6. Creatures that take lethal damage from a fall land in a prone position
There are no specific rules for a character "rawr bombing" another character, so expect table variation on how much damage this tactic will deal.
I typically rule that the creature getting hit takes the same damage as the one that fell. So you fall 30 feet, you take 3d6, I roll an 11--you and the creature at the bottom each take 11 and you fall prone.
That has always made sense to me and so far there have been no complaints at the table.
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Were you falling on a creature three sizes larger than you, or three sizes smaller? Were you using the acrobatics skill to pass through his square and not taking an attack of opportunity?
Moving Through a Square
...Opponent: You can't move through a square occupied by an opponent unless the opponent is helpless. You can move through a square occupied by a helpless opponent without penalty. Some creatures, particularly very large ones, may present an obstacle even when helpless. In such cases, each square you move through counts as 2 squares.
Ending Your Movement: You can't end your movement in the same square as another creature unless it is helpless.
There is some precedent for the GM not allowing you to enter the square. It sounds like the GM was trying to work with you on your creative solution, which was beyond the normal scope of the rules.
RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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Last Sunday I tried out a druid technique. I was wearing a pair of boots of the cat, while I wildshaped into a raven. I flew up 100 feet into the air, and turned into a dire ape, smushing the person below. The GM said it deals 1d6 per 10 feet, even though the rules say 4d6 per 10 feet for a falling object (A creature qualifies as a falling object, which has been proven in a couple of scenarios before. Bad goblin snipers ring a bell?). He said the reason behind this is that I'm wearing the boots of the cat so I fall lightly, which is not only flavor text, but not even mentioned in the boots of the cat.
** spoiler omitted **
Later on, he didn't even allow me to use it when I wanted to do it again. Would he be right, saying the enemy barely takes any damage?
Where are you getting 4d6 per 10 feet? What I'm seeing in the Falling Object rules is that, if an object falls at least 30 feet, it deals the damage listed in the chart (based on size). If it falls less than 30 feet, it deals half damage. If it falls more than 150 feet, it deals double damage.
It also says that the chart is assuming a dense, heavy material like stone. A lighter material (it compares a boulder to a wooden wagon of equal size) "might deal as little as half".
So even if you were using the falling object rules, your Large, softer-than-stone self, falling more than 30 but less than 150 feet, should have dealt about 2d6 damage (or maybe 3d6, if ape-flesh is in between wood and stone, subject to GM discretion).
So, consider yourself lucky to have gotten 1d6/10ft. ;)
EDIT: Oh, also, using the Falling Object rules would mean you'd need to make a ranged touch attack to hit.
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Actually having been at a nearby table and the GM ask me, I told him that the creature would at most take the same damage he did and more likely half of that. With boots of the cat I would assume you can only deal as much damage as you take so it would be the minimum.
Jiggy however, I like your interpretation, require a ranged touch attack, would do 2d6 or 3d6 damage. With boots of the cat, then I might allow the druid to take minimum damage and deal the 2 or 3d6 damage to the target. This way you get an attack that still requires a roll, deal decent but not great damage and with a minor price, also 150+ feet would be impossible and the range increment puts you out of max range at that distance, which makes sense, very hard to land exactly on a creature from that far up.
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RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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This thread is rekindling my old ideas of making a tengu Lore Warden fighter with a crazy grapple bonus and the Tengu Wings feat so I can grab somebody, fly them way up in the air, then drop them. Starts at 5th level.
It's actually kind of disappointing to think that this will actually do more damage than dive-bombing them:
If I grapple-move them 60 feet in the air, dropping them deals 6d6 damage (average 21).
If I fly 60 feet up and then charge downward (ending in an unarmed strike or beak attack), I deal 1d3+STRmod, plus probably Power Attack. At the level this comes online, that's probably about 13-ish damage.
If I fly 60 feet up and dive-bomb them without calling it an attack (using the falling object rules), I instead deal either 1d6 or 2d6 damage, averaging about 3-7 damage.
For the grapple idea, you need 1 round to grapple, then 1 round per 15 feet. For the 60 feet example, that's 4 rounds of movement, for a total of 5 rounds. That's about 4 points of damage per round at 5th level (though it's dependent on about 10 different d20 rolls going your way). I suppose once you get Greater Grapple at 6th, you can knock a couple rounds off that and make it like 7-8 damage per round.
For the charge idea, you need a couple of rounds to ascend at half speed, then on round 3 you charge down. Only one d20 roll, but still dealing probably about 4-5 damage per round when you math it out.
For the falling object idea, it's the same 3 rounds as the charge, but the lower damage means it maths out to about 1-2 points of damage per round.
Wow, going through and doing the math kinda makes me sad. I really wish Pathfinder supported forms of combat other than "stand still and full attack". :/